bea_reads_books's reviews
343 reviews

Omen of Ice by Jus Accardo

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

Super tropey. Romance was trash, which really sucks because I normally love bodyguard romances and this made me hate it. There was almost no plot aside from the “big reveal” at the end which I guessed correctly about 10% in. Main characters were annoying. Literally the only things I liked about this were the cover and the kelpie character who isn’t present nearly enough imo. The world is very under developed (Valen is supposedly warring with being the “omen” mentioned in the title but the author never explains what that is; they don’t have guns or plumbing but they know what adrenaline is; they have an alternate word for fucking called “brashing” despite also using the word “fuck” in the text; etc).

Gravity Falls: Journal 3 by Rob Renzetti, Alex Hirsch

adventurous emotional funny reflective

• Strong character development? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Whichwood by Tahereh Mafi

adventurous emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Just Lizzie by Karen Wilfrid

emotional inspiring sad

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

If They Come for Us: Poems by Fatimah Asghar

4.0

The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo

emotional reflective sad

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America by Ijeoma Oluo

challenging informative inspiring

5.0

Deephaven by Ethan M. Aldridge

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes

3.75

The Weavers of Alamaxa by Hadeer Elsbai

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

Ugh I was so scared that this couldn’t end well but Hadeer Elsbai absolutely delivered. My only complaint is that the gods’ lore is SO SO cool, but we see so little of it. I absolutely loved every little bit that we got, I just wish there had been more. However I do also love that this book has consistent conversations about the necessity of violence under oppression.

The Girl in the Lake by India Hill Brown

emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious tense

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

I absolutely love the lessons of this book! It is such a good middle grade horror, and addresses such topics as facing your fears, standing up for yourself, racism, and the importance of knowing your history. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Death, Hate crime, Racism, Violence, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Blood