bfrance99's reviews
327 reviews

When He Was Wicked by Julia Quinn

emotional lighthearted medium-paced

• 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

3.5

I really liked Francesca - she might be my favourite of the Bridgerton sisters. But I wasn’t a huge fan of her romance with Michael - I just couldn’t get behind the ick of Michael and John being cousins (basically brothers) and some of the controlling stuff Michael said (the way he seduced her into getting married, and wanted her to get pregnant so she’d be forced to marry him). I probably would have preferred Francesca and John’s love story! I still loved the Bridgerton world and the writing. I’ll be reading on for Gregory and Hyacinth’s stories. 

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

An incredibly unique and powerful fantasy book, about innocence, identity, mental illness and belonging. I was immediately captivated by the House, with its Halls and Tides giving almost an eerie, dark academia setting. The main character, Piranesi, intrigued me, and his mental journey as the plot and his mind unravels was brilliantly written. This is truly a one-in-a-million book and I wish I could forget it all, just to reread it again. 

Only Love Can Hurt Like This by Paige Toon

emotional hopeful medium-paced

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

4.5

I’m not normally a romance girly, but I just loved this book. The writing let me fall straight into the world, and I really liked the main character, Wren. I especially liked the theme of family and repairing family ties, especially with her half-sister, Bailey - I got quite emotional during parts. The ‘twist’ I didn’t see coming at all, and the ending wrapped everything up really well. 

The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood

mysterious slow-paced

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

2.5

I’ve only ever read The Handmaid’s Tale and The Testaments by Margaret Atwood, so I wasn’t sure what to expect… but it wasn’t this. I have no idea what to make of this book. Nothing happened? And the characters seemed spurious and irritated me the whole time. The men were incredibly weak. Zenia was obviously unlikeable but at least interesting - Tony, Charis and Roz’s lives felt like trauma porn and I didn’t gel with them much. The writing is good, sure. But the plot was non-existent and the characters uninteresting. 

Silas Marner by George Eliot

dark slow-paced

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

3.0

This book is a strange one for me, since there were some chapters which I really liked, and others which I basically skipped past. There was no way of predicting which chapters I wouldn’t like, since they changed aimlessly to different character perspectives on a whim. The plot was quite minimal, but I found the characters of Silas, Godfrey and Dunsey interesting enough (but the latter two more irritating and infuriating). Part one was quite gloomy, and I was expecting Eppie to show up sooner than she did. When she was introduced - especially in part two - the tone of the book was happier, although even at the end, I felt there were some unresolved questions.

The Making of Us by Lisa Jewell

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

This was a lovely, heartwarming story about three adults struggling with their place in life, coming together due to their sperm donor father. With themes of family, friendship and identity, it was a well-written, easy read after two heavier fantasy books. While I prefer Lisa Jewell’s more recent thrillers, her older contemporary dramas are still worth reading. 

Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto

emotional lighthearted mysterious medium-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

4.5

I loved the cute, cosy thriller vibe of this book, and I loved the characters even more! Vera is the ambitious, strict Chinese mum, and when she finds a dead man in her tea shop, she buckles down to find the killer. She draws in several people in her investigation as her ‘suspects’ but eventually finds herself loving them all as her newfound family. I also recommend the audiobook, as the voice actor really brought all of the characters to life. 

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

adventurous dark tense slow-paced

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

4.0

I went into this book thinking it was a historical fantasy - but for me, it was more historical than it was fantasy. Not that it’s a bad thing, just felt it was a tad mismarketed, as the fantasy elements were more light magic realism. I really enjoyed the setting, and I fully felt that I was transported back to 14th century China. The writing was beautiful and the characters brilliantly written. I read this book quite slowly (for me), as it took a lot of concentration in remembering all of the characters, their motivations and the plot lines. I loved the gender fluidity with the two main characters, Zhu and Ouyang. The book really did have The Poppy War and Mulan vibes. I can’t give this book five stars because there was just *something* missing to give it that wow factor - and if I’m being honest, I was less gripped after part one.

I also really wish we knew fully what happened when the monastery burnt down - I felt like I was waiting the whole book for a proper explanation! Maybe the next one?

The Queen's Fool by Philippa Gregory

emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I just love Philippa Gregory’s Tudor and Plantagenet series. This book felt quite unique, as most of the previous books in the series focus on an actual historical figure (typically royalty or of noble lineage), but this focused on Hannah the Fool, a “normal” woman. It was actually a great book to go into after listening to Gregory’s Normal Women book. The characters were brought to life so well, and I really felt Hannah’s confusion, loneliness and loyalty being stretched to its limits. I didn’t care for her romance to Daniel though, and I thought her father was a very weak character. I look forward to the next one! 

Shanghai Immortal by A.Y. Chao

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I really hate giving this book such a low rating when it’s clear that the author put a lot into it, but I have to be honest with myself. This book was not for me. Any book that frequently uses the phrases ‘ta-tas’ and ‘turd egg’ is not for me, and it should definitely never have been marketed as an adult fantasy. It’s young adult at best - the nearly-one-hundred-year-old half-vampire is going on twelve. I didn’t like the main character, I didn’t like the love interest, I didn’t like the other characters, I didn’t understand the world and I struggled with the lack of plot in the first half of the book. I just… didn’t like it. There was potential with the writing, which is probably why I stuck with it and didn’t DNF it, but everything else made it fall apart.