bites_of_books's reviews
766 reviews

Home by Nnedi Okorafor

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I'm so glad I came back to the world of Nnedi Okorafor! It's been a long time coming that I needed to continue with the Binti series and this second installment did not disappoint. 
We follow Binti as she and Okwu come back to her home for a visit and she will see what has happened since she left. However, Binti is facing mental health issues related to events from the first book and is also feeling disconnected from her culture. 
I loved the blend of cultural heritage with the science fiction elements as well as Binti's internal struggle with her mental health and her search for her own identity and where she fits between all the different cultures and places that she's now connected to. 
Highly recommend this series! On to the third one for me. 

The Faces by Tove Ditlevsen

challenging dark mysterious sad medium-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

This one is quite strange, it is about a woman who is going through a difficult mental health episode and is taken to an institution to recover.

I don't have much to say about it, some of the writing was interesting but it never gave me anything impressive or exciting in any way. 

Overall I'm very underwhelmed by it so that's all I can say. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, and Suicide attempt

The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad 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? No

4.0

I had the expectation that this was an innocent children's fantasy story, and while it can be read that way, it is a lot more than what it seems. The Last Unicorn follows a unicorn who believes that she might be the last of her kind and goes in search of others like her. She finds that the world is perhaps not as kind as she expected and also not aware of her and the things that she can do. Along the way she finds companions but her connection with them is simply that, of companionship. She is very much focused on her goal of finding other unicorns and mostly ignores them, which was sometimes funny and a lot of the times sad. It is a story of hope, resilience, and destiny. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and kind of wish that I had read it when I was way younger since it would definitely have made a big impression. 

Perish by LaToya Watkins
Did not finish book. Stopped at 57%.

So many characters with a lot of horrible things happening to them, it just didn't work for me anymore. 

To the Limit: The Meaning of Endurance from Mexico to the Himalayas by Michael Crawley

adventurous informative lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-paced

5.0

An excellent discussion on endurance training and what it means in various cultures. I was especially interested in the conversation around wearable trackers and how that affects our approach to exercise and competition vs connecting with nature and our bodies. 

Home Is Where the Bodies Are by Jeneva Rose

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

2.25

I still can't quite find mystery thrillers that work for me fully. I was able to know who the culprit was pretty quickly and that made the reading experience rather flat. 
A lot of it was also a bit logical stretch for me but yeah, it underwhelmed me. 

The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst

funny lighthearted sad fast-paced

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

3.25

I can only describe this book as Hallmark Fantasy. It was enjoyable and cozy (for the most part), sprinkled with cute side characters that made me chuckle. 

There were some plot choices that I didn't quite believe, some "coincidences" that didn't have solid explanations that got me out of the story a couple of times. That being said, I was quite invested in the story anyways and was rooting for the main characters until the end. It was fun! 

I'd recommend this to anyone who wants a cozy and lighthearted read. 

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

dark mysterious sad tense 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? No

2.25

This was incredibly underwhelming. I know that gothic horror can be slow but for a 100pg story this one was way too slow for me. There were some moments of brilliant atmospheric unsettling feelings but for the most part I needed less ambiguity. I understand that this ambiguity is what draws the academics but I bet that those people who came back to listen to this story at the beginning of the book simply were never mentioned again because they just fell asleep or left half way through. 

Role Playing by Cathy Yardley

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious 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? No

5.0

I absolutely loved the characters, the issues that they had felt so real and complex, I rooted for them from the start! It defied expectations and I loved that. 

HoverGirls by Geneva Bowers

adventurous lighthearted mysterious fast-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

2.5

The art is gorgeous, I just wish there had been more to the story.