blackaliss's reviews
217 reviews

All Systems Red by Martha Wells

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lighthearted fast-paced

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

1.25

The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon

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adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

4.0

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 31%.

Tepid writing, characters more archetypes than proper people. Absolutely shows it's YA.

Neverworld Wake by Marisha Pessl

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adventurous hopeful reflective fast-paced

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

4.25

Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful 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

5.0

The book had no business being this good. I loved every moment of it.

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

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dark reflective fast-paced

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

2.75

The Sheep Look Up by John Brunner

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challenging dark informative slow-paced

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

0.25

Extremely relevant to today's climate change discourse. I still can't recommend it to anyone as it's not just a depressing read, it's also a boring depressing read. More series of newsclips with dry voiceover than a proper novel.

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

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dark emotional mysterious tense 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

5.0

Holy shit. This book got me fangirling again.

The Ninth Rain by Jen Williams

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious relaxing medium-paced

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

3.25

The occasional theatrical and unrealistic dialogue and the big cringe golem that is Tormalin got in the way of me truly enjoying this book. Beware of sex expert vampires who narrate what they do in bed.

Normal People by Sally Rooney

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challenging emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

Content Warnings