bookish_jess_'s reviews
11 reviews

Lords of Pain by Angel Lawson, Samantha Rue

challenging dark tense

5.0

This book is an entire field of red flags... and I ate up every second of it. I'm obsessed.

A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft

4.0

House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.5

Unite Me by Tahereh Mafi

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

3.0

All Systems Red by Martha Wells

adventurous challenging lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

4.0

House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J. Maas

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

I thought my reread wouldn't be as emotional as the first. I was wrong. I'm still as distraught as when I first read it.

Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi

challenging dark emotional tense slow-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? It's complicated

3.0

The romance between Warner and Juliette is really all that kept me going through this book.

I hated Adam. The 'banter' was a bit cringy. And why is a 17 year old girl going to now be the leader of a nation?

But also, I loved so many moments with Warner. So... 3 stars for Warner lol

Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

Honestly, I almost DNFed this one. The first half of the book I couldn't stand the characters. Juliette's selfishness, Adam gave me the ick, and Kenji seemed like he was trying to hard to 'be the cool guy'. 

Then I got to 50% and the plot finally took hold. I literally couldn't put it down that last half. I am such a simp for Aaron Warner. Juliette finally finding herself had me cheering for her. 

I'm dying to know what happens next.

Tales from the Café by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

2.75

While I loved the first book in this series, I felt like this one fell a bit flat. I'm not sure if it was written this way, or if it was just something that happened in translation, but there was just so much repetition regarding not only the rules, but with stories as well. I would find myself getting lost in some of the mundane details in certain stories that just didn't seem to fit. It would also jump timelines suddenly - I guess what I'm trying to say is there were many times where there didn't seem to be a cohesive flow to the story. Maybe this was a hindrance of the audio as I couldn't see the shift nor did the narrator indicate a shift in times. 

Overall, I do love the moments when the loved ones meet in the café to either say their goodbyes, their 'I'm sorries', or even just see them. My heart breaks and swells for each one, but unfortunately it just wasn't enough to really carry the stories. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death of parent, Miscarriage, Death, and Cancer

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I don't have proof, but this feels so much like X-Men fanfic. I don't necessarily mean that in a negative way, but the whole time I just kept thinking- this sounds so much like the first X-Man movie.

Overall I really enjoyed the books prose and appreciated how unique the writing style was. 

I'm not quite sold on our main love interest. It's a little to insta-love for me. I also think the book ended in a weird spot, but I liked it enough to keep the series going.