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33 reviews
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
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
4.0
My first fantasy read in world building. First of all, I
was hesitant about reading fantasy bcs i thought i
would DNFed it. Imo reading this genre takes a lot of
creativity to read and to be able to imagine
something that is apart from our reality. As soon as i
read it, this book wasnt that difficult at all to imagine.
It's literally based on a war and places just like
reading classic historicals.
Rating: 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟
Spoiler alert.
I like the Grishaverse, their uniforms: purple, dark
blue, red and how each colour can be treated
differently by their kefta. I love our female
protagonist, Alina Starkov. I love her character
development throughout the book, how she became
stronger and being the sun summoner. Ngl my
predictions were all the way wrong. Here's what i
thought would have happened:
1 . She rules the kingdom
2. Mal died
3. She ends up with the Darkling
DIDN'T HAPPEN!
I never would've expected she ended up with her best
friend, Mal bcs he's less narrated than the Darkling.
Also, he didn't even made a move on Alina, he just
confessed to her.
And the Darkling, i love his charms and his powers. I
did not expect they would kiss so soon. I was like
"Wait where's your pov on all this? Why are you kissing her?!" and i realized i got used to reading 2 or
3 person povs. Also, that was a bad move the part
where he put on Alina's stag collar. I searched it and
felt bad for her Didn't liked him after that. Also
what happened to his mother?!
The book kinda left me hanging. I noticed when im at
90% percent and Alina still haven't ruled the kingdom
but i like the way the author left it hanging like that.
Overall, i only love Alina's character development. My
first fantasy read was enjoyable and 11m omw to read
the sequel.
was hesitant about reading fantasy bcs i thought i
would DNFed it. Imo reading this genre takes a lot of
creativity to read and to be able to imagine
something that is apart from our reality. As soon as i
read it, this book wasnt that difficult at all to imagine.
It's literally based on a war and places just like
reading classic historicals.
Rating: 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟
Spoiler alert.
I like the Grishaverse, their uniforms: purple, dark
blue, red and how each colour can be treated
differently by their kefta. I love our female
protagonist, Alina Starkov. I love her character
development throughout the book, how she became
stronger and being the sun summoner. Ngl my
predictions were all the way wrong. Here's what i
thought would have happened:
1 . She rules the kingdom
2. Mal died
3. She ends up with the Darkling
DIDN'T HAPPEN!
I never would've expected she ended up with her best
friend, Mal bcs he's less narrated than the Darkling.
Also, he didn't even made a move on Alina, he just
confessed to her.
And the Darkling, i love his charms and his powers. I
did not expect they would kiss so soon. I was like
"Wait where's your pov on all this? Why are you kissing her?!" and i realized i got used to reading 2 or
3 person povs. Also, that was a bad move the part
where he put on Alina's stag collar. I searched it and
felt bad for her Didn't liked him after that. Also
what happened to his mother?!
The book kinda left me hanging. I noticed when im at
90% percent and Alina still haven't ruled the kingdom
but i like the way the author left it hanging like that.
Overall, i only love Alina's character development. My
first fantasy read was enjoyable and 11m omw to read
the sequel.
The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
Rating: * * * *
The male protagonist here is super cute which made
me attracted to him a lot easier. I definitely get
hooked everytime male characters do not get what
they want- and when they get irritated ugh love the
spice.
This book is about a woman who hired an escort in
order to learn a couple of things in the relationship
department. Stella, is a person with autistic who has
trouble with social skills. Michael is a struggling
designer who wants to pay off his mom's medical
bills. I love their chemistry together.
The things in the book that i liked:
-the autism awareness
-asian representation
-reversed gender roles (breaking the stereotype that
men make more money than women)
Stella is definitely a self made woman who works in
STEM. Prior to reading this book, i knew there was a
bias research on the autism disorder between men
and women. The fact that the past autism research
mostly generalized toward men/boys. Autism
definitely impacted differently between both genders
which women tend to get diagnosed later when they
become adults.
Bottom line, its cute with a touch of filth in it.
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-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
The male protagonist here is super cute which made
me attracted to him a lot easier. I definitely get
hooked everytime male characters do not get what
they want- and when they get irritated ugh love the
spice.
This book is about a woman who hired an escort in
order to learn a couple of things in the relationship
department. Stella, is a person with autistic who has
trouble with social skills. Michael is a struggling
designer who wants to pay off his mom's medical
bills. I love their chemistry together.
The things in the book that i liked:
-the autism awareness
-asian representation
-reversed gender roles (breaking the stereotype that
men make more money than women)
Stella is definitely a self made woman who works in
STEM. Prior to reading this book, i knew there was a
bias research on the autism disorder between men
and women. The fact that the past autism research
mostly generalized toward men/boys. Autism
definitely impacted differently between both genders
which women tend to get diagnosed later when they
become adults.
Bottom line, its cute with a touch of filth in it.
Misery by Stephen King
challenging
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Rating: * *
TW: Spoilers, blood, gore
At first this book kinda threw me off because i did my
prior research to it and it said the mystery was genre
but to me it didn't seem like a mystery at all. I figured
it all out by Chapter Two
(that Paul Sheldon, a famous
author, was kidnapped by a mentally ill woman, Annie
Wilkes who proclaimed that he was her number one
fan). Annie outright told him that she will kill him if he
killed off her fav character in one of Paul's famous
book. Like there is nothing to be figured out in the
book. I kind of wished at first that she would be a nice
person adding a subtle hint of craziness attitude for
me to eventually figure out that she's crazy in the end.
Talking about Annie, have you ever watched Mean
Girls? Well, ilm Regina George in this book. I totally
find Annie Wilkes super annoying with her on and off
moods. Everytime she talks i give her dirty looks like
no You can't sit with us. I swear ilm so irritated by her
attitude.
After i got used to accepting that it's not a mystery
book, rather a thriller. I enjoyed half of it. The
goreness level was * * 2 stars for me. Although,
props to Stephen King for that rat blood scene and
the axe. I was eating at that time and almost
vomitted haha. And the suspense where Annie lived
after being burnt and disappeared the thriller
fan in me enjoyed that!
The book also includes a story within a story from
Paul's work that Annie forced him to finish a final
trilogy to Annie Wilkes fav character. It was cute ig. Didn't scare me and it definitely didn't make the 'love
of thriller' in me excited. The gore scenes was
stars too, love the rat's blood scene. The axe crushing
on the bone writing was mwah, i almost could hear
the bones crushing in my ears haha.
P.S. I promise im not crazy i just love thrillers
TW: Spoilers, blood, gore
At first this book kinda threw me off because i did my
prior research to it and it said the mystery was genre
but to me it didn't seem like a mystery at all. I figured
it all out by Chapter Two
author, was kidnapped by a mentally ill woman, Annie
Wilkes who proclaimed that he was her number one
fan). Annie outright told him that she will kill him if he
killed off her fav character in one of Paul's famous
book. Like there is nothing to be figured out in the
book. I kind of wished at first that she would be a nice
person adding a subtle hint of craziness attitude for
me to eventually figure out that she's crazy in the end.
Talking about Annie, have you ever watched Mean
Girls? Well, ilm Regina George in this book. I totally
find Annie Wilkes super annoying with her on and off
moods. Everytime she talks i give her dirty looks like
no You can't sit with us. I swear ilm so irritated by her
attitude.
After i got used to accepting that it's not a mystery
book, rather a thriller. I enjoyed half of it. The
goreness level was * * 2 stars for me. Although,
props to Stephen King for that rat blood scene and
the axe. I was eating at that time and almost
vomitted haha. And the suspense where Annie lived
after being burnt and disappeared the thriller
fan in me enjoyed that!
The book also includes a story within a story from
Paul's work that Annie forced him to finish a final
trilogy to Annie Wilkes fav character. It was cute ig. Didn't scare me and it definitely didn't make the 'love
of thriller' in me excited. The gore scenes was
stars too, love the rat's blood scene. The axe crushing
on the bone writing was mwah, i almost could hear
the bones crushing in my ears haha.
P.S. I promise im not crazy i just love thrillers
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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
Have u ever been attached to a character
so much that it keeps you up at night thinking about
them?
TW: Heavy spoilers, SAI child abuse, self-harm
What happened to Jude was unforgettable. It was
almost as if Hanya Yanagihara picked a bunch of
triggers and thought "what cruel things should i do to
this child?' from child abandonment to abuse to
sexual assault to all of the things readers could not
imagine happening to their own loved ones.
Jude is that kind of friend that i want to help, the kind
that i want to save but everytime i do help, somehow i
feel he is falling helplessly. On the earlier chapters,
Jude had accidentally broke Harold's mug that his
late dying son made for him. He wrote a letter of
apology (just for a mug) to Harold eventhough it was
told unnecessary. This is my apology letter to Jude.
Dear Jude,
I am sorry that society has failed you. I am sorry for
the things that has happened to you, that made you
think you deserved it. I am sorry for the childhood you
did not get to experience. You are so much more in
life anyone could bring. Harold has asked you what
are the 5 things that you are better in. To me, you are
brilliant, you went to law school, you are an excellent
litigator and lawyer. You are a brave and kind hearted
man. You cook and clean well. You help others
around you, you are a good friend. When you love, you
love so deeply. Some of the things that you said to
yourself is not true. You don't owe anyone anything.
You always felt the need to apologize when we
should be the one apologizing to you. Throughout all
that, i am glad you have met people who loved you for
you. To Willem, JB, Malcolm, Harold, Julia, Citizen,
Rhodes, the Henry Youngs and the others. You
always said the axiom of equality is x equals to x
meaning that no matter how improved your life has
been, you will always be that same person (the
person that is disgusting and deserved the hate and
pain). I wished you could view yourself as a survivor.
The things you have achieved defines you rather than
the cruel things people has done to you.
Nevertheless, I still view you as a survivor.
When i finished reading, i realized
Hanya Yanagihara is just portraying
apart of reality for the unfortunate
ones. These are things that truly
happen everyday of our lives and there
are cases to prove it.
There is a lot of intense debate about
whatever trauma or events that
happened was helpful or harming to
people with mental health issues and
people suffering from traumas. The
book in itself was a depiction of Jude's
intrusive feelings. I can see that this
book is powerful, how words formed
can be a harm to someone. I would not
recommend this to anyone reading this
just bc Jude's thoughts alone made me
play with my own mental health.
I cried reading 3 times. First when he
was apologizing for the mug, second
for being adopted and third for Willem.
so much that it keeps you up at night thinking about
them?
TW: Heavy spoilers, SAI child abuse, self-harm
What happened to Jude was unforgettable. It was
almost as if Hanya Yanagihara picked a bunch of
triggers and thought "what cruel things should i do to
this child?' from child abandonment to abuse to
sexual assault to all of the things readers could not
imagine happening to their own loved ones.
Jude is that kind of friend that i want to help, the kind
that i want to save but everytime i do help, somehow i
feel he is falling helplessly. On the earlier chapters,
Jude had accidentally broke Harold's mug that his
late dying son made for him. He wrote a letter of
apology (just for a mug) to Harold eventhough it was
told unnecessary. This is my apology letter to Jude.
Dear Jude,
I am sorry that society has failed you. I am sorry for
the things that has happened to you, that made you
think you deserved it. I am sorry for the childhood you
did not get to experience. You are so much more in
life anyone could bring. Harold has asked you what
are the 5 things that you are better in. To me, you are
brilliant, you went to law school, you are an excellent
litigator and lawyer. You are a brave and kind hearted
man. You cook and clean well. You help others
around you, you are a good friend. When you love, you
love so deeply. Some of the things that you said to
yourself is not true. You don't owe anyone anything.
You always felt the need to apologize when we
should be the one apologizing to you. Throughout all
that, i am glad you have met people who loved you for
you. To Willem, JB, Malcolm, Harold, Julia, Citizen,
Rhodes, the Henry Youngs and the others. You
always said the axiom of equality is x equals to x
meaning that no matter how improved your life has
been, you will always be that same person (the
person that is disgusting and deserved the hate and
pain). I wished you could view yourself as a survivor.
The things you have achieved defines you rather than
the cruel things people has done to you.
Nevertheless, I still view you as a survivor.
When i finished reading, i realized
Hanya Yanagihara is just portraying
apart of reality for the unfortunate
ones. These are things that truly
happen everyday of our lives and there
are cases to prove it.
There is a lot of intense debate about
whatever trauma or events that
happened was helpful or harming to
people with mental health issues and
people suffering from traumas. The
book in itself was a depiction of Jude's
intrusive feelings. I can see that this
book is powerful, how words formed
can be a harm to someone. I would not
recommend this to anyone reading this
just bc Jude's thoughts alone made me
play with my own mental health.
I cried reading 3 times. First when he
was apologizing for the mug, second
for being adopted and third for Willem.