cassiecollins's reviews
267 reviews

Santa Olivia by Jacqueline Carey

dark emotional sad slow-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

I liked this! It had an endearing cast of characters, and the setting and world-building had just enough to whet the palate without getting heavy on sci-fi elements. I will say the superhero and werewolf notions are pretty erroneous: Loup is the daughter of a super-soldier and has inherited his abilities, the term "werewolf" is just a moniker; and Loup does perform some minor acts of vigilantism under the guise of a saint, but if you're expecting some comic-level superpowers and exploits, you will be disappointed. Otherwise, this was a very solid read. For me, it's so easy to just sink into Carey's prose and let it carry you through the narrative. There's still questions remaining in the end, so I'm looking forward to checking out the sequel.

Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirrlees

adventurous mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

This is one of those books that, while it is well written, I don't think I'd recommend to anyone unless you are of the high academia, lover of obtuse literature variety. The prose is lovely, but it relays information in only the most circuitous, meandering, allusory ways. It's a story of fairies with a murder mystery/courtroom drama underlaying it, which is definitely fun in concept. It does get a bit muddied in the latter half of the book, though, as there's a lot of fluff and runarounds that just feels like padding. I really want to have liked this more, but it's really just not my style.

Such a Pretty Smile by Kristi DeMeester

dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

2.0

Reading this felt like pulling teeth. This is a Book With a Message, and by god is it gonna make sure you understand that. I found Caroline's sections extremely boring, since she's a sort of beleaguered, put-upon woman character that's been done before (and done far better). Unfortunately, her parts take up a good two-thirds of the book. I did find Lila a far more interesting narrator, and I genuinely feel like the narrative could've been much tighter and more engaging if Caroline's stuff was cut/incorporated into Lila's POV. The atmosphere is more creepy than outright scary. But, even the scares are repetitive—and nothing of actual substance happens until well into the final third of the book. I don't think this piece is poorly written, per se, but it definitely focused on the Message to the extreme detriment of most everything else. 

Wilde Moon by Gwyneira Blythe

dark tense medium-paced

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

3.5

This was a satisfying conclusion, but it certainly wasn't without it's issues. With this last book being almost entirely plot-focused, there's little to no real character development outside of some melodrama and the pacing drags at multiple points with everyone just waiting around for the next plot point. Granted, the plot is interesting enough, but it's frustrating for Victoria's supposedly goddess-given power show in force in some places and in others she turns into a damsel-in-distress for the sake of the plot. Overall, this felt a bit ham-fisted in its story-telling to the detriment of its characters. There's big hints for a follow up series, so I am interested to see how that goes.

Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital by Sheri Fink

challenging informative reflective slow-paced

5.0

As with anything regarding Hurricane Katrina, this is a story of many large-scale failures and individual acts of heroism. I think the author did a great job of portraying all the people involved in the case as real, multi-faceted people with complex motivations and understandings of the things they do. She brings to the fore many thought-provoking conversations about medical euthanasia/assisted suicides, disaster management in healthcare, and so much more. I will say at times it was a bit difficult to follow with regard to who's who, but it's certainly not the author's fault that there are so many people involved in the case (and I was listening to an audiobook so my brain may just not have latched on to certain names). As someone who currently works in healthcare, I think this story and Fink's frank discussions of it will stay with me for a long time.

Hot Fey Moon by Gwyneira Blythe

adventurous dark tense slow-paced

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

3.0

After the fast pace and action of the previous book, this one slows down considerably. A lot of the narrative is just kind of...waiting. We go somewhere and wait, then we go somewhere else and wait some more, then we're flung somewhere else again and wait even more. We did learn some interesting things regarding Victoria's mom and got Frankie's induction into the inner circle, but those were about the only major narrative points we got. The characters and their relationships are still strong, as they've always been, and kept my interest all the way through. Here's to seeing how things come together in the end!

Blood Moon by Gwyneira Blythe

dark mysterious tense 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

The pace really picks up in this one—lots of action, several of the mysteries begin to unravel, and Victoria nears the completion of her coterie. The villains in this one are the most intimidating of the series so far. Again, the ending has got me so interested in what the future may hold for these characters.

Ice Cold Moon by Gwyneira Blythe

dark 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? Yes

3.0

Pretty similar feelings to this as with the first book—leans on some tropes but the characters are strong and the mysteries genuinely intriguing. I didn't much care for Nik's character or role in the story, though (I found him a bit inconsistent). There's also some of the magical jargon thrown around without much actual explanation of what they mean in this world and/or its context. Regardless, the ending definitely piqued my interest, so here's to the next one!

Hunter's Moon by Gwyneira Blythe

dark mysterious tense 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

3.5

This went pretty heavy on the "magic academy" tropes—mean girls, lecherous boys, somehow there's always a combat class, etc. But, the characters are endlessly endearing and the prose is strong enough to carry the piece, even with its clichés. Definitely kept me interested in what'll happen next in the series!

Scaling the Moon by Gwyneira Blythe

emotional mysterious 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

3.0

I got this for free as part of Stuff Your Kindle Day. I liked this, but I don't think it works well as a standalone. These are more just bonus side-perspectives that follow along from the main narrative—which is all well and good, to be clear, it just doesn't work the best without that context. I did really enjoy Evetta and Gemma's chemistry, though.