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charloforce's reviews
291 reviews
Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Mental illness, Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Abandonment, Death, Violence, Bullying, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Murder and Torture
Minor: War
Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
These Witches Don't Burn by Isabel Sterling
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
To be fair to this book, I think it's targeted towards the age of its protagonist or younger (I'd say 14-18). To call it juvenile without that qualification would be unfair, due to the intended demographic and the age of its characters. But older readers should know there are a few strong eye-roll moments plot-wise, due to extreme-teen behavior. However, I did like the protagonist overall, especially the way that she consistently stood up for herself and cared about her family and community.
This book suffered a little bit from tell-over-show, with a thinly-veiled info dump here and there, but since the book was otherwise fairly fast-paced and is overall pretty short, I didn't mind.
The queer representation was very satisfying - as a reader I felt like it was purposeful, but not heavy-handed. It was nice that the story was full of queer characters who embodied their queerness, but none of the plotlines (besides romance, obviously) were centered on their queerness. There were a few passing moments of homophobia but it was by no means a major element.
This book suffered a little bit from tell-over-show, with a thinly-veiled info dump here and there, but since the book was otherwise fairly fast-paced and is overall pretty short, I didn't mind.
The queer representation was very satisfying - as a reader I felt like it was purposeful, but not heavy-handed. It was nice that the story was full of queer characters who embodied their queerness, but none of the plotlines (besides romance, obviously) were centered on their queerness. There were a few passing moments of homophobia but it was by no means a major element.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Violence, Murder, and Medical content
Moderate: Torture and Blood
Minor: Homophobia
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5