claudcloud's reviews
262 reviews

The Foxhole Court by Nora Sakavic

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

No words. No words!!! I shouldn't have loved this as much as I did (because it absolutely has its issues), but I am officially and fully on board of this train??!?!?!?

Neil Josten I will protect you with my life!

Cheer Up! Love and Pompoms by Crystal Frasier

emotional informative inspiring reflective 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

3.5

I wanted more!!! This is always my main problem with graphic novels, since I barely get into the story and the characters before it's over - but that being said, this was so, so sweet and I really liked our two main characters and their dynamic!

The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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? It's complicated

3.5

 This will be fine. I have a foolproof game plan: 1. Find a new best friend. 2. Don’t be gay about it. 

YA contemporary that is queer and heartfelt and full of love is still my very favorite 🥺

Bunny by Mona Awad

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I was talking to my mom about this book as I was reading it, and told her, 'this is the kind of book where you finish it, and then you go and look up video essays/reviews/blog posts on it because you have absolutely no idea what's just happened and what you just read'. I firmly stand on that statement.

4 stars!!!!!

A Curse for True Love by Stephanie Garber

hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

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

2.75

Having now completed the entire series... I'm not sure why, but I was expecting much more. Instead, all we got is little to no evolution from the first installment, both in terms of plot and writing and in terms of the actual characters themselves.

This is definitely on the younger, more juvenile side of YA, so I should have known that big questions would remain unanswered (why and how can Evangeline use her blood to open locks? What turned Apollo into a lovesick murderer when his one defining trait in the first book was that he would never take a bride? Surely the remnants of the curse wouldn't have been enough to completely change him in this way?? Marisol, Tiberius, Luc, everyone who was mentioned once and then never popped up again? How are Evangeline and Jacks going to deal with the fact that one of them is a literal immortal being???) and that everything would be awfully convenient (Evangeline regaining her memories just like that? Apollo's whole storyline being wrapped up in a few paragraphs? Deus Ex Machina over Deus Ex Machina?). The saving grace of this series is that it brings back the nostalgia of fairytales, as I've mentioned in my review for 'OUABH' - but unfortunately, it doesn't have much else going for it.

Would I still recommend it if 1. you're very young, or 2. you're willing to overlook all these aspects and are just looking for escapism? Sure! But for me, this was very, very mid.

The Ballad of Never After by Stephanie Garber

adventurous emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.5

What in the hell was that ending, miss Stephanie Garber!!!!!!

As tropey as this series has been, I can't deny that I'm kind of eating all of it up... Very excited to get to the last installment and the happily (?) ever after!

Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber

mysterious relaxing fast-paced

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

3.0

If you, like me, are aching to re-live your childhood and dive into a book that will bring back the nostalgia of the fairy-tales you grew up loving, then this would be the choice!

Unfortunately, it does kind of read like a fairy-tale, too - the pacing is extremely confusing and info-dumpy at times, the characters are not quite as developed as I'd like them to be (and Evangeline is simply your run-of-the-mill hopeless romantic, borderline naive protagonist), and the plot is rather predictable.

That being said, am I still going to continue with this series - because I am genuinely curious to see where Garber takes it and because she's managed to make me love Jacks? Yes. Absolutely I will. Bring on the fated love stories and happy (?) endings!

Tales from the Café by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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? No

3.5

I needed a short and sweet audiobook for my year-long reading challenge, and, on a whim, I decided to give the next installment in this series a shot - and I don't regret doing so!

I expected to have way more trouble with it than I did, considering my experience with Before the Coffee Gets Cold, but surprisingly, going directly to audio works in its favor! I liked the stories in this volume way more, I felt much much more for the characters,

and I will fight for Kazu Tokita's happiness as long as I live!

Descendant of the Crane by Joan He

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

Now that I've read this and knowing what I know about what the book's been through - I'm more convinced than ever that it absolutely deserves to be on shelves for as long as possible!

Such a compelling story (I haven't felt this much intrigue in a long, long time), such compelling characters (I can gush about every single one of them at length), such a beautiful setting, and such a brilliant exploration into both how power can go wrong so easily, as well as what it is to be powerless.

I will absolutely be picking up more from Joan He!

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

I wholeheartedly agree with some other reviews I've read of this where they mention how 'Yellowface' could have been more of an incisive critique of the publishing industry, instead of a book that mainly calls out cancel culture and Twitter mobs. But damn if it wasn't still good as hell!!

If I was half as delusional and self-absorbed as June Hayward, I would maybe finally be able to make something of myself. Unfortunately for me, I've elected to be a good fucking person instead.