crusoe's reviews
178 reviews

Rising Storm by Erin Hunter

challenging dark sad fast-paced

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

3.5

One of the more depressing installments of this series, truly. Not only is fireheart dealing with the loas of his best friend but he soon comes to take on the responsibility for the entire clan as the once so strong Bluestar loses all hope after Tigerclaw's betrayal. It starts really slow and bleak, and ends really fast and bleak with a killer cliffhanger. I did not like fireheart as much in this novel but that's because of the recent tragedies and pressure he is under. 

Forest of Secrets by Erin Hunter

adventurous dark emotional fast-paced

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

4.0

Many years after first reading it, the ending of the book still gives me chills! The book starts of slow but it builds up to a point where the events we've been building up to suddenly accelerate and everything comes to a crescendo. In terms of its pay-off, this is one of the better books in series 1. 

Unravelling by Preethi Nair

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

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

3.5

I got a digital copy of this book from a storygraph giveaway, so thanks! 

This isn't a book I would normally pick up so it will possibly hit harder if you enjoy deep personal stories with a touch or harsh reality. Bhanu's motivations are complex but throughout her story you start to understand why she made the choices she has made. Ultimately, what brings her happiness is not being with Deep but what it has represented; the ability to choose happiness and to gain back her agency. 

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

challenging emotional reflective 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? Yes

4.5

The seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo is an absolutely brilliant book. It's just not the genre for me which made it difficult to connect with the characters. I love how it sets out Evelyn's life and shows how complicated a life can be. 

Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

emotional funny hopeful 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

5.0

RWRB is the best of the best in its genre and I can't believe it took me so long to finally get to it. The banter is brilliant, the stakes higher than the empire state building and the characters are lovely and lovely complex. 

I have two small gripes: 1. In the beginning, I got confused about who is saying what occasionally because speech is interspersed with actions by other characters. 2. I'm so damn mad that this is not the timeline we're living in. Instead of having our first female president, we're stuck for a second term with a right wing predator. Both of those can't stop me from Rating this book 5☆. 

Wat wij zagen by Hanna Bervoets

challenging dark tense fast-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

3.0

Prima verhaal maar niet heel spectaculair. Ik vond het mysterie van het ergste dat de hoofdpersoon zelf gezien heeft en hoe het inspeelt op haar verergerende mentale toestand wel spannend. Vooral ook omdat ze een onbetrouwbare verteller is. 

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-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? No

4.0

Once you accept that Ready Player One is a book that was best enjoyed by nerdy, millennial, teen boys, it starts to become way more fun to read.

The writing isn't perfect and Wade being extremely overpowered is a disastrous recipe for shattering your suspension of disbelief. However, if you manage to turn your brain off long enough to get immersed in the apocalyptic world, you'll find a great story full of fun twists, sinister capitalistic villains to be beaten, nuggets of great speculative fiction and a nerdy quest that keeps you on the edge of your seat.

P.S. I'm of the rare opinion that this book isn't sexist. The world is, sure, because it's a worse version of our own, but both Aech and Art3mis are well-rounded characters (even if art3mis mirrors the manic pixie dreamgirl trope). Once you accept that Wade has a POV that is hella biased because he's a very horny teenage boy who is experiencing a first crush, this starts to make sense. 

WildSpark by Vashti Hardy

adventurous emotional lighthearted reflective 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

4.25

The personifate remind me a little of the Daemons from His Dark Materials and I would say the world-building is about as good as well! While the characters occasionally fall into stereotype (especially Cora), their relationships are endearing. 

The world-building is definitely it's strongest part: this book could've been an instant classic if the story had been just a tad sharper, a tad cleverer. I was fully expecting

Edwin to be Prue's brother since it was unclear at the beginning whether souls take their original voice and there were some plotpoints that hinted at it

I think what ended up happening was a better way to deal with the topic of grief and letting go but I was disappointed that the plottwists that did happen were only very lightly hinted at. 

The clear inspiration

(wendigoos)

behind the villainous personifate machines at the end also makes me take my rating down. 

That said, I did enjoy this book. It was a very comforting read and it's great to give to fantasy loving middleschool kids. 

She Gets the Girl by Alyson Derrick, Rachael Lippincott

funny hopeful lighthearted 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

3.5

I finished she gets the girl in a day; these chapters are like eating popcorn, it's hard to stop! 

I think books by this author fall into the same category as Albertalli books in the sense that they're very comforting to read but not all that deep. The main characters were cute, I liked their character development and the activities they take on together but I do think their romance went from slowburn friendship to head over heels rather fast near the end. All in all, a nice read!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism and Toxic relationship

Winter's Orbit by Everina Maxwell
Did not finish book. Stopped at 42%.

I really wanted to like this book, and truly it's not bad but I had a hard time getting invested in the characters and story. That's why I'm dropping it. 

I like sci-fi, I like romance, but I don't think these aspects of the story lift each other up and the marketing was more focused on the romance which ended up taking a backseat to the sci-fi and mystery. 

I like Kiem's and Jainan's characterization and their dynamic is okay but seeing Kiem go out of his way for Jainan only for Jainan to read this as him causing trouble for Kiem was extremely frustrating. The world-building also just did not speak to me much and I had a hard time keeping track of all the important side characters.