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demetria_books01's reviews
271 reviews
Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
That Time I Got Drunk and Yeeted a Love Potion at a Werewolf by Kimberly Lemming
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Bride by Ali Hazelwood
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Oh, that was glorious!
God, I haven't read a romance this good since 'Seven Days in June'. It was beautifully written, with great and valuable quotes on every single page! The plot was incredibly captivating, I could not put this book down and that really means something because I LOVE reading bunch of books at the same time and switch them around during the day.
Honestly I don't know how to write this review. I'm filled with so many emotions because of 'The dead romantics', I'm genuinely speechless! I think I will give up on trying to make this review all proper and I'll just tell you all what this book did to me.
The thing is, this is not just a love story between a girl who believes true love does not exist, at least for her and a dead guy who's heart has been broken in million pieces and who believes it's all his fault. This book is more than that. It's a story about living in fear, with protective barriers around your heart and learning how to break these walls and let people who love you in. It's a story about putting behind all the demons of the past and the traumas we carry throughout life. It's about learning how to say goodbye to people and dealing with all the 'what if's and regrets we have about doing or not doing something when they were still with us. It's about learning to ask for help when we need it and realising that doing that doesn't make us weak. It's about feeling understood.
Gods, it's a story about love! Love, so deep and true and honest. Love between siblings and parents and two people who desperately need it but are scared of risking it all for it. It's also a story about death and its sadness and unfairness of it but mainly about the wonderful people and things that stay when we're gone.
Not gonna lie, this book really moved me. I'm not scared of death but I am scared of losing the people I love. I am scared of all the 'what if's and all the 'could have, should have, would have's that I'm left with when they leave. I think this book healed a part of that fear of mine, helped me reflect on it a bit more and realise that although death is inevitable it's not something we should fear. There were many quotes in this book that really gripped my heart and made me tear up because of how understood I felt. How much I could relate to Florence- the main character but also to every other character- Benji, Alice, their mom... Their relationships really spoke to me because of how similar they were in many aspects to my relationship with my family, with my mama and my sister. Their misunderstandings, their deep love, their hardships and regrets.
The ending of this book absolutely destroyed me. It was incredibly emotional and I think the resolutions of the main plot and subplot were so well-thought! Honestly, I found this book deeply cathartic.
Before I finish this review I just wanted to give you two of the quotes I found the most moving.
'Standing there in the middle of the dandelion field, looking up into Ben's soft ocher eyes, I began to realize that love wasn't dead, but it wasn't forever, either. It was something in between, a moment in time where two people existed at the exact same moment in the exact same place in the universe. I still believed in that -I saw it in my parents, in my siblings, in Rose's unabashed one-night stands looking for some peace. It was why I kept searching for it, heartbreak after heartbreak. It wasn't because I needed to find out that love existed-of course it did--but it was the hope that I'd find it. That I was an exception to a rule I'd made up in my head.
Love wasn't a whisper in the quiet night.
It was a yelp into the void, screaming that you were here.'
'I wanted to fold myself into his sharp angles and stay there. Exist there.
Because there--there I was sure I wouldn't fall apart, I wouldn't disassemble, I wouldn't feel broken.
Not because I couldn't exist on my own, but sometimes I just didn't want to.
Sometimes I just wanted to let my guard down, let the pieces of me fall to the ground, and know that I had someone there who could put me back together without minding the sharp
bits.'
This book was incredible and I think everyone should read it, even if you're not fans of romance because this book is just so much more than that.
God, I haven't read a romance this good since 'Seven Days in June'. It was beautifully written, with great and valuable quotes on every single page! The plot was incredibly captivating, I could not put this book down and that really means something because I LOVE reading bunch of books at the same time and switch them around during the day.
Honestly I don't know how to write this review. I'm filled with so many emotions because of 'The dead romantics', I'm genuinely speechless! I think I will give up on trying to make this review all proper and I'll just tell you all what this book did to me.
The thing is, this is not just a love story between a girl who believes true love does not exist, at least for her and a dead guy who's heart has been broken in million pieces and who believes it's all his fault. This book is more than that. It's a story about living in fear, with protective barriers around your heart and learning how to break these walls and let people who love you in. It's a story about putting behind all the demons of the past and the traumas we carry throughout life. It's about learning how to say goodbye to people and dealing with all the 'what if's and regrets we have about doing or not doing something when they were still with us. It's about learning to ask for help when we need it and realising that doing that doesn't make us weak. It's about feeling understood.
Gods, it's a story about love! Love, so deep and true and honest. Love between siblings and parents and two people who desperately need it but are scared of risking it all for it. It's also a story about death and its sadness and unfairness of it but mainly about the wonderful people and things that stay when we're gone.
Not gonna lie, this book really moved me. I'm not scared of death but I am scared of losing the people I love. I am scared of all the 'what if's and all the 'could have, should have, would have's that I'm left with when they leave. I think this book healed a part of that fear of mine, helped me reflect on it a bit more and realise that although death is inevitable it's not something we should fear. There were many quotes in this book that really gripped my heart and made me tear up because of how understood I felt. How much I could relate to Florence- the main character but also to every other character- Benji, Alice, their mom... Their relationships really spoke to me because of how similar they were in many aspects to my relationship with my family, with my mama and my sister. Their misunderstandings, their deep love, their hardships and regrets.
The ending of this book absolutely destroyed me. It was incredibly emotional and I think the resolutions of the main plot and subplot were so well-thought! Honestly, I found this book deeply cathartic.
Before I finish this review I just wanted to give you two of the quotes I found the most moving.
'Standing there in the middle of the dandelion field, looking up into Ben's soft ocher eyes, I began to realize that love wasn't dead, but it wasn't forever, either. It was something in between, a moment in time where two people existed at the exact same moment in the exact same place in the universe. I still believed in that -I saw it in my parents, in my siblings, in Rose's unabashed one-night stands looking for some peace. It was why I kept searching for it, heartbreak after heartbreak. It wasn't because I needed to find out that love existed-of course it did--but it was the hope that I'd find it. That I was an exception to a rule I'd made up in my head.
Love wasn't a whisper in the quiet night.
It was a yelp into the void, screaming that you were here.'
'I wanted to fold myself into his sharp angles and stay there. Exist there.
Because there--there I was sure I wouldn't fall apart, I wouldn't disassemble, I wouldn't feel broken.
Not because I couldn't exist on my own, but sometimes I just didn't want to.
Sometimes I just wanted to let my guard down, let the pieces of me fall to the ground, and know that I had someone there who could put me back together without minding the sharp
bits.'
This book was incredible and I think everyone should read it, even if you're not fans of romance because this book is just so much more than that.
The Big Ones: How Natural Disasters Have Shaped Us and What We Can Do about Them by Lucy Jones
challenging
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
4.75
The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Right, this is not gonna be the five star review I expected I was gonna write but oh well, we live.
I had fun. Let's start with that. I had a lot of fun with this mysterious, spellbinding, filled with ancient Mexican mythology- inspired dioses and semidioses book! I speed-run through 'The Sunbearer Trials' and it felt great! I felt bad for Xio, cheered for Niya, hoped for the best/ worse for other characters and just enjoyed the ride along with Teo knowing, that he's gonna go from the underdog to a badass with the coolest wings. He was the main character after all.
Right, this book was great! There is nothing very negative I can say about it and that is my biggest problem. The writing style of Aidan Thomas is amazing, it made this book really captivating and entertaining. The characters were well-developed and interesting and I wanted to know more about each and every one of them. Where then lies the problem?
The plot is the problem. This book was, unfortunately, incredibly similar to The Hunger Games, Percy Jackson and bunch of other teenagers-have-to-fight-for-their-lives books I've read over the years. It just felt very repetitive and even though the plot was interesting, every few pages I found myself thinking 'I've seen this before'. This really bothered me because I love books with mythologies from all over the world and I love Aiden Thomas as an author!
I was also really not into the whole Teo-Aurelio potential romance thing. I LOVED the diverse representation though!
Don't get me wrong, I will still most likely read the second book in this series because I do want to know where will this story go from here but Gods, I do hope 'The Celestial Monsters' will be a bit more original.
Wow, I feel like I committed a crime by writing this. Okay, just to conclude: book is fun, characters are great, plot is ish-okay but a bit too repetitive but I will still read the second book because Aiden Thomas ROCKS!
I had fun. Let's start with that. I had a lot of fun with this mysterious, spellbinding, filled with ancient Mexican mythology- inspired dioses and semidioses book! I speed-run through 'The Sunbearer Trials' and it felt great! I felt bad for Xio, cheered for Niya, hoped for the best/ worse for other characters and just enjoyed the ride along with Teo knowing, that he's gonna go from the underdog to a badass with the coolest wings. He was the main character after all.
Right, this book was great! There is nothing very negative I can say about it and that is my biggest problem. The writing style of Aidan Thomas is amazing, it made this book really captivating and entertaining. The characters were well-developed and interesting and I wanted to know more about each and every one of them. Where then lies the problem?
The plot is the problem. This book was, unfortunately, incredibly similar to The Hunger Games, Percy Jackson and bunch of other teenagers-have-to-fight-for-their-lives books I've read over the years. It just felt very repetitive and even though the plot was interesting, every few pages I found myself thinking 'I've seen this before'. This really bothered me because I love books with mythologies from all over the world and I love Aiden Thomas as an author!
I was also really not into the whole Teo-Aurelio potential romance thing. I LOVED the diverse representation though!
Don't get me wrong, I will still most likely read the second book in this series because I do want to know where will this story go from here but Gods, I do hope 'The Celestial Monsters' will be a bit more original.
Wow, I feel like I committed a crime by writing this. Okay, just to conclude: book is fun, characters are great, plot is ish-okay but a bit too repetitive but I will still read the second book because Aiden Thomas ROCKS!
Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor by Xiran Jay Zhao
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Timberdark by Darren Charlton
Did not finish book. Stopped at 30%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 30%.
I’ve never been more disappointed in my life. This book was a complete mess, the plot was just insanely boring, dialogues dry and just badly written and the fact that the author was jumping from scene to scene like a freaking kangaroo was just making this book awfully confusing. Even the relationship between the main characters, which I loved in the first book, was just so, so bad. The moment I realised the plot is gonna be based on these two just refusing to talk to each other I mentally couldn’t push through any more pages.
Nonetheless, thank you NetGalley for this arc and apologies for reviewing it so late.
Nonetheless, thank you NetGalley for this arc and apologies for reviewing it so late.
Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5