desiree_reads's reviews
383 reviews

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

adventurous dark informative 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

2nd Read (Audiobook):

2☆ Review:

Coriolanus Snow is a bitch.

1st Read (Physical):

2☆ Review:

I hate to give this book such a low star review, but I tried so hard to love it. The Hunger Games is an amazing series and when I heard that we were getting a novel about President Snow, I was certainly intrigued.

However, this book really fell flat for me and took me so long to read because I wasn’t truly enjoying it.

I didn’t feel connected to a single character, especially not Snow. The closest I got was Sejanus. 

I guess Snow being so cruel is the point, right? Since he is the villain in our original trilogy and this book surely made me dislike him even more. 

The “romance” felt rushed and false. None of it ever felt real because of Snow’s unlikeable personality.

On a more positive note, I did enjoy learning the origins of many things in the series, such as The Hanging Tree song.  It was also interesting to see how the games had begun so weakly, with no one being interested in them and it having such terrible conditions. It really shows how the years changed it and I did find that fascinating.

But overall, I’m sad to say that I give this book a 2 star rating.

Goodbye, My Rose Garden, Vol. 3 by Dr. Pepperco

emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

3☆ Review:

Am I crazy for saying that I wish the ending had been more tragic? This whole series has felt like a lead up to a sad/bittersweet ending, but instead it ended like that? I love a happy ending and it still could have been done, but in a different way. I feel like this ending was far too rushed. 

But as a whole, this is a really good series! 

The Ordeal of Being Known by louisfake

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

For non-book records, review text and ratings are hidden. Only mood, pace, and content warnings are visible.

A Soul to Revive by Opal Reyne

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense slow-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

4.0

4☆ Review:

“𝑯𝒆’𝒔 𝒂 𝑫𝒖𝒔𝒌𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒌𝒆𝒓. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒏’𝒕 𝒃𝒆 𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒄𝒌. 𝑶𝒉, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔.”

I hadn’t realized it had been over a year since I’d read A Soul to Guide, but I’m so happy to have jumped back into this world. While I started this one 5 months ago (I hit a big reading slump this year), I still thoroughly enjoyed it.

I love Ingram and I love Emerie.

I will say, this book was so sad from start to end. Ingram and Emerie just couldn’t catch a break. 

The world-building in this series and how everything is intertwined is done so smoothly, I just can’t get enough of it.

I can’t wait to read the next one. 

Goodbye, My Rose Garden, Vol. 2 by Dr. Pepperco

emotional hopeful reflective 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

4☆ Review:

The slow burn is burning

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-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? It's complicated

5.0

5☆ Review:

“𝑨𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆?”

“𝑨𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔.”

I loved this.

Goodbye, My Rose Garden, Vol. 1 by Dr. Pepperco

mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

4☆ Review:

“𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝒎𝒚 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒆.”

A Victorian Sapphic Romance. Need I say more?

Body Complex by RECK, Dell studio

dark emotional hopeful inspiring medium-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

4.0

4☆ Review:

While the ending is a bit rushed, the story as a whole was really good! 

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling

adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad 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

4.0

4☆ Review:

“𝑫𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒅𝒐𝒓𝒆'𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉, 𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒏'𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝑷𝒐𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓?”

"𝒀𝒆𝒂𝒉 𝑰 𝒂𝒎.”

Shit got real. 

(Is it wrong of me to still like Snape & Draco? Don’t answer that.)

Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: Mo Dao Zu Shi (Novel) Vol. 5 by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny lighthearted reflective sad 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

4.0

4☆ Review:

“𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒐 𝒐𝒏 𝑵𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝑯𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒚 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆.”

What a great wrap up to an amazing story. 

I love these two and I’m sad to have reached the end. 

More than half of this final volume is extra’s while the main story ends on page 187. Even so, I loved it. The extra’s were a fun mix of experiences. 

“𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒅𝒂𝒚.”

And he meant that.

I’ll continue to consume this story in any form I can get it. Live action, animated, novel. Now I just need to read the manhua to complete every form.

P.S. Please ignore the fact that it took me nearly 5 months to finish this, I was in a terrible reading slump.