dododenise's reviews
321 reviews

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

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

3.0

This really isn’t my genre so it’s not that surprising that I didn’t enjoy it that much. I felt that it was too long, there were too many clues followed, so a lot of the time it did not feel like they were moving forward. The story stirred from being realistic to quite dramatic. When things started to escalate a bit more at the halfway point and Pip took more risks I also felt more and more uncomfortable with two teens trying to solve a murder case and not involving any adults in it. And then the resolution of it all felt pretty underwhelming.
I didn’t feel like this was a bad book, I also wouldn’t say it’s a fantastic book. But I can say for sure that the book wasn’t for me. 

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My Lady's Choosing: An Interactive Romance Novel by Larissa Zageris, Kitty Curran

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emotional funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Very fun! I haven’t read one of these choose your own adventure books since primary school and it was very cool to have this concept as a romance novel.
I went with Evangeline’s path and adored it. I had a bit of a hard time getting there because I kept being nice to other people but I’m very happy where my adventure ended. I’m curious now where the other paths would’ve led me. I might discover them another time. 

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As We Fall by Anya Wildt

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

4.0

It wasn’t as good as I hoped it would be but I still really enjoyed this book. This kind of story is exactly my jam. I definitely see the captive prince inspiration throughout and that makes me especially excited for the next book. 

I’m a bit surprised by how much I enjoyed reading this book since there were quite a few things that I did not like about it. The characters needed more work, the romantic relationship lacked chemistry and interesting moments, the plot was slow moving and the mystery of it all wasn’t all that surprising. But somehow the whole package that is this book was still something I enjoyed, even if the single parts of it did not work that well. 

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Phoenix Extravagant by Yoon Ha Lee

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adventurous mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I really thought this book would get to me but sadly it never quite got there. The world building is amazing with a really intriguing magic system. I loved that the main character was nonbinary and used they/them pronouns. Everything was set up for this to blow me away. 
Where it fell flat for me were the characters and the plot. The story starts quite cosy, which was unexpected but I liked. But then the world building expanded and I saw the possibilities of a big scale plot. The story gave me hints of that, but then immediately retreated again. Most of the story stayed pretty slow paced until there were weirdly short action scenes. That change of pace was disorienting and pulled me out. 
None of the characters and their relationships were particularly interesting either. None of them grew close to my heart and their arcs weren’t enticing either.
This ended up being a great concept with an execution that fell flat for me. 
Too Like the Lightning (1 of 2) by Ada Palmer

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1.5

I have no idea what happened in this book. 
Into the Glittering Dark by Kelley York

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adventurous dark emotional tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This book took me unusually long to get through and I have a hard time putting my finger on why that is. In the beginning I really enjoyed that the book forced me to slow down. It gave me the time to really digest the delicate world building and the big cast of characters and their relationships.

At some point I wanted the plot to pick up on pace though. Not a whole lot of things happen in this book. Sometimes the plot is literally traveling back and forth. That did get a little tiring. It wasn’t that bad though, since the pages were still filled with character work and further establishing the world building. 

I can’t stop mentioning the world building because it is so intricately done. I love the magic system. The politics and people involved in it work so well together. The world felt very real very quickly. The world building was also built into the story really well. It often bothers me when a fantasy book is just a confusing mess the first 100 pages and drops all the world building on you. That isn’t what happened here. It was threaded through everything else. I was made to care about the characters and their story very quickly. 

I expected this story to be mostly about Wren and Everis. I was surprised to see chapters from so many other characters at first, but quickly got into it. This story is first and foremost about political intrigue and betrayal. It’s not a romance, although the love the characters feel informs all their choices. 

Overall I really enjoyed this book, with amazing world building, characters, and relationships.

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Infinity Son by Adam Silvera

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 60%.
I really tried but I can’t get into it. I’d rather spend my time reading a book I enjoy reading. 
Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, Vol. 1 by Kanehito Yamada, Tsukasa Abe

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3.5

It’s a nice story but not really my cup of tea.