eeeeeeee's reviews
216 reviews

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

adventurous lighthearted fast-paced

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

3.0

This was just okay to me.  I liked the premise - I love a good conceit, and I've read other journal / fieldwork notebook type things before - but this just didn't pull me in the way I wanted it to.  I don't know if it was overhyped or what.  I won't be reading further in the series, even though there's interesting world building and science/magic systems, which are things I usually like! 

Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.0

I enjoyed this book a lot!  I was just thinking I didn't really like YA but this kept me engaged and didn't feel like I was reading something "dumbed down" or anything like that.  The magic system makes sense so far, the characters are fun, and there's a good sense of mystery.  There's weird bits of fatphobia but not enough to make me put down the book.

Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe

challenging dark informative sad slow-paced

2.5

I learned a lot from this book but I didn't find it enjoyable in the least.  I can't really say why - maybe because it was audio? - but it wasn't engaging to me.  I don't know what I expected.

Stronghold by Melanie Rawn

adventurous challenging tense medium-paced

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

3.5

This is I think the worst book of the two trilogies but the last 10 pages are still breathtaking.  Slogged through it to get to the last book but this remains my favorite fantasy series!

Long Island Compromise by Taffy Brodesser-Akner

dark funny 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

4.0

This was a fun family drama, although a little heavy handed at times about "money destroys you" - I don't think it needed to be explicitly said so often - but I enjoyed it overall!  I found the through line of the dybbuk to be quite interesting, an aspect of Jewish culture I'm not familiar with but the author does a good job of showing how a religious myth can really affect you (something I see in Christianity but I'm not familiar with in other religions).

This Earth of Mankind by Pramoedya Ananta Toer

challenging sad tense slow-paced

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

2.0

I did not enjoy this book and if I weren't reading it for Storygraph Read the World I would DNF it.  However after reading the Afterword I got a better sense of it's place in world literature; I recommend reading it first (no spoilers are in it).  Here are some quotes:

"Even if for only a moment and only a little, everyone has been happy."

"Once in their lives people must take a stand.  IF not, they will never become anything."

"Everyone has been judged good or bad by a third party at some time or other."

"The older we become the more complex becomes this life which confronts us, so the more courageous we must be in facing it."

Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-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

If you can ignore all of the misogyny it's an ok book.  My first litrpg, it was interesting to experience, it kept me engaged, but the author clearly has a woman problem and so I won't be continuing the series.

The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

I wanted this book to be scarier than it was but overall I enjoyed it.  Interesting to learn more about the elk mythology through the book.  Lewis was my favorite section.

Hungry Hearts: 13 Tales of Food & Love by Elsie Chapman
Did not finish book. Stopped at 9%.

A little too YA for my taste

Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club by J. Ryan Stradal
Did not finish book. Stopped at 33%.

This is marketed as a feel good book and it's actually about miscarriage and child loss.  Not cool.