emilywemily6's reviews
346 reviews

House of Frank by Kay Synclaire

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

2.75

I think I’m not the right audience for this book. It was slow and very grief focused, in a way that dampened the rest of the plot and characters. The main character was really unlikable and I often got frustrated by her choices because they disregarded the desires of others. I didn’t connect with her experience of grief so I had a hard time forgiving her of her personal faults. I know grief can do strange things to people but I had a hard time getting invested in this character. The side characters were all interesting, but their backstories were very short and simple; I would have loved more nuance and detail. I didn’t really like the romance because I couldn’t see why the two characters liked each other, though the sexual tension/flirtation was there. I wish the magic of the star had been a more prominent and lore-driven part of the story. The main character was very much in her head about her grief which I didn’t really like reading about. Talking to her sister (calling her Fi, you, etc.) made it a little clunky to read. My Libby ebook hold ran out 100 pages from the end and if I didn’t already have a copy of this book, I would have DNFed it. I think if you are looking for a book about all encompassing grief in a fantasy world without the worldbuilding of a fantasy world, this could be your book. This didn’t resonate with me as much as I hoped.
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Where the Library Hides by Isabel Ibañez

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adventurous emotional tense medium-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? It's complicated

3.5

While I enjoyed this duology as a whole and especially enjoyed the premise, this book fell a little flat. Whit's deception (and subsequent betrayal) was huge but was forgiven too quickly. It made it hard to forgive or understand Whit myself because I was still so confused at his decisions and her decision to forgive him. I was really engaged in this book for the first 30% and then my interest waned because of this. It also felt like we kept having family members revealed throughout the book, so the trope from the first book got really old. The plot twists felt contrived as a result. In general I liked the setting and the characters, but some parts of the writing took me out of the story and weren't satisfying. And again, not enough magic, but there was more intentional magic in this book than the first, which is good. Inez needs therapy bad though.
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Holiday Romance by Catherine Walsh

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

4.5

I loved this book, but I definitely stalled out reading it halfway through, and I think it's because this isn't a five star read even though I thought it was at the time. While the first half of the story involves the main characters traipsing across the world to get home for Christmas, the middle of the story really slowed down. The romantic tension was a little bit light and the story overall felt extremely realistic, but almost in a bland way. I adored the flashback scenes and seeing the relationship grow. I loved these two characters and I loved their relationship too, but I would have liked more acknowledgement on her part (since we see things through her POV) of some sexual tension build up over time. The final conflict at the end of the book was a good fit for the couple but resolved a little too quickly. I am excited to read more by this author because the characters are flawed but so lovable and the journey of this story was so fun to go on during the holidays. I always love a friends to lovers. The spicy scenes were fun and friendly more than sexy, which I loved.
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The Thirteenth Child by Erin A. Craig

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

4.25

In general, I really liked this book. The dark fairytale/gothic vibes were there but not oppressive like other books, which fit my mood well. I liked Hazel as a character and found her backstory and relationship with the God of Death fascinating- such a cool premise for a story! I too had no idea how she was going to get out of the situation she was in for most of the book, though at a certain point the path ahead became obvious. This added to the tension of the story. I didn't really like the romance between Hazel and Leopold because it went from strangers antagonizing each other to true love really fast with only a couple interactions in between. I would have liked this book better if the romance was not included. I also got frustrated by Hazel's repeated poor choices (as in, making the same poor choice more than once), though as a teenager I guess that's understandable. Hazel's own internal struggle against ending lives that are destined to end (to put people out of their misery) was not one I connected to since she could ease their suffering and not try to prolong their life.
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Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious tense medium-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? Yes

4.5

I think I liked this book as much as Fourth Wing! I felt like while we got a ton of answers, this book went farther into the lore/plot than a lot of people predicted, which makes it hard to predict how the rest of the series is gonna look. I got a bit frustrated that, unlike the other books, lots of plans were made off page and the reader was not made aware of what Violet was doing or even why she was doing it for chapters on end. It made certain sections of this book really hard to follow, though on rereads I think it will get easier. I also feel like her foreshadowing was really blunt in this book and made me want to just have all the answers now. I'm on Rebecca's team, I like Dain actually (maybe I see a bit of myself in him?). The ending made me angry, but it a good way (lol). I am so excited for the rest of the series whenever it comes.
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Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

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dark informative reflective tense medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

Wow this was amazing. This book looks at the human condition and balanced both a dystopian world and our own current political climate to teach about the injustices of the prison system in the US and the systemic racism found there. I learned a lot of actual data and saw the implications of that data in this dystopian world. While I didn't relate to any of the characters particularly, I felt deeply connected to them as human beings and the choices they had made to get where they were in the story. Everyone needs to read this book.
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The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson

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adventurous hopeful 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

4.5

This book was pretty slow except for the last 200 pages, which made it a little hard to get through. I still thoroughly enjoyed it and found it different enough from the first book that it kept me interested in where the story was going. This book focuses more on character development/the relationship between Vin and Elend than the last book. There is a heavy dose of politics thrown in too. The story felt a little stagnant when Elend and friends were in the city waiting to be attacked and Vin was going through a lot of personal growth, but I ultimately enjoyed both aspects of the story. I just wanted the pacing sped up a little bit for the middle of the book. The ending was intense and I cried about a dear character, and the impending doom left at the end of the book leading in to book 3 was unexpected but also not entirely out of nowhere. I am so excited to pick the next book up!
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Icebreaker by Hannah Grace

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funny lighthearted tense medium-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

3.5

I was looking for a fluffy romance and this delivered. The book was too long but felt like a semi-realistic chain of events, especially regarding Aaron. I was a little frustrated by the FMC’s commitment to her skating partnership, especially since she was acknowledging how toxic Aaron could be. Sometimes she was kind of immature and then she was super emotionally mature the rest of the book. The MMC’s characterization was a little flat too, like he was made out to be the perfect protective book boyfriend. The ending was a far stretch too. But in general I enjoyed the characters, the side characters, the general happenings of the book. I will definitely read more in the series when I want another fluffy romance!
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A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas

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

3.75

Ugh this book felt so long. And while Nesta grows on you in this book, I still really hate her for how caustic she was for 85% of this series. While there is a plot, the focus of this book is Nesta’s growth and her relationship with Cassian. The second half of the book moved faster than the first half since Nesta was no longer insufferable. The story was a little predictable but overall a decent read. I wish there were more details on the three magical objects made by the cauldron, since it definitely took a back seat to Nesta’s inner turmoil. The climax of the story felt a bit rushed too, with an easy out.
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Stranger Skies by Pascale Lacelle

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.25

This book had me hooked from the beginning! The middle third was a little slow, especially since it wasn’t clear where the story was going. Romie was more annoying than Emory in this book. I wish we got more character depth in our side characters that popped into the story. I also feel like the magic/folklore aspect got a bit too complicated and detailed, to the point that I’m still not quite sure how it all fits together. This series definitely needed to be 3 books instead of 2. I’m excited to read the next book whenever it comes out. 
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