emmaprew's reviews
454 reviews

The Mars House by Natasha Pulley

mysterious medium-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

3.75

I really enjoyed this book at the beginning. The level of scientific detail was impressive – although I can only assume how well-researched and accurate it is, I have no idea. This book is sci-fi but very much reflects upon real world themes, such as racism, gender and refugees. I liked that. I didn’t enjoy the book quite so much as it went on but it wasn’t bad overall. Basically, I didn’t so much like a major plot point:

the ‘marriage’.

Tales of Japan: Traditional Stories of Monsters and Magic (Book of Japanese Mythology, Folk Tales from Japan) by Chronicle Books

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

3.5

I was hoping for more stories of things like oni and fox spirits but this was still an enjoyable collection. Nice illustrations for each tale also.

The Last God: Book I of the Fellspyre Chronicles by Phillip Kennedy Johnson

adventurous challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

I’m not sure if I set my hopes too high but I didn’t like this as much as I thought I would. The artwork and the overall design of the book was great but I struggled to follow the story. I didn’t really know who was who or what was going on. I think if I read it again, it would be clearer the second time around but I’m not exactly inspired to read it again…

This Is Vegan Propaganda: (And Other Lies the Meat Industry Tells You) by Ed Winters

challenging emotional hopeful informative medium-paced

4.5

I’m sorry it took me so long to read this book (and then it took me several months to finish it – I’m not great with non-fiction). I’ve been vegan for nearly five years but feel like I can always learn more. There were, understandably, some difficult sections to read in this book but they just helped to back up my thoughts on why I’m vegan. Everyone needs to read this.

The Dragon's Promise by Elizabeth Lim

adventurous mysterious medium-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? It's complicated

3.25

Felt a little bit like I was just reading this for the sake of it. It certainly had good bits but overall not that exciting or groundbreaking.

Vengeful by V.E. Schwab

dark mysterious medium-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

3.75

Not quite as good as the first book but I don’t think anything by V.E. Schwab could ever be considered bad. 

Wynd Book One: Flight of the Prince by James Tynion IV

adventurous mysterious fast-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

4.0

A promising start to the series. I’m not sure how many books there are already but I’m certainly keen to read more. This was fun. Nice artwork and colours too.

Usagi Yojimbo Saga Book 1 by Stan Sakai

adventurous mysterious 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

4.0

It was highly unlikely I wasn’t going to enjoy a graphic novel about a samurai rabbit. In fact, I enjoyed this very much – particularly for all the details of the samurai era. I learned things as well as being entertained. Great stories, great characters, great art. Would have been cool to read one of the stories in colour…

Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim

adventurous 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

3.75

That ended up being quite different to what I was expecting but I enjoyed it throughout nonetheless. The ending was maybe a bit rushed? Or maybe it’s just that I wanted to finish the last 10% in one sitting. I’ll be reading the second book soon to find out what happens next.

The Bone Shard Emperor by Andrea Stewart

adventurous mysterious medium-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? It's complicated

3.25

Considering I enjoyed the first book so much, this was a bit disappointing. It was fine but nothing special and doesn’t make me keen to read book three – I’ve bought it already so I will at some point.