emmaprew's reviews
544 reviews

Jade Shards by Fonda Lee

dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

3.75

So good to have more stories from the main characters of the Green Bone saga. I especially enjoyed the first two stories, since they also featured Andan who was my fave from the main books. But all the stories were good and offered some excellent prequels for the character’s main appearances.

Dreamer's Nightmare by Nicole Andelfinger

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious 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? No

3.25

Another sweet little Dragon Prince story.

The Adventure Zone: Here There Be Gerblins by Griffin McElroy, Clint McElroy, Carey Pietsch, Travis McElroy, Justin McElroy

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

I’ve had the DND podcast that this graphic novel is based on on my radar for a while now and hadn’t ever got around to listening to it. A friend lent me this book thought and I thought I may as well give it a go. A great read it turned out to be! Very silly and funny in parts. I like that the DM was included with mentions of dice rolls and such occasionally. But it was also just a good story. 

Dragonsteel Prime by Brandon Sanderson

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

3.5

For a long time I was very skeptical about reading this (due to it being so old and so non-canon), but when I got the audiobook as part of Sanderson’s latest kickstarter I figured I might as well give it a go. And I’m glad it did. Sure, the bits that turned into Stormlight are much better in a Stormlight than in this book, but there was plenty of other stuff going on. Ryalla and Topaz (Hoid) were fun characters in their own ways. I’d easily read more of this. Especially when it’s brought inline with today’s Cosmere. 

In Real Life by Cory Doctorow

adventurous emotional reflective 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? Yes

4.5

Absolutely did not expect this book to be so thought-provoking. I’m not much of a gamer, and certainly not an online gamer with real people,  but even so the themes of this book hit home. I’m going to be thinking about this one for a while. Really lovely artwork too and the world within the game, Coarsegold, did look very enticing.

Kaya, Book 1 by Wes Craig

adventurous emotional 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

4.5

I was a little uncertain how much I’d like this when I first started it, but I was quickly hooked in. The artwork is really, really great. I really enjoyed the different races and general character depictions throughout. The worldbuilding was good. The story was well paced and ended with a cliffhanger that really makes me what to get the next book.

Young Hag by Isabel Greenberg

adventurous lighthearted 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? No

3.25

Another book I bought just because I saw it and thought ‘That looks like something I’d enjoy.’ Loved the colours, shapes and creativity with the flow of pages throughout. I like that it’s a reimagining of the King Arthur / Merlin tale but with the emphasis on female characters. Young Hag herself was fun. Only realised when reading the author bio at the back of the book that the author has some more famous (award-winning?) books that I should probably check out too.

Birdking Volume 1 by Daniel Freedman

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

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

3.5

The artwork and the colours in this are excellent. The panels are dynamic and there’s some great lettering for all the action words. Really, really good visually. The story itself didn’t wow or overly grip me but it also feels like it’s only just getting started (even though there were 7 chapters) so maybe I just need to read more.

The Fox Maidens by Robin Ha

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

3.75

I picked this book up on a whim because it looked like something I would enjoy. And I did. Although it didn’t wow me. I liked how colourful it was throughout, with different colour palettes for different scenes and settings. The front cover was a bit misleading as I feel like Sura wasn’t really in that much of the book, which was a shame. Overall, interesting story. I’ve read a lot of Japanese and Chinese folklore inspired stories but not a lot of Korean so this was great for that reason.

Critical Role: Bells Hells — What Doesn't Break by Cassandra Khaw

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.75

I wish I could have Robbie Daymond read me all of my books… I haven’t read any of the author’s other books but I didn’t overly vibe with the style of writing here. I’m not exactly sure what it was about it as I’d usually love anything Critical Role. Bits were really good – the beginning and the epilogue, for sure – but I didn’t love this as much as I thought I would. Some chapters were a bit boring. Which feels wrong to say, as Launda’s definitely been through a lot – it’s not her fault she spent a lot of time alone. I read another review that mentioned this could have been a tighter novella and I’d have to agree. Either that, or cut some of the middle of this book and include more with Imogen at the end!