emshobbies_'s reviews
183 reviews

Animal Farm by George Orwell

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

I’ve never been the biggest fan of books that are considered “classics”, mainly because they were always recommended reading at secondary school and I never ended up reading them. I bought this one when I was in secondary school with the intention of reading it because of how short it was but never got around to it. I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would, and it definitely continues to parallel the world today as much as it did when it was first published.

Am I Alone in Thinking...?: Unpublished Letters to the Daily Telegraph by Iain Hollingshead

funny informative lighthearted reflective slow-paced

3.0

I got this book at a charity book sale for 50p as the cover caught my eye, and I liked how the format was lots of little chunks of writing rather than the usual big chunks. Having never read a book like this before, I was unsure about whether it was going to be my type of thing. I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would and I found it really interesting! I’m studying English Language and I often found myself applying things we’ve spoken about in lessons to the letters I was reading at that point. The wide range of views were fascinating to me and I ended up tabbing ones that I found funny, interesting, or just downright bizarre. I’m really glad that I picked this up!

Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad 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

4.5

I adore everything Nicola Yoon writes and this was no exception! I was a bit hesitant going into it as I had let it marinate on my TBR for a good few years because I was afraid that I wouldn’t love it as much as I loved Everything, Everything and The Sun Is Also A Star (because I had read those at the start of my teens), but I ended up absolutely loving it!! I adored the characters and the way the themes of love and grief were handled, and I’m also a sucker for books with short chapters so this book was right up my street! The one thing that made this book a 4.5⭐️ and not a 5⭐️ was that the ending was slightly rushed in my opinion, and I thought there was going to be a bit more of an explanation into

Evie’s powers and the whole vision thing, I feel like it was brushed under the rug a little bit, and I would’ve liked to know more about the lady at the little free library!

I would highly recommend this book, it’s so cute and fluffy and sweet and lovely!!

It's Not Me, It's You by Stephanie Kate Strohm

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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

I really, really, really enjoyed this book! It was so cute and funny and completely exceeded my expectations! I was expecting something really cheesy and predictable (which at times it was, but not enough to put me off of reading it), and I thought I really wouldn’t like Avery because of how self-centred she was when we first meet her. However, her character development is really nice and she’s now one of my favourite FMC! The premise for the story itself is absolutely bizarre, but it works so well and I thoroughly enjoyed becoming increasingly invested in it as the book went on!

Windfall by Jennifer E. Smith

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

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

2.75

I went into this expecting it to be a story involving a road trip based on this part of the blurb: “and when Teddy finally decides how to spend his money, who better to go on that adventure with him than Alice?”. Having read the book, I now know that they meant a different type of journey, so I finished it feeling underwhelmed. I also didn’t really connect with any of the characters but the story was nice and had a good message.

This book has been on my TBR for so long, and I’m a different person now at 19 than I was at 12 when I first got this book. I can definitely see why it appealed to me then, but I didn’t really enjoy it as much as I thought I would now.

City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

adventurous dark emotional funny sad tense 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? Yes

3.75

I honestly, wholeheartedly believe that they should have finished the mortal instruments here. This book is a nice wrap up for everything that has happened in the past two books and has a nice end. I’ve also come to the conclusion that Clary does just annoy me and there’s not really much I can do about that.

City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

adventurous funny lighthearted tense medium-paced

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

3.25

When I first read this when I was 13 I was a firm believer that it was the best TMI book. Upon this reread, I do think it was okay - not great, but okay - and the action bits were really good!

But I couldn’t get past the fact that even though they know they’re siblings, Jace and Clary were still like “I love you, no one will ever compare to you, I don’t care that we’re related” BLEGH, nope, no thank you!

It did drag sometimes and Clary annoyed me on occasion (but this happens across all Shadowhunter media, shows and films included) but other than that it was okay. The .25 is solely for nostalgia for the characters and how much they’ve impacted my life since I was 12.

The Art and Making of The Boys by Peter Aperlo

funny informative reflective fast-paced

5.0

The one thing I say to people before recommending The Boys to them is that it’s an acquired taste, and this book definitely emphasises that. I love the show so much and am constantly amazed with how they get to do the things they do and how they manage to pull them off. This book gives an incredible insight into that with interviews from the cast, crew and creators of the show, alongside pre-production material that fans may not have otherwise been able to look at. It goes into incredible depth on the logistics of how they do the things and personal stories from the days of pre-production, production, and post-production. I learned a lot and I can’t wait to rewatch the show with new insights!!

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Obviously the Hunger Games universe excels at book-to-film adaptations and TBOSBAS was no different. I found that the book dragged at times, but not enough to put me off of reading it. I found it really interesting to see how Snow got to where he is at the start of THG, and why he is so villainous and cruel. 

Barbie by Noah Baumbach, Greta Gerwig

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing 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

5.0

I loved being able to read this screenplay and compare how the script differs/is similar to the end result of the film!