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fullybookedpenguin's reviews
127 reviews
Trixie Belden and the Red Trailer Mystery by Julie Campbell
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
As a middle-grade mystery, this book is so much fun. I admit I saw through some of the mystery but that's also because I'm reading it as an adult, but there were still parts that took a while to figure out and were just fun to follow along with as Trixie and Honey sleuth their way to find Jim and solve the stolen trailer mysteries!
Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
Did not finish book. Stopped at 22%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 22%.
Not for me. Wasn't finding it interesting. And one of the leads, was too moody and snapped at our FMC over nothing.
The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Little House in the Highlands by Melissa Wiley
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
The characters in this are so vibrant and full of life. The Scottish setting is fun to read about and goes heavy on the fairy folklore and stories.
Martha is an energetic, red-headed lass. She is filled with a mix of whimsy and realism in the sense she believes in fairies and the tales as fact but also counteracts some of the sayings, like: there's no way she'd be blown away by the wind when shaking out bedsheets because she had her heavy boots on. Lol
It's a light, daily-life focused read.
On a side note I find some of the lower rated reviews on here strange, since it seems adults, who read it as children, are doing rereads and then class it negatively as juvenile, etc...but that's the point, it's a book aimed at kids! It has to be written in a way kids can read on their own and understand. π€π But in my opinion it's a great fun, light, quick read even reading it as an adult~
Martha is an energetic, red-headed lass. She is filled with a mix of whimsy and realism in the sense she believes in fairies and the tales as fact but also counteracts some of the sayings, like: there's no way she'd be blown away by the wind when shaking out bedsheets because she had her heavy boots on. Lol
It's a light, daily-life focused read.
On a side note I find some of the lower rated reviews on here strange, since it seems adults, who read it as children, are doing rereads and then class it negatively as juvenile, etc...but that's the point, it's a book aimed at kids! It has to be written in a way kids can read on their own and understand. π€π But in my opinion it's a great fun, light, quick read even reading it as an adult~
Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder
funny
lighthearted
reflective
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? N/A
4.0
My dad and I read this book together after many years and we laughed and shook our heads and just enjoyed the tales within.
One thing I can say is: The food! They do eat well as well as work hard, but it's a strange contrast to Laura focuses books where she's eating small meals and they're happy with a stick of candy for Christmas.
Also, some of the descriptions are hard to picture since in modern society you don't see many of the tools and machines from back then, but a quick google comes in helpful.
One thing I can say is: The food! They do eat well as well as work hard, but it's a strange contrast to Laura focuses books where she's eating small meals and they're happy with a stick of candy for Christmas.
Also, some of the descriptions are hard to picture since in modern society you don't see many of the tools and machines from back then, but a quick google comes in helpful.
Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I actually enjoyed this book more than the first, and all the characters were fun to follow.
Emily's character development is within her nature and yet deepens her heart and relationships.
Wendell is still Wendell but his faerie ways are less scholasticall avoidant and his attentivenes to Emily is cute.
The plot was intriguing and twisty (I mean, we are dealing with mystical worlds and cunning creatures) and the mix of musings and adventure was balanced well.
Emily's character development is within her nature and yet deepens her heart and relationships.
Wendell is still Wendell but his faerie ways are less scholasticall avoidant and his attentivenes to Emily is cute.
The plot was intriguing and twisty (I mean, we are dealing with mystical worlds and cunning creatures) and the mix of musings and adventure was balanced well.
A Stepmother's βMΓ€rchen Vol. 2 by ORKA, Spice&Kitty
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
First up, this volume, as with the first, is absolutely gorgeous! The art is so distinct, making use of darker almost muted colours for certain scenes and brighter ones for others. Also notice that with the physical edition, the page is black when we fade into past events which helps when it bounces back and forth.
The story is fabulous, I love our family and this volume introduced and shed some background light on newer characters like Norra or the 1st Prince.
Of course there's also some political intrigue, in both Shuri's family and the wider kingdom.
Looking forward to reading on~
The story is fabulous, I love our family and this volume introduced and shed some background light on newer characters like Norra or the 1st Prince.
Of course there's also some political intrigue, in both Shuri's family and the wider kingdom.
Looking forward to reading on~
The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J. Maas
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
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? It's complicated
3.5
The Assassin and The Pirate King - 4.5 π
The Assassin and the Healer - 5 π
The Assassin and the Desert - 4.5 π
The Assassin and the Underworld - 3.5 π
The Assassin and the Empire - 3 π
Tbh the first few novellas featured in this book are pretty fun and show a lot of growth for our FL, Celaena, but of course it was more difficult to get through the last two books.
The main reason is for the silly decisions of Celaena and her blindness to obvious clues.
At the end of The Assassin and the Desert, you think you've reached a point of realisation and clarity of path for Celaena, but the next novella almost casts us back to the very beginning in terms of Celaena's personal growth, though thanks to our boi, Sam, she doesn't go back completely.
Now Celaena does have some redeeming reasons behind these blind moments, she's young, traumatized and she's obviously been groomed into the life she lives, but ultimately some of her slips of wisdom and blind trust/obedience could have been avoided if she was actually trained to be as cautious as she claims, and took a second to think through what's happening around her and pick up on patterns set by her enemies...
There's a lot of dark topics and scummy topics covered in this book (we are dealing with criminals, assassins and the underworld so it shouldn't be too surprising but still be forewarned).
Also, took a whole star off the overall rating because of an event in the last novella, i.e. main lad, best lad, Sam deserved better. Should have fled away together with the clothes on their back. A little stealing would have been easy enough to achieve along the way and hardly a big no-no compared to all they'd done so far. and while perhaps petty, since its my review I'm allowed to and will.
The Assassin and the Healer - 5 π
The Assassin and the Desert - 4.5 π
The Assassin and the Underworld - 3.5 π
The Assassin and the Empire - 3 π
Tbh the first few novellas featured in this book are pretty fun and show a lot of growth for our FL, Celaena, but of course it was more difficult to get through the last two books.
The main reason is for the silly decisions of Celaena and her blindness to obvious clues.
At the end of The Assassin and the Desert, you think you've reached a point of realisation and clarity of path for Celaena, but the next novella almost casts us back to the very beginning in terms of Celaena's personal growth, though thanks to our boi, Sam, she doesn't go back completely.
Now Celaena does have some redeeming reasons behind these blind moments, she's young, traumatized and she's obviously been groomed into the life she lives, but ultimately some of her slips of wisdom and blind trust/obedience could have been avoided if she was actually trained to be as cautious as she claims, and took a second to think through what's happening around her and pick up on patterns set by her enemies...
There's a lot of dark topics and scummy topics covered in this book (we are dealing with criminals, assassins and the underworld so it shouldn't be too surprising but still be forewarned).
Also, took a whole star off the overall rating because of an event in the last novella,
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery and Violence
Moderate: Death, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Violence, and Trafficking
Minor: Pedophilia, Vomit, Sexual harassment, and War
Yona of the Dawn, Vol. 25 by Mizuho Kusanagi
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
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? No
5.0
It's getting darker, and yet our heroes are still standing firm by their beliefs and friendships, but a new enemy appeared swaying the innocents involved. So tense!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore
Moderate: Violence and War
Jane Eyre by Charlotte BrontΓ«
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
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? N/A
4.5