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garrettcz's reviews
362 reviews
Clean Air by Sarah Blake
dark
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
This books is all over the place.
I really like the premise, and wanted to explore more of the post-apocalyptic elements. Instead we get a very bland murder mystery that ends very anticlimactically.
The characters felt very blah, and I didn’t care about any of them. The dialogue isn’t very organic, and there are a lot of weird extraneous details that are included that I think the author thought added verisimilitude but just make the book feel weird and not well edited.
It felt like this was a first draft that needed a lot of work and developmental help. I’m pretty bummed because the premise sounds fantastic. I wish she’d explored more of the world building.
I really like the premise, and wanted to explore more of the post-apocalyptic elements. Instead we get a very bland murder mystery that ends very anticlimactically.
The characters felt very blah, and I didn’t care about any of them. The dialogue isn’t very organic, and there are a lot of weird extraneous details that are included that I think the author thought added verisimilitude but just make the book feel weird and not well edited.
It felt like this was a first draft that needed a lot of work and developmental help. I’m pretty bummed because the premise sounds fantastic. I wish she’d explored more of the world building.
The Daughters' War by Christopher Buehlman
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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
5.0
Christopher Buehlman is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. The way he writes characters and dialogue is incredible. His plotting and world building are great, but these are books for people who love characters and dialogue. 5/5 stars, will read everything he writes.
If Christopher Buehlman writes 1000 of these books I will read every. Single. One.
Simply amazing.
If Christopher Buehlman writes 1000 of these books I will read every. Single. One.
Simply amazing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Slavery
Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang
adventurous
dark
hopeful
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
5.0
I absolutely loved this book. I can’t say enough good things about it.
Truly a fantastic story. Wonderful characters with great, organic character development. Compelling themes. Very cool magic that is fully integrated into the world building.
It was just so, so, so good.
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Truly a fantastic story. Wonderful characters with great, organic character development. Compelling themes. Very cool magic that is fully integrated into the world building.
It was just so, so, so good.
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Wind and Truth by Brandon Sanderson
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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
4.75
The Devil & Sherlock Holmes: Tales of Murder, Madness & Obsession by David Grann
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
5.0
A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
slow-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? Yes
4.0
The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
slow-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
4.0
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This is an odd book. The pacing is absolutely bizarre.
I found the first 25% very boring. It then picked up in a big way, and I couldn’t put the book down until about 60%. Then it went back to very monotonous and mostly boring for the remainder, and toward the end I couldn’t wait for it to be over.
Henry is a great character. Everyone else feels pretty underdeveloped. You’re still finding out rudimentary details about some of the main characters in the last couple chapters.
Nearly every character is miserable and pretentious, which gets to be pretty grating.
I feel like this book could have been A LOT shorter and it would probably have been a lot more enjoyable.
I found the first 25% very boring. It then picked up in a big way, and I couldn’t put the book down until about 60%. Then it went back to very monotonous and mostly boring for the remainder, and toward the end I couldn’t wait for it to be over.
Henry is a great character. Everyone else feels pretty underdeveloped. You’re still finding out rudimentary details about some of the main characters in the last couple chapters.
Nearly every character is miserable and pretentious, which gets to be pretty grating.
I feel like this book could have been A LOT shorter and it would probably have been a lot more enjoyable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Self harm, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
The Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
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? Yes
4.0
I really liked this, but it felt a little short. Some of the story felt a bit rushed. Awesome characters and great magic and world building. It’s easy and fun to read, and I blew through it.
Brother by Ania Ahlborn
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Maybe this book just wasn’t for me, but I didn’t enjoy any part of it. It wasn’t scary or unsettling or anything, it was just gross.
The characters were very one-dimensional, so I didn’t care about them, so there was no real tension. The main character’s entire personality could be summed up with: stupid to the point of absurdity and so meek that it doesn’t make a lot of his actions make sense.
I know a lot of people like this book a lot, so maybe it’s just me.
Also I’m not going to include content warning because basically it’s every content warning.
The characters were very one-dimensional, so I didn’t care about them, so there was no real tension. The main character’s entire personality could be summed up with: stupid to the point of absurdity and so meek that it doesn’t make a lot of his actions make sense.
I know a lot of people like this book a lot, so maybe it’s just me.
Also I’m not going to include content warning because basically it’s every content warning.