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girlgetsbook's reviews
75 reviews
Writers & Lovers by Lily King
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
fast-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
4.5
The Silvered Serpents by Roshani Chokshi
adventurous
dark
informative
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? Yes
3.5
The passing of this was way better than the first book, I was more eager to pick it up and to follow the story, some characters came into their own a lot more (Laila was wonderful), even though some characters completely lost it and I couldn't follow their decisions at all (Séverin). However, even though the passing of it was better, hardly any action happened in this which may have been for the best, I think the author shines best when she's talking about puzzles, ancient stories, myths and folklore, than whe she's writing a very dynamic action sequence. I still love Zophia and Enrique, they are still my favorites and I enjoyed spending time with them in this book, as I did in the other, they are really promising characters. I hated the addition of the two new characters, Eva was pretty racist and misogynistic but the author wanted us to sympathize with her, don't even get me started on Ruslan, all of his dialogue was nonsense.
Again we had a very mustache-twirling villain that carefully explained their motivations to us as if in a cartoon. We also had a plot twist that came from nowhere and that could've been more hinted at than it was.
Overall I thought it was a fine book with some lovable characters and I will pick up the next book, mostly for Enrique, Zophia and Laila, though.
Again we had a very mustache-twirling villain that carefully explained their motivations to us as if in a cartoon. We also had a plot twist that came from nowhere and that could've been more hinted at than it was.
Overall I thought it was a fine book with some lovable characters and I will pick up the next book, mostly for Enrique, Zophia and Laila, though.
Happy Place by Emily Henry
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I loved this book so much, Emily Henry continues to be one (if not the only, at least so far) of my favorite contemporary romances authors, her writing, her setting, her characters, how she is able to capture every single feeling of every single moment and translate it to the page, how she describes heartbreak, how she writes longing, just everything.
I think everyone usually has an Emily Henry favorite and mine is People We Meet on Vacation (though I plan on re-reading Book Lovers and I'll decide if it's a 5 star or the actual 4.5 I gave it a year ago), so I was so happy to see a book with similar vibes — people who know each other for a long time and had a falling out and we discover why through a dual time-line — and I was correct in thinking I was going to love this. I loved the characters and I love the theme of friendship here, of growing up and of being scared you will grow apart from people you love. I adored the central pairing as well, even though I'm not a big fan of the trope where one of the partners is insecure about their intelligence in comparison with the other, but I think it is done well here.
I love how Henry is able to guide the reader's feelings and make them understand what the characters are feeling, and she makes us go from being annoyed with Wyn to completely in love with him by the end. I already want to re-read this one. I wouldn't say this is better than PWMOV but it is definitely up there as one of my favorite romance books and I'm so glad I continue to love her writing and I look forward to reading more from her in the future.
I think everyone usually has an Emily Henry favorite and mine is People We Meet on Vacation (though I plan on re-reading Book Lovers and I'll decide if it's a 5 star or the actual 4.5 I gave it a year ago), so I was so happy to see a book with similar vibes — people who know each other for a long time and had a falling out and we discover why through a dual time-line — and I was correct in thinking I was going to love this. I loved the characters and I love the theme of friendship here, of growing up and of being scared you will grow apart from people you love. I adored the central pairing as well, even though I'm not a big fan of the trope where one of the partners is insecure about their intelligence in comparison with the other, but I think it is done well here.
I love how Henry is able to guide the reader's feelings and make them understand what the characters are feeling, and she makes us go from being annoyed with Wyn to completely in love with him by the end. I already want to re-read this one. I wouldn't say this is better than PWMOV but it is definitely up there as one of my favorite romance books and I'm so glad I continue to love her writing and I look forward to reading more from her in the future.
The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi
adventurous
dark
informative
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? Yes
3.5
It took me a while to read this book, because even though the premise is amazing and well executed, I think the pacing and the writing were a bit off and I struggled to find my way to the book again, even though it absolutely got my attention once I picked it up.
I loved the idea behind this book, I had no idea it was going to tackle these kind of issues and was pleasantly surprised by that. I love when the fantasy element of a book serves as a tool to further enhance the themes the author wants to portray, and it's done beautifully and tragically here with the Order representing the hold Europe has on other continents it invaded and the magical artifacts being symbols of pieces of culture, history and lives stolen from said places, and the representation of the real-life racism, xenophobia and exploration that people of color suffered at the time, especially, as the author mentioned represented by the gross Exhibition that is the scenary for a big part of the plot, that is inspired by events that actually happened.
The magic system was very ingenious, a mix of mythology, religion and science and the worldbuilding was incredible even if it took a while to be fully explained which dragged the pacing a little bit. I think the action scenes and the heists should've been planned out better because a lot of it was told and not shown and some things came super easily to the characters and some aspects of the mission were never fully explored to create a better rhythm to the action.
I love that most characters were BIPOC and I loved the discussion around the biracial characters and the angst some of them feel for being a mixture between invader and invaded, I relate to that as a white latina myself. In this aspect the characters really stood on their own, their history, their struggles and how this systemically racist and unfair society impacted their lives and their goals for the future, it was all really important and full of impact to read about. The characters were amazing and their representation well done but I think the problem for me was when they came together, especially during the action. Some of them, really had their places and were able to shine during key moments, like Zophia and Enrique. I LOVED Zophia and I loved the neurodivergent representation, I absolutely relate to her struggles fitting in and one scene in particular hurt me personally because of how real it was, besides that she was brilliant and basically did most of the work, I want her to be happy forever. Enrique also shines amongst the others, I feel like more than anyone else we get to understand who he is, where he's been, his stregnths and weaknesses, for me he was the main character of this book, and I'm not complaining, I love my queer historian to pieces. Now to the others: Séverin was the leader, yes, but sometimes I felt something was missing, it didn't feel like there were any stakes for him when it came to his goals until much later in the story, he had his revenge plot but nothing felt precisely urgent, driving him to his goal at that precise time (what I meant to say was that he was successful and financially stable enough to continue not having what he wanted for a long time, maybe if something financial drove him, his plot would be more engaging to follow). Aside from Séverin, there was Laila, I loved her, and like I said she stands on her own, to the point where I would read a book about her adventures chasing what she wants and her haunting background and interesting magic, however I felt like the author herself didn't know her, when it came to interacting with other characters she felt like a caregiver most of the time, never really living for herself, and during the action it never felt like she was in synch with the rest of the characters, like the author just used her because she needed someone to do something, she has amazing powers but it was mostly used before the action. Tristan and Hypnos were very much supporting characters in this book so I don't have a lot to say about them, except that I like Hypnos and am confused by Tristan, nothing was really well explained about him.
When it came to the characters' dynamics I also felt like they were a bit weird, and after thinking about it I came to the conclusion that it just feels like they already know each other for too long, there isn't for most of the time any conflict of interest or anything for them to discover about one another that is important for the plot, I feel like their relationships are book three level and we didn't see most of the developments between them. The ones that do have conflict are exactly the ones I'm the most invested in, like Séverin and Hypnos and Enrique and Zophia, all these characters feel like they have something to learn from one another and that makes for more interesting dynamics, aside from them, though I appreciate the warmth that surrounds the group, it just didn't feel earned enough, with one character in particular retreating to a worse version of himself by the end of the book.
Because of how everything happened off-page I also struggled to root for Séverin and Laila, it felt like they already had resolved this a long time ago but somehow they still acted like hormonal teenagers around each other, it felt like they were only physically attracted to each other because the author wanted to create that tension every time, which gave less space for me to believe in their partnership as thieves and even as friends really.
The love triangle was unnecessary, I think the author had the idea for the first relationship and as she wrote the book realized the chemistry of the other couple but decided to maintain both anyway, I don't want to see any of them suffer.
The villain paled in comparison to the actual threat of the systems surrounding the country and the systemically racist and invader institutions running the country, it felt very villain of the week and not an actual problem to be faced, the villain was very mustache-twirling to my liking.
Overall this was an okay book with an interesting worldbuilding and premise but that lacked a bit in terms of plotting and pacing. I will continue reading the series and maybe my opinion will change.
About the end
what the fuck was that? I'm not even talking about Tristan's death, it was kind of obvious he was going to either die or be used somehow by the Fallen House again, what I don't get is the bird scene? What does that prove or represent? Why was it just thrown in there when he isn't even alive to defend himself (which makes me think he might come back again but evil maybe? Which is worse than death honestly, but I'm thinking he might be the true heir for the house so yeah maybe he will be back). Séverin was gross, I understand pushing someone away but then being offensive while at it? He just was mean for no reason, really hard to ship this couple rn.
I loved the idea behind this book, I had no idea it was going to tackle these kind of issues and was pleasantly surprised by that. I love when the fantasy element of a book serves as a tool to further enhance the themes the author wants to portray, and it's done beautifully and tragically here with the Order representing the hold Europe has on other continents it invaded and the magical artifacts being symbols of pieces of culture, history and lives stolen from said places, and the representation of the real-life racism, xenophobia and exploration that people of color suffered at the time, especially, as the author mentioned represented by the gross Exhibition that is the scenary for a big part of the plot, that is inspired by events that actually happened.
The magic system was very ingenious, a mix of mythology, religion and science and the worldbuilding was incredible even if it took a while to be fully explained which dragged the pacing a little bit. I think the action scenes and the heists should've been planned out better because a lot of it was told and not shown and some things came super easily to the characters and some aspects of the mission were never fully explored to create a better rhythm to the action.
I love that most characters were BIPOC and I loved the discussion around the biracial characters and the angst some of them feel for being a mixture between invader and invaded, I relate to that as a white latina myself. In this aspect the characters really stood on their own, their history, their struggles and how this systemically racist and unfair society impacted their lives and their goals for the future, it was all really important and full of impact to read about. The characters were amazing and their representation well done but I think the problem for me was when they came together, especially during the action. Some of them, really had their places and were able to shine during key moments, like Zophia and Enrique. I LOVED Zophia and I loved the neurodivergent representation, I absolutely relate to her struggles fitting in and one scene in particular hurt me personally because of how real it was, besides that she was brilliant and basically did most of the work, I want her to be happy forever. Enrique also shines amongst the others, I feel like more than anyone else we get to understand who he is, where he's been, his stregnths and weaknesses, for me he was the main character of this book, and I'm not complaining, I love my queer historian to pieces. Now to the others: Séverin was the leader, yes, but sometimes I felt something was missing, it didn't feel like there were any stakes for him when it came to his goals until much later in the story, he had his revenge plot but nothing felt precisely urgent, driving him to his goal at that precise time (what I meant to say was that he was successful and financially stable enough to continue not having what he wanted for a long time, maybe if something financial drove him, his plot would be more engaging to follow). Aside from Séverin, there was Laila, I loved her, and like I said she stands on her own, to the point where I would read a book about her adventures chasing what she wants and her haunting background and interesting magic, however I felt like the author herself didn't know her, when it came to interacting with other characters she felt like a caregiver most of the time, never really living for herself, and during the action it never felt like she was in synch with the rest of the characters, like the author just used her because she needed someone to do something, she has amazing powers but it was mostly used before the action. Tristan and Hypnos were very much supporting characters in this book so I don't have a lot to say about them, except that I like Hypnos and am confused by Tristan, nothing was really well explained about him.
When it came to the characters' dynamics I also felt like they were a bit weird, and after thinking about it I came to the conclusion that it just feels like they already know each other for too long, there isn't for most of the time any conflict of interest or anything for them to discover about one another that is important for the plot, I feel like their relationships are book three level and we didn't see most of the developments between them. The ones that do have conflict are exactly the ones I'm the most invested in, like Séverin and Hypnos and Enrique and Zophia, all these characters feel like they have something to learn from one another and that makes for more interesting dynamics, aside from them, though I appreciate the warmth that surrounds the group, it just didn't feel earned enough, with one character in particular retreating to a worse version of himself by the end of the book.
Because of how everything happened off-page I also struggled to root for Séverin and Laila, it felt like they already had resolved this a long time ago but somehow they still acted like hormonal teenagers around each other, it felt like they were only physically attracted to each other because the author wanted to create that tension every time, which gave less space for me to believe in their partnership as thieves and even as friends really.
The love triangle was unnecessary, I think the author had the idea for the first relationship and as she wrote the book realized the chemistry of the other couple but decided to maintain both anyway, I don't want to see any of them suffer.
The villain paled in comparison to the actual threat of the systems surrounding the country and the systemically racist and invader institutions running the country, it felt very villain of the week and not an actual problem to be faced, the villain was very mustache-twirling to my liking.
Overall this was an okay book with an interesting worldbuilding and premise but that lacked a bit in terms of plotting and pacing. I will continue reading the series and maybe my opinion will change.
About the end
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Murder, Racism, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Violence, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Torture, Biphobia, and Child abuse
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Biphobia
The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Let's try to form correct sentences about this book shall we? First of all the pacing in this is insane, it read like a thriller, probably because the first two books were about subtext, slow reveals and subtle hints, this one and the other before this were the opposite, super fast-paced with every chapter being from a different character's point of view with absolute chaos happening in each of them, no dull moments for sure.
Now let's talk about the whole series. Maggie, you asshole! (Ronan's voice). Such beautiful writing with so much nuance so much lyricism and so funny at the same time, it had the kind of observational humor that Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett and other british authors have but also embedded with beautiful descriptions and full of mysteries, foreshadowing, subtext, metaphors, everything weaved together in a complicated but amazing web that made my jaw drop every time, thanks for the ride, Maggie.
Now to the characters, I was recommended this book because someone said I was similar to Blue, we both come from a big family of mostly women (witches), I love tarot and candle magic and I too am a firecracker, but I was surprised to find myself identifying with most of them and empathizing with all, Adam, the magician, who has to stop looking at himself and face his demons, Ronan, maybe my biggest surprised of all them (AAAAAAAA - my thoughts when I think about him), chaos impersonated but such a loyal friend, Noah, everything about him (I wish I could protect him from all evil) and Gansey, such a lovely human being. I also loved most side characters, The Gray Man was a surprise hit with me (get it?), all the women in 300 Fox Way, I would read a book just about them, honestly.
Now to this particular book, technically there were things that wore unsatisfying about it but I love the series so much that I will just mentioned it here and it won't affect my rating. I would've liked to have a better conclusion on the Noah situation, he is one if not my favorite character and I wished that at least we had a resolution, or that he'd come along for the final act (more than how he did it). Henry was a nice add-on but way too late to be in the main action, maybe in re-reads I'll understand it better, or maybe not.
I just want to thank Maggie for creating the perfect YA series for me, if I was anywhere near the ley line I'd say that there were some kind of circular event linking my young self, obsessed with stories about witches, psychics, ghosts, curses, curses that involved true loves and this peculiar masterpieces of a series that now is a part of me like it's always supposed to.
Now let's talk about the whole series. Maggie, you asshole! (Ronan's voice). Such beautiful writing with so much nuance so much lyricism and so funny at the same time, it had the kind of observational humor that Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett and other british authors have but also embedded with beautiful descriptions and full of mysteries, foreshadowing, subtext, metaphors, everything weaved together in a complicated but amazing web that made my jaw drop every time, thanks for the ride, Maggie.
Now to the characters, I was recommended this book because someone said I was similar to Blue, we both come from a big family of mostly women (witches), I love tarot and candle magic and I too am a firecracker, but I was surprised to find myself identifying with most of them and empathizing with all, Adam, the magician, who has to stop looking at himself and face his demons, Ronan, maybe my biggest surprised of all them (AAAAAAAA - my thoughts when I think about him), chaos impersonated but such a loyal friend, Noah, everything about him (I wish I could protect him from all evil) and Gansey, such a lovely human being. I also loved most side characters, The Gray Man was a surprise hit with me (get it?), all the women in 300 Fox Way, I would read a book just about them, honestly.
Now to this particular book, technically there were things that wore unsatisfying about it but I love the series so much that I will just mentioned it here and it won't affect my rating. I would've liked to have a better conclusion on the Noah situation, he is one if not my favorite character and I wished that at least we had a resolution, or that he'd come along for the final act (more than how he did it). Henry was a nice add-on but way too late to be in the main action, maybe in re-reads I'll understand it better, or maybe not.
I just want to thank Maggie for creating the perfect YA series for me, if I was anywhere near the ley line I'd say that there were some kind of circular event linking my young self, obsessed with stories about witches, psychics, ghosts, curses, curses that involved true loves and this peculiar masterpieces of a series that now is a part of me like it's always supposed to.
Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-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
5.0
I loved this so much, the worldbuilding, the magic system based on magical libraries and grimoires, the characters and the whole theme of not judging someone based on personal biases, the romance subplot, the unrelenting love for books and all things involved, everything was done masterfully and this definitely is one of my favorite books of the year.
It's a shame that I wasn't able to read it fully in less time, because I think reading it during a very chaotic month didn't do me any good because it is very heavy on descriptions of the world and the actions of the characters and it definitely requires a lot of attention and engagement. You absolutely can tell how much thought and love Margaret Rogerson put into every single sentence and setting and dialogue, which makes me want to re-read it one day so I can appreciate it more fully, even though it was still a five-star book.
It's a shame that I wasn't able to read it fully in less time, because I think reading it during a very chaotic month didn't do me any good because it is very heavy on descriptions of the world and the actions of the characters and it definitely requires a lot of attention and engagement. You absolutely can tell how much thought and love Margaret Rogerson put into every single sentence and setting and dialogue, which makes me want to re-read it one day so I can appreciate it more fully, even though it was still a five-star book.
A Caribbean Mystery by Agatha Christie
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
I'd skip this one, it's full of blatantly racist remarks (more than usual) because of the setting of this book so there's a lot of white people being colonizers and stereotyping people of color, also the mystery was somewhat intriguing but overall very obvious.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, and Sexism
Three Act Tragedy by Agatha Christie
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This was an interesting book, I kind of had high expectations for it because it's been a while since I read an Agatha Christie book, at least a proper classic mystery of hers. I thought this was going to be the standard murder mystery dinner but it expands over a few days which surprised me, it's also one of those books where one of the suspects narrates and you spend the whole book unsure if you can trust them. I sometimes predict part of the mystery but not the full scope, this time it was easy to predict 90% of it and it very obvious from the get-go so I had to suffer a bit through a lot of meaningless suspicions to get to the real thing, but overall it was nice.
The Deal by Elle Kennedy
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
This is the worst book I've ever read and I feel like I lost all my brain cells reading it, it's just full to the brim with misogyny and sexism and there's even a sprinkle of homophobia there as well, and to make matters worse most of the misogyny comes from the main female character, she just constantly is putting other women down, being a not like other girls girl and playing into harmful and sexist stereotypes. Aside from that the writing was like the worst wattpad fanfiction you could find, I'm convinced people who recommend this are joking about liking it because there's no way this book is so beloved by so many people, let alone by women. It has some heavy topics sprinkled out that no one warned me about and it really is jarring to see them in the story in juxtaposition with the silly writing that tries to be sexy all the time. Overall I had more fun reading through my notes (because I've spent three months reading this book) than actually reading the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Sexism, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Homophobia
The Weight of Our Sky by Hanna Alkaf
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
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
5.0
I don't know how to start talking about this book, I couldn't really put it down and I'm pretty sure it was the only full-length novel that I ever read in just one sitting. I really think this is a book that deserves more time and appreciation but I just felt so much for these characters and I just needed to know if they were going to be okay.
Melati has harm based OCD which I also have, and to watch how much she struggles with it through the darkness with no knowledge of how to treat it and having to hide it because of the stigma in society really brings me back to more painful times when I had to do the same and when even when I opened up was still met with associations with religion. And in this case I can't say much about Melati's religion and wouldn't dare to speak lightly of what she believes in but still my heart pains for her for not being able to seek out other options.
This book is about the events that happened on May 13th 1969 when the racial conflict between Malays and Chinese people broke out in Kuala Lumpur and it follows Melati a teenage girl with OCD trying to find her mom amidst the tragedies and chaos that surrounds the city after being rescued by a Chinese family. This book has a beautiful message of empathy and hope. Even through all the gruesome descriptions and dread of the situation these characters still seemed to be able to move forward and stand a helping hand towards each other and, without ever making light of the situation the author was able to craft a very hard-hitting but also heartwarming story, balancing these awful moments with Melati's incessant love towards her family, friends and her love for the Beatles' music.
Melati has harm based OCD which I also have, and to watch how much she struggles with it through the darkness with no knowledge of how to treat it and having to hide it because of the stigma in society really brings me back to more painful times when I had to do the same and when even when I opened up was still met with associations with religion. And in this case I can't say much about Melati's religion and wouldn't dare to speak lightly of what she believes in but still my heart pains for her for not being able to seek out other options.
This book is about the events that happened on May 13th 1969 when the racial conflict between Malays and Chinese people broke out in Kuala Lumpur and it follows Melati a teenage girl with OCD trying to find her mom amidst the tragedies and chaos that surrounds the city after being rescued by a Chinese family. This book has a beautiful message of empathy and hope. Even through all the gruesome descriptions and dread of the situation these characters still seemed to be able to move forward and stand a helping hand towards each other and, without ever making light of the situation the author was able to craft a very hard-hitting but also heartwarming story, balancing these awful moments with Melati's incessant love towards her family, friends and her love for the Beatles' music.