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hali's reviews
358 reviews
The Last One by Will Dean
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.5
this was a trip. extremely boring until around 40% and then i couldn’t put it down. this book has the same essence as the Escape Room movies, which may be why i enjoyed it so much. a little too long and i didn’t enjoy the audiobook narrator, but it was a wild time indeed.
i saw the ending coming - bc capitalism is evil and caz was their money maker.
Tales of the Celestial Kingdom by Sue Lynn Tan
“That aura, golden bright and summer warm, was one I knew all too well. Liwei.”
tldr; the majority of stories felt unneeded. i still love this world and our main characters, so i can’t say i hated reading this. i just wanted something different.
Dusk:
- kinda boring. read these three stories then put the book down for a week, if that tells you anything.
- like, im sorry, we already knew all this. i didn’t need to see their perspectives.
Twilight:
- i really am not into how she writes from Liwei’s and Wenzhi’s perspectives.
- Shuxaio’s story was the best from this section (i also liked Liwei’s second, A Rival’s Spirit). Let me get an enemies-to-lovers novella with her.
Dawn:
- Home, the true epilogue to the series, was a great read. made me really miss Xingyin’s perspective.
- i still don’t like this relationship. just because you say they love each other doesn’t mean i feel that passion myself. am i still a teeny, tiny bit bitter? well, yes!
"Your parents' union need not be yours. Any immortal would leap at the chance to wed you." The old hurt throbbed still, like the shadow of a wound that had not quite healed. Liwei was a part of me, he always would be—and I was grateful for it, for him... for us.
"Any immortal, except for one.”
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.0
tldr; the majority of stories felt unneeded. i still love this world and our main characters, so i can’t say i hated reading this. i just wanted something different.
Dusk:
- kinda boring. read these three stories then put the book down for a week, if that tells you anything.
- like, im sorry, we already knew all this. i didn’t need to see their perspectives.
Twilight:
- i really am not into how she writes from Liwei’s and Wenzhi’s perspectives.
- Shuxaio’s story was the best from this section (i also liked Liwei’s second, A Rival’s Spirit). Let me get an enemies-to-lovers novella with her.
Dawn:
- Home, the true epilogue to the series, was a great read. made me really miss Xingyin’s perspective.
- i still don’t like this relationship. just because you say they love each other doesn’t mean i feel that passion myself. am i still a teeny, tiny bit bitter? well, yes!
"Your parents' union need not be yours. Any immortal would leap at the chance to wed you." The old hurt throbbed still, like the shadow of a wound that had not quite healed. Liwei was a part of me, he always would be—and I was grateful for it, for him... for us.
"Any immortal, except for one.”
FantasticLand by Mike Bockoven
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
4.5
This was really fun! I liked the way it was told, through interviews, and listening to the audiobook really enhanced that. Some parts were very creepy (the hotel, brock), but it was mostly interesting from a “true crime” perspective. Like you can’t look away even though it’s horrible because you just need to know the who, what, when, where, why, and HOW.
not a full 5 because I wanted a little more of the bigger picture. this story involved HUNDREDS of people and we really only heard about 15.
not a full 5 because I wanted a little more of the bigger picture. this story involved HUNDREDS of people and we really only heard about 15.
The Watchers by A.M. Shine
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
this was perfectly fine. not super scary or creepy. the ending hinted at what i wished the entire book focused on. with these specific monsters, i should’ve been more paranoid and disturbed. still, i didn’t have a bad time reading this. the writing was serviceable and the characters were interesting enough.
Love is not Nothing by Lee Winter
2.5
this was fine. not really needed as it didn’t add anything to the overall narrative or their love story.
Requiem for Immortals by Lee Winter
dark
emotional
tense
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
4.0
this is a cat-and-mouse thriller where two people who shouldn’t have fallen in love DID. this was awesome. so fun and nicely written. if the “forbidden romance” element was played up more this would’ve been a full five.
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
challenging
reflective
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
2.0
“The old woman was a mistake perhaps, but she’s not the point! The old woman was merely a sickness... I was in a hurry to step over... it wasn’t a human being I killed, it was a principle! So I killed the principle, but I didn’t step over, I stayed on this side... All I managed to do was kill. And I didn’t even manage that, as it turns out...”
I appreciate the central ideas of the novel and what Dostoevsky set out to accomplish. But it was too long and lost me at several points. If I didn't have the audio and book club obligations I would've DNFd.
Crush by Richard Siken
3.75
I enjoyed this more than War of the Foxes for reasons I can’t explain. Well, maybe it’s the high levels of yearning that is all throughout Crush. We’ll go with that.
Super long poems begin to lose me about halfway through. This is a me problem. Still, some of these works were very compelling.
Some quotes:
“Sorry about the blood in your mouth. I wish it was mine.”
- Little Beasts
“I want to tell you this story without having to be in it.”
- The Torn up Road (5⭐️)
“You see, I take the parts that I remember and stitch them back together to make a creature that will do what I say or love me back.”
- Litany in Which Certain Things Are Crossed Out (5⭐️) [reminds me of Frankenstein and the Creature]
“I will come back from the dead for you… Keep talking. I'll keep walking toward the sound of your voice.”
- You Are Jeff [reminds me of Eurydice]
Super long poems begin to lose me about halfway through. This is a me problem. Still, some of these works were very compelling.
Some quotes:
“Sorry about the blood in your mouth. I wish it was mine.”
- Little Beasts
“I want to tell you this story without having to be in it.”
- The Torn up Road (5⭐️)
“You see, I take the parts that I remember and stitch them back together to make a creature that will do what I say or love me back.”
- Litany in Which Certain Things Are Crossed Out (5⭐️) [reminds me of Frankenstein and the Creature]
“I will come back from the dead for you… Keep talking. I'll keep walking toward the sound of your voice.”
- You Are Jeff [reminds me of Eurydice]
The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
seems holly jackson’s books always hover around a 3 for me.
this was fun to read and it kept me engaged. bel was a bit grating at times but i liked that she was firm in her beliefs. the twists weren’t mind blowing (except for 1…) but i thought they were executed well. i missed the mixed media element that gggtm had. i thought we’d get script pages or descriptions of scenes from the documentary or something.
overall, not a bad read. i don’t usually gravitate towards YA thrillers but i’ll probably continue to pick up jackson because i like her writing style and how easily she hooks the reader.
[also, can i just say all of her book covers are gorgeous. i love that they’re real photos and not drawings. it makes them super unique imo.]
this was fun to read and it kept me engaged. bel was a bit grating at times but i liked that she was firm in her beliefs. the twists weren’t mind blowing (except for 1…) but i thought they were executed well. i missed the mixed media element that gggtm had. i thought we’d get script pages or descriptions of scenes from the documentary or something.
overall, not a bad read. i don’t usually gravitate towards YA thrillers but i’ll probably continue to pick up jackson because i like her writing style and how easily she hooks the reader.
[also, can i just say all of her book covers are gorgeous. i love that they’re real photos and not drawings. it makes them super unique imo.]
War of the Foxes by Richard Siken
challenging
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
3.5
“Someone has to leave first. This is a very old story. There is no other version of this story.”
- The Worm King’s Lullaby
this is the first poetry collection i’ve read that feels like each word was hand picked by the author, carefully curated, and thoughtfully organized. still, it is poetry and i did not fully “get” it. although i have to ask myself what is there to “get”? IDK. indulge me in some quotes.
“The hunter's son watches the hunter. The hunter paints more rings on his glasses. Everything is a target, says the hunter. No matter where you look. The hunter's son says nothing, and closes his eyes.”
- The Stag and the Quiver
“Not everyone is dead, Little Moon. But the big moon needs the tree. There is a ghost at the end of the song. Yes, there is. And you see his hand and then you see the moon.
Am I the ghost at the end of the song? We are very close now, Little Moon. Thank you for shining on me.
He was pointing at the moon but I was looking at his hand. He was dead anyway, a ghost. I'm surprised I saw his hand at all. All this was prepared for me. All this was set in motion long ago. I live in someone else's future. I stayed as long as I could, he said. Now look at the moon.”
- The Worm King’s Lullaby
“Opaque in the sense of finally solid, in the sense of see me, not through me.”
- Portrait of Fryderyk in Shifting Light
“Can we love nature for what it really is: predatory? We do not walk through a passive landscape. The paint dries eventually. The bodies decompose eventually.”
- Landscape with Fruit Rot and Millipede
- The Worm King’s Lullaby
this is the first poetry collection i’ve read that feels like each word was hand picked by the author, carefully curated, and thoughtfully organized. still, it is poetry and i did not fully “get” it. although i have to ask myself what is there to “get”? IDK. indulge me in some quotes.
“The hunter's son watches the hunter. The hunter paints more rings on his glasses. Everything is a target, says the hunter. No matter where you look. The hunter's son says nothing, and closes his eyes.”
- The Stag and the Quiver
“Not everyone is dead, Little Moon. But the big moon needs the tree. There is a ghost at the end of the song. Yes, there is. And you see his hand and then you see the moon.
Am I the ghost at the end of the song? We are very close now, Little Moon. Thank you for shining on me.
He was pointing at the moon but I was looking at his hand. He was dead anyway, a ghost. I'm surprised I saw his hand at all. All this was prepared for me. All this was set in motion long ago. I live in someone else's future. I stayed as long as I could, he said. Now look at the moon.”
- The Worm King’s Lullaby
“Opaque in the sense of finally solid, in the sense of see me, not through me.”
- Portrait of Fryderyk in Shifting Light
“Can we love nature for what it really is: predatory? We do not walk through a passive landscape. The paint dries eventually. The bodies decompose eventually.”
- Landscape with Fruit Rot and Millipede