hannaelisab's reviews
29 reviews

Carrie by Stephen King

dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

3.5

carrie is a nice depiction of female rage, religious trauma and supernatural abilities. you will feel bad for the leading lady,, guaranteed. (i kinda love carrie the musical too lol. the soundtrack is bomb)

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

mysterious tense fast-paced

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

2.5

yea i do not get the hype for this one. it was really boring lol. i also really disliked the writing style. we were liars was not for me. 

Verity by Colleen Hoover

dark tense medium-paced

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

3.5

my first - only - colleen hoover book. her others stories never interested me, but i had heard that even people who didn't enjoy hoovers romance/drama books, liked verity. i would not call myself a Colleen hoover convert, but this was a pretty solid thriller! the mystery had me on the edge of my seat (or bed lol) quite often. even though idk how i feel about the final twist and the unnecessarily heavy use of the word f*ck (like cmon this is not euphoria), verity was a fun (thrilling) read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Child death

The Hawthorne Legacy by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

the hawthorne legacy was already much more enjoyable to me, than the first volume. throughout this book i finally got closer to the characters, which i missed in part 1. 

The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

the idea of this book series (knives out & dynasty vibes) excited me a lot. but after finishing the first book, i wasn't completely sold tbh. like, don't get me wrong, this book wasn't bad at all - just not as great as the hype made it out to be unfortunately. my main problem was the pretty wonky german translation & that I did not feel close to the characters. glad I kept reading though!

The Final Gambit by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

the final gambit was definitely my favorite book out of the trilogy...it was just so fun to read and i was completely engrossed in the mystery. can't wait for the brothers hawthorne (: would recommend!

Hamlet by William Shakespeare

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.0

"something is rotten in the state of denmark"

because i had to read hamlet for my english class, i know feel like i know this book & its characters inside-out! also, having read shakespeare in the original language does grant me some bragging rights, which i obviously love. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death and Mental illness

Tales from the Café by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-paced

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

3.75

these short stories were very enjoyable to read - I immediately lent the book to my friend after finishing it. i accidentally picked up the sequel before reading the first iteration, but it luckily didn't matter to much. especially the last short story touched me deeply, and i annotated a lot!! unfortunately, the english translations were a bit wonky at times. i wish i could've read the original version, but unfortunately i can't read japanese lol.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death and Suicidal thoughts

The Lies I Tell by Julie Clark

mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

3.5

a fun mystery, that definitely picks up towards the end - and makes you question if you could pull off a con yourself. 

On Sun Swallowing by Dakota Warren

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad fast-paced

4.25

» and you called it art and I’ll call it murder«- the art of bone carving

gorgeous, deeply personal poetry written in dakotas blood. 
there were some poems i connected with more than others, which is obvious, due to poetry‘s highly subjective nature. 
i fell in love with the distinctive voice dakota developed & the persona (question mark?) she developed so thoroughly throughout the book & her social media. I also loved the layout & the photographs in here, all really intimate stuff. the only critique i have is the (often occurring) re-use of some words (e.g. rot).

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Content Warnings

Minor: Eating disorder