headertime1981's reviews
312 reviews

Red Rising by Pierce Brown

adventurous dark emotional reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I can't believe I waited so long to read this, and I wish I could take off work for the week to read the next two.

I'm obsessed. I love being in Darrow's revenge-driven, complex mind. I love only getting pieces of what he's thinking and the constant paradigm-switching of plot and story. Nothing is ever as it seems, as the goalposts consistently change. Characters I hate, I grow to love—characters I love, I grow to hate. Everything is in constant evolution. 

If you love a deep dive into the nature of humanity at its most base and yet complex core, this is a ride for you.

People have called this Space Hunger Games, but this makes Hunger Games look like childsplay. I enjoyed that story, but this is one for the grown-ups who see reality a few shades darker and more hopeless.

City of Gods and Monsters by Kayla Edwards

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.25

I wanted to like this so much more than I did. The dialogue was redundant, and the two main characters constantly revealed too much of themselves to each other without earning it. They suddenly loved each other out of nowhere while still not. Also, the virgin trope is so tired. Why can't any of these stories have grown women who aren't afraid of the big bad wolf or let them be the big bad wolf? I did like Darien, but he was so inconsistent it was exhausting. I wanted to like the world because it was cool, but...I grew bored. Often. That's a big problem. If the sequels weren't so terribly long, I'd dive in, but I can't justify spending that kind of time when there are so many other books out there to discover. I had to cleanse my palette with a dark mafia romance. 

The Reaper by RuNyx

dark emotional mysterious tense 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

3.5

Still a ton of fun. 

The Predator by RuNyx

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

This was a ton of fun. I picked up the second and third books in the series. 

The Songbird & the Heart of Stone by Carissa Broadbent

adventurous dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

 I just sobbed through half of this book, and I don't cry. I'm absolutely destroyed. 

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

4.0

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

5.0

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

3.0

A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams

5.0

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

5.0