honeycupreads's reviews
101 reviews

Animal Farm by George Orwell

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reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

“All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others”

Classics often feel daunting to me because I worry I won’t fully grasp their themes or concepts. However, Animal Farm is very straightforward in its message. I struggled a bit to stay interested in the first 20ish pages, but when this story gets going it’s incredibly difficult to put down. 

When you begin reading, you can already see where things will most likely head but I don’t think this takes anything away from the story itself. You know the animals will eventually become just like the humans they initially rebelled against but how you get there is  fascinating to watch. The journey this story takes from beginning to end is so important to witness. It would’ve been easy for Orwell to simply say ‘power corrupts, and history will repeat itself if we refuse to learn from it’ but he did so in a way that truly makes you take in the meaning and digest it fully. I think this book does a wonderful job showing how much of life is just history repeating itself when we are not taught or forget the road that has brought us to this place in time. I think the message is just as impactful now, if not more so, than it was when it was written 80 years ago. We are living in an age where we are truly regressing as a society and falling back into ignorant ways, like in this book we are seeing history be rewritten or scratched out all together. I worry for the state of the world today, as I’m sure George Orwell did in 1945 but I also mourn heavily for everything we stand to lose if we keep progressing in this downward spiral. 

I mourn for those who lost their lives fighting for human rights, only to see those same rights up for debate less than a century later. Women are losing the rights to their own bodies. Transgender people are unable to get gender-affirming care. Black people are losing their lives as a result of police brutality and medical racism. Children are dying in their classrooms. So many hard-fought battles are now at risk of being undone because our leaders refuse to learn from the past.  

Seeing the evolution of characters like Napoleon, Boxer, and Benjamin is incredibly interesting. Boxer represents so many people in the world today, working tirelessly, waiting for the promises of retirement, only to have wasted his life away at a job that never cared about him in the first place. Watching Boxer push himself harder and harder for Napoleon made me a little sick to my stomach. Benjamin, to me, is a character who clearly reflects a form of complacency—one born from deep cynicism and a belief that nothing he does will change the outcome. That being said, he ended up being one of my favorite characters in the end. I wanted him to make it out at the end, but more so because I wanted him to be forced to live with his guilt.  He had all the power to help the other animals when Napoleon rose to power and yet decided to not act on it and in the end lost his best friend. Napoleon himself is so clearly an example of ‘the hero’, he comes in and claims he will save the day, making all these promises that sound perfect to those in need. When Napoleon eventually rises to power, it quickly becomes clear that he never intended to keep any of those promises. He begins rewriting the seven commandments in a way that benefits only him and the other pigs, forcing the animals to work longer and harder on the same project he refused to put in motion with Snowball around. Squealer is a perfect representation of our major news outlets today, spreading only the information that shows Napoleon in a positive light and frames anyone against him as the enemy. 

In the end, I think this book will always be powerful, even when the future doesn’t feel so bleak, and I think now more than ever it is a must-read. I’ll leave you with the final line of the book, which also happens to be my favorite. 

“The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.”


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Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

I absolutely adore this series. Wendell and Emily are such lovable characters, and their dynamic is so entertaining to watch. I think it’s a testament to Heather Fawcett’s writing style—and the way she has managed to bring these characters to life—that I am able to look past the fact his name is WENDELL BAMBLEBY. The faerie folklore and little tidbits of information Emily sprinkles into her journal are such a joy to read. The idea of having ribbons to guide your way back, the search for the missing professors, and Wendell’s door are all so interesting. I loved how everything tied together in the end, and I can’t wait to see what the next book has in store. I really hope we continue to see Ariadne and Shadow in this series, because I think their addition to the story has helped Emily grow as a character and evolve in a way that is truly magnificent to watch unfold.

While I loved the narrator, I think this series is best consumed in physical or ebook format—though Wendell’s POV in this installment was a real treat to hear.
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Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

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

2.0

I would like to preface this review by saying that, as a 25-year-old, I understand that I am not the intended audience of this book, so please take the following with a grain of salt. I only ended up reading this book because my 12-year-old niece asked me if it was appropriate for her, and I'm terribly nosy. Spoiler: she ended up finishing it before me and was on the third book by the time I wrapped this one up.

The biggest issue I had while reading was how insanely unlikeable the characters were. The unnatural closeness between Juliet and Adam was incredibly frustrating. I understand that they knew of each other before the events of this book, however, they never even spoke and yet readers are meant to believe they're in love. Warner, as a whole, is a mess of a character and I refuse to believe that we are meant to like him by the end of this series.
My niece informed me that later in the series it’s revealed Warner actually knew Juliet before the first book and that her memories of that time were erased. But even so, I don’t think this revelation redeems him. He was literally holding her hostage.
I don't think there is anyway I would go through this series and feel as though Warner had thouroughly redeemed himself.  Every conversation that takes place between him and Juliet is so frustrating because he is constantly reiterating this sentiment that Juliet will eventually see the errors of her ways" and join him. A man who refuses to take no for an answer in any scenario will always be icky to me no matter what follows in the series. 

On a petty note: I genuinely thought I was losing my mind with how often Adam’s blue eyes are mentioned. WE GET IT. His eyes are blue!
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Caught Stealing by CE Ricci

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

3.0

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Hothead by Stella Rhys

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lighthearted 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? Yes

1.0

File this one under “couples that either get divorced shortly after the end of the book” OR “couples that don’t even make it to the wedding”
Misadventures with a Rookie by Toni Aleo

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funny lighthearted 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? It's complicated

2.0

This book is so fucking ridiculous I couldn’t stop laughing. #JACOBMORGANFANSTEXAS 
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Five Broken Blades by Mai Corland

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adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

It might just be me being oblivious but I actually was shocked during the last 30-40 minutes of this book.
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His Grace, The Duke by Emily Rath

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emotional lighthearted 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? It's complicated

4.5

I didn’t expect to love this duology as much as I did but something about it had me hooked. I will say I think Burke and James should’ve suffered more after slut shaming Rosalie. Tom is hands down one of my favorite MMCs ever. I love him dearly he’s literally never done a thing wrong ever in his life. Also the epilogue made me bawl while eating my breakfast because I love Renley so so much. My only pet peeve with the audiobook is that all the MMCs were voiced by the same person. 

Also,
the shooting at the end was so unnecessary like I literally rolled my eyes.
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Trick Shot by Kayla Grosse

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funny lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream by Harlan Ellison

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dark fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

I feel like giving this a star rating wouldn’t be right because I listened to it at 4 o’clock in the morning so whatever feelings I have about it are definitely swayed by the earlier hour. HOWEVER, I’m going to do it anyways :)
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