ibingebooks's reviews
77 reviews

Thirsty by Jas Hammonds

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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

The Ballad of Jacquotte Delahaye by Briony Cameron

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring fast-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

4.5

Moonstorm by Yoon Ha Lee

medium-paced

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

2.0

big yikes. i was not expecting the MC in a YA story about an empire colonizing and destroying other worlds....to denounce her identity and side with the empire? and like... that's it. that's the whole story. 🫠 Hwajin's family is murdered by the empire, she's kidnapped by the empire and taken to an orphanage, and all she can think is how cool the spaceships that killed her family are and how bad she wants to fly one? the whole book is about her embedding herself deeper in the empire and participating in murderous colonizer activities against her own people (who she no longer claims and constantly refers to as "the enemy"). i thought surely there would be some redeeming character arc where the clanners (Hwajin's people) are humanized and Hwajin realizes that empire is evil...lol nope. just colonizer nonsense from cover to cover, the end. 

Also, the synopsis on here/the jacket copy is misleading. The clanners are NOT rebels..?? They are adventurers, miners, and scientists who fled to the Moonstorm to escape the Empire's tyrannical rule, and they live peacefully. It's almost like the publisher intentionally marketed it this way because they knew the story arc was hot garbage

Road to Ruin by Hana Lee

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.5

Goddess of the River by Vaishnavi Patel

emotional reflective sad slow-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? Yes

3.75

All We Were Promised by Ashton Lattimore

adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty

challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

The Dead Cat Tail Assassins by P. Djèlí Clark

adventurous mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

The Last Bloodcarver by Vanessa Le

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.0

Those Beyond the Wall by Micaiah Johnson

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0