iellv's reviews
70 reviews

Heaven Official's Blessing: Tian Guan Ci Fu (Novel) Vol. 3 by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Heaven Official's Blessing: Tian Guan Ci Fu (Novel) Vol. 2 by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

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adventurous dark emotional funny sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.25

Holy shit it got a lot better by the end
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Heaven Official's Blessing: Tian Guan Ci Fu (Novel) Vol. 1 by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

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

3.0

Normally I wouldn’t continue reading this series, but sometimes the good far outshined the bad. Ik what I’m getting out of this series and what I won’t get so I’ll be a bit more generous with my ratings moving forward lmao
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Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative? by Mark Fisher

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informative reflective fast-paced

4.25

Concise and very accessible! I think a lot of ppl view Capitalist Realism as sort of beginner/introductory level of theory, but I kind of disagree. I’d say this is maybe two levels below intermediate? 
Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

4.8

Gripping from start to finish if you love knowing other people’s business. No, but seriously this is absolutely worth the read. But note that not all the stories converge directly—there is no grand ending, but the payoff was still utterly devastating. At the beginning, the book feels like watching the ground shift beneath your feet like oil on still water. And as you go through the rest of the book it feels like drowning, and then you’re overcome completely by a brief crash. And then, silence. Helpppppp im never reading this again probably. I’m currently recovering from a stomach flu as I write this and I gotta tell you the last chapters rlly aggravated my tummy lmao.
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She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

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adventurous dark emotional funny tense 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

3.25

The Summer Hikaru Died, Vol. 2 by Mokumokuren

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

4.25

The Summer Hikaru Died, Vol. 1 by Mokumokuren

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Perfect in every way. Stunning art, beautiful premise, haunting setting/atmosphere, interesting characters etc. etc. I love love love body horror, especially body horror used effectively as a narrative tool. This manga explores grief, friendship, love, loneliness, intimacy, trauma, and to some extent boyhood and the human condition. So excited to read more. I'll be following this manga very closely.
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The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Again I wish I had profound things to say about extremely important books. But here we are. It took me forever to finish reading The Sympathizer, but that’s because I always prefer to consume satire through film and TV. Just read it. 
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Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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