insert_username's reviews
24 reviews

I Have the Right to Destroy Myself by Young-Ha Kim

dark sad slow-paced

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

2.0

This sounds so promising and written differently it could be. I choose this for the darkness that it could hold and the idea of it being a microcosm of society but it didn't live to anything as such. It was a show of the allure of death, of how easy it is to seduce someone to die, to change their mindset and help them destroy themselves, which sounds amazing but with such flat characters and boring scenes it really isn't much. If I were to think upon it I may be able to say how the lack of a plot has a link to reality and how reality doesn't have a plot line or a happy ending but I choose to not think on this. The characters aren't much of anything and so even they aren't able to save the book from the boring writing. 

I don't belive I was the right person to read this book but those who love to deeply analyse and understand the deeper meanings of the continuous use of short sentences even when it would be more common to use complex sentences then this truly is the book for you but for me I'm not interested in that.

How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell

adventurous funny inspiring 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

4.0

I absolutely adore the movies and series that are inspired from this book but to those who are looking for the written films and are ready for small differences such as hair colours and eye colours then this isn't the book. The book only shares a few similarities (hiccup, the name toothless, snotlout, gobber, stoic, and fishlegs) and then everything else is completely different. 
This review began in a way that only negativity could follow but yet I found myself completely absorbed into this world so different from what I was expecting. This is only the beginning of the series so I haven't decided my favourite character, I'm happy to see that toothless' humor is still intact, maybe to an even stronger degree than the movies.
I'm looking forward to see where the series go and how the original world of HTTYD is portrayed.

The Blood by E.S. Thomson

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

A tale of secret societies and mistrust, the blood was a brilliant read. A show of ridicule and hate towards humans that do not fit the white male look and a man assuming he is God and playing with prostitutes that "hardly people" (I was truly digusted by this sentiment as it seems to seep through the book). 
The cast of characters is diverse, especially in the historical setting that it is placed in, from Dr and Miss Proudlove to even just Jem. The book moves fast enough to keep you going (from someone who has a short attention span) but doesn't feel rushed. Towards the end I don't think I have read a book that had as much tension as The Blood did but yet my favourite part of the book is simply when they are exisiting happily.

A particular moment is when Jem, Jenny, Gabriel and Will are in the physic garden and are just doing normal things (picking apples and herbs, starting a fire and eating cheese of a stick)

and that even though it was pretty insignificant in the run of things it was probably my favourite scene. I wasn't able to guess who the killer was until the answer was laid before me, I wasn't able go even alude to who it may be
There was mention of a long lost lover, Eliza, but to me that seemed out of place. It didn't matter to the plot and provided me with nothing of interest but maybe its because I started at book three rather then going from the beginning onwards. Apart from that, I truly enjoyed the whole book and, especially, the confessions and the, like, confession, follow through, of Miss Proudlove. 
This if a good read for those who perfere dark, murder mystery stories. I enjoyed this book for what it is and will look forward to reading those that come before and and after The Blood.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

Minor: Drug use, Racial slurs, and Suicide

If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio

dark emotional mysterious sad 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? Yes

5.0