jamie_reads_stuff's reviews
215 reviews

This Is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone, Amal El-Mohtar

challenging emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I absolutely adored the writing, it is a bit slow to get into at first but I did enjoy it! A very fast read

Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber

adventurous hopeful mysterious medium-paced

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

2.75

What an emotional journey for me to be on. Idk about this one guys. I’ll divide this review into pros and cons

Pros:

• The world was really fun to be in! Very whimsical and magical and the idea of all these fates and the balance between their world and the human world is fun!
• I liked SOME of the characters’ dynamics. Jacks is fairly interesting enough (although sometimes he can be a bit one note) and the dynamic between Marisol and Evangeline was interesting (At first)
• The vibes are very fairy tale Studio Ghibli, and I really liked my those vibes
• The beginning was incredibly compelling and interesting

Cons

• Evangeline was not a character that I enjoyed reading about, sometimes she came off as really annoying and dull
• The character motivations are absolutely all over the place
• Some of the world building was really confusing and there were so many elements just thrown in there and they made no sense whatsoever 
• Kissing chess????????? 
• Simply too many descriptions of heat and kissing and biting
• While the beginning was interesting, it definitely lost my interest towards the middle and end, the story got VERY tropey. There was a lot of room to subvert expectations but everything felt really predictable instead

I don’t know if I’ll read the sequels this is a lot LOL

She Is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran

mysterious sad tense medium-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

3.0

I liked the horror elements and themes around colonialism and intergenerational family dynamics, but I think the character motivations felt confusing and I couldn’t feel really attached to anyone

The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by S.A. Chakraborty

adventurous funny mysterious medium-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? No

4.5

I ADORED this pirate tale. This was such a fun book and I really really enjoyed the characters, plot, and storytelling. It was way funnier than I expected to be, and I’m excited for the sequel to come out!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Torture, Violence, and Colonisation

Moderate: Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Vomit, and Murder

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

emotional reflective sad

3.75

I enjoyed the themes of grief, family relationships, and motherhood, and there were definitely aspects of Asian culture that really resonated with me, especially when it came to cooking and food. I don’t think it’s my favorite type of writing style since this felt like a bunch of scattered essays rather than something cohesive. But it was pretty good overall!

Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-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? Yes

3.5

I liked the themes around religion and I love the relationship between the revenant and Artesimia. The world building was a bit confusing and the magic system was confusing but it was a fun read!

The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid
Did not finish book. Stopped at 48%.

I don’t think I processed a thing in this book, gonna try to read it on Kindle and not on audio

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
Did not finish book. Stopped at 8%.

I don’t think it’s really my thing, I’m not super interested in the world right now. Maybe I’ll come back to it later

The Stationery Shop by Marjan Kamali

emotional hopeful reflective sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

This book about love and fate and the passage of time made my heart ache. Literally cried finishing this book

K-Pop Confidential by Stephan Lee

funny hopeful lighthearted 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

3.75

As much as this was a lighthearted y/n fanfiction of being an idol, I had a lot of fun with it!