jarka120's reviews
392 reviews

Promise Boys by Nick Brooks

mysterious 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? No

3.75

interesting storyline and i like how the main mystery unraveled but i felt like there were a lot of unanswered questions about secondary plot points at the end and things they could've explored more in depth. the ending in general felt very abrupt and i think this easily could've been a longer read.

The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

i appreciated that a lot of this is about self-education and admitting that you need to do your part to learn and grow and that it's okay when your viewpoints change based on new information--all things that many still do not (or at least do not want to) understand.

The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer

adventurous emotional funny mysterious 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? Yes

3.75

i thought this was a really enjoyable read. i loved all the characters and thought the world building was fun even if it was a little sparse. would definitely read more about jeremy and rafe finding their way back to skya and emily.

my biggest qualms were i felt like jeremy and rafe should've been a little older during their six months in shannondoa (maybe 16-17) and emily should've been a little younger. emily especially with the way she talked and behaved didn't always feel like an ~adult~ character and the story would've worked well as her also in a 17-18 age (which would've made it feel full circle if jeremy and rafe were also around that age when they met skya). i do have my own headcannon also that time moves differently in shannondoa which made jeremy and rafe feel like they were there longer than six months. overall though even with its faults i liked this a lot!!

Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun by Jonny Garza Villa

emotional funny hopeful fast-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

4.5

what a sweet feel good book 🥹

Nine Tailed by Jayci Lee

adventurous emotional funny 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

3.0

a pretty solid 3/5! i loved the mythology woven in here and getting to learn about parts of korean culture and lore that i was unfamiliar with. sunny is also an interesting character with a heartbreaking backstory. also the cover?? GORGEOUS. however, i could've done without every other sentence being about "wow ethan is so hot and ethan thinks i'm so hot but we can't do anything". i know this is a romantasy but it was just TOO MUCH of that all the way up to when ethan and yellow disappear off screen for a while. i did not buy into their relationship as much as the author obviously wanted me to. 

A Happy Catastrophe by Maddie Dawson

emotional funny fast-paced

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

2.75

i was excited for this sequel, especially since it was more highly rated than the first, but oh my god i could not vibe with it at all. marnie especially was pissing me off so much from the beginning with the way she was pushing patrick about having a baby, but also how did they go FOUR YEARS TOGETHER without having a conversation about this before??? and the fact that no adult conversations were had after either, not about kids, not about the future, not about patrick's DEBILITATING DEPRESSION THAT JUST ~MAGICALLY~ GETS BETTER. like i'm not looking for hyperrealism in my romance books (especially in ones with magic~ in them anyway), but this was too much. 

Matchmaking for Beginners by Maddie Dawson

emotional funny hopeful reflective 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? Yes

3.0

loved marnie and blix and everyone introduced in brooklyn!!! noah and marnie's whole family can go fuck off though 

The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood

adventurous funny fast-paced

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

3.0

A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan's Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them by Timothy Egan

dark informative medium-paced

4.5

the worst part of this book is not reading about the terrible disgusting things these people did but that this level of bigotry still exists under a new initialism

The Snowball Effect by Haley Cass

emotional funny hopeful 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? Yes

4.0