jarshi's reviews
117 reviews

The Absolute Sandman, Volume Three by Sherilyn van Valkenburgh, Lovern Kindzierski, Steve Leiloha, Vince Locke, John Watkiss, Bryan Talbot, Mike Allred, Jill Thompson, Mark Buckingham, Gary Amaro, Alec Stevens, Daniel Vozzo, Michael Zulli, Dick Giordano, Tony Harris, P. Craig Russell, Neil Gaiman, Shea Anton Pensa, Todd Klein, Dave McKean, Kent Williams

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

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

3.0

This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

2.0

Heartstopper Volume 2 by Alice Oseman

emotional funny lighthearted 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

3.5

Paper Girls: The Complete Story by Brian K. Vaughan

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

3.0

The colors in this series are insane!

The Tatami Galaxy by Tomihiko Morimi

funny lighthearted mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

3.75

Are we friends if I've never talked your ear off about how Tatami Galaxy kickstarted my interest in Japanese literature?

Yeah, it isn't the best thing ever written, but it's special TO ME!

Heartstopper Volume 1 by Alice Oseman

lighthearted 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

3.5

A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark

adventurous lighthearted mysterious medium-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? It's complicated

3.5

The World We Make by N.K. Jemisin

adventurous challenging emotional funny inspiring mysterious reflective 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

4.75

NK Jemison has made it onto a very small list of published authors that have succeeded in making me cry. In the author’s note, Jemison wrote about how this series was originally planned to be a trilogy but was bumped down to a duology because she was running out of steam and real-life events were way worse than anything she could’ve possibly written. I can believe that.

The last couple of chapters felt rushed, and a lot of subplots didn’t end to the satisfaction of my personal tastes. I think the Ur gave up a bit too easily after they’d been played up as these scary, multiverse-killing beings that are beyond the scope of human understanding.

And Neek and Manny… I love them but their relationship ends on such a foreboding note that can’t help but think that they aren’t made to last.

Despite all of this, there was so much more that I enjoyed. I loved how everyone was characterized. The dialogue and interactions were so fresh and rolled through my head so easily. Like I said before, there isn’t one character that I hated. I loved everyone.

The more I read, the more I became interested in the manifestations of other US cities. As a born and raised DC native, it did my spirit a lot of good to see that the avatar of my city would be a black woman of seemingly East African descent. At the moment of reading that line, I literally screamed, “You already fucking know!”

Anyways, very good. I’m very sad that I’ve reached the end, but this series has created a very nice sandbox that I think I’ll play in for a while.

The Oleander Sword by Tasha Suri

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

I finished this book while eating cold chicken nuggets. I hope Malini thinks I’m gross :)

The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

Oh, I loved this! And I love Malini she's so hot I love women who are smarter than me.