jasmineteagirl's reviews
79 reviews

Earthlings by Sayaka Murata

dark fast-paced

• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

???? I actually don’t have a rating for this 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Incest, Sexual assault, Blood, Cannibalism

Summoned to the Wilds by A.K. Caggiano
Did not finish book. Stopped at 58%.

Really don’t care. 

Throne in the Dark by A.K. Caggiano

2.25

I’m going to read the second book, but I wasn’t thrilled with this. It droned on for a bit, sometimes too wordy for its own good, and we didn’t know anything about Amma til 80% of the way in. I know a major plot point technically was her lack of agency, but woah, we didn’t know anything except she was kind and whimpered a lot for most of the book. Things amped up at end fortunately. Also, POVs sometimes weren’t consistently distinctive enough to easily differentiate between amma and Damien. 

I enjoyed the satire of it all. 

Unnatural Magic by C.M. Waggoner
Did not finish book. Stopped at 14%.

Don’t care rn

Master of Crows by Grace Draven

2.5

this was fine. Unremarkable honestly. Grace Draven is a talented writer. She’s a nice go-to for quick fantasy-romance, however there’s a lack of worldbuilding especially in this one.  It Felt longer than it was and took me longer than I wanted to finish. I found martise to be sweet. Silhara was funny sometimes but also quite rude. Gurn was sweet and so was his relationship with Martise and Silhara. None of them were insanely developed as characters. I preferred the radiance trio to this book.  

Obviously it’s a fantasy world where values are different but it was emphasized wayyyyy too much that Martise is “plain”. Like how often can the love interest call out fmc different versions of plain and lowkey ugly before it starts to become unbelievable that he somehow became attracted to her.  Maybe Draven was trying a “looks don’t matter” approach but idk. Also the word cunnus was used a lot… were there no other synonyms lmfao 

Idk how to explain it but I didn’t like the writing surrounding sex workers in this  ? 

The Yellow Wall-Paper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

3.5

I feel like I shouldn’t rate this at all. I read this on a busy train a bit distracted. I already knew what this was about. Not sure how I would’ve felt reading this with no context. Even knowing what it’s about I still want to read explanations. I do find it remarkable it was published in 1892. 

The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead

fast-paced

4.0

Devastating 

The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen

adventurous funny hopeful medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Cute, unique, romantic. Solid book. 

Also, I see quite a few reviews upset about this copying You’ve Got Mail… I’ve got news, You’ve Got Mail is a remake of the far superior The Shop Around The Corner. This book is merely a fantasy remake. And in Shop and Mail the coffee shop scene exists, as this book carries on the tradition. 

Rebel Witch by Kristen Ciccarelli

medium-paced

3.25

don’t think this 3.25 is bad. Cause it’s not. This book is just a tad too juvenile for me, as it is YA. That’s not a fault of the book. I just don’t love it enough to rate it higher. Both books of this series are such a good fantasy romance mix if you need something quick. 

Nothing about the world is insanely detailed, rune and gideon are likable. But some things aren’t fleshed out as they should be imo. Also, quite predictable. I do think 2months was so soon after the events of the last book, it felt odd. Timing felt inconsistent. Maybe I forgot the magic system and what spells do what but I never understood why Gideon couldn’t also be put into disguise. 

Sometimes it felt like this book put scenes and quotes in to cater to the booktok trendy audience. But I feel that way about a lot of modern books w romance lol. 

I WANT A BOOK FOR JUNIPER AND HARROW 

Amid Clouds and Bones by Ella Fields
Did not finish book. Stopped at 33%.

If you don’t like:
-body betrayal
-insta-lust
-cliche lines
-underdeveloped characters
-semi-love triangles
You won’t like this! 

I kinda knew going in what this would be like, so I’m not that upset. It’s just not for me. But also damn some of the lines were cringe and cliche. The couple read a bit like a rated-r Jude and Cardan. I just don’t have it in me to finish this, I need a fantasy / romantasy break after not really finding my groove with the other books I’ve read. Also idk I prefer more buildup to love scenes lmao. And don’t rly like degrading dirty talk ? 

I skimmed a bit but gathered info along the way so like I kinda read more than 33%