jasmineteagirl's reviews
79 reviews

Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig

adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.75

I’m SO glad I read this series. I was looking for an easy-to-read fantasy with some romance and this duology was perfect. I’m not  sure whether I liked book one or two better, but I so greatly loved Elm’s addition to this. Him and Ione tugged at my heart. I was really loving their chapters. And the Nightmare lowkey had me laughing. His interactions with Ravyn were great. Ravyn is such a cliche name. Ugh I really liked this. Considering giving it 5 stars but idk. Probably not because it did take me awhile to get into it. 

One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.25

Lovely War by Julie Berry

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.75

This book was emotional but delightful. Both couples warmed my heart. I loved the use of short chapters, it truly moved the story along. And the audiobook was amazing as well! The musical inclusions immersed me into the setting. 

aphrodites complaint was that since she’s the goddess of love, she’s impossible to truly love the way mortals do, by the end I’m not sure the wrap-up signified that Hephaestus did ? Maybe I’m misremembering or a bit stupid lol

The Winners by Fredrik Backman

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.25

What an End to this saga. I wish my reading speed hadn’t slowed down so much recently, because I do feel some of this book was lost on me in that time. However, I still enjoyed it. The writing is simply beautiful. Reading about recurring and new characters with stories interwoven so perfectly is so satisfying. 

I still don’t know who my favorite character to read about was?? Benji is definitely one of them. Probably THE top.

Benji, oh benji:( it was obvious to me from the very beginning what Matteo was going to do. And it was easy to connect the fate Backman sealed earlier on to Benji

I do feel this book could’ve been shortened a bit. Repetition is clearly a style Backman loves and that’s fine, I do too. But the length of this book & number of storylines weren’t aided by it. The way this book is written is beautiful but also, not engaging at many parts, thus creating a slower reading experience. 
It’s interesting David wasn’t at all mentioned. I can’t remember how his story ended in Us Against you though. 

I also found the Alicia emphasis interesting in this one. The ending was cool. But wasn’t she only introduced in book 2? My memory is awful lol

Also the audio voice narrators voice change for Ana is so irritating. 

I’m so glad I took the time to read this series. It was definitely worthwhile, and I will 100% read more Fredrik Backman. He’s a master at creating and writing different characters with different complexities. Matteo’s FOIL with Leo, his sisters with maya, the reflected character arcs of Mumble and Amat… so good. Hannah and Johnny were such a random introduction but I ended up enjoying them! I don’t know how he connects these characters together from Hed and Beartown but he does it! Even old characters, from the first book even, are woven in. 



Also…. Is hockey ever really that serious ?

Us Against You by Fredrik Backman

challenging emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.75

I thought I’d say I liked this one more than the first, and for the first 80% I did. I don’t dislike the ending but man I was hoping for a more positive outcome iykyk. Like woah. How was this more devastating than book 1???

Beartown by Fredrik Backman

reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.75

wow, that was amazing. It’s hard to find a book with a large cast where the author brilliantly switches between characters, but Backman did it here. 

Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater
Did not finish book. Stopped at 28%.

Don’t care 

The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley

adventurous fast-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

This was such a unique read. I enjoyed the mix of subtle sci-fi and literary fiction. I really enjoyed reading our main character and Graham’s interactions. I do fear my extended time of reading this has impacted my opinion and shriveled it to not much, so I only feel comfortable rating this book 3.75. 

Happy Pride month to Margaret! 

The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

omg I feel like I should’ve liked this more. But this just felt messy, especially compared to Holly Jackson’s other books. Bel was annoying until the last 75%. It was mostly unpredictable, but poorly executed so it seemed discombobulated. 

These ya thriller books are hardly realistic, but 

it’s just unbelievable that they’d stay in the town after all of that, and live comfortably. The ending almost seemed rushed? Carter and Bel drastically less affected than they should’ve been

 

Bel’s character development happened like a flipped switch, and her pessimistic personality in the beginning was already unconvincing in its own. Ash was likable but the romance there was also unconvincing, clearly thrown in there for some AWWs.

 I really wanted to liked this more, truly, especially given I loved Holly Jackson’s other books. I think with the premise it had, this book could’ve been done differently & better. 

Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.75

Maybe my feelings will ebb, but for now this is five stars. Such a quick, easy to read story. Like a fairytale. I just got back from a trip to Mexico City and knew I wanted to read a book relating to Mayan / Mesoamerican culture. This yanks at your heart strings whilst remaining a tale of hope and vivacity.  

Edit: feelings did Ebb. Moving to 4.75 or 4.5 just because it wasn’t as impactful in the long run