jem_ko's reviews
57 reviews

Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

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adventurous emotional 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

3.75

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

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

4.25

I worried this would be as predictable as some of the other recently hyped up/trendingn fantasies (cough cough ACOTAR) but i actually found myself having to clench my jaw to stop the shock when i was hit by the plot twist [and frankly i also had to clench my fists to get through the phenomenal smut without showing what i was listening to in public haha]. The dragons and magic of this world are also executed in a wonderful manner.
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A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 1%.
i will save this and try to return to it but the weight and the constant “something is going wrong” with no reprieve plot won’t let me enjoy reading this rn
A Scatter of Light by Malinda Lo

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emotional reflective 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

3.75

A very tropey but equally relatable coming of age and coming out of the cage story with a wonderfully diverse set of character. The main characters remained the most intricate but it was really unique how the author managed to make it feel like every side character also had their own b-road spanning world.
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The Overstory by Richard Powers

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Did not finish book.
felt wildly like reading a white privilege whine
Frontier by Grace Curtis

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

3.75

Certainly worth a read if just for love, loss and laser guns… and lesbian space cowboys. However, it was written with a slightly (possibly purposefully) irritating plot line and some of the body gore in the imagery made me a little sick [would not recommend reading all of this whilst u eat breakfast]. An interesting take on utopia gone wrong and ultimately somewhat akin to Le Guin.
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Notes on Shapeshifting by Gabi Abrão

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hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

4.25

poetry for the druid type 
A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers

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hopeful inspiring reflective 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

4.25

Whilst i took photos of and engrained some of the quotes in this book into the very soul of me, i must admit the heavy lack of any suspense did mean that i held on SOLELY due to the characters wonderful dialogue. Going into this book with a love for Becky Chambers i’ve left with an increased adoration but I must admit that this reads like one of the classic utopian texts where the author is laying out a manifesto not too subtly. I love utopian philosophy so that worked well for me but it is something to be conscious of if ur seeking adventure.
Just Kids by Patti Smith

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reflective slow-paced

3.5

Patti Smith you secret literary minx, i nearly DNF’ed this book but felt an indescribable inability to actually let it go so - after a few days away - I rolled back into the pages and they consumed me. It wasn’t the most compelling read but it spoke to the struggle of any artist who didn’t come from money and Patti explained, phenomenally the dichotomy between wanting to create and not knowing what you need to create.
This is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone, Amal El-Mohtar

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adventurous challenging emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

SO WELL WRITTEN - like honey-soaked prose wrapped in a parcel of crispy cyberpunk with floral undertones…. it easily waltzed its way into my favourite books of all time and managed to make me full-body convulse at the final plot points even though i had only known the characters for 170pages. A tour de force of writing skills.