jennametheny's reviews
166 reviews

Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring fast-paced

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

4.25

The Women of Chateau Lafayette by Stephanie Dray

adventurous emotional inspiring 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

A Touch of Darkness by Scarlett St. Clair

adventurous emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The story is compelling, Persephone is fun to read and is one of the few “strong female protagonists” who actually feels strong in her own way, instead of just generically stubborn. Her relationship with her mother was fascinating. My only (minor) complaint is certain chapters could have been edited better- a few times the author decides to tell us something happened earlier in the book that we didn’t get to read about, but don’t worry it totally happened. That’s a little distracting and pulls me out of the narrative, but it was by no means a dealbreaker. I enjoyed this!

The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful tense medium-paced

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

4.5

One of the most unique writer’s voices I’ve read to date. It was funny, heartwarming, terrifying, it was everything.

Content warning: multiple instances of SA

To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo

adventurous 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

3.5

The 100 by Kass Morgan

adventurous tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas

adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

adventurous emotional 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? Yes

4.0

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

adventurous mysterious slow-paced

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

3.5

Daughter of Sparta by Claire M. Andrews

adventurous fast-paced

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

3.0

I ripped through this quickly because it’s so plot-heavy, it does capture your attention and make you curious about the way it all ends. But I also decided to speed-read once I realized that I would experience very little, if any, connection to these characters.

I can see where the author was trying to go with Daphne’s struggle with her own identity, and it came close to full circle at one point. But even then, the character development doubled back on itself, as many things in this book do. Other than that, any attempt at emotional connection falls flat, making the love story almost pointless.

I give three stars because it did hold my attention enough to finish, and I liked the concept. But I’d never return to this story or these characters again, despite the ending leaving a strong possibility for a sequel.