jersy's reviews
645 reviews

The Reindeer People by Megan Lindholm

mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

A historical novel with fantasy elements mostly about a woman protecting herself and her mentally handicapped son. The style and tone is typical of older fantasy and fits this story perfectly. The book is calm and character-focused but there is always a sense of threat. I love how the main characters aren't the typical protagonists we get in modern fantasy books: a single mum varry of posessive men, unsure how to raise her son best, and a reindeer herder struggling with societies expectations and developing a fondness for said son. The atmosphere and setting is on point, the characters well done, though the overall writing isnt as strong as in later books by the author.

The Sea Wolf by Jack London

medium-paced

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

4.0

The highlight of the book is without a doubt its antagonist: Wolf Larsen is brutal and without moral but also intelligent and self-educated, feared and hated by all but looking for intellectual companionship. He is complex and I enjoyed his interactions with the protagonist, Humphrey, a lot. Hump has the typical ark of never having sailed before and learning to live the rough life on a ship, which also really appeals to me. The writing is quite beautiful as well.
Unfortunately, none of the other characters, including another main one joining the cast later on, ever came near to being that interesting, but they fulfilled their role well.

11.22.63 by Stephen King

emotional hopeful informative lighthearted slow-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? No

5.0

A slow, emotional, wonderful time travel story that can pick up in pace when needed and deliver great moments, paints a vivid picture of the past and just made me love everything about itself, especially the characters and their relationships as well as how detailed and real Jake's life in the part is.

danger from deer by Vicki Baum

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense 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

3.0

In theory I should love this book: we're following a morally questionable but still, in her own way, strong female character in the tradition of Becky Sharp or Scarlett O'Hara, there were some really impressive scenes and I liked Joy and how she was used both in the relationship to her stepmother and to discuss how mental illness was viewed back then. I really enjoyed the time on the train and Part Two, where we mostly follow Joy, but there were phenomenal moments between the characters throughout.
Unfortunately, I could never fully immers myself into the story and always felt like I was looking at people but not enough into their minds, something about the writing just didn't click with me. It's a great story but not the perfect presentation for me.

The Semi-Detached House by Emily Eden

funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

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

4.0

While this is pretty light on story, it's charming, funny and filled with lovable characters. Reading this, you're pretty much just watching some neighbors overcoming their predjudice against each over and growing very dear to one another. The characters are all very distinct and memorable, they're a bit like Dickens characters but in a Jane Austen inspired novel. Also, some of the lines delighted me way more than they probably should.

The Monk by Matthew Gregory Lewis

dark tense medium-paced

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

2.0

The writing is highly enjoyable in it's very gothic style and I couldnt help to be at least a little interested reading a story of moral degredation written way back then. It oozes in it's genre's tropes and that can be fun, but it's just not good.
There's no real character work, the first third just throws three stories at you that don't feel that connected, it's super overdramatic with no substance and nowadays it's not that shocking anymore, but that's fine since I didn't expected that. It just didn't offer enough to balance out these flaws.

Kristin Lavransdatter, II: The Wife by Sigrid Undset

emotional informative reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.0

This has a pretty slow start which may have the character examination but not the spark and strong emotional moments of the first book, also the events seemed a bit to unconnected to me. From the second third onwards, however, this was the same kind of ride as book one, plus beloved side characters returned and were utilized masterfully.
Kristin isn't a child anymore and the change is noticable: there is more politics in this book, telling the reader about the situation of Norway at this point in time, but her personal life is also changed. While never being the most care free, she needs to take a more active role, find her place as mother and wife and struggles to not grow bitter. Undset is very sympathetic towards her flawed characters and portrays them as the complex human beings they would be in real life.

Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus by Orson Scott Card

3.0

A really interesting book with a really dissapointing last third.

I loved how half of this is the story of Christopher Columbus, portrayed as a not that likable but determined man, working towards a mission for years, and the other half is about researchers from the future studying him and the possibility of interfering with him. The researchers knowledge, theories and goals kept evolving and I much prefered that approach to having the same mission from the start. This really is a book about studying the past and the potential implications of messing with it. The characters felt like real, living people, too, but I never really grew attached to them. Still, I enjoyed a lot how the book fully committed to its premise.

Then there was a twist that took a lot of agency from the characters and everything after this was just less interesting and parts of it a bit weird. Some of the nuance of the novel didn't survive through this and so it just didn't have an ending that satisfied me.

Ship of Destiny by Robin Hobb

dark emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

5.0

A masterful ending to the series with so many heart wrenching moments.
Hobb seems to start her trilogies with simple, estahlished ideas to take them into such imagitive, unexpected directions.
Can't wait to read more of her books.

Time and Again by Jack Finney

informative lighthearted relaxing slow-paced

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

3.0

The charm of this book lies in the authors clear love of New York, the attention to detail and how one actually feels transported back in time. Most of the novel is spent doing mundane things, like taking a walk, cooking kotelet, going on a shopping spree... I love how different that is and how authentic the experience feels. This is absolutely not a book that focuses on plot and I enjoy quiet stories like that.
While it is a really charming books, if not much happens I need to care for the people and giving them more than the bare minimum of character traits wasn't really a concern here. Also, the little crime plot there was wasn't that interesting to me either. Still, this was a unique read I'm glad I experienced.