jhg1995's reviews
1838 reviews

Star vs. the Forces of Evil: The Magic Book of Spells by Amber Benson, Dominic Bisignano, Daron Nefcy

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

An epic chronicle of the Queens of Mewni and the lore behind Star vs. The Forces of Evil. It was however, a little hard to pick up on the cursive text. Also, Justin so should've been crowned...it's as if Mewni has entrenched misandry to make a persecution flip commentary...

The Emperor of Nihon-Ja by John Flanagan

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense slow-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? No

4.5

Nicely gritty war narrative that's like The Magnificent Seven Samurai but not. Of course the Flanagan style for fictional country names would call Japan Nihon-Ja just like how Skandia=Scandinavia=Norway, Denmark, or Sweden. Also, also, Arisaka is an odd name for a villain until one imagines Imperial Japan in World War II and its war crimes carried out with Arisaka rifles.

Mammoths & Mastodons of the Ice Age by Adrian Lister

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challenging informative reflective fast-paced

4.5

Very nice and comprehensive though the mastodons should be more bald.

The Chinese in America: A Narrative History by Iris Chang

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challenging dark informative reflective tense slow-paced

4.75

Very informative book showing the underrated history of Chinese Americans and how America should do better at civil rights.

Christian Nation by Frederic C. Rich

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 7%.

I tried to get through this but this doesn't cover any new ground Handmaid's Tale hasn't with prose that is really not much better. This is odd to say because the morals are ones I agree with and are resonant and this book is also leagues superior to William S. Lind's Victoria.
It'll be a million more years before I give dystopia another chance.

Dragon Prince by Melanie Rawn

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adventurous challenging dark hopeful inspiring reflective relaxing sad tense slow-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? No

3.75

Wait...this isn't the Netflix series of a road trip to Xadia with Callum, Rayla, Ezran, and Zym! Ehaz must've copied Rawn!
Ok, name confusion aside this is a pretty good adventure with plenty of action and drama around. Rohan and Sioned have good chemistry. I know everyone will want me to address...that deplorable event. Honestly, it could've been done better but hey at least it's not Ramsay Bolton x Sansa Stark all over again.
PS Sorry @Wyrdness! I know you expected me to tear this to shreds!
PPS Is it weird that I imagine the dragons with pterosaur wings(contrary to what the cover art depicts), Rohan sounds like Brian Bloom and Sioned sounds like Mae Whitman?

Gravity Falls: Journal 3 by Rob Renzetti, Alex Hirsch

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