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josefinceh's reviews
79 reviews
North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Flew through this one. Got everything you expect from a Poirot story whith just the right amount of twist. Highly revomend!
Hawaii's Story by Hawaii's Queen by Liliuokalani
challenging
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
I found this book increadibly addictive despite it's slow pace. Lili'uokalani is not an authour with a flate for the dramatic, she is factual and detailed in her reflections. Yet even when she listed name after name of the people that she spoke to I kept feeling curious about her thoughts and what would happen next.
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Folk med ångest by Fredrik Backman
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Suicide
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Pregnancy
Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
All four stories ar beautifly written and lyrical. There is an overarching theme of friendship, love and betrayl through all of the stories.
The titular story, the one that made me pick up the book in the first place, is the one that stuck with me the least.
I was suprised to find rhat the stories are quite dark and makes me think of gorhic novels like thoes of Edgar Allen Poe.
The titular story, the one that made me pick up the book in the first place, is the one that stuck with me the least.
I was suprised to find rhat the stories are quite dark and makes me think of gorhic novels like thoes of Edgar Allen Poe.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Suicide
The Man Who Was Thursday by G.K. Chesterton
characters use racist and/or ableist method as part of their disguise. In this cas3, brown face and faking a disability
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
In the mist of biblical references hides the most insane an rediculus spy novel. Funny, absurd, intriguing and only sometimes predictsble.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism and Racism
Poirot Investigates by Agatha Christie
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Poirot Investigates is a collection of 11 short stories.
Overall the stories are fun and comforting as you might expect from Christie and the smaller scale did not hinder her from deliviring interesting characters and humour.
My personal favourites:
Chapter 3: The mystery of the cheap flat
Hastings is having dinner with a group of new acquaintances. Among them is a young woman and her husband who had recently come across a flat for a surprisingly low price. The suspicious part of the flat is that it's been on the market for months and yet noone has snatched it up.
Chapter 7: The Jewlery Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan
Poirot greets a wealthy couple in a hotel resturant, the woman is in distresse as one of her favourite and most expensive jewels had been taken. The only person who had been in the room was the maid. However, she was never there alone and the jewel is still nowhere to be found.
Chapter: 9 - The Disapperance of Mr. Davenhime
Chapter: 9 - The Disapperance of Mr. Davenhime
Poirot is challenged to solve the disapperance of mr. Davenhime without leaving his flat, soley from information comunicated by Japp.
The lowest point in this collection is it’s first story: The Adventures of the Western Star
A young actress appears at Poirot's office with a number of letters threatening to steal a valuable jewel of hers, The star of the West. Coincidently, another young woman appears later at Poirot's office who had received the same threats as the actress regarding her jewel, The star of the East.
This story relies heavily on Asian stereotypes and this fictional legend regarding the star of the East and the star of the West. Along with stereotypes there were also racial slurs and a potential case of yellowfacing.
Content Warnings
Minor: Racial slurs and Racism
Slurs against asians used in the first story Chinaman and Chink
Only Human by Sylvain Neuvel
adventurous
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan
adventurous
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
A very solid four-star read.
This book offers a heavy cast of extremely intriguing and complex characters. Whose relationship to each other (for the most part) add a whole other level of humanity to them. Parker-Chan does a great job with these characters and especially their development throughout the story.
The pacing and writing felt somewhat inconsistent, especially towards the end. There were some phrasing choices that really threw me off at times.
The first act was really entertaining and where most comparisons to Mulan stems from. I decently found a good handful of references and similarities. It had a lot of charm and really does a great job introducing you to Zhu and their desires and determination.
The second act introduces the character that I found most interesting, which is Ouyang. The contrast between him and Zhu in their views on destiny and feeling about gender was fascinating to read about, but it was Ouyang’s relationship to the secondary characters that really got me through this act, as I found a lot about it to be very slow and kind of dull.
The third and final act brings the pace up quite a bit. Focusing on the themes of destiny and desire, rounding up the story in a way that almost felt a little rushed after such a long period with a slow pace. Wrapping it up in a way that made me intrigued as to where they will take the story next.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder, and War
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Animal death, Child death, Misogyny, and Blood