josefinceh's reviews
75 reviews

Folk med ångest by Fredrik Backman

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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

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Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote

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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.  
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The Man Who Was Thursday by G.K. Chesterton

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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.
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Poirot Investigates by Agatha Christie

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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 
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. 
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Only Human by Sylvain Neuvel

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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

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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. 
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A Study in Scarlet & the Sign of the Four by Arthur Conan Doyle

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

4.0

 A Study in Scarlet
A study in scarlet comes in two part, which could just as well be two compleatly different books. Never the less a very entertaining read, this is the second time I read this story. 
The first part introduces watson and the famous Sherlock Holems. Whil’st Sherlock is described as cold and calculated there is no lack in the amount of charm Conan Doyle has added to the character. There is a lot of rude quips comming from all the characters adding an element of humor. 
As the second part rolls around, revealing the backstory of why the crime came to be. This part offers an adventure, drama and even a little lovestory. 

The Sign of the Four
This story is a lot more concise compared to A study in scarlet and also not quite as good. 
The sign of the four works well with further introducing John and Sherlock and their relationship as they have settled in at 221B bakerstreet. However, if you were reading these books for the detective this might be a disepointment as it focuses a lot more on the thoughts of it’s narrator and the characters he meet, mainly Mary. 
The mystery was a little rushed and the villains were not my cup of tea. It felt like whilst the mystery in itself was quite simple there were several elements tossed in to make it feel more complex than it was. 
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The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

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adventurous emotional inspiring sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

 A retelling of the Iliad, from Patroclus perspective. Focusing on the relationship between him and Achilles. 
The song of Achilles is a wonderful love story that will leave its mark on your mind, If I am one to speak. Every page is just so beautifully written, and the way Achilles is described from the loving eyes of Patroclus made my soul warm. Their relationship is really well-developed and had a really satisfying growth. 
I would have likes to see more about Patroclus relationships to other characters, at times they felt a little glossed over to give space to Achilles. Either way, I adored the book. 
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Flickan med sju namn by Hyeonseo Lee, David John

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emotional informative inspiring fast-paced

3.5

Read the Swedish translation.
The girl with seven names is about the authors life in North korea, how she escaped and, how she came back to get her mother and brother out as well. 
The story gets you hooked quickly as Lee describes her childhood in North Korea. She goes into great detail both about the happy times as well as the fear and paranoia that is so deeply ingrained in their culture. Throughout the book she gives you just enough of a hint for you to see where things might be going but still keeps you at the edge of your seat to see what will happen.
Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Although I did find the writing to be a little bit stocky (possibly due to the translation). 
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Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

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dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Domestic thriller with unlikeable characters and unreliable narrators. Nick's wife Amy disappears the day of their five-year wedding anniversary. The police suspects that Nick is responsible, while he stands firm in his claim to innocence looking at any potential suspect who could have taken his wife. 
My guess is that it, like with many thrillers, is best to have as little information as possible before the fact. The hype surrounding the film (and the book) meant that I had been spoiled on a few of the bigger twists. Luckily, the spoilers had been vague enough that it felt like it elevated the story for the most part. I knew what was going to happen, just not how or when. 
The book really sucks you in, skilfully revealing just enough information to keep you curious, but not enough so that you see what will happen next. If you have an interest in psychology, this would be quite a treat. While the characters are unlikeable they feel infinitely complex, no action is unmotivated. 
Some parts felt like they dragged on. Nicks character going on and on about childhood memories is one example. These lulls had a tenancy to feel repetitive. Really dancing in circles around the point we need to grasp to move on. There was also a theme between a lot of the characters of a general hate for all women. It does not feel as intrusive towards the end. In the beginning, however, the point that they all have a resentment for women became a little too hammered in. 
Overall, thoroughly enjoyed the book. 
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