justagirlwithabook's reviews
432 reviews

A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I finally finished the third and final book of the Shades of Magic trilogy, and it was every bit as good as I hoped it would be. This one had all the elements in a final book that you would want as a reader: plenty of action and suspense, continued character development, flashbacks and backstories to characters that help to fill in the gaps, and a fair share of heartbreaks but also joyful triumphs. If you aren't afraid of fantasy and some world building, you enjoy a fair dose of magical elements in your books and a bit of traveling between worlds, and you can appreciate well-rounded characters whose stories are complex and authentic ... this trilogy is for you.

The Labyrinth of the Spirits by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Never have I read a series of books quite like The Cemetery of Forgotten Books, and this last book is hard for me to describe. I’m sad, in many ways, that it’s all come to an end, but then has it really? I read the series in the order it was published, and reading this last book made me want to revisit each story all over again, looking for all the extra details I missed the first time, perhaps to gain a better understanding of the characters and all the details of the story as a whole, but also to truly admire what Zafón has managed to accomplish in these four volumes. While The Shadow of the Wind has been one of my favorites and one that I regularly, highly recommend, it will be hard to recommend the first book on its own in the future now knowing that the true magic is the story found within all four novels.

At some point I’ll return to provide a fuller review here, but in the meantime, I think I’ll be lost in the labyrinth of my thoughts for a bit.

The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo" by Zora Neale Hurston

dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

5.0

Bobby Kennedy: A Raging Spirit by Chris Matthews

emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad slow-paced

5.0

Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Annie Barrows, Mary Ann Shaffer

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters

adventurous mysterious slow-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Summer Knight by Jim Butcher

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

The Clockmaker's Daughter by Kate Morton

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

I’ve had The Clockmaker’s Daughter on my TBR since before it was published and I am happy to say I finally have a copy (books seriously make the best gifts for a bookworm), and I savored every bit of it over the last couple days (though, I’ll admit I started reading a lot faster towards the end - I couldn’t help it!).

This makes the first book I’ve read by Kate Morton and I guarantee you it won’t be the last. I’m completely sold. Her writing style, the tone of the book, the atmospheric elements, the characters, the mystery, the jumps back and forth in time, the slow reveal building to an epiphanic moment ... it all reminded me a bit of Daphne du Maurier, but modern and ... dare I say it? ... better.

Let me explain. While I love du Maurier’s books - a good blend of mystery, history, atmospheric description, and interesting characters - I also acknowledge that, as a reader, I thrive off of plot driven novels. This book was the best of both worlds for me, and even though I knew how some of the story ended right at the start (Morton revealed key details in the first pages), I still found myself deeply affected by the end, which resulted in my being stuck in my own head lost to my thoughts the remaining part of the day.

A book that can leave you mulling it over and over in your head for the better part of a day is a good book, as far as I’m concerned. 

Death Masks by Jim Butcher

adventurous funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0