kaadie's reviews
158 reviews

Traitor by Nicole Conway

adventurous tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

2.5

This book was paced a little weirdly, the first half felt quite superfluous and it really didn't further the story. The second half was at least plot relevant but still felt unnecessarily long.

Again, the main character made stupid choices so that the author could ham-handedly force information on us. Like what the actual f*ck was that battle scene? 

Jaevid literally did no fighting. Unless you consider transfiguration of a giant pig combat? The scene was awkward, hard to follow and boring. The torture scenes were unnecessary and accomplished what exactly? The final revelation of Jaevid's powers was pretty underwhelming and to include a THIRD training arc just to provide a protagonist that is still unprepared is wild.

Avian by Nicole Conway

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

I wasn't a fan of how dumb Jae was in this book. His refusal to address the dreams was infuriating and the fact that he had to be told by Felix that Jace was grooming him to be his wingend was  just bizzare. The author really did do more telling than showing and her writing can be a tad, indelicate. 

Jae and Becka's lovestory is also a bit strange; weird choice to put a 17 year old in a 20+ year old body and have his love interest be 16. Jae's antiquated view to female dragon riders is also frustrating considering the fact that he himself would have been left out of the school based on bigotry. 

Overall still a good book though and the final revelation did have me "shocked Pikachu face". 

Fledgling by Nicole Conway

adventurous lighthearted tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Such a fun YA read. No sex, no gratuitous violence in an attempt to seem angsty and edgy. Nothing ground-breaking; just a magical world, with an interesting plot and a character we can root for. 

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

adventurous emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

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

2.0

Meh. The author read Divergent and was like: "This needs dragons!" 

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

adventurous reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

The book was so boring and so slow paced but the last three chapters or so had me on tenterhooks. I was so thrilling and stressful to read the end and yeah, Ralph's cry at the end was incredibly impactful but damn, the rest of the book was so meh. Lovely symbolism and commentary though. 

Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75

I don't think its a good thing, but I did really enjoy this book *giggles in mental unhealth* 

The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera

reflective slow-paced

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

1.0

Not for me hey. Just, no. 

The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin

adventurous emotional medium-paced

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

2.5

This book suffered from middle-book syndrome. Promises the continuation of the plot and answers to questions posed in the first book but instead stalls with characters being purposefully obtuse so that the author can spoonfeed us information and Murphy's Law where literally everything goes wrong. 

Nassun and Essun are kind of sucky characters not going to lie. I know, hot take to have beef with a fictional child but like, girl bye. Essun was just stupid in this book.

The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

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

2.5

Ehhhhh, I don't know hey. It definitely was a wasted read but I feel rather underwhelmed. I thought that the story was actually quite simple and thus predictable. The author made the ending seem obscure and mysterious by dressing their story up in unique and inaccessible detail. The world was complex and carefully constructed but I felt that the author withheld too much information about how the world operates in order to aid in shock-value down the line.

Meh, a truly unique fantasy-scape that had a rather dull ending in my opinion. 

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

adventurous dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

The Stillness is a fascinating place. I love how detailed and unique the world building has been so far. The story progressed at a good pace and the characters are interesting. The story is intriguing and definitely makes me want to read further.