kaadie's reviews
158 reviews

Less by Andrew Sean Greer

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

Less was a whimsical read and Arthur Less was quite the interesting character. I was really happy with the ending but his journey was sometimes really heart-rending. Some lovely insights into love and relationships. 

Poems To Fall In Love With by Chris Riddell

emotional lighthearted fast-paced

3.0

A decidedly odd but pleasant compilation of poetry. I liked that Chris Riddell separated the poems into the different phases/types of love and as always is illustrations are wonderful. 

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

adventurous reflective tense medium-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? Yes

2.5

Hmmm, yeah not a fan of this book. The first problem for me was the slow pacing of the book. Not that the Hunger Ges series were necessarily cover to cover action, preferring to set the scene and then let loose, the Ballad of Songbird  and Snakes followed suit. However, personally the book lacked tension, which was so exquisitely mastered in the Hunger Games. Maybe it's because the book is a prequel, which instantly makes it harder to capture an audience since the outcome is already known. 

However, I feel like the author didn't capitalize on Snow's ambiguous morality or his supposedly lethal intelligence. President Snow was a formidable opponent in the Hunger Games and I don't think the stage was really set for that character in this prequel novel. Instead he was whiny and arrogant making him as insipid and delusional as the rest of the Capitol. As opposed to the insightful and lethal leader that he was in the proceeding novels. Obviously he thought himself better than district people but he never underestimated the effect Katniss had. As much as Snow was a product of his environment I didn't enjoy the choice to make Dr Gaul the main antagonistic influence in the novel. As crazy as it may sound I would have preferred "The boyhood tales of budding psychopath Coriolanus Snow". 

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

emotional lighthearted reflective slow-paced

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

2.0

As expected, I didn't enjoy this book. There wasn't anything particularly offensive about it (except maybe the copious use of phony and crumby). I know the remarkable thing about his book was the narrative style, supposedly mimicking that of a teenage boy. I didn't particularly enjoy it and found Holden Caulfield to be a frustrating character. 

The Mystery of Black Hollow Lane by Julia Nobel

adventurous mysterious 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? No

2.5

I'm aware that I am not the target audience for this book but I was once twelve years old and I think even at twelve this book would have annoyed me. 

Ultimately the story is a collection of boring accounts of school peppered with cliches. But the thing that makes this book quite unpleasant is how slow and moronic the main character is. It really seems that the author doesn't trust her readers to understand the plot and consequently has all of the other characters tell the main character (or us the reader) what is going on, despite the clues being painfully obvious. Emmy literally doesn't figure out a single thing for herself and is really just strung along throughout the book, propelled by the action of other characters. 

In all fairness the book isn't terrible but there is nothing unique or special about the premise of the story and the lack of interesting and vivid characters leaves the whole thing feeling quite bland.  

Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer

adventurous mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Annihilation was surreal and strange but in an intriguing way. Although the main character wasn't my favorite I found her to be interesting and realistically flawed. The characters in general were well written and Area X was a thrilling combination of terrifying and beautiful. As unique as the premise was I didn't feel particularly compelled to read further. I feel that the story really does lend itself to a one-book read considering that the reader is never going to get any concrete answers about how and what Area X is. I think the value in the book is the very unknowing and the space that leaves for imagination and horror. 

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

emotional hopeful reflective 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

3.5

The beginning and end sections of the book are definitely the most interesting. 

Klara is so sweet and gentle and following her story could be a little stressful sometimes because I was worried that reality would come swooping in a ruin her heroic efforts to help Josie. 

I like the manner in which Ishiguro blends the mystique and beauty of love and sacrifice with the more sombre and bitter reality of loss and grief. 

Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

adventurous emotional 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

4.0

I did enjoy this book (I mean I read it in half a day so obviously I enjoyed it) but it wasn't amazing. I love the unconventional structure of the book and how it feels like you're watching a documentary or biopic of the band. 

I didn't love Daisy Jones as a character. Don't get me wrong she was enigmatic and intriguing and made for an engaging read. However, she was also gorgeous and beloved by all, making her unrelatable. To be a beautiful woman can be an unlucky thing sometimes but I did not find her to be an empowering female character. Yes, she didn't care what people thought and she weaponised her sexual appeal but the point is whether she chose to reclaim her power or not her beauty would always be doing the heavy-lifting anyway. It's easy to feel comfortable being different when people are already half in love with you.

In regards to the plot, I found it nicely paced and interesting but the ending was somewhat of a let down. I felt like the entire story was building up to this massive falling out. The characters all partied hard so you expected the ending to be this flames, brimstone, end of days kind of explosion and it was more like everybody just packed up, switched off the lights and went home. Granted, the ending made sense but I just felt like it was so quiet and sad. All of this passion and intensity amounting to, nothing.

I think honestly that is the biggest reason for the missing last star in my review, the story is a sad one.

Ultimately, Daisy and Billy are a bad match but it just makes it all the more tragic. To find somebody that truly understands you and makes you feel seen only to know that they are the worst possible thing for you, it's heartbreaking

. The story was exciting and spirited but with a sombre undertone, and

The contentment that the characters all discussed in the last chapter

didn't really eclipse that sadness. 

Overall, it was a good book. I read it at break-neck speed and enjoyed the rich and messy characters but I don't like melancholy and that is what this book left me with. 

The Waves (Collins Classics) by Virginia Woolf

mysterious reflective slow-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? It's complicated

1.0

This book was really not to my liking. Turning each page was a monumental effort, which is saying a lot because I read the eBook. It was like one long, never-ending stream of consciousness; super abstract and hard to follow. The whole thing just mooshed together really. I do think that if I had listened to it as an audiobook it might have been more enjoyable. The imagery was vivid, if not a little repetitive and if you are into abstract, artistic poetry that goes on for 200+ pages you're going to love this. I however do not and was relieved when it was over. 

The Evening and the Morning by Ken Follett

adventurous emotional hopeful informative tense slow-paced

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

4.0

I really did enjoy the book and it's the third one I have read of the Kingsbridge series, however I will say that (for this series at least) Ken Follet has a formula and if you are too familiar with the other novels it may become tedious and repetitive. I personally enjoy the formula: young and intelligent male main character falls in love with impossibly beautiful and equally intelligent female character whom is however, not an option for marriage, typically due to social status. Our entrepid main characters then age through the years and face many hardships at the hands of evil clergymen, despot noblemen and mother nature herself. However, at the end of the book the tables turn and their noble behaviour throughout their trials earns them a happy ending. 

Despite the books being a bit repetitive I do enjoy Ken Follet's characters and the way he builds a rich and believable environment, making the reader feel as if they are there among the characters. His villains are truly awful and I do hate how much the protagonists suffer throughout. The final act is satisfying because you do witness the downfall of said awful villains but I wish we spent more time with our heroes thereafter. Finally, our protagonists are happy and free and I would find it more fulfilling to read more about that, especially because they often experience seemingly endless misery during the body of the book.