kade_spade's reviews
185 reviews

The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
Did not finish book. Stopped at 24%.

It not a bad book but you really have to pay attention and keep track of things. It’s hard to read more than one book at a time while reading this and I’m just not in that mind set. 

The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams Bianco

emotional hopeful fast-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? It's complicated

3.0

I read this book because it is mentioned multiple times in “How to Sell a Haunted House” by Grady Hendrix. I found this children’s book to be cute and it had a great message about love. I can see how others could find this children’s book a like scary though. I love my stuffed animals as if they were real, even at my big age, so I love the thought of very loved toys getting to live on forever! 

Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie by David Lubar

funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

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

3.0

A quick and enjoyable read about a boy trying to navigate life as a high school freshman. This book is light and refreshing. Nothing to serious/heavy happens. I think this book is great at keeping the freshman high school experience realistic. No one person has the same experiences, but this book stays grounded and true to what it is. It doesn’t embellish the life of a 14 years old freshman and while that doesn’t make this book a particularly exciting or life changing read, it does make it relaxing and refreshing. 

Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

Incredible. Very thought provoking about who you are and how you see yourself and certain situations. This book makes you think about things in a way you never probably have before. It also has a way of making even the most hatable characters, hopeful and if not loveable, at least likable by the end of each of their stories. I will be reading the other books in the series. 

Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix

dark mysterious tense 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? No

3.5

This book is a fun and creative read. It’s definitely a “read in a few days” type of book. Anything longer than that I feel like you’d lose some of the story. I don’t think it’s a groundbreaking, never leave your thoughts book. However, the presentation of the book and the uniqueness does make up for lack of a solid story and the weird horror/comedy. Though I say comedy lightly because this was not my type of humor at all. I didn’t find the poor comedy to take me out of the story to much though, but I did go into this book with the expectation to not take it to seriously and that I wouldn’t get the humor. Overall, it a fun quick read, especially if you’re looking for a little something out of the norm.  

The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful slow-paced

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

3.5

The second Lord of the Rings was my favorite book out of the trilogy. However, this book had an overall satisfying ending and left me pretty happy with all the books as a whole. These books were a little difficult for me to get through due to the language, but I still liked them and I’m happy I decided to dive into these classic books. I’ll never be over Frodo though! 

Goodbye Days by Jeff Zentner

emotional reflective sad 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? Yes

3.5

I wish I could give this book a higher rating because there were pages and lines that were SO good, but as a whole it was missing something. I wasn’t able to connect to the humor in the book and it took a long time to connect to the situation and even then the connection didn’t stay. I wish the book would’ve ended after chapter 44 because that was the perfect ending, but it felt like the author was trying to push certain things that didn’t need pushed both at the end and throughout the whole book. That being said I don’t want to discourage anyone from reading this book because I’m so glad I read it, it just wasn’t as significant as I wanted and expected it to be and I’ll most likely never reread it. 

Tears of the Anaren by C.W. Longbottom

adventurous funny fast-paced

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

2.75

Admittedly a horrible short story but really that’s to be expected. I mean common on its C.W.! However, it’s hilarious when tying it to Mythic Quest (why would you even be reading this if not) and having a little extra to go along with the show is so fun. I am curious to know how the revisions to the story read because this is truly awful in a good, funny way! 

The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien

adventurous challenging funny tense slow-paced

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

3.75

Very slow and tough to get through as is the first book and The Hobbit in parts, but the parts that are good are SO good. A good second book for a series and a fun cliff hanger ending. 

Severance - The Lexington Letter by Anonymous

dark informative mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

If you loved Severance and are craving more before the next season. This fun little short will do just the trick. Just as many twists as the show and will have you thinking of MANY more theories especially if you engaged in the other online content as well.