kayceeisbookish's reviews
324 reviews

Unhallowed Halls by Lili Wilkinson

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

3.0

Dark academia with a demise twist.
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The Scorpion and the Night Blossom by Amélie Wen Zhao

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adventurous 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

3.5

A new romantasy full of action and betrayal around every trial. It gave Hunger Game vibes but with a mythology twist. Loved the intricate story building and in universe folklore referenced to give this world a bit of a 'lived in' feeling. Need book 2.
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The Last Bookstore on Earth by Lily Braun-Arnold

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

4.0

A Sapphic post apocalypse dystopian novel where the main character has her final stand in...a bookstore. Sign me up! This was the perfect mix of survivalist, mystery, and action. Love how the "storms" aren't fully explained. Gives them a bit of an ominous and scary nature.
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12 Days of Smutmas: Holiday Short Stories by Dana LeeAnn

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lighthearted 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? No

4.0

Sugar, spice, and everything ✨️naughty✨️
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Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

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challenging hopeful informative inspiring slow-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

Women + science = YES! I love anytime women are featured in STEM, so this book was an easy win for me. Our main character challenges norms and pushes boundaries. 
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The Last Raven by Helen Glynn Jones

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

1.0

The writing style lacked finesse, leaving the characters all feeling the same and flat. The plot felt forced instead of a natural organic flow from page to page and scene to scene. Dialogue between characters was so stilted and unlike how actual people talk. And my biggest issue, they never brought why she was born the way she was...
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I Might Be in Trouble by Daniel Aleman

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dark funny lighthearted tense fast-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

5.0

Dark, humorous, and self-referential. This book made me laugh out loud. So magnificently macabre. It draws you in and won't let you look away, like a derailed train accident. You can't stop watching as this story unfolds and becomes more and more of a hot mess for our poor characters.
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The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo

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

4.0

On the surface, this is a tale of a simple girl who could work miracles and was tried as a devil worshiper by the Spanish Inquisition. As you dig deeper, there's so much more going on. The caste systems and delegations of established roles in society. Religious prosecution and how it not only affected not only what people were made to worship but also their identity. Families had to change their family name to appear "less this" or "more that" to fit into a certain societal role of that time. Leigh created an enthralling tale that I highly recommend.
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The Way Up is Death by Dan Hanks

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

1.0

'Ready Player One' meets 'Squid Games' in the sci-fi novel about a sentient towel that appears one day above the UK. I found this book quite repetitive. Each floor had the same formula over and over to the point it got a bit predictable and tedious. It definitely needs something to spicy things up a bit. The characters felt flat and uni-dimensional.
Upon a Frosted Star by M.A. Kuzniar

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

2.5

I found this story drug on forever yet the plot somehow found resolution in 40 pages. So much build up for little payoff. And with Odette often not in human form, we get few interaction between the two MCs. I never felt invested in their relationship, so the ending did not have as big of an impact on me.
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