kiranx's reviews
433 reviews

Sunrise On The Reaping by Suzanne Collins

dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

haha good thing this is just a fictional story and has no application to the real world or deeper meaning about the state of our society right now lol haha!!!! haha!!!!!!! ha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Middle of the Night by Riley Sager

3.0

Sager’s books always fall a little flat to me and idk why — current theory is that in trying to be both mystery/thriller and paranormal/horror, the arc and ending fail to do either spectacularly well. Still a positive read overall, just nothing memorable that I would take the time to rave about/recommend to a friend. I would say “yeah you should!” if you mentioned wanting to borrow it from the library, but I would stop you from buying it at B&N.

You Are Fatally Invited by Ande Pliego

fast-paced

4.5

despite the incredibly fast pace and chaotic plot, this book is worth reading slowly. every line, from the very first page, matters in a way that starts to smack you in the face over the last fifty pages. trope indulgent, trope aware, and trope subversive. i felt like this qualifies as a “GOOD FOR HER” read. would’ve been five stars if not for the very very very end/epilogue — too “happily ever after” imo but whatever ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

Tell Me What You Did by Carter Wilson

dark tense fast-paced

• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

Sped through it and literally couldn’t put it down, but the main characters were woefully underdeveloped for the entirety of the 400+ pages. Didn’t feel compelled to root for the main character, which says a lot considering I am currently cross-stitching a pillow that says “GOOD FOR HER!”. I root for women’s rights and wrongs, but in this book I was just rooting for the dog. 

-- update one day later: i slept on it and literally had to come back to write more because i was annoyed about this book. i do think the character is TSTL, just like the 'book club community' would say, because are you kidding me !! how did you not ever explore the idea that

MAN WHO LOOKS EXACTLY LIKE YOUR MOM'S MURDERER COULD POSSIBLY BE RELATED TO THAT MAN? YOU DIDN'T BOTHER LOOKING UP FILINGS FOR NAME CHANGES? FOR INCARCERATION RECORDS? ARE YOU TRULY DUMB?

yeah this book just pissed me off ngl 

Morning Star by Pierce Brown

4.5

Golden Son by Pierce Brown

5.0

None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell

4.5

absolutely insane all the way to the literal last page. why are airport thrillers SOOOOOO GOOD. 

Burned by Kristin Cast, P.C. Cast
Did not finish book. Stopped at 6%.

got through like six of these books and decided that i didn't want this entire series to be part of the "entire life flashback" that we supposedly see when we die. also i thought that reading a seventh pile of garbage would trigger said death and thus the flashback and thus having to revisit the reality that i read six of these disasters already. no reading goal is worth this self-inflicted torture.

• this series is shit
• the plot is a third cousin twice removed of swiss cheese
• the characters are caricatures
• each subsequent book in the series spends 30 pages reestablishing the plot developed from the previous book in the most annoying powerpoint-cue style possible. 
  • the same fucking "sister from another mister" comment in each fucking book as if it wasn't burned into what's left of my brain the ninth time i heard in it in the FIRST BOOK. 
    • WE GET IT. THEY ARE FRIENDS. ONE IS WHITE. ONE IS BLACK. EARTH-SHATTERING. good fucking lord.
• i'd add a content warning for anyone with epilepsy that the dialogue could give you a stroke, but storygraph is too classy to let me have my way with CWs. 

tldr i wouldn't use these books for fire fodder in the end times.

The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

took a solid 60 pages to get interesting, but i did get hooked enough to read the whole thing for resolution. i liked the plot twist for sure, didn't see it coming, but it wasn't a 100% solid one for me. ultimately, it's like a criminal minds episode for kids compressed into 300 pages, which is a slay (literal + figurative), but i think i made the mistake of forgetting this is YA and expecting too much! if i went in with lower expectations, i would've liked it more! my bad! [and yet the rating shall pay the price. <3] 

Red Rising by Pierce Brown

5.0

I bought the entire series after getting 100 pages into this book. I predicted one out of what seemed like twelve major plot twists. You would think that so many plot twists would start to get on your nerve, but they were so well done! and so perfect! and so beautiful! and so DELICIOUS! AND SO WELL-THOUGHT OUT OH MY GOD!!!!! Sensational world-building, an abundance of complicated and meaningful characters, and nonstop plot progress that I simply could not put down.