kiranx's reviews
436 reviews

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

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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

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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.

Kristen by Lisi Harrison

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funny fast-paced

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

2.5

these novellas are just plain bad but i feel this primal urge to get through the entire series so i can be at peace

The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book is just White Lotus but more fucked up. LOVED it!

Genuinely enjoyed it to the literal last page, which featured a little full circle plot twist that I literally wanted to clap because I simply did not connect the dots (and I usually make it a personal challenge to connect the dots!!).

This would've been five stars, but parts of the plot were unnecessarily elongated/didn't contribute to the movement of the story. More importantly, some of the characters just didn't get the attention/depth they needed to standout, or their narration was just so uncompelling (unlike Francesca's, which was laugh out loud funny and on the nose).

The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

3.5

yeah first of all what the fuck

thought this was a murder mystery and then in the last third of the book, you're just gonna throw a

fucking puddle poltergeist into the mess

? rude to the reader!! incredibly rude to the reader!!

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter

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4.5

Christmas and murder mystery!!! Two of my favorite things!!

The Bucolic Plague: How Two Manhattanites Became Gentlemen Farmers: An Unconventional Memoir by Josh Kilmer-Purcell