krissssofia's reviews
39 reviews

Masters of Death by Olivie Blake
Did not finish book. Stopped at 45%.

humor was overwhelming the plot

Happy Place by Emily Henry

emotional funny hopeful 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

3.0

Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood

emotional funny medium-paced

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

3.5

After reading Love Hypothesis I knew I wanted to come back for more academic romance and I was not disappointed! Elsie is probably the most relatable character within the cinematic universe of STEMance (do we have a name for it yet?) and made me feel so seen and so understood. Even if you're not from a STEM background, Hazlewood's characters are so easy to understand, recognize, and love. They each are so human and so identifiable that there truly is a STEMance (seriously...) character pairing for everyone. It just proves how incredibly well-rounded Hazlewood is, and how talented she is in her writing. To be able to convey such emotions that are hard to articulate or even identify, and use them to create a story is such an incredible skill that she is truly slaying at. I said it. She slayed. Elsie and Jack are my main slayers. They're the lead singer main dancer duo that constantly has viral fancams and ship edits. Slay.

The Hawthorne Legacy by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

adventurous mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

I wish this series was targeted for an older audience, with higher stakes and a bit more violence. The first book definitely got me interested, as the structure of the mystery seemed intriguing, but the second book felt lacking. The unraveling of the truth felt over complicated, and the search and discovery felt dragged on. I'm not a fan of short chapters, especially those that only establish setting and jump to even more setting, only to further drag until there's actual action. The unique censorship used by Max's character took away from the general vibe of the story to the point where I couldn't take it seriously. I know it's targeted toward YA, so I may be judging a little too harshly. 

Final Girls by Riley Sager

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.5

If you're expecting something like Scream or X, this isn't the book for you. It's more who-done-it with a little bit of slasher. The pacing starts out incredibly slow with just enough suspense to keep the reader going. The author would start to build a scene and right when useful information or something beyond world building would start to unravel, the chapter would end. It created this really bad rhythm when reading. Like those rollercoasters with high peaks but it only slowly and gently brings you down. HOWEVER, the last part of the book saved everything. I was gasping, hands were sweating, I was audibly reacting to scenes. I wish the entire book was like that. I didn't mind the flashbacks, and even loved the detail of the memories being told from third person. The cabin scenes and the face-off were chef's kiss. There was some commentary included that I really enjoyed, didn't come across as cheesy at all. This book is good for those who want to ease into the horror/slasher drama. For what it was, I really liked it!

Foul Lady Fortune by Chloe Gong
Did not finish book. Stopped at 62%.

Like the author's previous book, These Violent Delights, it felt like the plot wasn't fully developed. There were a lot of things that should have been explained further, especially the main character's history and the political state of the world. However, it very much felt like things were just briefly touched when it happened to come up. It relied too heavily on the reader finishing the last series which made things difficult to understand. At some point I felt like there were too many characters that the author was trying to involve and it took away from the main story. It just felt like a lot was missing.

Never Rescue a Rogue by Virginia Heath

emotional funny lighthearted medium-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

5.0

Social media has brought attention to the romance genre, and in the midst of it all is this hidden gem! This book goes beyond reader's expectations, becoming a gift to the romance community. It's a historical romance, and with that, it appropriately addresses all of the societal issues women faced during that time, and it did so in such a seamless way. It didn't feel out of character for either the female or male lead to talk about society's expectations for women, or how those said expectations shaped the way they were as people. And that's what each character was, a real person! The character and world building was incredibly solid, making everything feel and sound believable. Nothing happened out of character for sake of plot; even when facing unique obstacles, each person stayed true to their values and beliefs. What was especially refreshing was the story being mainly told from the male lead Giles' perspective, allowing readers to fully grasp not just the extent of his feelings but respect he harbored for Diana. It was clear to see why the two were attracted to each other, how being around each other changed them for the better. There was real character development, clear displays of vulnerability and respect, and it all contributed greatly to the weight of the story. In this book, we're given the opportunity to love both main characters individually, and because of that, we can't help but turn the page, push off going to bed for one more chapter, and love every second of it. Truly a perfect romance that I could write a million essays about. A book has never checked every box and wrapped up so perfectly for me, until now.

The Roughest Draft by Emily Wibberley, Austin Siegemund-Broka

emotional funny sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

The first two chapters had me hooked and I didn't think twice when I took this with me to checkout. But when I got home and continued reading, it felt like I had been tricked by the cute cover and intriguing summary. The characters didn't feel whole; they felt like people without faces. The beginning did a good job capturing the idea of them, but by the end of the book I didn't know who they were. There were many opportunities to dive deeper into both of the main lead's fears and have them properly addressed, but they were only just briefly mentioned when convenient. Their relationship strongly lacked foundation to the point where I couldn't see why they liked each other, or why anyone would like them. They were both so self centered and all I could confidently say was that Nate liked the idea of Kat and Kat liked the way Nate saw her, but they didn't truly like each other as people. This book had so much potential :(

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.5

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

emotional funny 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

4.0

Reading a romance book centered around characters who work in fields other than literature or something liberal arts was so incredibly refreshing. As a STEM girlie myself it made me feel seen, and even motivated (?). Hearing how each character was driven and passionate about their respective studies made me so much more confident in my own major! The pacing of this book was absolutely perfect, the dialogue was entertaining and witty, everything about it was chefs kiss. Adam is not a character I expected to read about, and I think that added more to my love for him and Olive's relationship. I felt like we were getting to know a real person, breaking down misconceptions and creating a new perception. Their chemistry (buh-dun-ss) was genuine, which is often lacking in most romance books. There were reasons these two fit beyond sexual tension and a perfect meet-cute. I am SO happy the book ended the way it did. It's different than most romance books that all assume the story of love ends at The Big Final Stop, but it was so in-character for Olive and everything just fit. I loved this book. Did it call out my own personal fears and deepest, darkest, hidden thoughts? A little rudely, yeah. But it made me love Olive more as an individual because she's capable of recognizing her faults and areas of herself as a person where she's lacking. It was so easy to like her as her own individual person, apart from how everyone else sees her (same thing with Adam!) Point is, this book is good and you want to read it so badly don't deny it.