kristin_boren's reviews
293 reviews

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse

adventurous dark emotional reflective tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Hell yeah brother. I'm so truly amped to be diving into a series late, LOVING the world building, and being able to plow right into the next book. 

The Sacrifice by Rin Chupeco

dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

I genuinely think one of my favorite sub genres is just white people with too much hubris getting torn up. So I loved this. Haha 

Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Excellent. This was one I kept having to read during daylight not alone because the beginning creeped me out so much. And like all the best horror novels, some great reflections on life. 

Vampires Never Get Old: Tales with Fresh Bite by Natalie C. Parker, Zoraida Córdova

dark funny mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

4.0

Honestly love a good anthology and this one is pretty top tier. Tons of unique takes/perspectives on vampirism. Despite other reviews I've read that say the stories are all kind of pointless and not long enough (honestly don't read anthologies then) I thought it's a solid and pretty diverse bunch of short stories. 

What Have You Done? by Shari Lapena

dark mysterious tense fast-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? It's complicated

3.5

Hell is being an attractive young woman honestly.

The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst

adventurous funny hopeful inspiring relaxing 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? No

5.0

I'd actually give this 500 stars. Sorry to everyone I know for how much I'm gonna not shut up about this book. I wanna live in this world forever. I haven't eaten a book up like this in awhile. Absolutely a perfect cozy fantasy. Gimme more.

The Slowest Burn by Sarah Chamberlain

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective fast-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

Man alive was this a cutie one. The characters are so loveable even at their worst. I loved the cook book premise genuinely. I want these cookbooks. 

The Jigsaw Man by Nadine Matheson

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

I don't know why I remembered this being sold to me in recs as scary. It really wasn't but it was a decent thriller/crime drama. The pacing was great. It definitely never felt like a nearly 500 page book. 

Fly with Me by Andie Burke

emotional hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

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

3.5

I think olive and Stella are so precious but olives family filled me with such a deep rage I lost a little of my steam reading this at times. Cute start, big heavy topics throughout.

In the Lonely Hours by Shannon Morgan

adventurous emotional mysterious tense 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

4.0

I'm a simple woman to please I just love a ghost story and this one had SO MANY GHOSTS. Pretty predictable story overall but not unenjoyable. Loved the setting.