le_terrier_oh_livres's reviews
52 reviews

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

adventurous dark funny medium-paced

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

3.75

A nice story with a lot of good ideas, characters showing intelligence and craftiness, and an interesting universe. We however spend time developping things that aren't detrimental so the story often feels slow and like it's staling. The writing style is "neutral", but seems theatrical at times because it tries too hard to make its character look cool and badass.
Although it was pleasant to read, I don't plan on reading the following books because I don't think a sequel was needed. //!\\ I wouldn't recommand this book for ages below 16 or even 18 because of detailled violent scenes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Violence

The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang

emotional inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

An inspiring, heart-warming and soft story. The drawings are the prettiest and really expressive. You are easily invested by the characters struggles and the plot twists.
The royalty/19th century setting is more of a methaphor for the clash between the new and old world than a real take on a specific historical era - thus, the morality, the attitudes and reactions (even also the way the characters dress) aren't colored that much by the time period this is supposed to take place in.

My Heart in Braille by Anne-Lise Nalin, Joris Chamblain

funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

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

2.75

Actually the adaptation of a book pulished in 2012 under the same name that was popular enough that it got adapted as a movie too in 2016. However, the need to follow the guidelines of the original book was to this book's detriment : a lot of the action is crammed in a few pages, plotpoints appear out of nowhere just to disappear afterwards, same with some characters, and the main character's friends are kind of cardboard figures coming in and out when needed.
I'm also not a fan of the dialogues that feel like forced poetry and not a fan of how the main character loses what makes him unique and myself for the sake of helping the love interest.
It's still a cute story, a bit cliché, but with nice art and teenagers will like it.

Emperor of the Eight Islands by Lian Hearn

adventurous dark tense 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

2.75

I really wanted to like this series, which looked interesting with its Japanese folklore and myths come to life. However, the writing style makes it honestly *hard* to get invested in the characters storylines. 
I understand we are in an "epic, tale-like, legend writing itself" kind of situation. I understand it's not the type of tone that I typically enjoy and that I should take that into consideration.
But even knowing that, the narration is so dry, so cold, so impersonal ! We don't know how the characters feel, and when they express an emotion it's so rare and out of the blue that it sounds strange and almost cringe. Sometimes it feels like the author wants to tell so much in her plot that she sacrifices the emotional part of her story, which is not a good move in my opinion.
It's a miss for me and I won't read more from this author.

Shepherdess Warriors, Vol. 1 by Jonathan Garnier, Amélie Fléchais

adventurous funny hopeful mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

(ma critique concerne toute la série, sans spoil of course)
Un récit jeunesse plein d'aventure et de mystère, porté par les dessins envoûtants d'Amélie Fléchais. L'histoire est intrigante, l'univers est séduisant et les personnages attachants. J'ai pris un grand plaisir à découvrir, au cours des 4 tomes de la série, ce qui se cachait derrière les bêtes menaçant le village de l'héroïne et la guerre qui fait rage depuis plus de 10 ans.
Cependant, j'ai trouvé que le dernier tome s'orientait dans une direction différente des tomes précédents. Le rythme de ce tome 4 tout comme la conclusion ne m'ont malheureusement pas emballé plus que ça, ce qui explique que ce n'est pas un 5/5 pour moi.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

A really entertaining book to read. From start to finish, you wonder how far the different characters can go down the "crual, dangerous and/or toxic" path and how it will end. It helped that I didn't know anything about the story prior to reading it and that I spent my time questionning every characters' conduct and discourse (critical thinking, all of that).
This feels to me like a study on how the environment and how someone is treated by the others can influence their behaviour. Compared to the work of her sisters, Emily Brontë gives a refreshing and nuanced point of view on her story. If the plot does consist of merely going back and forth from one house to the other, there are so many twists and turns in the relationships that I never felt it redundant.

A Restless Truth by Freya Marske

adventurous lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.0

The prose is well written, we reunite with characters that we liked in the first book, the story in itself is evenly paced... However this second instalment of the Last Binding series lacks a je-ne-sais-quoi of charisma, uniqueness, nerve or talent.
I think it does suffer from coming after "A Marvellous Light" : because there was so much done in this first book, everything was already said about Marske's world and the few subjects that "A Restless Truth" tried to touch upon felt like a reiteration.
Overall it was nice to read, but I lost interest for the main intrigue so I doubt I'll read the third book.

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

inspiring reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

A collection of sixteen short stories. The main point of Kafka's writing style is to set an atmosphere close to oneirism, where you get a feeling of a plot more than an actual plot.
It's hard to understand what is the purpose of most of the stories tho and I think they all end up abruptly. Still, a lot of the stories touch on the subject of alienation and otherness with a relatable and rightly done approach.
My fave story was the one with the monkey that had to pretend to be a human so that he could be treated as an equal.

Fairy Tale by Stephen King

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

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

2.5

First book I read from Stephen King, doesn't make me want to read more.
A lot of things in this story feel like they are juxtaposed but not tied together. It holds til the end only because the reader accepts to turn a blind eye to the inconsistencies/illogicalities/parasite elements. We are supposed to believe in plot point or plot twists when there weren't even any efforts put into making them believable.

Longshadow by Olivia Atwater

adventurous lighthearted mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

Just like in the 2nd book of the trilogy ("10 thousand stitches"), I found the moral of the story strangely done. Once again, the main character presents herself as a justice hero while being at the same time unashamedly unfair to some of the others in the cast.
The plot in itself lacks a bit in terms of excitement during the middle of the story. It was nice to reunite with beloved characters from the series tho, and the writing style is still very pleasing to read.