lokasreads's reviews
40 reviews

The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo

dark tense slow-paced

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

3.5

Things really dragged on for me until about the halfway point, but then I couldn't put it down. Bardugo usually writes characters so well, but I struggled to attach myself to these, even as I rooted for them or liked their concepts. 

Two Sides to Every Murder by Danielle Valentine

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I was going to rate this lower until the very end. I thought I had it all figured out and was disappointed to be right, disappointed there wasn't a surprise waiting for me, disappointed at the apparent plot holes. If someone reading this book is hesitating to finish it for those same reasons, keep reading. 

The Lilies by Quinn Diacon-Furtado

mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

3.0

Everything felt very heavy-handed, like the readers were being handheld through characterization, theme, etc. The ending left a lot of things unexplained. 

Three Miles Past: Stories by Stephen Graham Jones

dark medium-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

Dark Heir by C.S. Pacat

emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.75

Some of the issues I had with the author's writing style and inconsistencies in the first book were exacerbated in the second, but I'm still hooked to the series and anxiously await the third book. 

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny tense 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

4.75

Bardugo writes characters and dialogue with a gift that other authors can only envy. One of my favorite series. Sad it's a duology, happy there's more of the Grishaverse to delve into. 

Dark Rise by C.S. Pacat

adventurous challenging emotional fast-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

I struggled with some of the writing in the beginning, but it wasn't enough to stop reading. The world and the characters hooked me, and by the end, I couldn't put it down and can't wait to dig into the next one. 

Mythos: The Greek Myths Retold by Stephen Fry

funny informative lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.5

Very entertaining and engaging. I will be reading the rest of the series. At times, the author's liberal use of footnotes was a bit annoying - I don't love flipping back and forth just to see a short quip that could have been included in the main prose. But it was overall a minor qualm with an otherwise good book. 

Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick

challenging dark informative sad medium-paced

5.0

Highly informative while also telling the stories of real people in an engaging way that will appeal to readers who usually struggle with nonfiction. Though the book was published in the 2000s and focuses on the 1990s and early 2000s, there is an afterword that gives a bit of insight into North Korea up until 2020. Other than certain scenes, usually about the famine, that were too dark and haunting for me to keep reading, I couldn't put this down and emphatically recommend it to anyone interested in the plight of North Koreans. 

Flowers Over the Inferno by Ilaria Tuti

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

3.5

It was a well-written book until the end - I found the "big reveal" to be anticlimactic and in need of more drama. The author (or translator?) had some outdated terminology and perspectives about trans people and mental illness that took me out of the book and made me stop reading for a few days to consider if I wanted to finish it. Especially with the way mothers and motherhood are written about towards the end of the book, I can't help but wonder if there are some TERFy aspects to this author. Sadly, I won't be reading the rest of the series.