lovecomplex's reviews
116 reviews

Gate to Kagoshima by Poppy Kuroki

adventurous dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

at first I was sorta struggling with the pace of this book and then the middle is mostly how devastating the war is. I will say that the last 25% of the book makes up for it. I was in tears in the last several pages and I loved the ending, so satisfied. 

I Am Not Jessica Chen by Ann Liang

reflective fast-paced

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

4.0

This is a big shout out to the girls who always push themselves academically and try to create a perfect image of themselves. Jenna’s character was all too relatable and her living through her cousin Jessica and seeing her struggles was just chefs kiss. The romance in this was subtle but also just a nice touch added in and wasn’t the main force to make Jenna realize. Ann Liang does not fail to make such great characters. 

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

I loved the plot twist. 

A Song to Drown Rivers by Ann Liang

2.0

I am actually so sad to say that I didn’t enjoy this book at all. I was so excited to receive my preorder and I’ve been on a run trying to read every cdrama/kdrama inspired fantasy romance out there. Being that Ann Liang is one of my fav authors after reading If You Could See the Sun and I Hope this Doesn’t Find You, I was THRILLED to see that she made a Chinese folktale inspired one with romance elements. 

In A Song to Drown Rivers, I found little to no romantic elements. I guess I found some of it interesting but a lot of the sequences were glazed over and it felt so incredibly long and boring to read. I wish we got to see her training or a little more intense scenes of her identity being uncovered. I think there were many missed opportunities for this book to really shine through. 

I will be honest I glazed through the last 5 chapters because I just wanted to finish it and yes it was sad to see the end but I can’t say any of the characters really moved me. 

Any Sign of Life by Rae Carson

adventurous mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.25

I enjoyed the main characters and the first 60% of the book but towards the end it kind of fell off for me and wasn’t as engaging. 

My Girlfriend's Child, Vol. 5 by Mamoru Aoi

emotional medium-paced

5.0

This was such a cute volume. The convo between Takara and Sachi was so cute I actually started tearing up. He really does care about her. This was such a heart warming volume too seeing that Sachi is starting to accept her pregnancy.

Last Quarter, Vol. 1 by Ai Yazawa

emotional hopeful lighthearted sad fast-paced

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

4.75

This is such a beautiful story from Yazawa. I didn’t expect her to make a ghost story with a complex background that four friends would solve. I think this is a breath of fresh air from her usual complex situations and it’s so beautiful. I feel like each character feels important to the story and they all compliment each other so well that there isn’t a character that feels like an add on. I also was starting to think of reasons on why she’s the way she is and was getting excited to uncover more. 

Scythe by Neal Shusterman

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.25

This was good!!! I love the two main characters and how they both grow. In the beginning I didn’t like Citra and loved Rowan, then as I got to see what they both went through, my opinions swapped lol. Some of the pacing was a bit slow but I suppose that makes sense since this was more world building. So excited to read the next one!

Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles

tense fast-paced

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

3.75

This has been on my TBR for a while so I read it on a road trip to Mexico and there was a couple things I did enjoy about it like their chemistry lol… 

But some parts I was like ugh this is so cornyyyy.. either way I enjoyed it almost like a guilty pleasure aha. I was really into Alex’s personality bc he really does fit that cholo vibe but realistically I would’ve sided with Brittney’s friends like he is deadass involved w a gang. 💀

In the end, I was pissed when

he said that stuff to her about having sex w her in the hospital and then ghosting her for months. If that happened during my senior year I would be pissed. But I suppose if he changed for her then it’s fine lol.

I don’t think I’ll pick up the 2nd book. I would’ve loved this in middle school. 

Nana, Vol. 11 by Ai Yazawa

4.0

Hated Reira in this volume even more lol. Love Hachi and Nana. Super interesting to see Hachi and Shoji’s interaction after everything’s happened and I think Shoji also feels like Hachi’s grown in a way. I also miss what Hachi and Shouji could’ve been if only he wasn’t a fool for cheating on her and just have been a little patient with her.