maddummel's reviews
32 reviews

Minor Detail by Adania Shibli

challenging informative tense medium-paced

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

3.5

 Def not my type of book, mainly for the writing style, but I can apreciate it existence. And I wish I could say the ending was shocking beyond just my first gut reaction... Free Palestine 🇵🇸

Against the Loveless World by Susan Abulhawa

challenging emotional informative reflective 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

Not a easy lecture at all, especially while you think about how it's actually a reality for so many people. I'm glad I gave it a read. Free Palestine 🇵🇸

Dark Disciple: Star Wars by Christie Golden

adventurous challenging emotional reflective sad 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

5.0

I am fully aware that I may never be  able to give this book anything close to an objective review. I hazly recall not liking some of the parts in the middle but tbh I could not care less after finishing it. The levels of emotional damage this story inflicted on me is vastly unprecedented, especially for a book and even more so for one focusing strongly on a straight romance. If you can call any Star Wars romance "straight" in the first place is a completely different story. Which brings me to a conclusion - the only reactions to this book from me is either a "screaming crying throwing up asdfghkjkl" tweet or a 100 page long essay I'll go on to write in my head now.  

Kindred Spirits by Magali Villeneuve, Christie Golden

adventurous fast-paced

3.5

Stories of Jedi and Sith by Jennifer Heddle

adventurous hopeful medium-paced

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

4.25

These were all great! So much better than the Stories of Light and Dark 😅 While the setup and characters all felt familiar there ws enough new f ces and plot points to make it interesting. I especially enjoyed all the stories from the "outside" perspective.

The Clone Wars: Stories of Light and Dark by Tom Angleberger, Lou Anders, Preeti Chhibber

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

2.75

Sadly I found most of the stories mediocre at best. Felt like someone was (badly) describing an episode of the clone wars to me 😬 "Obi-Wan's shadows" wasn't half bad, at least it made me feel something, but it still didn't add much to the story. I'm glad they decided to include "Bug", I was very proud of myself for figuring out it was most likely

Morgan Elsbeth's

"origin story". Somehow reading through the whole thing paid of at least.

Złodziejki serc by Alicia Jasinska

adventurous dark emotional 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

5.0

Oh boy, what do I say.

I started this book with a lot of expectations. A sapphic monster romance based in the most interesting historical times of my country? COUNT ME IN. I feel like I struggled a little throughout the story together with the author to fully grasp what she wanted to say. The first/middle chapters were quite repetitive, to a point of being annoying. Especially the ones from Marynka's point of view. It matched her character but was a little too much at times. The last 1/4 of the book tho... I'm so glad I didn't let the annoyance keep me from continuing. I felt totally immersed in the story, finally! Even if I knew from the start where it was going, the journey was totally unexpected and thrilling. I need more books like this, not only from Jasinska, but especially from her! One of my new faves, for sure. 

Polska demonologia ludowa: wierzenia dawnych Słowian by Leonard J. Pełka

informative slow-paced

4.0

Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology by Shane Hawk, Theodore C. Van Alst Jr.

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

3.75

It's hard to review a short story collection, while they all have a similar theme, each and every one is different and hits differently, too. I found some of the writing off, not letting me to be immersed in the story. Other times I was so into it that whatever was happening made my own skin crawl and I had to take little breaks to get through. But overall I'm glad I decided to read it, all the ideas were quite unique and it was refreshing to read stories from a culture I'm not very familiar with, being eastern european. I also find it fascinating I could see some common elements with the stories I heard at home.

Dooku: Jedi Lost by Cavan Scott

adventurous dark fast-paced

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

4.0