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maiagaia's reviews
88 reviews
The Appeal by Janice Hallett
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Love love love. I knew this one had a head start on my loving it because small town community theatre drama speaks to me so much. The format and lack of chapters had me flying through at breakneck speed because I kept saying "I'll just read one more email." There are A LOT of characters, but they shine so distinctly even though we're only reading their correspondence. I figured out the broad strokes of the mystery fairly early on, but there was enough intrigue to keep me loving it. There are some reveals that really flesh out the big mysteries, and there are enough threads that make you question whether you've really figured it out. The framing device was fun, and there's even a couple parts where the characters within the framing device point out particular character interactions to reread, if you're so inclined. I can't believe this is a debut and cannot wait for the next book from this author!
Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie
slow-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
There are a lot of issues in this book that weren't as obvious in the first book. I will chalk it up to middle book syndrome and hope that it doesn't continue into the next one.
The structure is odd. The main plots for certain characters end, but then there's a good chunk of the book leftover, so we continue to go back to their POV and waffle around, making little progress that should have been woven into their story earlier when there was more going on.
While I think Abercrombie is really great at writing small fight scenes, his battle sequences are much less affective. I would argue that the chase sequence near the end of book one was an early indicator of things to come.
Abercrombie made the questionable choice of including multiple sex scenes. I wouldn't mind except for the fact that my man cannot write sex scenes. And then to have them so close together... He should have just faded to black because it would have gotten the message across much better.
Now, for the positives, Abercrombie is still at the top of the class as far as characters go, and now that we have them together, we get to see some really great interactions between them.
There are some interesting discussions and ruminations on power and war.
Logen and Ferro are cool as hell.
And that's about it.
Overall, the first book was much more effective, and I hope the third book will be a strong finale because I really do love these characters.
The structure is odd. The main plots for certain characters end, but then there's a good chunk of the book leftover, so we continue to go back to their POV and waffle around, making little progress that should have been woven into their story earlier when there was more going on.
While I think Abercrombie is really great at writing small fight scenes, his battle sequences are much less affective. I would argue that the chase sequence near the end of book one was an early indicator of things to come.
Abercrombie made the questionable choice of including multiple sex scenes. I wouldn't mind except for the fact that my man cannot write sex scenes. And then to have them so close together... He should have just faded to black because it would have gotten the message across much better.
Now, for the positives, Abercrombie is still at the top of the class as far as characters go, and now that we have them together, we get to see some really great interactions between them.
There are some interesting discussions and ruminations on power and war.
Logen and Ferro are cool as hell.
And that's about it.
Overall, the first book was much more effective, and I hope the third book will be a strong finale because I really do love these characters.
The Red House Mystery by A.A. Milne
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Charming. So remarkably charming. The writing style practically sparkles off the page.
I'm unreasonably sad that this is the only mystery with this particular duo because I'd read an entire series with them. They were a delightful, charismatic duo.
Unlike SOME famous mysteries, even when I was sure I knew who had done it, the why and how were not so obvious, and the clues came at just the right pace to keep me engaged. (The charming characters also helped on that front.)
Once everything was revealed, I was satisfied in the amount I had guessed and the amount that had to be explained. It was the perfect balance that made the ending just as good as the rest of story.
I can't recommend this enough.
I'm unreasonably sad that this is the only mystery with this particular duo because I'd read an entire series with them. They were a delightful, charismatic duo.
Unlike SOME famous mysteries, even when I was sure I knew who had done it, the why and how were not so obvious, and the clues came at just the right pace to keep me engaged. (The charming characters also helped on that front.)
Once everything was revealed, I was satisfied in the amount I had guessed and the amount that had to be explained. It was the perfect balance that made the ending just as good as the rest of story.
I can't recommend this enough.
The ABC Murders by Agatha Christie
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
0.25
What a snooze fest. Easily the most boring mystery/thriller I've ever read.
The solution was fairly obvious from quite early on with only a detail or two that were led to be revealed slightly later in the story. However, while the solution was obvious from a reader's perspective, the truth is that it is a stupid, convoluted plan that would never actually work. I don't need a mystery to be perfectly reasonable but this one stretched the imagination too far.
I'm now convinced that Agatha Christie just isn't for me. I have a few more of her stories I'd like to read (they're classics, and I don't want to merely read a plot summary of them), but I doubt I'll enjoy the execution of any of them. Her writing style just doesn't work for me. I find her authorial voice pretty insufferable (though in this case, that was probably heightened by her "putting on" a voice since it was technically written by a character. But even the sections that were outside of that character's perspective were grating). Her characters are painfully flat and obvious. Additionally, I find the mystery is never unraveled in an interesting way. It's just sort of... Stated. How anticlimactic.
The solution was fairly obvious from quite early on with only a detail or two that were led to be revealed slightly later in the story. However, while the solution was obvious from a reader's perspective, the truth is that it is a stupid, convoluted plan that would never actually work. I don't need a mystery to be perfectly reasonable but this one stretched the imagination too far.
I'm now convinced that Agatha Christie just isn't for me. I have a few more of her stories I'd like to read (they're classics, and I don't want to merely read a plot summary of them), but I doubt I'll enjoy the execution of any of them. Her writing style just doesn't work for me. I find her authorial voice pretty insufferable (though in this case, that was probably heightened by her "putting on" a voice since it was technically written by a character. But even the sections that were outside of that character's perspective were grating). Her characters are painfully flat and obvious. Additionally, I find the mystery is never unraveled in an interesting way. It's just sort of... Stated. How anticlimactic.
One by One by Ruth Ware
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.75
Words cannot express how disappointed I was in this book. It was described to me as a classic mystery with thriller elements, but considering how OBVIOUS the answer is, it fails as a mystery. I knew who did it by, like, chapter 3, or rather, at that point, who would do it then spent the rest of the book hoping for a twist or shocking reveal. The author made it so obvious who did it, how, and why that I was half convinced it had to be a giant red herring and there would be twist that recontextualized everything. That never happened. The strongest part of the book is when one of our characters figures out who the murderer is and a cat and mouse game ensues. That was really well done! The final chase scene was super effective, but then there's so much book left that I was waiting for a final twist that, once again, never came. There's a scene near the end where something is "revealed" but it's just an extra detail to something we already knew for a fact and that new detail was pretty obvious to me.
I think this book would have been SO much stronger if it had only one POV or multiple. Only having two was a bad choice, imo.
I loved the setting, the isolation, the idea of the characters, and the actual conceit of the mystery, and that makes it all the more disappointing. There's a phenomenal book that could have been made out of all these parts. Instead we got a pretty mediocre one.
I think this book would have been SO much stronger if it had only one POV or multiple. Only having two was a bad choice, imo.
I loved the setting, the isolation, the idea of the characters, and the actual conceit of the mystery, and that makes it all the more disappointing. There's a phenomenal book that could have been made out of all these parts. Instead we got a pretty mediocre one.
The Dragon Reborn by Robert Jordan
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
2.75
This book confirms to me that Rand's story is really lame but that everyone else's story is great. I would die for Perrin, Matt, and Nynaeve. Egwene wasn't my favorite in this one, but book 2 really seemed to be her book, so that's okay. I love learning more about everyone and seeing where their stories might go. Except for Rand, that is.
I hope they do away with the contrived structure of the characters splitting up, spending the middle apart, and then conveniently coming back together for the climax. I get that there's a canon reason for it, but that doesn't make it a particularly enjoyable read.
I hope they do away with the contrived structure of the characters splitting up, spending the middle apart, and then conveniently coming back together for the climax. I get that there's a canon reason for it, but that doesn't make it a particularly enjoyable read.
The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang
Did not finish book. Stopped at 54%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 54%.
This is tough. There was so much promise in the first book, but this was such a let down. The stuff that I loved about the first book is absent in this one (if you know, you know). Without spoilers, this reads more like a historical war novel than a fantasy inspired by historical events. I don't care about military centric stories, and I don't want to read about a foot soldier. The timeline is unclear. The character interactions are minimal. There's not much good I can say, and that's why I'm DNFing. I was hoping to push through, assuming this was a sophomore slump, but it's just not going to happen, and I need to get it off my shelves.
The Elementals by Michael McDowell
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
A Southern gothic horror about a dysfunctional family and a house that is just Wrong. Aka: everything I could possibly want. And this does not disappoint!
The atmosphere is perfection, and the characters and their relationships are fantastic. This isn't particularly scary, but it is definitely chilling, and there are a few moments that creeped me out quite a bit.
The only complaints I have as far as character are India and Odessa. As other people have said, India does NOT read as thirteen. I do think that was the point, but it didn't quite work for me. She should have been a little older, imo. Odessa is the only significant nonwhite character, and while interesting, is very underdeveloped. She fits the magical negro trope to a T, which undercuts so much of what she could have been.
Outside of characterization, there are some loose ends that aren't quite tied up, which isn't necessarily a bad thing to me but might bother some readers.
The atmosphere is perfection, and the characters and their relationships are fantastic. This isn't particularly scary, but it is definitely chilling, and there are a few moments that creeped me out quite a bit.
The only complaints I have as far as character are India and Odessa. As other people have said, India does NOT read as thirteen. I do think that was the point, but it didn't quite work for me. She should have been a little older, imo. Odessa is the only significant nonwhite character, and while interesting, is very underdeveloped. She fits the magical negro trope to a T, which undercuts so much of what she could have been.
Outside of characterization, there are some loose ends that aren't quite tied up, which isn't necessarily a bad thing to me but might bother some readers.
The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This isn't a scary horror novel, but it's certainly creepy, twisty, and thrilling. It's a heartbreaking and beautiful exploration of trauma, especially within a community. It's a rare horror with an ending that didn't disappoint.
Disfigured: On Fairy Tales, Disability, and Making Space by Amanda Leduc
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
This is one of the most engaging nonfiction books I've read. Leduc wove memoir, fairytale, and informative nonfiction together beautifully. It is intriguing and thought-provoking, and I admit I teared up a few times.
I also appreciate that Leduc readily admitted the scope of her own experiences versus the community as a whole.
I also appreciate that Leduc readily admitted the scope of her own experiences versus the community as a whole.