merah's reviews
40 reviews

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious relaxing sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

the writing is absolutely incredible. 
I felt every single emotion while reading this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicide, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Dysphoria, and Deportation

Minor: Cancer, Confinement, Deadnaming, Terminal illness, Vomit, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, and Classism

loads of knives, blades, cuts and stabbings

The King is Dead by Benjamin Dean

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious relaxing sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

couldn't put this down. 
kept trying to figure it out but was never sure. 

 
I was convinced Peter would turn out to be Grigor's dad. not entirely sure what to think about the true revelation of the not-actually-king revelation. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Outing, and Abandonment

Moderate: Confinement, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Emotional abuse

further content warnings: - constant camera surveillance - unwanted sharing of personal information

-bomb threat

The Lock In by Phoebe Luckhurst

lighthearted tense slow-paced

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

2.25

this book was the definition of "mid".
writing? okay. not great.
characters? not loveable, not villain-worthy
plot? not terrible, not interesting.

this was a difficult one to get through. there were countless moments I wanted to dnf this. honestly wouldn't have missed much if I had.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement and Abandonment

Moderate: Excrement and Alcohol

Minor: Animal death, Bullying, Sexual content, and Gaslighting

The way Ellen treats people is awful.

Husband Material by Alexis Hall

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad medium-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, and Classism

Moderate: Biphobia, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Mental illness, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Cancer, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Terminal illness, and Dysphoria

Never feeling worthy / good enough (very graphic!) Difficult family dynamics. Feelings of child abandonment.

Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective relaxing sad fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Cursing, Terminal illness, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Moderate: Body horror, Drug use, Eating disorder, Grief, and Classism

Minor: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Racism, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

loads of self sabotage

This Winter by Alice Oseman

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

It's a very short, compact story. 
The plot could have been developed into a whole novel. 
Felt a little rushed at times. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Mental illness, and Self harm

Minor: Biphobia, Cursing, Homophobia, Infidelity, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Alcohol

Some of the characters speak about mental illnesses in a very degrading manner. "Crazy" Or "maniac" Are examples of descriptions used. An explicit case is the discussion of schizophrenia.

The Final Gambit by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense fast-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? Yes

4.0

One of the best series I've read in my life. Incredible. 
I'm so so unbelievably sad it's over. I can't even. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Stalking, and Death of parent

Minor: Cancer, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

The Hawthorne Legacy by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Absolutely no words. One of the best series I have read in a very long time. 
I am constantly trying to guess what will happen -sometimes I'm right, sometimes it's impossible to predict. 

I have so many theories. Can't wait for #3! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Infidelity, Kidnapping, and Alcohol

Minor: Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Miscarriage, Suicide, Medical content, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, and Injury/Injury detail

Implied child abuse

The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious relaxing tense fast-paced

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

5.0

One of the BEST books I've read in a while. 
The characters are so loveable. 
A thrilling story with some very unexpected twists. 
And: short chapters!! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Biphobia, Child death, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Car accident, Lesbophobia, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

My Brother's Name is Jessica by John Boyne

emotional sad tense fast-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

2.75

!Read content warnings! 

Constant deadnaming and misgendering.
Terrible parenting. Gaslighting.
Slurs.
Ignorance.

The story is told from the younger brother's perspective. Very ignorant of Jessica's position.

representation of struggling trans teen and family problems in a transphobic household. But again: read the content warnings!

I liked Bradley and Rose though.

 

I disliked the end. Their mother should not have won the election. Sam should not have befriended David. 
I also hate that Jessica's validation seems to depend on passing. 

I kind of see how the author was going for a redemption arch type thing, but the ending makes it seem like all of the pain caused was forgivable. which it wasn't. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Deadnaming, Transphobia, Outing, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

Moderate: Ableism, Confinement, and Sexism

Minor: Cursing, Death, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Racism, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Use of transphobic slurs.