mgitelman8's reviews
370 reviews

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective 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

4.5

Ate this shiz uppp, stayed up til 4 am reading, which I haven’t done in a long time

Foundation by Isaac Asimov
Did not finish book. Stopped at 38%.

No my vibe. Maybe I’ll try again in a few years.

Undercover by Tamsyn Muir

funny mysterious reflective tense 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

4.75

I understood like 85% of what happened, but regardless the thought of this story lingers.

Powerless by Lauren Roberts

1.0

Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

5.0

So suspenseful and creepy… really had me spooked. Such a quick read and let my imagination run wild.

Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious tense medium-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

Re-read before reading the sequel. It’s a fun read but wasn’t as gripping on the second read-through. 

Lady Macbeth by Ava Reid

dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective tense slow-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

4.5

Beautifully written. The princess saves the day in this one.

Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Wow… I have (almost) no words. This was phenomenal, and I’m in love with Elm. We’re going to have a fall wedding. And, I’m realizing that I am a mood reader, and reading this on walks with my dog as the leaves are turning the most brilliant colors and the air is misty was just the perfect ambiance to read this book to.

Powerless by Lauren Roberts

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny medium-paced

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

1.0

Genuinely the worst book I’ve read in a long time. The MMC and FMC are underdeveloped tropes and nothing makes sense. If Adina is truly so important to Paedyn,

why did she forget her even after bringing her to the palace, and doesn’t do much to save her as she’s dying?

Their relationship is never explored further than the rooftop scene, where Paedyn was getting drenched by rain while somehow also looking at constellations (not like rain means clouds 🧐). If she’s so scared of being found out as Ordinary, why is it never a focus of the plot that people might find out she’s not? The plot just focuses on the relationship and all the interactions Paedyn and Kai have, even

the Resitance

(lazy name) becomes a forgettable side plot to their “unparalleled chemistry” which is just

Kai telling her he’s into her and her being pissy about that and doing nothing. And don’t even try to tell me there’s a love triangle with the other brother because there was no indication that Kit likes her as more than a friend, except for the first time he asks her to a ball. And wouldn’t he be seeing all the supposed “chemistry” between them while watching the Trials? That’s never brought up, as well as Kit never confronting Kai about that during Kai’s pov.

The writing style is so random too. Every feeling is heightened to the max, characters feeling immense shame then immeasurable relief all in one scene.

Teens deserve better books that aren’t just recycled romantic tropes. If the whole book is about a relationship, at least make it a relationship to look up to instead of a cringey and unhealthy one with bad communication and constant knives-to-the-throat in every interaction.

Also, “despise” and “hate” is the same thing. 😑

A Curse for True Love by Stephanie Garber

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious 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

2.5

Definitely an enjoyable book, though the writing is lazy and simple. When the writing spells everything out for you, it kills all the mystery that would draw you in and the writing could have come from anybody. Stephanie could have written this with Chatgpt because there’s no distinctive voice at all. I don’t remember a single thing about the writing, it’s only there to convey the plot. And the characters have no depth as a result, since everything they think or feel is spelled out for us with no nuance. “Evangeline felt nervous” leaves no space for ambiguity and created 2-dimensional characters that are formulaic clichés instead of recognizable entities that live on outside of the constraints of the series. Also, Evangeline has no agency throughout all three books— she just exists and gets yanked about by all the other characters, simply existing and Jacks is in love with her… for what? Because she’s pretty and doesn’t like hurting people??? The plot was interesting, but just a bit more showing not telling in the writing would have created a lot more depth to the story and truly explored themes of hope and the fight for love. There are so many things that don’t make sense. Apollo being obsessed with Evangeline only made sense when he was cursed, but he recovers from the curses and is still obsessed with her… for what? Also, scenes are written so awkwardly like when Jacks and Evangeline are

outside the Hollow, but then they walk out the door of the Hollow in the next moment like they’re quantum-phasing. The Protectorate is never mentioned again and was never an actual threat. And what happened to Marisol? And suddenly Chaos has the hots for Layla (out of nowhere, never followed up on), and Lala and Dane’s long-awaited reunion never occurs (on screen) and is addressed with a dismissal by Lala.

However…  I did actually like the somewhat frivolous description of dresses, and damn, Stephanie got me with the “I just forgot to breathe” line iykyk. 

I think criticism of this kind of literature is important, especially since this series is geared towards young audiences. We can handle the challenge, and TEENS DESERVE BETTER BOOKS. When you don’t have to work to understand the story, there’s no longevity and no payoff. Lazy writing like this just uses tropes as a crutch to justify 400pg long books without actually developing the story or the world in any really way.