micaelamariem's reviews
691 reviews

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

Go to review page

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

4.0

I really really enjoyed this Southern Gothic horror. I’ll try to write a full review on my blog tomorrow but for now..wow!
The descriptions were vivid and beautiful in a haunting kind of way. The characters were uniquely flawed to the point where you couldn’t help but empathize with their pain. The sins in the book were atrocious, and the themes of identity, belonging, and mercy crawled across the pages, igniting the words into some higher morals. And of course, who doesn’t love a sentient house? 
I also thought it was super unique to include footnotes and a fictional bibliography! What a way to add voice. 
The only reason it’s not five stars is because there are parts of the ending I wasn’t thoroughly satisfied with. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
Sizzle Reel by Carlyn Greenwald

Go to review page

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

2.0

 
I finished my first full read of 2024! Last year, I won this ARC in a Goodreads giveaway, and have been excited to read it since as I love queer romances. Unfortunately, it did not live up to my expectations. 
Sizzle Reel follows 24 year old Luna Roth, an aspiring cinematographer who recently discovered that she's bi, and is struggling to come to terms with that identity while pursuing a romance with an actress. 
 I thought it was a great concept. Like I said before, I love queer romances and I love the attempts at representation, like having a bi main character, a nonbinary supporting character, etc. The beginning of the book was strong, and I also would have loved to have the author explore the friendship dynamics more between Luna, Romy, and Wyatt. I also would have liked to see more about the struggles in the film industry that someone who is queer might face. 
I really loved Luna's interest in cinematography and photography and how she was able to capture scenes in her mind, thinking about how she would adjust the colors and saturation of certain moments. That really added to her character and provided a unique point of view at times. 
However, somewhere, this narrative fell flat for a few reasons. 
More often than not, the dialogue was cringey and unrealistic. And...I can't believe I'm saying this as a hardcore liberal person but...both internal and external dialogue got "too woke." By that, I mean it seemed like the author was trying to hard to push these liberal ideas out (and liberal ideas are great, don't get me wrong!) and using trendy new terms to appeal to the audience. I think it would have worked better if it was more subtle, like a gentle nudge that goes "hey check this out" instead of the blaring neon signs that was just too much in this book. 
I also didn't think the writing as a whole was that engaging. A lot of the supporting characters were static with forced relationships with the main character. Like the stilted conversations between Luna and her brother. Or well-meaning Wyatt who made some mistakes--I would have loved to see more depth to their friendship and how forgiveness might be achieved after a big event that happens. 
There was supposedly a love triangle, but I think it should have been more obvious and not as passive on the part of the second love interest. 
Finally, the book was too much about sex. That might be weird to say for a romance, but I don't mean that it was spicy (though there a bit of spice!) What I mean is that there was a whole quest for the main character to figure out what defines virginity and for her to lose hers; there was too much pressure on the concept, and even though many of the supporting characters said that virginity was a silly construct, the main character never seemed to believe it and put way too much emphasis on it, which just left a bad taste in my mouth. And in the last sex scene, it's like the main character was magically ready to do something she previously had an aversion to just because she was in love--and I'm pretty sure that's not how it works in real life. 
All in all, I'm afraid I have to give this book two stars. I wouldn't recommend it unfortunately--it's cringey and, at times, problematic. 
TWs: Alcohol, Biphobia, Cursing, Outing, Sexual Content 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
The Oaken Queen by Lene Fogelberg

Go to review page

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

4.0

Thank you so much to Dedaun Publishing and the author for this arc!!
I really enjoy the NI Revolution trilogy so far, the first book being my favorite in the series so far. The sequel, however, was still really good. It’s always interesting to read a dystopian about nature taking over but it being told in a way that justifies the nature’s violence and still painting humans as evil is a very interesting take and I love the creativity and philosophy of it. In this book, there were a few instances of cringey dialogue and I’m very confused on how old Carl is, given his whole backstory, so I would want that more clarified because it seems very unrealistic. Otherwise the dynamic between the family member and allies with all the secrets and betrayal and emotions was very compelling. I’m excited to read what happens next! 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This was a great read, inspired by Mayan mythology which I got to learn more about as I parsed my way through this. I love the themes of narrative and myths and accepting and/or changing destiny. I love the slow burn. I love the bittersweet ending. I love the descriptions of everywhere in 1920s Mexico contrasted with Xibalba. I love the healing journey the characters go through to end the cycle of trauma. There’s just so much here to love. It took me a while to get into it but that was just a me thing because I was so busy. Once I forced myself to be still, I really loved this book. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
Heartstopper Volume 1 by Alice Oseman

Go to review page

lighthearted 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

5.0

I didn’t know how I’d like this because I’m not a big graphic novel reader but this was so cute! I wish there was more, but I guess I have to wait to get the second! This was just a nice fluffy feel good read, and it was nice to have something short and easy. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

Go to review page

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

3.0

It was definitely interesting, but not as good as the original trilogy. I didn’t feel the same pull into the world, and the characters weren’t as compelling.
Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional inspiring tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

While not as good as Fourth Wing, I still enjoyed this book! It still sucked me into this fantasy world which is the escapism I’m always looking for. I love the dragons and the revolutions. I hate the jealousy trope though as well as the miscommunication trope and this was chock full of it. I am hoping that part of the relationship is all resolved and won’t have to be revisited in the rest of the series. I love Andarna so much. And the whole fourth wing second squad flame section. A lot of my theories were wrong but I’m looking forward to seeing where the books will go. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
Sign Here by Claudia Lux

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

This book would’ve been better as a thriller without any of the paranormal/hell/demon stuff. It sounded cool but those were the parts that bored me. Reading about the family on earth was interesting, but overall could’ve been done better.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill

Go to review page

adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

 
Around my birthday a couple months ago, I went to a used bookstore and picked up a few gems, including this one, which seemed perfect to read around Halloween. 
The Girl Who Drank the Moonby Kelly Barnhill is a middle grade fantasy novel about a town that sacrifices a baby each year to the witch in the woods under the belief that she would curse them elsewise. The witch doesn't know why the town is abandoning their babies, but she tries to save them and give them each a loved home. Until one day, she accidentally enmagiks a baby by feeding her moonlight and decides to raise her as her own. Over the novel there are secrets that lead to the discovery of why the town must sacrifice babies and how the story began. The novel actually won a Newberry award! 
The author, Kelly Barnhill, is a teacher turned author who loves promoting the arts for children. 
I really enjoyed this story for a middle grade novel. There were a few themes that really struck out to me: the danger of sorrow vs hope, the fragility of memory, as well as some motifs of paper and birds and magic. 
The worldbuilding of the novel is great, showing a vast landscape for readers to escape into, complete with its own laws and myths and origin stories.  
The writing style was a little confusing and a lot whimsical. Half the time I wasn't quite sure what was going on but I enjoyed the ride, reminding me kind of like the show I just watched called Over the Garden Wall. 
I loved the characters as well, each one combatting their own fears and sorrows. My favorite character was the Simply Enormous dragon Fyrian who was always childlike and naive, but had blocked out his own trauma which perhaps kept him this way. 
Perhaps the main idea of the book is the hope and sacrifices we make for whom we love can combat sorrow. The witch and the girl formed a tightly-bound relationship like a mother and daughter and held hope for each other. The swamp monster and the dragon seemed to also care about each other. The boy from the town found his own love and hope, ready to change the world, as did the madwoman. 
I would highly recommend this book to middle grade readers who like whimsical quirky things with deep messages and meanings or who like to make their own inferences in stories. 
Overall, this was a four star read for me! 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

I’m not really sure why, but this book really didn’t grab my attention. The premise was good but I think the writing fell flat. While using the pictures was a great way to do something different, it was a stretch and felt too forced sometimes.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings