minayana's reviews
175 reviews

mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Such an interesting book that’s very much vibes before plot. The prose is very over written with descriptive vocabulary, and usually that doesn’t work for me but I really enjoyed it in this one. It’s written in 3rd person POV, and you are not in one singular persons mind. The POV will switch back and forth all in one page, almost like their thoughts are in conversation with each other. The characters and their interactions are so intriguing, and they really felt like real people. I loved how nothing was really explained, and we would get random tidbits of information about things that are going to happen in the future or in separate parts of the world. I definitely feel like this book could be a new favorite upon reread.

The Emperor and the Endless Palace by Justinian Huang

Go to review page

emotional medium-paced

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

3.75

This is a solid read if you go into it with the right expectations. This is not a romance or erotica, but a story about an obsessive, lustful and compulsive love between two men across the ages.
I love how the timelines all came together, and it had a satisfying ending. Please know that there are some scenes of SA, and the author uses some…..unusual euphemisms when writing sex scenes (consensual or not) that I personally hated lol (influence, pink plum, and molten lava to name a few.) I personally don’t think that most of the sex scenes were actually supposed to be sexy, but were actual plot moving scenes. I loved how distinct their personalities were in the different timelines, and I loved the references to the sleeve cutting story. I’d really recommend if it seems like something you’d be into!

Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke And Other Misfortunes by Eric LaRocca

Go to review page

dark

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

2.25

Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke - 3.75⭐️
Really intriguing premise, but I think this would’ve done a lot better with another hundred pages. There’s no build up once the contract is made, things get very graphic very fast and it kind of tampers the tense atmosphere a bit. Loved the mixed media format!

The Enchantment - 2⭐️
Although this one has an interesting premise, the shocking moment at the beginning of the book is very similar to something that happens in the first story. And then, the story just goes on…..and on…..and on……with nothing interesting happening.

You’ll Find It’s Like That All Over - 1⭐️
This was dumb as hell. Nothing intriguing, scary or fun about this story, and the overall “theme” makes no damn sense considering what actually happens in the book. The author says it’s about what we’ll let happen to ourselves in order to remain polite…..to me it seemed like he just needed the money cause he was struggling with bills ???? And then the inner monologue at the end of the story couldn’t have been more in your face. This 20 page story made me want to DNF the whole book at the very end.

My advice: not every idea needs to be written, and not every story needs to be published. This is my second collection by this author, and it’s really just made me realize that he writes short stories cause he’s not a strong enough of a writer to write a full length novel. I’ll try another collection of his, as I do think his premises can be pretty good, but overall this collection was underwhelming.

Ocean's Godori by Elaine U. Cho

Go to review page

adventurous medium-paced

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

2.5

As a Korean American who was very excited to read a space opera where Korea dominates space travel, I’m very sad to say that this novel was very meh. Nothing particularly good about it, nothing particularly bad about it. Just meh.
It has a really interesting world that I don’t think was explained well, and I really couldn’t envision anything in the book. Some books can really pull off an “effortless” style where you’re just thrown into a world and you kind of just have to figure it out. I feel like the author was trying for that, but failed. I could be totally wrong though, cause to be honest I really was not able to concentrate on this book. The book synopsis doesn’t start until 50% in! And the first half you’re just following these characters that you don’t really care about in a world that you can’t really envision. And then all the buildup from that last 50% of the novel results in a super fast paced climax in like the last 5% of the book.
The author tries to bring up racial oppression towards non humans, with Haven being half Japanese and half an alien race……where on his alien planet he is discriminated against for being pale, and on earth is discriminated against for being a “vulture.” honestly don’t remember much about the alien race except that they have dark skin and Haven is seen as ugly for being pale…....very interesting choice in my opinion.
The audiobook narration was fine, nothing very impressive. I really didn’t like how the narrator voiced some of the side characters. I couldn’t tell you a thing about any of them except some of them are voiced with a really nasally voice lol. The crew is supposed to be a fun rag tag group of friends, but I really just didn’t care or feel connected to any of the characters, including the three MCs.
The actual writing style was good, and I’d be interested to read more from this author after she’s become a bit more experienced. I’d say try it and if you’re not into it 15% in, don’t bother continuing.

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

Go to review page

Did not finish book. Stopped at 20%.

I really like the author as an influencer, and the premise seems fun and there’s so much hype are this book. I start reading and I realize….this book is kind of stupid. Writing is very surface level and cringy, MC is annoying, she immediately starts changing her mind about her revenge plot once she meets the guy cause she’s attracted to him and then changes her mind again. This novel is marketed as feminist but from the 20% I read, the MC is the exception and every other girl is happy to live under the patriarchy and die for men. She also seems to hate every other woman she meets? Yeah, this was a huge disappointment. I decided to read some reviews to see if I should dnf or not, and what I read makes me think that this book won’t get any better for me. I’m sad cause I really like the author and was excited for the poly rep, but yeah this book definitely isn’t for me.

Side note: I knew this had disabled rep in it, and I thought it was really interesting how the MC’s disability comes from her bound feet. Great cultural touch to the book!

Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Go to review page

adventurous tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
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

4.0

Very intriguing story and very well written, you can tell a lot of love and thought was put into this novel. I absolutely looooove the concept. The main reason this wasn’t a 5 star for me was just the fact that I’m a very character driven reader, and none of the characters stand out in any way. You don’t form any attachments to anybody, and each of the human characters are just character archetypes. Both POVs were so interesting, but sometimes it could be frustrating how short the chapters could be. I would be having the time of my life and then BOOM pov change. The ending was pretty surprising, and I liked how it all wrapped up. Overall, I’d definitely recommend for fans of sci-fi!! I will be continuing in the series, but I’ll be taking a little bit of a break as it seems like the story for the second book is a bit repetitive.

Mirage by Somaiya Daud

Go to review page

adventurous emotional fast-paced