mini_minch's reviews
49 reviews

The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

This is a chore but a worthwhile one. The epic tales are unmatched, some tales had me in tears. You really have to push through a mire of Lore to get to them, but once you do it's so worth it. I can't bring myself to say the history and Lore is not needed.  The tales he tells wouldn't have the same weight, if he didn't predicate them with a rich tapestry of history. I was blown away by this book.  I will probably never read this again but it is a must read if you're a LOTR fan.

Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson

emotional funny hopeful reflective slow-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? It's complicated

3.75

Not what I was expecting. Jeanette's younger years in the book are insightful yet hilarious. You are drawn into her world and all of the madness that ensues. You enjoy the quirks of each character and find yourself chortling at the absurdities of them. The book breaks every now and then for a bit of reflective story telling and it's a hit or miss with each chapter whether I enjoy it or not.  Sometimes I think it's too reflective and it pulls me right out of the book, other parts really emphasise the characters headspace at that point in time and this comes with some stand out lines that have really stayed with me.  I find as the book goes on the detailed story telling seems to dip, and I'm not drawn in the way I was at the start. The lack of detail in some major plot points was off putting and jarring (maybe intentional but I didn't agree with the choice at all). Hard one to rate honestly but still glad I read it. 

The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent

adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad tense 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? It's complicated

3.75

I feel this is all the classic YA books I loved growing up,  all rolled into one. Definitely new adult rather than YA. Very tropey, enemies to lovers, dark mysterious protaganists, all the angst and pining that fans of the genre love. I thought I knew where this book was going but it surprised me. I'll be picking up the next in this series for sure. 

Insatiable by Daisy Buchanan

fast-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

2.0

I found all the characters really unlikeable and frustrating. We get it you know London. The spice was so ramped up with little pay off. I saw where the book was going a mile off and still at the end kept questioning how we got there. I really hate when characters endings are rushed in the last 2 chapters.  It wasn't for me. 

Crushing It by Lorelei Parker

hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

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

2.75

I think the only reason I rooted for the protagonist in this book was because the villan was so awful. I didn't really like the whole doe eyed, lacks any self awareness, cutesy e-girl shtick and any nerd references felt very forced. The love interest was cute, the obstacles the couple faced weren't tropey and the protagnist's friendships felt real,  (which I feel a lot of romance books lack). Overall quite cute, and a different spin on a love story. Also unexpected spice 🌶. With a bit of tweaking I could've really liked this book, the main character just grated on me too much. 

The Book Proposal by KJ Micciche
Did not finish book. Stopped at 12%.

DNF. Glad I used an audiobook free credit for this one.  The characters didn't talk like real people. Found the female lead annoying. Only 12% of the way through, but just couldn't continue. 

Priest by Sierra Simone

I stopped at

The sacrement fucking

like there's been some hot scenes before that and I know I'm not getting anything special with smut but that scene just made me cackle with laughter and I knew I couldn't take it seriously beyond that. 

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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

5.0

This book is beautiful, haunting and magical. I don't think I can adequately describe how much I fell in love with this book. It  kept me guessing at every turn. I felt everything while I was reading it and it left me wanting more. I'll be recommending this to everyone. 

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

dark emotional funny hopeful informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

This book won me round at the start, lost me a bit in the middle and blew me away by the end. 

My Oxford Year by Julia Whelan

emotional funny informative inspiring reflective sad medium-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

4.75

I picked up this book because Emily Henry told me to on Tik Tok. That is all the knowledge I had going in.  I wish I knew I was in for a weeper but still the queen of romance was not wrong.  This was a read in one day read . I'm always going to cringe at Americans writing about Britain (I'm sorry it cannot be helped) and there are elements of it at the start which for me are eye-roll corny. That being said I connected with the characters chemistry enough to pull through it and glad I did. Would deffo recommend if you like books that feel like movies as you read them.