mrtvavrana's reviews
832 reviews

More Than a Best Friend by Emma R. Alban

funny lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

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

2.0

 

I have had high hopes for this book, as it was dubbed a queer Bridgerton, and it has such high ratings. Unfortunately, I was very disappointed.

While I immensely loved the premise of this novel, I found the actual execution lacking in too many different ways.

While this novel is marketed as Victorian, it is written as any other modern rom-com. The characters actions and interactions, and even the dialogues, are way too modern. It genuinely felt like they were just pretending and cosplaying to be Victorians. It is quite unfortunate, as if it was done right, some of the other issues would not stand out as much.

The characters are, well, very shallow and underdeveloped. While I did quite like Beth and Gwen as individuals, they just do not work for me as a couple. I was genuinely more interested in their parents love story. And, let's be honest, it was not good either.

This book reads like every other BookTok YA, and if it weren't for the spice, I would not even notice this is supposed to be a book for adults.

The spice was, unsurprisingly, mediocre at best. I had written better erotica than this when I was a teenager. I have read hundreds of books, many of which contained spice, but I still have not found a single one that was at least equal to fanfiction.

I feel like many of the new-ish authors, including Alban, are trying to be romantic and poetic with all those shiny metaphors. Gods, I hate it. It makes the experience of reading unbearable for me. I honestly cannot help but cringe.

Another thing that annoyed me was the timing of the sex scene. I think it would have made more sense and had more impact if it happened towards the end of the book instead. All that waiting and longing and the pent-up energy would have made that scene so much more intimate and powerful.

Overall, this is a very childish and unrealistic “historical” novel. I did enjoy it; I think it was a fun read, but it was extremely underwhelming and rushed. I certainly expected more than this novel has to offer.

I am still considering whether to read the sequel or not; I am not ready for more disappointment just yet. 

Teaching My Mother How to Give Birth by Warsan Shire

challenging emotional medium-paced

4.0

Our Violent Ends by Chloe Gong

adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad 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? It's complicated

3.5

I was so excited to read Our Violent Ends, and I was afraid of being disappointed. But I think the book was even better than These Violent Delights.

The story picks up a few months after the first book ends and slowly brings us to the inevitable conclusion of the duology. Or does it?

I think the first half of Our Violent Ends was extremely slow. Not much was happening, and there was an unhealthy dose of miscommunication between the characters. I am not a fan of that.

Both Roma and Juliette were quite annoying, constantly talking and thinking of killing each other and protecting their gangs but then betraying everyone over and over again. I did like that we got to see more of Mars and Ben,/spoiler> and we also could witness the beginning of their romance. I really hope they will one day get their own book.

What I did not like was how Rosalind sort of became the villain for a while. Juliette treated her so harshly, as if she herself was not betraying her family. I also was not satisfied with where the story went—the chapters at the end were utter chaos. Everything falling apart, everyone dying and running away and betraying their friends. I had to keep track of what was happening because it was too much.

The ending was, surprisingly, pretty nice. I really liked how Gong wrapped everything up and left us, readers, some space to wonder what comes next. I cannot wait to dive into the Foul Lady Fortune duology in 2025.

All that being said, I really enjoyed the These Violent Delights duology. I think it is a nice dot behind my 2024 reading journey. 

These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong

adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

 

I have had this book on my shelf for probably two years, so I decided it was finally the time to read it. I did not have any great expectations, and I feel like it has paid off, as I really enjoyed this book.

These Violent Delights was described as “Romeo and Juliette with a dark twist,” so I more or less was prepared for it to be dramatic, fun, and romantic. I would like to add that it really reminded me of Leigh Bardugo's Six of Crows duology, and I feel like as a result my review might be a bit more positive, as I have really loved it.

Now, theplot was quite interesting. I wouldn't call it groundbreaking, and there were definitely some holes, but considering this is the author's debut and it is a popular book on TikTok, I think it was fairly good.

My least favourite part was the romance between Roma and Juliette. I am a fan of enemies to lovers, but this was enemies to lovers to enemies to lovers to enemies to lovers to enemies to lovers, and so on. It got quite boring.

There were also no surprises in the story; I think it was quite predictable, but it did not take anything away from the fun.

As for the characters—I really loved everyone. Yes, they are all flawed, and I was not fully satisfied with how they were written, but I think they all fit together nicely. I loved

Kathleen

, and I loved that this book had trans representation. It was a bit surprising to see a trans character here, as popular TikTok books are not known for their diversity.

My favourite duo was, of course, Mars and Ben. Up until the very end, I hoped I would get to see their friendship evolving (wink), but the author had some other things planned.

I did not really like the open ending with the massive cliffhanger, but overall I think this was a nice read. 

Murder On The Christmas Express by Alexandra Benedict

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

1.5

 

After reading The Christmas Murder Game in 2023, I honestly had no expectations for Murder on the Christmas Express. I pretty much only read it because I needed something “festive.”.

I have to admit that I was clueless as to who the killer was up until the very end. I am usually amazing at deducing it from the story, but this time that “big killer reveal” did not make any sense to me. The premise was pretty good, and the story was enjoyable, but it was very choppy, and I felt like the entire story was way too dark. I thought this would be more cosy and more Agatha Christie-like. Instead we got a very poorly executed dark thriller. And it has very little to do with Christmas.

The characters were boring and very annoying. I think Benedict spent way too much time on describing and introducing the characters instead of putting that space towards making the story and mystery more complex. I think that was a pity, because this novel had a lot of potential.

Now, I have not noticed any trigger warnings or warnings whatsoever, but this book contains quite graphic descriptions of rape, abuse, and domestic violence; there are mentions of stalking and descriptions of traumatic birth. Definitely not what I had expected to find in this book.

The ending was very underwhelming, and the murder cover-up was, again, poorly executed. This book is definitely not worth it.

I genuinely hoped to see some difference and growth in the author's writing, but I feel like this book was even worse than The Christmas Murder Game. 

Zázraky padlých svätých by Maggie Stiefvater

challenging emotional inspiring reflective 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

3.0

 

I have read this book in Slovak.

I am still fairly new to magical realism, and I have not yet figured out exactly what I like.

This book was… unexpected. It took quite long to get going, and I felt like not finishing it and putting it away for almost the whole first half. Then, thankfully, the pace and story kind of picked up, and by the end I have to say I was quite enjoying it.

As it was my first Maggie Stiefvater book, I had no idea what to expect, and unfortunately I was a bit disappointed. I think that is my own fault, though. I haven't properly researched what I was getting myself into.

I absolutely adored the idea behind this book. And to a certain extent I also enjoyed the execution of it. The entire plot of this novel is about saints performing miracles on pilgrims, making their darkness take physical form. The pilgrims then have to perform the second miracle themselves, to make the darkness disappear. The saints, unfortunately, cannot help as they will be thrown into a battle with their own, much more intense, darkness. This would also affect the people around them. I definitely did not like that the saints could not directly help the pilgrims.

I must say I really liked the characters. Despite how short All The Crooked Saints was, we definitely get to see a pretty deep look at all the main and some side characters. I loved how they were written and how their storylines all connected.

I honestly cannot wait to read more of Maggie Stiefvater's books. 

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

4.0

In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

 I struggle with reviewing non-fiction books because I can never find the right words, words that I would be satisfied with.

This memoir takes us through an abusive relationship of the author and her former girlfriend. The story itself was incredibly painful and difficult to read. It was heartbreaking to see and witness the horrors Machado had to go through. It was also incredibly brave of her to share this difficult time of her life in the open, with all of us readers.

In The Dreamhouse was written so beautifully, and it felt so genuine and intimate. I could not stop crying at times, and I had to take frequent breaks and sit with my thoughts.

I loved the format—shorter chapters mixed with longer ones. I have also really enjoyed the second-person narrative—it somehow felt more intimate, and at times I felt like the author was speaking directly to me. I feel that that made my experience with this memoir even more emotional.

While this book is almost entirely about queer domestic violence, I think everyone would benefit from reading it, whether they are queer or not. I am positive everyone will find or learn something new in this memoir. 

A Spy in the House of Love by Anaïs Nin

adventurous informative reflective slow-paced

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

3.5

I am not entirely sure how to review this novel. I absolutely adore the way Nin writes, but the story itself was a tad difficult to follow, in my opinion. I think the format also did not help.

I loved the main character, Sabina; I loved her extravagance and her confidence. Despite that and A Spy in The House of Love being labelled as erotica, the main themes that dominate are the shame and guilt Sabina feels for cheating on her husband.

Nin wrote this novel in the 1950s, and I am sure this novel was shocking and controversial at the time, but now it does not seem as such. Even compared to other of Nin's work I have read, this book is quite tame. 

Hell Followed with Us by Andrew Joseph White

challenging dark emotional sad 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

I have been hearing about this book almost constantly since it was released. I was quite skeptical about it; I'm not going to lie. The premise and all the positive reviews seemed to be a bit too good. I have to say, though, I was pleasantly surprised. Hell Followed With Us indeed lived up to my expectations. 

My favourite thing about this book was how clearly it was written by a queer person for other queer people. It all felt so natural, and some of the experiences the main character had to deal with were very relatable. 

I have also loved the portrayal of religion and religious trauma. As someone who used to be a part of the church and still deals with religious guilt and trauma, I could not get enough of this book. I have never before felt so seen and understood. I don't think I have ever read another book I could relate to this much. 

I am an avid horror fan and have been for years. I do not quite like zombies, but I enjoyed how White played with the trope and turned it into something fun—they were not just mindless shells; there was so much more to them. 

The world-building and descriptions were beautiful and captivating, and they really helped me get sucked into the story. 

I connected to the characters almost immediately, although I hoped we would see more of the side characters and learn more about their lives. 

While I absolutely loved the story and the overall pace and mood, I think there were some instances that seemed to drag and go on forever,

like the main character's transformation. It took place over the bigger part of the story, and yet somehow it was easily concealed and remained hidden from almost everyone for a very long time.

I am also a tiny bit conflicted about the ending. I think that after all that build-up, it was a bit underwhelming. I kind of expected the book to end with a boom.