mrzakdaiq's reviews
24 reviews

The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted 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

4.0

Leonidas Valdez.  Man knew how to go out.  My guy has the dragon, the jokes, the talent, the power, the rizz.  He really had the nerve to call over a dozen people by the wrong name, said "HEY ENCHILADAS!" to a giant trying to kill his friends, snatched the antagonist like it was no big deal, exploded like a star, died, came back to life and still had the energy and manners to carry Calypso's bags for her.  Shoutout to Nico as well.  He's such a cool dude. These books are always so fun and filled with enough dad jokes to power a NY nursing home

 

Boy Erased: A Memoir of Identity, Faith and Family by Garrard Conley

emotional inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

3.75

Gerrard's heartbreaking reflections about his trauma endured during and prior  to his time attending Love in Action is something I'm grateful to him for telling yet so upset it happened at all.  More individuals have gone through these conversion therapy programs than many realize and not all have survived and many have been left with countless scars.  I'm grateful to have experienced Gerrard's memories but I did not find the fractured and nonlinear story progression to be constructive of the experience he was trying to convey.  Many times I was either lost at where we were at in the timeline or heavy points were reached and then suddenly yanked to another point.  

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.25

The world building and characters were fantastic but what lacked was narrative progression at an engaging speed.  This book honestly could've been 200 pages shorter.  There's way too many chapters of basically nothing occuring.  I did love it though and understand why it's praised.  I won't knock it too hard.

My Policeman by Bethan Roberts

emotional reflective sad 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? Yes

4.0

Yeah, look it made for a beautiful story.  It was well written, detailed and chomped at my tear ducts.  But Tom was a whiny bichon frisé bitch in all parts of his life.  Patrick had two strokes and this manchild didn't even have the decency to even glance at him or speak to the man he loved so much.

Berserk Deluxe Volume 1 by Kentaro Miura

adventurous dark funny fast-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? Yes

4.5

The Art.  The Art.  The Glorious Art.

The Sandman Book Two by Neil Gaiman

dark emotional funny mysterious 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

While not as complete a story as Book one, this gives so much more to the world of The Sandman and The Endless with great artwork and pushing boundaries for its time.

Love Me Again by Max Walker

emotional lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

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

2.5

Poor Dean

The House of Hades by Rick Riordan

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

I will defend and protect Leonidas Valdez for the rest of my life.  

Chasing The Alpha's Son by Penny Jessup

funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

2.75

My coworker interrupted the ending countdown and I will never forgive her.  These characters are mercilessly dramatic.  Max needs to get angry more instead of complaining in his head over and over.  Katy may have had a point but she and I are not on speaking terms right now.

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

adventurous dark funny mysterious 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

5.0

Probably listen to this once a year or so until book 3 comes out.