nahaerys's reviews
39 reviews

The Man From St. Petersburg by Ken Follett

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

Brought me to tears. The author was able to capture a father's love inside a page, and did it beautifully. He described everybody's mindset and thought process amazingly and made every character able to relate or empathise with easy. The ending shook me to my core.

I feel as though Feliks assassination was all for nothing as Russia still went to war, and even if Feliks did escape, Churchill would have still classified Aleks death as an accident, not an assassinated. Just a small plot hole.

Other than that, this book has some pretty old English words, so it's not really suitable for people who have English as their second language. It's not the type of book you can read in one sitting, as it is pretty hard to understand and interpret. In conclusion, this book is a classic and I definitely recommend you read it. 

Bully by Penelope Douglas

sad fast-paced

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

0.0

Omg. This book is pure shit. Not only is it incredibly misogynistic and sexist, but the love interest is literally abusive, and she still falls for him. I don't care if he has trauma, he still hard-core bullied her. And the fact that he prevented other boys from dating her, is just really creepy, perverted and possessive. Jeez let her date who she wants. At this point I was just reading for the craic, until the author just popped in a literaly slur. Like. What? It was totally unnecessary and was not needed. Like the plot would not change if it was removed. There were also some homophobic inflections in the book which was extremely uncomfortable. Overall, the writing and the pacing is the book is VERY good. The plot just needs to be put in the trash and burned. In conclusion, straight people are very weird.

The Wild Heart by Beau Taplin

emotional inspiring reflective fast-paced

1.0

I couldn't relate with him. I personally havent fallen in love yet, but I can feel how strong his emotions are. At some points in the book, I thought that this guy should really get over himself and move on. He seemed almost obsessed and deranged whenever he talked about his past lover. But then and again, that must be what love is like. Deranged.

The Falling in Love Montage by Ciara Smyth

emotional funny inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.0

I love this book. The representation of dementia is accurate and it really shows a great understanding of how it affects other as well. There are so many quotes in this book that struck me hard. Only problem I have is with the love interest, Ruby. She has no personality other than being a hopeless romantic. She's 2-dimensional character who has no other hobbies. I actually quite found her annoying, but that just might be my personal opinion.

During the big fight between Saoirse and Ruby, Ruby was definitely in the wrong. Saoirse made her boundaries exceptionally clear, and Ruby still disrespected that. Ruby forced Saoirse to reveal her secret about her mom which was a major dick move. Ruby disrespected her privacy multiple times e.g. coming over for dinner when Saoirse really didn't want her to come over. Saoirse never wanted a relationship. She CLEARLY said it was a short term fling. And still Ruby ignored that.

A Little History of the World by E.H. Gombrich, Caroline Mustill, Clifford Harper

challenging emotional funny informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

5.0

The first history book I genuinely enjoyed. He writes in a fatherly tone, and when you read you can almost imagine yourself there at that time! The way he describes the events is amazing. I really recommend it.

Not My Problem by Ciara Smyth

adventurous emotional funny hopeful 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

The Mark on the Wall by Virginia Woolf

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

It's Not Like It's a Secret by Misa Sugiura

emotional funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced

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

4.5

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Did not finish book. Stopped at 19%.

Too childish for me.

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

challenging dark reflective sad slow-paced

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

1.75

Very relatable main character. Unfortunately, I found it very hard to read. I understood his inner monologue, but I couldn't understand his actions and why he does them. There were a few misogynistic scenes, and Holden (the protagonist) seems like an all-round douchebag. I don't know how to feel about him. On one hand, his depression and the way he views life is twin-like to my perspective. On the other hand, he's arrogant and is a very unlikeable character. Maybe if I was put into his situation; male, heavy expectations, 1940's; I could fully empathize with him.

I have a love-hate relationship with the main character, Holden. I relate to him so much, up to the point where I hate him. Well, that's my own inner turmoil to handle. Overall, a classic book that fails to live up to it's name.