paperback_whiplash's reviews
306 reviews

The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang

adventurous dark slow-paced

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

4.25

Strong 2nd book. Found myself a bit confused at times though. I would have liked maybe a glossary of characters to help keep track.

Ending was a gut punch. Looking forward the the next and final book in the trilogy.

Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang

dark medium-paced

3.25

A unsettling perspective on the lengths people will go to for beauty and the ways to get crazy rich off it. 

Quotes:

"Rich people have all the time in the world to pick up random anecdotes for small talk."

"We aren't selling products. We're selling a lifestyle. Desire. The possibility for them to become us."

"Natural beauty doesn't exist here - it's created. Why not ethnicity?"

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

adventurous dark 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

5.0

Definitely will be continuing the trilogy. Very complex and traumatised characters. Excited/anxious on how the story progresses and the paths they choose from here on out.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War

The Wayward Girls by Amanda Mason

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? Yes

2.0

This book was probably 100 pages too long. It followed 2 time lines, the "Then" and "Now".  Each timeline was crowded with characters who often seemed too similar, making it difficult to differentiate between them. Flat and repetitive characters and plot overall.  

I was left confused by Mason's choice to use a popular poem with altered pronouns. Was the sister Bee reciting something she read, pretending to be under the influence of a ghost? Or did Mason simply like the poem and think it spooky? The intentions weren't clear in the text. Left a bad taste in my mouth. 

"As I was walking on the stair, I met a girl who wasn't there. 
She wasnt there again today.
I wish, I wish she'd go away."

William Hughes Mearns "Antigonish" 1899 (He pronouns in his original version)

 

Unsatisfying ending. 

The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson

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

3.75

The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann

adventurous informative medium-paced

5.0

The novel seeped into my subconscious. The night I started reading it I had a vivid dream about being stuck in a storm like the Wager crew.  
I've never read a non-fiction novel pre-1900s and I've realised how much I'm missing. I've highlighted so much in this book I want to look into more. 
A bit that will stick with me the longest will be the distressing depictions of the crew suffering from scurvy. I was eating fruit at the time (coincidence) and I thought to myself "wow I really need to eat more fruit just in case". 

"so misrable was the scene, thats words cannot express the misery that some of the men died in." And those who were alive were nearly indistinuisable from the dead The disease had consumed not only the bonds that glued together the seaman's bodies but their vessels' companies.

The passage then goes on to talk about how so many men died so quickly, they couldn't keep up and the rats were eating the bodies. So yeah, a bit bleak. 

Also, after you read The Wager, look up Wager Isle on Google Maps then check out the reviews for a bit of a chuckle.

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

adventurous funny tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

First chapter had me hooked straight away. Action packed, witty, heartfelt Sci-Fi. I started this book without reading any descriptions or reviews. I'm glad I went into this book completely blind as I definitely enjoyed it more this way. 

The complex science jargon went over my head a little, but it doesn't take away from the story as you're able to piece together the general gist of things.
Would highly recommend this book. 

The Descent by Jeff Long

adventurous dark medium-paced

3.0

Very different from the film adaption. The first half of the book felt more like a military thriller. I nearly DNF'ed it as I was pretty bored. It started to pick up midway as you started to learn more about the "demons" and their history.  I found the cave expedition very unrealistic and it took me out of the story a few times. 

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

dark emotional inspiring sad medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

The Night Guest by Hildur Knútsdóttir

dark 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

3.0