paxihayes's reviews
51 reviews

All of Us Villains by C.L. Herman, Amanda Foody

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

3.5

This is a magical hunger-games style story of the war between the good and evil that lives within us all. Hopefully book 2 gives more answers than questions, because book 1 ended with little resolution.

Elysium Girls by Kate Pentecost

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funny hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Very interesting idea, okay execution. I found the plot predictable and the pacing a tad off. Good story for a younger audience than me.

That Dark Infinity by Kate Pentecost

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adventurous hopeful mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

The concept was fascinating, the execution fell flat. Middle school or early high school me would have enjoyed this book a lot more than adult me. The writing style was not my favorite and there were a lot of plot holes/thin plot points. The inclusion of the MFC being bisexual seemed forced and would up not being relevant to the story.

The Song That Moves the Sun by Anna Bright

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adventurous emotional hopeful reflective 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? Yes

3.5

A strange cross between “Out of the Silent Planet” and Harry Potter.

The narration had to get its feet under it, but by the end was strong. Cute, age appropriate relationships and adults that treat teenagers like real people. Plot was stretched thin at times but was a very fun read.

A Thousand Naked Strangers: A Paramedic's Wild Ride to the Edge and Back by Kevin Hazzard

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective tense fast-paced

5.0

I tore through this book. His stories, balanced by grim reality and humor, are electric on the page. My family moved to just south of Atlanta in 2013, so I grew up hearing the tales of a pre-gentrified city, and I fee like I know the city better than I ever did. This book is about the madness of being a first responder, yes, but more-so it’s about what it means to be deeply and painfully human.

A Venom Dark and Sweet by Judy I. Lin

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adventurous emotional reflective fast-paced

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

4.0

Weaker followup but still amazing. I liked how the romance was not the main point of the story.

If the author had taken 15-30 more pages and really fleshed out the character development in the last couple of chapters and the epilogue, this would have been a 4.5 star read. The character growth is well done up until the very end, and it felt like the author ran out of time to actually finish the story.

A Magic Steeped in Poison by Judy I. Lin

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adventurous challenging emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced