pencilled_robin's reviews
109 reviews

Feral Creatures by Kira Jane Buxton

adventurous emotional funny tense

• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

Orbital by Samantha Harvey
Did not finish book. Stopped at 50%.

•  Purple prose. My god, so much purple prose. It's not bad in isolation (though not particularly impressive either) but the sheer rate at which the author crams it in is incredible. Like eating a whole stick of butter.
• Next to no plot. In fairness IRL space life is not exactly riveting, but this was a stylistic choice that didn't work for me. 
• Surprisingly, not a lot of focus was given to the characters. I made it halfway through before realizing that I didn't care enough about these people to stick around for the ending.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent

Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa

funny hopeful inspiring reflective relaxing sad slow-paced

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

4.5

Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames

adventurous emotional funny

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Five Broken Blades by Mai Corland

adventurous

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer

emotional hopeful sad tense

• Strong character development? Yes

3.25

The Village Library Demon-Hunting Society by C.M. Waggoner

mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Blood

Minor: Domestic abuse

The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong
Did not finish book.

I like cozy fantasy, but this was a big "meh" for me. The prose is flat and mediocre, the plot drags along at a snail's pace, and the characters are one-dimensional Eddings-esque stereotypes.

Cursebreakers by Madeleine Nakamura

dark emotional funny tense 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

Hell For Hire by Rachel Aaron
Did not finish book.

Interesting premise, but the beige prose + constant awkward infodumping made it hard to enjoy.