perksofbeinganorchid's reviews
124 reviews

Yona of the Dawn, Vol. 1 by Mizuho Kusanagi

fast-paced

5.0

Dead Poets Society by N.H. Kleinbaum

emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing 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

2.0

If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio

adventurous emotional hopeful lighthearted relaxing sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

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

3.5

Babel by R.F. Kuang

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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

5.0

Kahlil Gibran's Little Book of Wisdom by Kahlil Gibran

inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-paced

2.5

The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet by John Green

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective relaxing medium-paced

5.0

Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross

adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced

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

5.0

Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring relaxing fast-paced

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

5.0

Legends of Shimrah by Nadha Zar

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing sad slow-paced

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

5.0

I stumbled across Legends of Shimrah on TikTok and when I saw the Author, Nadha Zar, will be donating all the money made from this book to Gaza from December 2023 to December 2024, I had to get it on Kindle immediately.

Legends of Shimrah is a debut fantasy, the first in the series, with the most incredible and detailed worldbuilding. Though I have read lots of fantasy, I have truly never read anything with this particular descriptive writing style. It is not a book that is binge-able (believe me, I’ve tried) and while it took me a while to read - and a fair bit of patience - it still felt as though it was over too soon. The book follows the growth of the three main characters being guided by their predecessors as they step into their new positions and prepare for an unknown fate. My favourite thing about a book is when I get to ‘spend time’ with the characters and Nadha allows for this while subtly foreshadowing and setting the stakes for the story. The worldbuilding, culture, way of speaking, and even the body language of the characters show such incredible forethought, that as a reader who pictures everything she reads, it was impossible not to get immersed, and at times, overwhelmed to the point of needing to put the book down. Though I picked up on the foreshadowing and thought I was prepared to for things to take a bad turn, NOTHING could have prepared me for that ending.