pikamonster's reviews
123 reviews

To Cage a God by Elizabeth May
Did not finish book. Stopped at 19%.

This book feels juvenile and I'm struggling to get in to it. I don't like the characters. It feels like a YA with swearing. 

Tears of Amber by Sofía Segovia

challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

3.0

I feel my biggest problem with this book is the description doesn't really match the actual story. I understand it's a WW2 story but it feels like it should have had a little more hope to it. I've noticed this author is a fan of writing beautiful but bleak stories and I would just like a touch less suffering. I also called the twist at the end very early on. 

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

reflective slow-paced

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

2.0

This book was very hard to read. Frankly it wasn't interesting and it dragged on. It wasn't bad enough to DNF but I definitely put it down a lot. Someone said it sounded like a fictional self help book and they summed it up perfectly. 

Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune

emotional 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

While the story was pretty and I liked the ideas and the imagery. I feel like the characters and their situations were rushed. It made the closure feel less natural. I feel like this story could have been longer to give it time to feel more natural 

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

emotional slow-paced

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

3.5

This is the type of book you read over a long period of time. It was a beautiful story although the book is overall long and heavy. I enjoyed reading it. The ending felt anticlimactic and like it didn't fit. It was still worth the read. 

HorrorScope: A Zodiac Anthology by Taylor Pawley, Alex Tilley, Nico Bell, Jessica Huntley, Nina Tolstoy, H. Everend, Loki Dewitt, Greta T. Bates, Kassidy VanGundy, Eric M. Woods, Rachel Shannon, Anthony Taylor, Samuel M. Hallam, Damien Casey, Scott McGregor, Amanda Jaeger, Brooklynn Dean, Aiden E. Messer, Delliom Ellidom, Samantha Arthurs, Kirsten Aucoin, L. Pine, Kay Hanifen, Arabella K. Federico, Ryan Meyer, Byron Griffin, Dan B. Fierce, Sherry Shearhart, Angel Krause, Natalie Hannah, Sabrina Voerman, Brianna Malotke, Alana K. Drex, Elias Chase, Nadine Stewart, Kyra R. Torres, A.W. Mason
Did not finish book. Stopped at 30%.

Honestly these stories feel cliché and boring. Every single Taurus story was about a bull like where is the creativity? Not to mention all the gorings. It was 't for me as I prefer my cheesey horror to be filmed. 

Heart of the Sun Warrior by Sue Lynn Tan

adventurous fast-paced

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

5.0

I don't know how it's possible to like a sequel more but here we are. At first I thought certain aspects of this book were a bit much especially involving Houyi. But by the end I was crying and it was such a good story. 

Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan

adventurous challenging inspiring reflective fast-paced

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

5.0

I WOULD give this book a 4 star. However I could not put it down. Therefore it earned the 5 star rating. The story hooked me. I do agree with several other reviewers saying that the relationships weren't fleshed out well but ultimately the real love of this story was between her and her mother and I thought that was beautiful. 

The Final Gambit by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

adventurous fast-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

2.0

Despite the mysteries being a little harder to figure out, this book felt the weakest. The Eve thing was super predictable and the plot felt a little convoluted. It felt like we were just trying to tie things up and less like a natural ending. 

The Hawthorne Legacy by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

adventurous fast-paced

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

3.0

One thing I don't like about this serious is the chapter length. They are simply too short and given that they typically end on a cliffhanger it feels like it's pushing the story too much. It's giving webnovel. That being said this was an adequate sequel.