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purple_reads's reviews
224 reviews
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-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
Stars ~ 5
My first five star read in a long time!
I absolutely loved every page of this book. I could not put it down; really, I basically read it in one sitting.
I loved the characters, I loved the plot, I loved everything.
It had me crying at least four times. I had to take some time afterwards to just be sad about it.
My new favourite book.
My first five star read in a long time!
I absolutely loved every page of this book. I could not put it down; really, I basically read it in one sitting.
I loved the characters, I loved the plot, I loved everything.
It had me crying at least four times. I had to take some time afterwards to just be sad about it.
My new favourite book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, and Death of parent
Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson
adventurous
challenging
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? It's complicated
3.5
Each time I've tried to describe this book all I can think is "exciting but boring". Not very helpful if I'm being honest.
The plot was great, I really enjoyed it. Loved the book themes; the role books played in Elisabeth's life and the parts where they came alive. It wasn't necessarily full of political intrigue, but it was different to what I usually read in fantasy which made it all the more exciting.
I also loved the female MC, Elisabeth. She had passion, drive, and was written really well. The same applies to the other two main characters, Nathaniel and Silas, yet I was craving to learn more about them personally and their own motives. It would've been nice to see something from their pov.
This brings me to the half-attempted execution of romance. Like, seriously, what was that? I was excited after their first interaction but then it just...fell flat. Nothing happened. And when it did there was no lead-up. There was no yearning, no slow burn; it just happened. As I said previously, another pov would've been better. It would've hopefully explained why Nathaniel was randomly in love with Elisabeth. And I definitely think I would've rated this book higher if it weren't for this because the romance seemed to take a big place in the story - even though it felt like there was nothing there at all.
Stars ~ 3.5
The plot was great, I really enjoyed it. Loved the book themes; the role books played in Elisabeth's life and the parts where they came alive. It wasn't necessarily full of political intrigue, but it was different to what I usually read in fantasy which made it all the more exciting.
I also loved the female MC, Elisabeth. She had passion, drive, and was written really well. The same applies to the other two main characters, Nathaniel and Silas, yet I was craving to learn more about them personally and their own motives. It would've been nice to see something from their pov.
This brings me to the half-attempted execution of romance. Like, seriously, what was that? I was excited after their first interaction but then it just...fell flat. Nothing happened. And when it did there was no lead-up. There was no yearning, no slow burn; it just happened. As I said previously, another pov would've been better. It would've hopefully explained why Nathaniel was randomly in love with Elisabeth. And I definitely think I would've rated this book higher if it weren't for this because the romance seemed to take a big place in the story - even though it felt like there was nothing there at all.
Stars ~ 3.5
Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood
Did not finish book. Stopped at 48%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 48%.
dnf
Really cringy and boring. I'm so sick of the "small girl, big guy" thing. MC read like a pick me.
Really cringy and boring. I'm so sick of the "small girl, big guy" thing. MC read like a pick me.
Warcross by Marie Lu
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Easy 4 stars.
I loved the Warcross world. A book based in virtual reality really delivered - never thought I'd be saying that one.
I think listening to the audiobook definitely enhanced my experience; hearing about the Warcross games and all of the virtual reality was just really entertaining. I got so lost in this book at times, it felt as though I were in another world.
The plot flowed well, made sense and was very enjoyable. I will say some aspects of it were predictable but in the "it seems like it could be this, I want it to be this, but it's probably too wild" way, so ultimately a good thing.
The only con I have is that a lot of the side characters don't bring much to the story. But, the book is more atmosphere and plot-based anyway.
Stars ~ 4
I loved the Warcross world. A book based in virtual reality really delivered - never thought I'd be saying that one.
I think listening to the audiobook definitely enhanced my experience; hearing about the Warcross games and all of the virtual reality was just really entertaining. I got so lost in this book at times, it felt as though I were in another world.
The plot flowed well, made sense and was very enjoyable. I will say some aspects of it were predictable but in the "it seems like it could be this, I want it to be this, but it's probably too wild" way, so ultimately a good thing.
The only con I have is that a lot of the side characters don't bring much to the story. But, the book is more atmosphere and plot-based anyway.
Stars ~ 4
Content Warnings
Moderate: Kidnapping
Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Mare Barrow is one of the most annoying and typical protagonists. Her perspective could only be saved by the actual plot of the book.
The only thing keeping me going was the political intrigue and general plot; which honestly, was pretty good. It held my attention well, and was the sole reason it took me no time to finish the book.
I didn’t feel attached to any of the characters, except Lucas and Gisa (who were very minor characters). The other characters just didn’t really get me too excited. They were either annoying, bland or I knew too little about them to care.
Overall, I enjoyed the book. The irritating MC eventually became less annoying as I focused more on the plot.
Stars ~ 3.5
The only thing keeping me going was the political intrigue and general plot; which honestly, was pretty good. It held my attention well, and was the sole reason it took me no time to finish the book.
I didn’t feel attached to any of the characters, except Lucas and Gisa (who were very minor characters). The other characters just didn’t really get me too excited. They were either annoying, bland or I knew too little about them to care.
Overall, I enjoyed the book. The irritating MC eventually became less annoying as I focused more on the plot.
Stars ~ 3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Violence, and Murder
Minor: Gun violence and War
Ariadne by Jennifer Saint
adventurous
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I think if I were into mythology retellings more then this book would’ve been a lot more enjoyable for me. I went into this book not knowing the myth, aside from basic Minotaur knowledge, so I assumed it wouldn’t be too predictable. But, it still fell flat.
The writing was quite good but at the same time really confusing. I’m not sure how to even go about describing it. There were moments when I was like “Yass, that was beautiful” and then others that would have me very confused because it just didn’t make any sense. The author has an obsession with using the phrase “in my breast”. Each time I read the words, they made me increasingly want to throw the book. It’s like they thought they sounded “fancy” so they wanted to use them as much as they could. A few times, the book moved quite suddenly without a lot of explanation. It would just be “oh shit, we’re here now”. Especially with the ending, which felt more like shock factor than anything. There was just no build up for the last twenty pages. Suddenly, we were just there. And maybe that’s just because it’s a mythology retelling, so there’s a different vibe, but I really wasn’t that into it. There’s also some weird time jump thing going on between the two POV’s and within the chapters themselves - sometimes within a few lines or paragraphs. I usually don't mind this style of writing, but it wasn’t very clear.
The characters themselves weren’t too bad. The main two, Ariadne and her sister Phaedra (who is barely a focal point of the synopsis, yet a big part of the story), undergo some good character development. Personally, I found Phaedra to be the more interesting character and I would’ve loved more of her chapters as I often found Ariadne’s to be quite dull. However, the male characters are treat differently, in that we hear about them in too much verbose. And yes, I do think the author does a good job at using their actions to describe their personality, but it just felt as though we were being dumped with page long speech by them that wasn’t always needed - which got quite tiring during the first half of the book.
Stars ~ 2.5
The writing was quite good but at the same time really confusing. I’m not sure how to even go about describing it. There were moments when I was like “Yass, that was beautiful” and then others that would have me very confused because it just didn’t make any sense. The author has an obsession with using the phrase “in my breast”. Each time I read the words, they made me increasingly want to throw the book. It’s like they thought they sounded “fancy” so they wanted to use them as much as they could. A few times, the book moved quite suddenly without a lot of explanation. It would just be “oh shit, we’re here now”. Especially with the ending, which felt more like shock factor than anything. There was just no build up for the last twenty pages. Suddenly, we were just there. And maybe that’s just because it’s a mythology retelling, so there’s a different vibe, but I really wasn’t that into it. There’s also some weird time jump thing going on between the two POV’s and within the chapters themselves - sometimes within a few lines or paragraphs. I usually don't mind this style of writing, but it wasn’t very clear.
The characters themselves weren’t too bad. The main two, Ariadne and her sister Phaedra (who is barely a focal point of the synopsis, yet a big part of the story), undergo some good character development. Personally, I found Phaedra to be the more interesting character and I would’ve loved more of her chapters as I often found Ariadne’s to be quite dull. However, the male characters are treat differently, in that we hear about them in too much verbose. And yes, I do think the author does a good job at using their actions to describe their personality, but it just felt as though we were being dumped with page long speech by them that wasn’t always needed - which got quite tiring during the first half of the book.
Stars ~ 2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
Meet Me in the Margins by Melissa Ferguson
Did not finish book. Stopped at 72%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 72%.
Got bored and lost interest. Characters were very annoying.
The Rebels of Gold by Elise Kova
4.0
I liked Rebels of Gold more than Dragons of Nova purely because I got more Florence.
This book was good but didn’t hit what I wanted.
I think the main reason I liked this was because of Florence and Coletta. Seeing Coletta’s perspective was something I enjoyed because I got to see who was really holding Nova and Loom in Rok’s sovereignty and how she was working in the shadows. Florence chapters I loved because I got to see all of her character development blossom.
Something that I wasn’t a fan of was the ending. I wanted to see more explored with Cvareh before the time jump happened and I didn’t feel like the relationship between Florence and Arianna was handled well. It seemed like one door was closed and another was opened but we didn’t get to see that. <spoiler > The author implies or gives us hints that they work with each other again and that would explain why the parting of ways they had didn’t feel very final, and more like an emotional acceptance between them rather than their last meeting. I just wanted to see the working relationship between them, if it happened, as well as where they regard each other now — good friends? colleagues? best friends? previous mentor and ward? I’m satisfied and happy for how things ended for them both but not with their relationship.
Stars ~ 4
This book was good but didn’t hit what I wanted.
I think the main reason I liked this was because of Florence and Coletta. Seeing Coletta’s perspective was something I enjoyed because I got to see who was really holding Nova and Loom in Rok’s sovereignty and how she was working in the shadows. Florence chapters I loved because I got to see all of her character development blossom.
Something that I wasn’t a fan of was the ending. I wanted to see more explored with Cvareh before the time jump happened and I didn’t feel like the relationship between Florence and Arianna was handled well. It seemed like one door was closed and another was opened but we didn’t get to see that. <spoiler > The author implies or gives us hints that they work with each other again and that would explain why the parting of ways they had didn’t feel very final, and more like an emotional acceptance between them rather than their last meeting. I just wanted to see the working relationship between them, if it happened, as well as where they regard each other now — good friends? colleagues? best friends? previous mentor and ward? I’m satisfied and happy for how things ended for them both but not with their relationship.
Stars ~ 4
The List by Siobhan Vivian
4.0
The List is a book that carries the prominent message as to how High School affects females and how they often change themselves to fit in.
I really liked the concept of this book. It was definitely an eye-opener to the real world and many problems female teenagers often face every day.
One thing in particular that I really liked was how each and every girl had their own personal problems and each and every one of them were different. It was a really well-written book and I enjoyed every page.
Stars ~ 4
I really liked the concept of this book. It was definitely an eye-opener to the real world and many problems female teenagers often face every day.
One thing in particular that I really liked was how each and every girl had their own personal problems and each and every one of them were different. It was a really well-written book and I enjoyed every page.
Stars ~ 4