rainbowofcrazy's reviews
283 reviews

Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, Vol. 2 by Kanehito Yamada, Tsukasa Abe

adventurous funny lighthearted relaxing 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

5.0

I love the anime, and I love this manga. Stark has now entered the chat, and I love how all the characters bounce off each other. 

The Umbrella Academy, Volume 3: Hotel Oblivion by Gerard Way

adventurous mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

I am not sure how to rate this because this just left me SO confused. I am a confused panda, and apparently I’m not the only one, which makes me feel better. I’d give points to the show for taking some aspects of this volume and making it like.. workable as a tv show. I think it’s also been such a long time since I read the previous volumes that I need to be able to have all of them at my fingertips so I can just plow through it all in one go. 

Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-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

4.0

I liked Throne of Glass, and I really liked Crown of Midnight. Heir of Fire picked up the pieces of my broken heart that Crown of Midnight left behind, cradled them for a bit.. and then flung them around some more. Heir of Fire had so many highs and lows. It was a little slow to get going, but when it got there, the highs were delicious, and the lows were devastating.

I’m enjoying Celaena’s growth a lot with this book. She’s maturing, is (a lil) less of the brat that we met at the beginning, and is finally starting to carve out her place in this world. I’m also enjoying all the new characters in this book. At the very beginning, I struggled to get invested in Manon’s storyline, but it didn’t take long for me to get hooked, and Manon fascinates me now. I’m looking forward to where the story takes her from here.

This was the longest of the series so far. At almost 600 pages, I could feel how long it was and it was a bit of a struggle for me. This was definitely a slow burn read, but thankfully it was very enjoyable!

Beach Read by Emily Henry

emotional funny lighthearted medium-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

3.5

 I think one of the things I love the most about Emily Henry's writing is the way she writes her characters. They always feel like fleshed out, real people, and it's always so easy to fall in love with them and to root for them the whole way through. I loved learning more about January and her family, why she became a writer, and what made her tick. 

I admit that I didn't love the main plot line of this book with the book challenge. January and Gus obviously needed a reason to spend so much time together, but the set-up of it all didn't feel so believable for me, and some of the dialogue didn't really work for me either. (But hey, I ain't a writer. I know nothing about the writing kind of mindset.) But once I got past the set-up, it was fairly smooth sailing. 

I've read Book Lovers, and Funny Story. This is my third Emily Henry book.. and this was my least favourite. Which isn't reeeally a bad thing. It was far from bad, but it wasn't as strong as the other two. I think I just have a special spot in my book loving heart for the others and this one just lacks a little something. Beach Read just didn't quite satisfy me as much as the others did, and it won't be quite as memorable, but it was still an enjoyable read. I'm a big Julian Whelan fan and her narration works so well with Emiliy Henry's books. Looking forward to more. 
 

My biggest complaint with this book is that the characters BARELY spent any time on the ACTUAL BEACH! PSHA!! I wanted to read about the warm sun overhead and the sand under your toes and maybe in other places because it's a romance and all!! 

I KID, OF COURSE. 

(Mostly.) 

Knifed In Nice by Zara Keane

adventurous lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.75

I really wanted to like the book, but I think it just wasn’t for me. I was intrigued from the start, however, because it really knew how to immediately grab your attention. This book started off with a bang. So much happens immediately, and it’s pretty action packed from beginning to end.

The characters were interesting at the start but I found it difficult to connect with them. There wasn’t much (no) character development to make me care about them enough as they navigate their crazy adventure. I still can’t really wrap my head around Sidney’s character. He was like a golden retriever that has just met you and now you’re his best friend and he wants to go along with you.. even if you’re technically a stranger and there are bad humans that are trying to kill you. But who cares? Let’s go adventure! But oh, he’s actually an adult human being, not a doggo. (Sydney, what are you doing?!)

I wish I could have stayed more invested in the story as it went on but unfortunately I really struggled in the middle. It felt like the plot kept getting more convoluted as it went on, and I wasn’t digging the writing. Thankfully the story managed to grab me back in the last third to help me to the finish line, but I’m not sure I’d continue for more in the series.

But, yay cat! 

The Dos and Donuts of Love by Adiba Jaigirdar
Did not finish book. Stopped at 22%.

My bad. I wanted to stick with it but this was just too YA for me. The MC was hard to like and kept putting the blame on everyone else. Also I am just not digging the narrator. It was hard to listen to. DNF @ 22%

Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann
Did not finish book. Stopped at 1%.

WTF ANNOYING REPETITION BATMAN

THE FACT THAT
THE FACT THAT
THE FACT THAT
THE FACT THAT
THE FACT THAT
THE FACT THAT
THE FACT THAT
THE FACT THAT
THE FACT THAT

Meet me at Christmas by Jenny Hale

emotional hopeful sad medium-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

I liked that this was a very different type of Christmas romance story. But it was hard to like the main character given her history, and then how she almost practically snakes back into her ex’s life. I couldn’t connect with her at all. This was definitely a slow burn read and I struggled at times, though it had some touching moments too. 

Charlie Brown and Friends (Peanuts Amp! Series Book 2): A Peanuts Collection by Charles M. Schulz

funny lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

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

4.0

 This collection has loads of comics to please all Peanuts fans. I notice this volume really focuses on sports related comics so all your fun baseball and football comics are in this one. 

The Thing on the Doorstep: Part Three by Simon Birks

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.0

This was the finale of this darkish tale. Overall, it was okay. There was an overall eerieness to it but it didn’t quite hit the mark for me.