readsinbloom's reviews
33 reviews

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas

adventurous challenging emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes

3.5

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

challenging dark tense slow-paced

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

3.0

Spoilers Ahead:
I really enjoyed the nods to the original books and seeing how the Hunger Games became what they were during Katniss and Peeta's first game. It also provided a lot of insight on why Snow made some of the choices that he did. I think Suzanne Collins did a lot of amazing things throughout this book. For example, I felt that I never truly got to know Lucy Gray through this book. I did not feel like I had a solid understanding of who she is. However, Snow didn't either. Snow just used her as a means to an end. To further himself. Snow did not care enough to know Lucy Gray, so we did not either. 

However, ultimately I found I did not care much about this book. 

The plot was not exciting. If I stopped the book at any point, I would not be upset if I never picked it up again. I would not be left wondering what happened next. I believe a lot of this is due to the lack of investment I had in the characters. 

Snow could have been a character that I loved to hate. I could have wanted to continue reading to see what vile thing he would do next. He also could have been a character I loved, despite knowing what he would do in the future. There was such potential for Snow's character to be interesting. However, I did not find him very compelling. 

I did not hold any strong feelings for him throughout this book. I think part of this is at the fault of the already existing universe. I knew what would become of Snow. I was not on the edge of my seat wondering if he would be killed for his involvement with the murders. I was not concerned about him getting into college. I already knew he would become President, and I did not find myself concerned with how he got there.

An Education in Malice by S.T. Gibson

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

“An Education in Malice” by S.T Gibson sunk its teeth into me and did not let go. This is the first of S.T Gibson’s works I have read, but will certainly not be the last. 

One of my favorite things about this book was the writing. Gibson crafts their words in such a way that is utterly captivating. If you find you DNF books for the writing quality, you need not be concerned with Gibson. 

This book features a dual point of view of two opposing characters. Utilizing a dual point of view in this book was a brilliant choice. I was always looking forward to reading the new point of view, and did not begrudge reading one over the other. Having a dual point of view in this book was absolutely necessary. Both characters needed their stories told to understand the complete picture.

This book would be the perfect fall or winter read. A book about sapphic vampires who write poetry is just the dark academia vibes I need. 

However, there were a few aspects of the book that I disliked. I HATED the character of De Lafontaine and she was not a character I loved to hate. I felt like at some points of the story I was supposed to hate her, and at others I was supposed to love her. Her character was not morally grey to me though. I felt she was just manipulating these teenage girls, and she should have known better at her big age. I also felt that there could have been a slower burn. It felt like the characters went from enemies to lovers very rapidly, with little context to elaborate the change. I didn’t really feel much of a spark between them. I was not convinced that they really loved one another.