redcephei's reviews
34 reviews

Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell

2.75

Uhmmm very meh the story was a bore tbh could’ve been a short story. The writing was good at times and cringy at other times. The exploration of grief was good. The smut was disgustingly cringy 😭 but it’s ok it was only like a paragraph. The detail of Shakespeare cheating was put in really randomly I feel like the writer was tryna write about her experiences 😭😭😭😭 girl leave him anywayyyy it was fine good enough for me to finish the whole thing but I didn’t really like it 

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

3.5

The book is written beautifully and I appreciated the accessible retelling of Ancient Greek mythology. I liked the idea of the place of competence and kindness. Achilles and Patroclus were believably flawed as their best qualities doubled as their worst. The romance was cute but largely unbelievable and lacking depth until the end where it gets more complicated. I would have liked at least a little more about what they liked in each other non-physically especially what Achilles saw in Patroclus. He was largely useless up until the last 25% where he develops a personality outside of his relationship despite being the narrator. There are other things here and there that docked points but overall enjoyable

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

adventurous

4.25

The world building is phenomenal and the story is inspiring. To be very honest it felt like it dragged on at times. I feel like it would be better in audio form.

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

4.75

I loved ittt I haven't read a good fictional universe like this in so long amazing writing characters and world building and I can't wait to read the sequel! Some scenes were difficult to understand but that might just be my reading comprehension whoops

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

4.5

I didn't like it at first. The world building seemed confusing, the characters reacted to their environment unbelievably and the message was messy. But I liked it more towards the end particularly the chapter where

the Savage, Bernard and Helmholtz meet the Controller, Mustapha Mond.

I like how it made me defend the flaws of our world and their role in upholding truth and beauty. I like the dissection on prioritising happiness pleasantness and stability above all else and questioning what is worth sacrificing to attain that. 

Murder in the Family by Cara Hunter

3.0

I read this with my friend and it was really fun to try and figure out who the murderer was!!! I loved the plot twists. I've never read a book in this format with a TV script I quite liked it. The ending though was kind of underwhelming and the overall story could have been better

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

5.0

Im not exactly sure how to word what I loved about it but it was great :) It's funny and absurd and is the ultimate nihilism killer 

Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari

informative reflective

4.75

It's a great book. It's a nonfiction but it's written like a thriller. I kept wanting to know more and I procrastinated reading the last chapter because I didn't want it to end. It helped rekindle my curiosity for life. I liked the chapter on happiness throughout history and the different lenses provided. The psychological findings that happiness isn't dependent on money past a threshold since it becomes a part of your routine, and not affected by painless and non-fatal ailments, instead by expectations, the biological theory that it is instead dictated by genetic factors and Buddhist teachings about happiness being reappraised as not something worth chasing but as another part of life. I never thought I'd be mad about the agricultural revolution before reading this. Would be 5 stars but the last chapter felt rushed and the book could've ended on a better, less doomy note. 

The Promised Neverland Vol (11-20) 10 Books Collection Set by Kaiu Shirai, Posuka Demizu

4.5

Also very good I like pacifist routes and this one was very well done and not obnoxious. Ending felt like it was missing something but still very good 

The Promised Neverland Vol (1-10): 10 Books Collection Set by Kaiu Shirai, Posuka Demizu

4.75

Fast paced with a lot of suspense and turning points and I love how the story came together and I love Emma