rhi_xo's reviews
121 reviews

The Pecan Children by Quinn Connor

adventurous dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

3.0

this book had some really cool ideas & the path the story took actually surprised me a lot. but I definitely feel like I have a lot of unanswered questions after finishing it which I don’t love. I liked that it was a folktale inspired story, but there were times where I felt that the pacing was off or I just didn’t really understand how everything tied together. knowing that this was written by 2 writers kind of explains why it felt disjointed at certain points. all in all there was a lot of potential, but it just didn’t hit how I wanted it to.

Persuasion by Jane Austen

funny hopeful lighthearted slow-paced

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

5.0

classic jane austen man. I loved this one more than I thought I would. there were all the best parts of a jane austen book: yearning, sarcasm, gossip, & a confession of love from the male love interest that had me giggling & kicking my feet. you’re a real one, jane🫡

Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty

lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

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

2.0

I was pretty disappointed with how this book turned out :/ I don't think the jumping around to characters outside of the main family & Savannah really helped the narrative. I honestly would have preferred to have the whole book from Savannah's perspective because only the last chapter in her perspective was actually interesting to me. I was initially going to give this 3 stars, but the reveal of what happened to the mother was so silly to me that I deducted a star lol overall there were moments that were touching, but it wasn't enough for me to rate it higher than 2 :/

Babysitter by Joyce Carol Oates

challenging dark slow-paced

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

1.0

this was my first novel by Oates & I was excited because I love her short story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been," but this book was a huge disappointment. I was intrigued at first by the structure & writing style. It kind of read as like flashbacks that kept getting expanding every chapter, but then it just felt very repetitive and confusing. also Hannah is so incredibly unlikable I just couldn't bring myself to care about her life -- I don't want to be in her racist, passive aggressive mind for 400+ pages! anyway... not a great first novel to read by her... :/

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

adventurous dark fast-paced

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

1.0

this book was gifted to me & after hearing about it for years now I finally decided to read it. I went in with very low expectations & I unfortunately was proved right. this book made me so annoyed, feyre is one of the worst fmcs I’ve ever read, & I was just not interested in the romance of this book. I could rant for hours about how much I hate dark fae romance books. the only reason this book gets one star is that there were a few moments where the premise/fantasy details were kinda okay. otherwise this is just “beauty & the beast” but bad lol

Atonement by Ian McEwan

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

this story did not turn out how I thought! I had an idea of how the story would go but it ended up taking a totally different, darker route. the ending actually had me shook, I had to reread it to make sure I had it right lol now I HAVE to watch the movie 

My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell

challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

5.0

it was so hard to put this book down sometimes & other times it was hard to keep reading. this is definitely a dark read, but important nonetheless. I think anyone who has a hard time accepting the title of "victim" should read this. & it should go without saying that I definitely cried!!

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

I really respect the way this book is structured. it’s clear that so much time & attention was put into making the book interactive & reflect the minds of the characters within. there’s also a lot of really emotional moments in here. however I would absolutely never attempt to read this again lol beware to all!!

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

challenging dark reflective tense fast-paced

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

5.0

this book was nuts lmao I already knew the story because I had seen the movie years ago when it first came out (on Valentine's Day) so I didn't really plan to be surprised by anything but I was still so engrossed while reading this. the cool girl monologue is truly something else & I think it literally altered my brain chemistry lmao even though I know Amy is off her rocker, it was so much fun to be inside her mind for a while. Gillian Flynn is such a brilliant writer of woman villains & I will read anything she writes!!

Ordinary Monsters by J.M. Miro

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

I ended up liking this book more than I thought I would considering I’m not a huge fan of urban fantasy & alternate worlds. I really love how dark this world is & there were a lot of cool story elements in here. but I did start to lose interest the more I read it. I guess I just wasn’t totally understanding everyone’s abilities in the book & I felt like there some things that were kind of glossed over. but I think I’ll still read the rest of the trilogy!