roshnimc's reviews
85 reviews

Taken at the Flood by Agatha Christie

adventurous relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

2.75

Mistress of Magic by Marion Zimmer Bradley, Davina Porter
Did not finish book. Stopped at 32%.

It is a well plotted book with a Middle age setting but effectively what it is is a romance novel.

Beartown by Fredrik Backman
Did not finish book. Stopped at 20%.

It's about hockey and it's plot driven. Neither appeals to me. Also, the metaphors hit you in the face, and I prefer a little subtlety!

1984 by George Orwell

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

3.0

The story was built very well and really hooked me at the beginning. I think the dystopian world and all the laws and rules were well described within the story. I didn't find it necessary to have the huge tract of text defining the laws as done later on. The later part of the story takes a very dark turn.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Xenophobia

Moderate: Confinement, Abandonment

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

It is disturbing and very powerful, replete with rich description that challenges the imagination. Worth reading a few times but with no guarantee that one will be able to absorb the complete essence.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Child death, Incest, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Colonisation

11/22/63 by Stephen King
Did not finish book. Stopped at 7%.

I'm pausing this to read higher priority books on my list. I may return to it later though honestly, I have no idea when! I'm sure it is a great book, but the beginning didn't grip me enough to continue.

The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot

emotional sad slow-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

3.75

It was depressing and on many instances, very infuriating how Molly was treated by her mother and brother. It's interesting though that we can also see her family's point of view and empathize with everyone's plight in this novel. The writing is very dense with quotes and rich with description. 

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

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced

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

5.0

The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King
Did not finish book. Stopped at 20%.

Background to the story supplied in Chapters 1 and 2. The rest will be fan fiction of Sherlock and Russell. I heard the first story and found the solution quite implausible with barely any clues to make sense 

Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell
Did not finish book. Stopped at 44%.

Very predictable. The language was not striking enough for me to continue to what I knew would be a trite ending. I'm spoilt by Austen who can cover so much through choice wordings. On the other end of the spectrum, Gaskell has a good message in terms of the gender divide, social hierarchy and political bickering but takes up 800 odd pages to convey this. Interspersed are seemingly unnecessary and repetitive pieces of dialogue and description of everyday life. The heroine, Molly is lovable. I personally find her father remarkably short-sighted for giving up the peace of his later years by re-marrying hastily without knowing the woman properly simply because he needed a chaperone for his daughter. I also empathize with Squire Hamlet and his younger son Roger (who carries his own burden of being ignored by his parents). The rest I have no opinion about simply because I tired of them.