rust_n_ruin's Reviews (42)

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

Benjamin Alire Sáenz

4.75

challenging emotional funny inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I resonated very deeply with this book. Especially Ari's character. His complicated relationship with masculinity was very similar to my relationship to mas ulinity as an AFAB nonbinary person. I know this wasn't intentional but that's pretty cool. The reason is isn't a 5 ⭐ is because some outdated terms and the fact it doesn't have anything from Dante's POV. (I want to know all his sweet thoughts about Ari and life)

My Friends

Fredrik Backman

5.0

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

My uncle told me to read this.
One day he came over to our house and told us about this beautiful, wonderful, amazing book. He told my dad to read it, my mom to read it and me to read it too.
He said that one day we would get matching tattoos that say "I love you and I believe in you"
This book has made me feel emotions that I don't even know the names of.
I see my self in Louisa, Ali, and Ted. This book has made it into my everyday life in ways no other book has done before. I find myself saying "I love you and I believe in you" instead of just "I love you". I find myself drawing skulls with my frog doodles. I recommend this book to anyone and everyone. (And I've always said I don't like contemporary)

Content Warnings

The House of Hades

Rick Riordan

5.0

Light from Uncommon Stars

Ryka Aoki

4.25

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Reasons why this book was beautiful
⁠☞ trans violinist becomes Lindsey Stirling if Lindsey Stirling played video game music and the craziest classical pieces known to man
⁠☞ romance sub-plot between a different violinist (but this one made a deal with the devil) and interstellar donut lady
☞found family
☞ dreamlike prose that describes music in a way I never knew was possible
⁠☞SHIRLEY!!!!

Content Warnings

Same But Different: Teen Life on the Autism Express

Ryan Elizabeth Peete, Holly Robinson Peete, RJ Peete

2.75

fast-paced

Summer Reading: read like a fiction book, which was not what I was expecting. The twin sister character was honestly pretty bratty and annoying. And it's portraial of autism was very focused on one person's experinces so I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who didn't have much prior knowledge of autism. Tbh, it felt like a weird memoir. So, I guess if you're looking for a quick read that focuses on an autistic teen's experience, this book would be for you, but I probably wouldn't recommend it to anyone else (the autism rep isn't broad enough for someone just starting learning about autism, and if you have learned about autism before it would all be stuff you have heard already)

Golden Son

Pierce Brown

DID NOT FINISH: 8%

Wasn't the vibe I needed

Red Rising

Pierce Brown

4.25

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

I really enjoyed this one and would totally recommend it to fans of the dystopian genre, but it would probably not be enjoyable to someone new to it. Sevro was totally iconic and I would read a whole book where he was the only character. I also loved how flawed Darrow was. He felt realistic for better or for worse. One fault though was the names, I understand that they are Latin based, but many of the names were very similar and that made it a little difficult to know the difference between some of the side characters. But the plot flowed spectacularly and I loved all the characters.

A Pirate's Life for Tea

Rebecca Thorne

3.0

adventurous funny relaxing medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

I loved the plot, but the prose was so CLUNKY!!! (And the puns just weren't that good, I'm sorry...)

Can't Spell Treason Without Tea

Rebecca Thorne

4.25

adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

I loved this book! It felt like cozy fantasy with adventurous side quests. The prose was a little clunky at times, but the duologue and story mostly made up for it. My favorite character was Feo, they are funny, cocky, snarky and overall a badass.

Content Warnings

Crooked Kingdom

Leigh Bardugo

4.75

adventurous dark slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This was amazing! I loved Wylan's journey, especially with

his mom

I also loved Kaz's character development. I especially loved the way Bardugo treats the

death of Mattias and grief

More...