samanthaannecompton's reviews
40 reviews

The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I really loved this book, the first few chapters were slow and actually had me putting the book done multiple times with the intention not to finish it, but thank god I did. I’m a sucker for dark fairytales and this did not disappoint. The ending felt a tad rushed, especially in regards to Finch but I still loved the book nonetheless.
House of Roots and Ruin by Erin A. Craig

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

2.0

I so badly wanted to love this book, as I’ve loved every other book Erin A. Craig has written, but I didn’t. In theory, it had a very interesting storyline. However, I found the characters boring. Verity was okay, but Alex was insufferably boring. Possibly my least favourite romantic interest of every book I’ve ever read. I actually found myself liking Victor more  (he at least had personality). The setting didn’t grab me either, somehow despite the descriptions, I didn’t feel myself transported to their world as I had in Small Favors and House of Salt and Sorrows.
The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher

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dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 41%.
I’m not a huge fan of multiple POVs and this book was too slow for me to get into. I love Leigh’s other books so I tried, I just couldn’t.
The Twisted Tree by Rachel Burge

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

4.0

The Lighthouse Witches by C.J. Cooke

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

The Ballerinas by Rachel Kapelke-Dale

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

4.0

as someone who’s done ballet since she could walk, i loved this book. it encapsulates the ballet experience, as well as the female friendship dynamic, very well. i found a lot of the characters insufferable at times but by the end of the book i grew (more or less) fond of them. however, it did dip into some very slow paced portions that i had to force myself to get through. i’m glad i did because i enjoyed the book as a whole. i identify a lot with the main character (yes, i know that’s a bad thing) so i found the end of the book very confronting, which wasn’t enjoyable (because i prefer being coddled) but i truly enjoyed the character development in the last few chapters.
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Dark and Shallow Lies by Ginny Myers Sain

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

at first i gave this four stars. after letting it digest, i realised that i didn’t actually like the story. i liked the moody atmosphere created. the main character was a pushover (but same) and her relationship with elora AND zane was never actually developed. it was all very surface level.
i also hated the incest plot. it was gross and unnecessary. they were raised together since they were kids which makes it unstomach-able
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Animal by Lisa Taddeo

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

On Sun Swallowing by Dakota Warren

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challenging dark inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced

5.0

i don’t usually read poetry because i don’t have the patience to think about the meanings hidden in the words (my main negative trait from my own personal adhd). but i follow dakota on instagram and tiktok (yes, social media rots the brain but most things do and i like a distraction from my life, much like everyone else) and i’ve loved the snippets of poetry she’s posted there. so i paid the insane shipping for this book, and i’m so glad i did. i loved the theme of decay throughout. i loved everything about it. i could see myself in the words and finally saw my feelings in physical form rather than abstract ideas in my head.