scripturient's reviews
171 reviews

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

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dark reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

That was one hell of a ride. It is unapologetic female rage, which I really enjoyed, it is inspired by Imperial China's only female Emperor, which is also super cool, and
it has a love triangle that resolves into a throuple which was AWESOME
. I don't ever want to read that in any other way.
I felt the ending was a bit rushed, almost as if there was no real resolution at hand, so we had to go for more broad angry violence, which felt a bit empty. But overall a great read!
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To Have and to Heist by Sara Desai

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

2.5

The second half of the book was admittedly much better than the first, but overall, it was just ... bad. Cringey dialogue, the main character keeps sexualizing every man she meets to unbelievable degrees, everyone acted like little children, the weird-ass second-person chapters towards the end ... It's a shame, because the premise was really cool.
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Fangs - voll verbissen by Sarah Andersen

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

3.5

I used to follow the web comic and wanted to read them all together again - still super cute but it's more if a string of disconnected moments than a real plot, so it's more of a sweet piece of literary fast food than anything else.
The Fragile Threads of Power by V.E. Schwab

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adventurous dark mysterious 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

4.0

It's probably more of a 3.75 but I love V. E. Schwab and I am biased, sue me.
It was great being back in the world, I have missed all the characters, I loved the new introductions - especially Tes and Vares - but this felt like an incredibly long setup for the proper story. It was fun, it was compelling, I loved it, but there was a bit much jumping around to fill the seven-year gap between the last Shades book and the first Threads. Looking forward to seeing where this is going though!
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A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-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? No

4.0

Fun read! I found it a bit over-descriptive at some points, but it is such a great and inventive world that it didn't take away much from the overall experience. Will definitely continue the series!
Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

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adventurous dark emotional fast-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

3.5

This would easily be 4+ stars if half of the book wasn't just incessant bickering and relationship issues. I love the world, the characters, the dragons, the twists and turns ... but if Xaden and Violet don't get their shit together soon, I don't know if I want to continue reading.
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Graveyard Shift by M.L. Rio

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dark mysterious fast-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

3.75

Love Rio's writing but this was soo short! With five different characters it's hard to keep up on just over 100 pages. I am impressed that they still managed to stand out each in their own way. A nice spooky read.
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Empire of Shadows by Jacquelyn Benson

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

3.75

Such a fun read! The entire premise is ridiculous but I really enjoyed the story nevertheless. Could have used a bit more proofreading in the foreign languages, but we'll let that one slide.
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Babel by R.F. Kuang

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

5.0

This is a masterpiece. I am probably very biased as a translator, but this is such a unique concept, it was well executed, it digs really deep into translation, colonialism, power imbalances, slavery and so much more within a framework that puts it into a new light without losing it's touch with reality. A hard read,
it definitely doesn't have a happy ending
, but it is well worth it anyway.
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Eine ganz dumme Idee by Fredrik Backman

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emotional funny reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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