sebrittainclark's reviews
1854 reviews

Last Chance to Save the World by Beth Revis

adventurous lighthearted fast-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? No

4.0

Rian and Ada have made it to Earth with a very short window to re-program the nanobots to actually clean up pollution. Of course, Ada has many plans, even if Rian hopes to catch her before she escapes again.

I really enjoy this series. I loved getting to find out what Ada's big plan was with Strom Fetor as well as learning more about Jane. I hope there will be more books with Rian and Ada where their relationship develops more.

Thanks to Netgalley and DAW for an early copy.

Mama Needs a Minute!: A Candid, Funny, All-Too-Relatable Comic Memoir about Surviving Motherhood by Mary Catherine Starr

funny medium-paced

3.75

This was a really honest look into the joy and difficulty of parenting as well as dealing with unbalanced responsibilities when it comes to parenting between partners. I really appreciated how honest the book was, as well as acknowledging that there are no easy answers to fixing this problem. I appreciated that it shared both the author and her husband's perspective.

Thanks to Netgalley and Chronicle Books for an early copy.

Sweet Obsession by Katee Robert

dark lighthearted 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? Yes

4.0

Poseidon has Circe and her fleet in his waters and Icarus as his captive. Icarus knows his best chance of survival is to make Poseidon feel something for him, but neither expect the true relationship that begins to form as the uncover each other's vulnerabilities.

I  thought this dig a great job of balancing the main relationship with setting up for Zeus and Hera's book next. I felt like there weren't a lot of answered questions with the larger plot, but I enjoyed it.

Thanks to Negalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for an early copy.

I Got Abducted by Aliens and Now I'm Trapped in a Rom-Com by Kimberly Lemming

adventurous lighthearted 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

4.0

The Knight and the Butcherbird by Alix E. Harrow

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

3.5

In post apocalyptic Appalachia, people are changing, and knights from the city come to kill them. But in the town of Iron Hollow, Shrike will do what she must to protect her wife even as she is fully transformed.

I thought it was an interesting, post apocalyptic fairy tale about change and storytelling. 

Thanks to Netgalley and Amazon Original Stories for an early copy.

Daughter of Tides by Kit Rocha

adventurous 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? Yes

4.5

Aleksi, Naia, and Einar have been sent on a diplomatic mission to a remote island in the recently fallen empire to try to turn a former adversary into an ally. All three, as well as the island, are holding onto secrets that could make their mission and their budding relationship more complicated.

I felt like there was a lot of setup in this book, but I felt like the payoff at the end of the book was good, and I'm excited to read more about all the unanswered questions left at the end. I wasn't sure how a spin-off series could raise the stakes from Consort of Fire and Queen of Dreams, but I thought the reveals at the end of the book did a good job of achieving that.

Thanks to Netgalley and Montlake for an early copy.

Wizard of Earthsea: A Graphic Novel by Ursula K. Le Guin

adventurous 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

4.0

Before Ged is the greatest Wizard of Earthsea, he is a boy called Sparrowhawk who must learn the truths of magic and himself.

I read A Wizard of Earthsea when I was a child and didn't remember much of the story, so this was a wonderful way to be reintroduced to the book. The art is really beautiful, and I thought both the art and the dialogue that was brought in did a wonderful job of bringing the story to life while maintaining the same mood of the original book.

Thanks to Netgalley and Clarion Books for an early copy.

Where the Axe Is Buried: A Novel by Ray Nayler

challenging dark emotional medium-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

5.0

The authoritarian Federation is ruled by The President, who thanks to modern technology will never die, and no one is free. The west is stagnant, under the rule of AI MPs who haven't changed anything. On the brink of the world either being destroyed or replaced by something better, the lives of Zoya, Lilia, Palmer, Nikolai, Nurlan, and Elmira are intertwined.

This is an incredible dystopian novel imaging a techno-authoritarian future that considers what is good and what is evil and what does it mean to act. It is a complicated story that is both sad and hopeful, and I could not put it down.

I thought the narrator did a good job switching between all the different POVs.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an early copy.

Divine Intervention by R.M. Virtues

dark slow-paced

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

3.0

A magical chalice is up for auction, and both angels and demons would like to claim it. Tlalli is one of the angels, but her history with the witch Cahuani as well as her feelings for fellow angel Elias make things more complicated.

There was a lot of backstory and world-building in this novel, some of which I suspect I would have understood better if I'd read another book by the author. I really liked the world-building and would be interested in reading more about it, but it did leave me feeling that I didn't really understand the character's actions or motivations, especially when they seemed to rush into everything.

Thanks to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for an early copy.

Wicked Pursuit by Katee Robert

dark fast-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

4.0

Ruby, heir to her aunt's criminal empire, has gained a stalker who wants to prove that she isn't as "good" as she pretends to be.

This is the first book about the next generation of Wicked Villains. It kept me guessing the whole time of who Ruby's stalker would end up being. I'm excited to read more about these characters, and to see where the new criminal element that's introduced goes.

 Thanks to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for an early copy.