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siglerbooknook's reviews
152 reviews
The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This is my first time reading Two Towers and I can't believe I waited this long. This has to be one of my favorite classics. I've always loved the movies and couldn't imagine the story being better, yet as always, the book was even more amazing.
I love the bits that are the same as the movies. The nostalgia factor made me smile every time. I can't believe how much more fleshedol out the characters are! Villains and heroes alike.
My favorite character has to be Faramir.
I truly enjoyed that the first part of the book focused on Gimli, Legolas, and Aragorn, and the second part focused on Frodo and Sam. It was much easier to follow than the back and forth.
I can't wait to see how the story ends in Return of the King.
I love the bits that are the same as the movies. The nostalgia factor made me smile every time. I can't believe how much more fleshedol out the characters are! Villains and heroes alike.
My favorite character has to be Faramir.
I truly enjoyed that the first part of the book focused on Gimli, Legolas, and Aragorn, and the second part focused on Frodo and Sam. It was much easier to follow than the back and forth.
I can't wait to see how the story ends in Return of the King.
A Duel with the Vampire Lord by Elise Kova
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
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? It's complicated
4.0
Despite its ups and downs I enjoyed this novel. Floriane is a great example of a strong capable woman who has believable skills and isn't a mean person. Ruvan was also well written with flaws, fears, and wants all fleshed out.
As always, Kova's side characters are my favorite. While some mannerisms became rather redundant, for the most part this group made me laugh, feel the second hand embarassment, and wish for a happy ending.
The plot itself dragged a little. The push me, pull me tension in the romance definitely could have been shorter and I skimmed some areas. I did figure out who the villain was well before the book told me, but the solution was delightfully unexpected.
The magic system introduced for the Vampir is excitingly unique and imaginative, and the underlying principals of the story were heartwarming. As always, I can't wait to dive into the next Kova novel.
🌶️🌶️
As always, Kova's side characters are my favorite. While some mannerisms became rather redundant, for the most part this group made me laugh, feel the second hand embarassment, and wish for a happy ending.
The plot itself dragged a little. The push me, pull me tension in the romance definitely could have been shorter and I skimmed some areas. I did figure out who the villain was well before the book told me, but the solution was delightfully unexpected.
The magic system introduced for the Vampir is excitingly unique and imaginative, and the underlying principals of the story were heartwarming. As always, I can't wait to dive into the next Kova novel.
🌶️🌶️
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Terminal illness, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content, Gore, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, and Kidnapping
Minor: Death, Pandemic/Epidemic, Self harm, Grief, Slavery, Suicide, Cannibalism, Murder, Death of parent, and Genocide
Finding the Hero in Your Husband, Revisited: Embracing Your Power in Marriage by Juli Slattery
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
slow-paced
5.0
I usually hate self help books. I've never had success applying them to my life.
This is a marriage book I think every woman (especially ones who have experienced trauma or don't know what to expect in marriage) should read.
This book sets realistic expectations, and focuses on what we as women can do to find happiness in our relationship with God, our own daily life, and peace in our marriage. It doesn't promise a fairytale ending, after all, this isn't a book about pointing fingers at our husbands. This book delves into where we might be falling short, or letting bitterness and hurt take the wheel, and how to work through true forgiveness and be willing to work with our spouses. How to stop making decisions and demands based on fear and make the space for our husbands to lead so we can be who God has called us to be also.
I hope you find this book as helpful as I did.
This is a marriage book I think every woman (especially ones who have experienced trauma or don't know what to expect in marriage) should read.
This book sets realistic expectations, and focuses on what we as women can do to find happiness in our relationship with God, our own daily life, and peace in our marriage. It doesn't promise a fairytale ending, after all, this isn't a book about pointing fingers at our husbands. This book delves into where we might be falling short, or letting bitterness and hurt take the wheel, and how to work through true forgiveness and be willing to work with our spouses. How to stop making decisions and demands based on fear and make the space for our husbands to lead so we can be who God has called us to be also.
I hope you find this book as helpful as I did.
Halfling by S.E. Wendel
Did not finish book. Stopped at 45%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 45%.
No plot! It's just thinly veiled smut and there's not even any romance. And I'm 200+ pages in!
Midnight at the Houdini by Delilah S. Dawson
Did not finish book. Stopped at 38%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 38%.
Lost interest. Probably will try again at a later date
Forestfall by Lyndall Clipstone
Did not finish book. Stopped at 52%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 52%.
There were several things I didn't like about this book.
Starting with the most technical, I really didn't like the writing style. There are so many partial sentences the book felt choppy, like the author wasn't sure how to finish one thought and start the next. Maybe this was supposed to make it feel more tense, but it was more confusing than anything.
There are several places where the author starts describing a scene or a movement by a character, but the description is vague and when the next movement would happen it would clash hard against how I had pictures the last bit of information.
The author also relies very heavily on miscommunication, and often no communication at all, there are pages and pages of dialogue and I know no more at page 200 about what's going on than I did at page 1.
The love triangle, in my opinion, is poorly written. This doesn't feel like she can't decide, or even like an open relationship, it feels like a toxic relationship filled with cheating which I couldn't enjoy even when I tried. And to top that off, when she would start to write a decent romance scene that could have at least broken up the tension, there was so much anger and the internal monologue was so jumbled that it was more confusing than enjoyable.
The descriptive words used were so repetitive the book became boring. By oage 200 I should know more than that the characters are all angry, desperate, and never think. They have learned absolutely nothing from book one. There is more to a powerful female character than being angry and demanding all the time.
Violeta is an increasingly unlikeable character. All through book 1 she makes choice after choice to protect her loved ones, refuses to work with them, talk to them, or slow down and think, and gets herself into this sticky situation. For 200 pages of book 2 she has done nothing but whine, complain, blame the Lord Under, and throw a fit when he says no. Then for no explained reason at all, suddenly she wants him, starts playing with his emotions, and using him, all the while yelling at him for using her.
Lastly, even the side characters are no longer enjoyable for me. It's like the author forgot how she was writing them all, and gave them all new personalities hinging on the worst of their original traits.
At least at this point in the book, the story is reading like a fanfiction by someone who was crushing on Thranduil in the hobbit movie, and wanted the Darkling and Alina to end up together, but wanted to add extra tropes to be unique. Instead if succeeding it feels confusing and slow.
With the above mix of technical writing issues and personal dislike for the tropes used, I can't get into the book enough to finish it even though I hate DNFing
Starting with the most technical, I really didn't like the writing style. There are so many partial sentences the book felt choppy, like the author wasn't sure how to finish one thought and start the next. Maybe this was supposed to make it feel more tense, but it was more confusing than anything.
There are several places where the author starts describing a scene or a movement by a character, but the description is vague and when the next movement would happen it would clash hard against how I had pictures the last bit of information.
The author also relies very heavily on miscommunication, and often no communication at all, there are pages and pages of dialogue and I know no more at page 200 about what's going on than I did at page 1.
The love triangle, in my opinion, is poorly written. This doesn't feel like she can't decide, or even like an open relationship, it feels like a toxic relationship filled with cheating which I couldn't enjoy even when I tried. And to top that off, when she would start to write a decent romance scene that could have at least broken up the tension, there was so much anger and the internal monologue was so jumbled that it was more confusing than enjoyable.
The descriptive words used were so repetitive the book became boring. By oage 200 I should know more than that the characters are all angry, desperate, and never think. They have learned absolutely nothing from book one. There is more to a powerful female character than being angry and demanding all the time.
Violeta is an increasingly unlikeable character. All through book 1 she makes choice after choice to protect her loved ones, refuses to work with them, talk to them, or slow down and think, and gets herself into this sticky situation. For 200 pages of book 2 she has done nothing but whine, complain, blame the Lord Under, and throw a fit when he says no. Then for no explained reason at all, suddenly she wants him, starts playing with his emotions, and using him, all the while yelling at him for using her.
Lastly, even the side characters are no longer enjoyable for me. It's like the author forgot how she was writing them all, and gave them all new personalities hinging on the worst of their original traits.
At least at this point in the book, the story is reading like a fanfiction by someone who was crushing on Thranduil in the hobbit movie, and wanted the Darkling and Alina to end up together, but wanted to add extra tropes to be unique. Instead if succeeding it feels confusing and slow.
With the above mix of technical writing issues and personal dislike for the tropes used, I can't get into the book enough to finish it even though I hate DNFing
The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
When I tell you I obsessed over this book in high school it is not in any way an exaggeration.
So of course, it was required reading now that I'm an adult to see if it was truly as good as I remembered.
My finding was rather complex. The over all plot was much more boring than I remembered, very slow, fully of miscommunication, and no real information until the very end. However, I caught many many details I didn't remember from earlier reads, including huge differences between the book and movies it inspired.
Over all I still enjoyed the story and this is one I'm glad to have in my collection to read again in future.
So of course, it was required reading now that I'm an adult to see if it was truly as good as I remembered.
My finding was rather complex. The over all plot was much more boring than I remembered, very slow, fully of miscommunication, and no real information until the very end. However, I caught many many details I didn't remember from earlier reads, including huge differences between the book and movies it inspired.
Over all I still enjoyed the story and this is one I'm glad to have in my collection to read again in future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Torture, Stalking, Self harm, and Murder
Minor: Grief, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Confinement, Classism, Death, and Body horror
Homeland by R.A. Salvatore
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book was a bit dark for my liking and that did effect my rating. I find I can't get into a story when the entire plot is depressing and all but one or two characters are cruel. The only good characters seem to loose the entire book.
I only read this one to get to the rest of the series because I love dnd
I only read this one to get to the rest of the series because I love dnd
The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
I have read this book twice in the last six months, this last time with a friend.
I caught so many details I missed the first two times I read this and loved having someone to talk about it with!
I can't wait to continue with the next book
I caught so many details I missed the first two times I read this and loved having someone to talk about it with!
I can't wait to continue with the next book
The Duke and I by Julia Quinn
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
After watching Bridgerton I was sure I would like the book, but never would have guessed how completely I enjoyed it start to finish.
I don't think a book has ever made me laugh as much as The Duke and I. I adored every character we got a chance to know. I was surprised how little a part Lady Whistledown played in the book. Many of the conflicts in the book were far more satisfying than the show, feeling much more realistic and believable.
I would definitely suggest checking trigger warnings. Even with the show I wasn't expecting so much talk on a few heartbreaking subjects that could be sensitive.
All in all I'm very excited to start the next book even though Ibwas hesitant before having not really enjoyed Anthony's season of the show.
I don't think a book has ever made me laugh as much as The Duke and I. I adored every character we got a chance to know. I was surprised how little a part Lady Whistledown played in the book. Many of the conflicts in the book were far more satisfying than the show, feeling much more realistic and believable.
I would definitely suggest checking trigger warnings. Even with the show I wasn't expecting so much talk on a few heartbreaking subjects that could be sensitive.
All in all I'm very excited to start the next book even though Ibwas hesitant before having not really enjoyed Anthony's season of the show.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Ableism, and Miscarriage
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Infertility, Sexism, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Bullying, Alcohol, Classism, Child abuse, and Death of parent
Pregnancy loss