skygray's reviews
102 reviews

The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud

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adventurous fast-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

3.0

Chain of Iron by Cassandra Clare

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adventurous emotional 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

Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare

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adventurous 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

4.0

Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare

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adventurous 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

5.0

Layla by Colleen Hoover

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fast-paced

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

1.0

What is this goofy-ass book LMAOOO

Despite being advertised as a “paranormal thriller,” there is nothing remotely thrilling or scary about Layla. Thanks to Hoover’s bare-bone descriptions, the setting and mood lack any sort of character that might lend itself to a spooky atmosphere. And speaking of character...our “hero,” Leeds Gabriel is flat, uninteresting, and unsympathetic. Leeds did so many horrible things in this book, and despite the fact that he recognized what he was doing was wrong (in many repetitive internal monologues), he never took action or changed his ways. All his bad decisions are brushed away at the end by cop-out plot twists that “justify” him. Meanwhile, our titular character, Layla, is a superficially-written manic pixie dream girl. None of the other side characters were remotely interesting, and the plot twists were predictable and quite frankly laughable. I only read this book because I challenged myself to read the lowest and highest-rated Colleen Hoover books on Goodreads; if not for that, I wouldn’t have finished it. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but It Ends With Us was an infinitely better novel.

Content Warnings

Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare

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adventurous 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

4.0

I hate that a stupid YA urban fantasy book from 2011 written by an infamous ex-Harry Potter fanfiction author got me so upsetty spaghetti, but here we are.

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

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

3.5

Don’t do drugs, kids.

Content Warnings

The Stolen Heir by Holly Black

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adventurous dark emotional 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

3.5

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

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emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

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emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

Content Warnings