sleepysamreads's reviews
811 reviews

Sunrise On The Reaping by Suzanne Collins

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense 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

5.0

I was a little nervous for this one. The Hunger Games has been a favorite trilogy of mine for a really long time now. I read Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and just didn’t like it. The pacing was weird and it was a little annoying. I did enjoy the movie though. 

Anyway, I really loved this one! It added to the storytelling really well. It also explains why Haymitch is Haymitch. Parts of this book were extremely heartbreaking. Hell, most of the book is. I really loved the insight on his personality as well as getting to see who he was, before his Games. 

The ending was extremely bittersweet and I love that. 

5/5 definitely recommend! 

The Woman in the Cabin by Becca Day

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

3.25

The Magnolia Palace by Fiona Davis

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.75

Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson

adventurous challenging emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense 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

I enjoyed this one WAY more than The Way of Kings. I felt like that one was all about world building and catching up on the history of the characters, where this one feels like actual plot development. Which makes complete sense bc Sanderson’s stories always have incredible world building. Some of the best I’ve ever read! I just think it was a tad boring in the first, but that’s okay. 

I really loved how Shallan had more of a part in this one and we learn about her past. Also, Wit is Hoid! Who I’ve realized has popped up in every book I’ve read of the Cosmere so far. I am SO curious about who he is! And how he can be in all these different worlds? 

Oh and the ending with Dalinar!! I’m so glad I read Warbreaker first!! 

I wait to read more!!

Hungerstone by Kat Dunn

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.25

You can ALWAYS count me in if the story includes sapphic vampires. As someone who fell in love with the web series Carmilla back in 2014, you could say I’m a fan. Also, most people don’t know this, but Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu is the original™️ vampire story!! It came out about 20 years before Dracula and is sometimes considered direct inspiration for it! So cool! 

All that being said, this was okay. I liked certain aspects, but others didn’t work well for me. It was a pretty slow read and I felt like it definitely could’ve been cut down a little, especially the ending. Don’t regret reading it, but also don’t super recommend. 

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense 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

3.25

I’m SO sad I didn’t enjoy this as much as I was hoping I would. I really liked Shellan and Kaladin’s parts. Especially towards the end. Dalinar’s was harder for me to get through. 

I’m realizing I don’t really like stories centered around war. Mistborn felt different bc it wasn’t strictly fighting. And I felt like the fighting in it was more interesting. 

I’ll keep reading the series, but I am slightly disappointed. :(

Elantris by Brandon Sanderson

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense 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

3.0

Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense 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

4th Brandon Sanderson book I’ve read and 4th Brandon  Sanderson book I’ve loved SO much! Another extremely fascinating world! Never thought of color as a type of currency/religion/magic so that was so fun! 

Only complaint is I want more! The end was so abrupt! It worked really well, but I love these characters now! I need more! I know there’s a rumored sequel in the works.. I need that now pls

The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense 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? No

4.0

Well, it’s 3am and I have a massive headache from sobbing thanks to this book. When I hear someone say that about a book, it always intrigues me. Actually, the whole reason I read this was bc one of my nurses showed me a TikTok montage of her crying bc of The Cosmere. 

Anyway, the first half of this one was suuuuper slow. I wasn’t enjoying it very much, which was seriously disappointing me. Thankfully, it picked up right after that and the action got wild. 

I didn’t expect the end at all! I’m always happy when this happens. So far I’m really loving this universe and I can’t wait to read more!

All that being said, the biggest disappointment for me from this series so far is the lack of complex female representation. Yeah, we have Vin. She’s Awesome! But she’s practically the only female character that doesn’t feel like a plot device. Only other female characters to survive are Beldre and Allrianne, but they feel more like background characters. Very disappointed in that.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death

The House of My Mother by Shari Franke

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0