sofi_thebookishflor's reviews
184 reviews

What It Is: Race, Family, and One Thinking Black Man's Blues by Clifford Thompson

challenging informative reflective fast-paced

3.0

Raising Confident Black Kids: A Comprehensive Guide for Empowering Parents and Teachers of Black Children by M.J. Fievre

hopeful informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

The Jazz Palace by Mary Morris

challenging informative mysterious sad 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? Yes

2.5

The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien

adventurous 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

5.0

White Horse by Erika T. Wurth

challenging dark emotional informative 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

4.0

A Castle in the Clouds by Kerstin Gier

adventurous lighthearted tense medium-paced

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

2.0

Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen

adventurous emotional funny mysterious reflective tense 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

5.0

If you like practical magic then you will like this one.

It goes fast without missing anything.
The characters are lovable and funny.

Woman, Eating by Claire Kohda

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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

5.0

I this book we follow Lydia a vampire who is desperate to live her life amongst humans and be an artist, but she's also so hungry. 

Trigger warnings ⚠️ E.D. abusive parent 

After her vampire mother seems to develop what humans would call alzhimers, Lydia lives her in a home for the elderly and she rents a loft in an artist building and will soon start an internship at a gallery following in the footsteps of her artist father, but after having her mother taken care of everything her whole life, she now has to get her own food, pigs blood, but where? How? And how hungry can she go on for before feeding on someone? 

This is a horror, thriller fiction book but everything can be related to real life and the complexities of self hatred, E.D. emotional abuse from  a parent and unexpected curveball that life just throws your way. 

It's definitely more vibes then plot. The plot is there but it's simple and well, it's more about introspection than what it's going on with the characters. 

Definitely a great read, but not for everyone, please check all the trigger warnings!

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Eating disorder

Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective 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

5.0

I this book we follow three stories, the first one is a husband and wife, his a farmer, she's a scientist who studied bugs, met her husband at a class in the university where she worked and now they live in the farm, in a life she's not quite that happy on. The second story follows another scientist who is recording the wildlife in the nearby wood from the farm, she lives happy in solitude with just nature until a hunter visits her and they form a fast but complicated relationship and the third story follows two feuding neighbors who refuse to get along even when it's not convenient for them. 

This book took me by surprise, it's descriptions of nature, the way they share the knowledge of the flora and the fauna without feeling like a lecture, the parallels between the wildlife and the human life its amazing. 

I'm not a camper, a farmer or a nature kind of gal but everything about this book made me want to be one. 

The only part that made me think twice was a story line of an underage boy with a grown woman, however it was handled really carefully and it was developed in the right and lawful way. I think a lot of authors can learn a thing or two from this storyline and how to handle it. 

I can honestly say that I would read it again! 

5 stars all the way.
 

A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers

adventurous emotional inspiring reflective fast-paced

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

3.0

In this book we follow Dex a nonbinary tea monk who is a traveling to different villages making special blends for people who need confort, however Dex is new at this and they are learning as they go, with this comes the question of what is it all about and so he travels to the wild where they befriends a robot named Splendid who will help then in their own journey.

The story is simple but profund and at the beginning I was all in with this cozy read that is more than vibes, however I do have to say, and this is readers error, that the moment I got distracted with anything else, I got lost, however in the middle of that distraction I was still able to catch the quiet wisdom of the book. 

I will reread it cause I know that I will give it a higher Rating.