starkov's reviews
205 reviews

When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

5.0

I don’t know how to describe my feelings towards this book. It made me angry, it made me happy, it made me cry. It was so well-written and the characters were so well developed. It described girlhood and womanhood and female friendships and relationships so beautifully. I’m in awe.

“Anger is a funny thing. And it does funny things to us if we keep it inside. I encourage you to consider a question: Who benefits, my dear, when you force yourself to not feel angry?”

Jag är glad att mamma dog by Jennette McCurdy

challenging emotional reflective

heartbreaking but so powerful and well-written. definitely deserved the hype

Happy Place by Emily Henry

emotional lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories by Holly Black

adventurous emotional slow-paced

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

5.0

Daughter of the Siren Queen by Tricia Levenseller

adventurous dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller

adventurous dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata

lighthearted reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

Lektioner i kemi by Bonnie Garmus

challenging emotional funny inspiring fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I loved this book. It’s entertaining and captivating and has tons of interesting characters. Elizabeth Zott, the main character, is quite eccentric and very very much focused on chemistry but even though I found her a little bit annoying at first because of this, I quickly grew to love her. I highly recommend reading this!!!  

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Suicide

Kök by Banana Yoshimoto
Did not finish book. Stopped at 23%.

This book simply didn’t catch my attention so I give up lol

The Wicked King by Holly Black

adventurous dark 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

(Review 2022-07-03)
“For a moment,” he says, “I wondered if it wasn’t you shooting bolts at me.”
I make a face at him. “And what made you decide it wasn’t?”
He grins up at me. “They missed.”

Okay it’s official. I am obsessed with this series. I know I said this in my review of The Cruel Prince, but I LOVE that the fae are so wicked. It’s awful but it makes for such an interesting read! The world building in this is so cool and all the antagonists are horrible but so good at it.

And Jude!!! JUDE !!!!!!!!! I love her so much!!! I am so scared of her!!! I can’t stop thinking about her!!! She is SO resilient and cunning I am actually obsessed.

And just like Jude, I hate Cardan. But I can’t stop thinking about him either. He’s the worst. But I love him. Help. This enemies to kinda lovers but still mostly enemies thing they’ve got going on is KILLING ME. ”Kiss me again until I am sick of it.” EXCUSE ME? [SCREECHES] I was SO excited when he asked her to marry him, I knew it wasn’t for love but my heart skipped a beat!!! I had been thinking about them getting married for political/power reasons earlier in the book and was so excited!!! AND THEN HE WENT ON AND FUCKING EXILED HER? I’M SORRY WHAT? CARDAN YOU ABSOLUTE BASTARD??? I really thought they’d marry for non-romantic reasons but over time actually realise that they’re in love with each other and then stop hating each other. But no. I am a fool. If I wasn’t reading a library copy I would’ve hurled this book out the window.

But I lowkey don’t understand why Jude can’t just pardon herself since she is the Queen of Faerie? Or can their commands not contradict one another? I can’t wait to start the next book because I can’t stand this. I’m going feral. I need more right now.