steff_fox's reviews
49 reviews

Stars Above by Marissa Meyer

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced

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

5.0

Batter Royale by Leisl Adams

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.0

Little Sock by Christopher D. Park, Kia Heise

adventurous lighthearted fast-paced

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

3.0

Winter by Marissa Meyer

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

5.0

A Broken Blade by Melissa Blair

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

Cress by Marissa Meyer

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective relaxing 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

5.0

Rapunzel and Robin Hood by Jessica Erin

sad slow-paced

1.0

Throwing Robin Hood and Rapunzel together actually sounds like a pretty fantastic idea...but my goodness, does this book have some serious issues.

+ poor and disorganized writing
+ missing character depth / development
+ unrealistic character dynamics -- she was locked in a tower her whole life; there is no possible way she would have understood sex and relationships the way she was portrayed to
+ unrealistic characters in general
+ HOLY HELL, the INSTA LOVE was so painful 
+ pointless and contrived plots; some of these literally only served to create unnecessary tension in the relationship
+ miscommunication as  a plot device
+ an excess of random storylines & conflicts
+ rushing through aforementioned excess of random storylines & conflicts
+ no coherent plot in general
+ complete & utter mismanagement of Marian's storyline -- if you're going to give Robin a love interest other than Marian, just remove Marian from the book, please
+ cheating!!!
+ I'm sorry...but Rumpelstiltskin? Really? 

And this is just the beginning, unfortunately. Honestly, this book reads like it came from the mind of someone who really likes Disney's Tangled, but wanted to make it...horny? Additionally, it's very clear that the author doesn't fully grasp the complexities of someone living their lives in a tower nor the complexities of falling in love. 

So, instead of spending any real time on the characters in relation to those two topics, the book was really just a rushed mishmash of all the ideas and events that the author wanted to mash together. Ultimately, she just didn't know how to develop these ideas and put them all together into a coherent and real story.

The Runaway's Diary by James Patterson

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.0

The Giver (Graphic Novel), Volume 1 by Lois Lowry

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0