stephblair's reviews
676 reviews

The City of Zirdai by Maria V. Snyder

4.0

Any Way the Wind Blows by Rainbow Rowell

adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger

emotional funny hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

3.0

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

3.0

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston

emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-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

4.0

The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri

adventurous emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

I always find it fascinating how authors tie religious beliefs into fantasy storytelling. It adds a layer of complex character development that I enjoy reading. 

Overall, I really liked this book. The characters were interesting (even the ones you’re definitely not supposed to like), and the story is definitely something I’m interested enough in to continue reading the series as it comes out. 

Mister Impossible by Maggie Stiefvater

3.0

I’m not even sure what this was, but I could definitely tell it’s a middle book in a trilogy. 

The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-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

4.0

I really enjoyed this book. The world building was great and the characters were complex and interesting. I had seen a lot of hype before requesting this on netgalley, and the hype was deserved. It was good. 

However I do need to say something. If your book needs a pronunciation guide, PLEASE put it at the beginning. This book had a multiple-page guide at the end, where I learned that I’d been pronouncing nearly everything wrong for the entire time. That was frustrating. 

Dune by Frank Herbert

slow-paced

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

2.0

It’s pretty tiring reading classics when so many of them are painfully misogynistic. It’s not too surprising that we’re still struggling to get out of that mindset. 

Aside from that, I just didn’t enjoy the writing style and I struggled to find any depth to any of the characters. 

I know this is a well loved classic, but we don’t all enjoy the same things and I’m ok with that.