stewartj0421's reviews
176 reviews

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas

adventurous dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

5.0

I would give this book 1000 stars if I could. 

None of This is True by Lisa Jewell

dark sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Drug use, Infidelity, Stalking, and Pandemic/Epidemic

The Silence That Binds Us by Joanna Ho

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Death, Mental illness, Racism, Suicide, and Grief

Hunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton

challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.5

Man, this book had some extremely heavy moments. The entire first half of the book was weighted with terror and sorrow. But despite the series being smut, the second book is layered with surprising depth.

Addie’s

journey through

abuse, grief and guilt

was just as messy as anyone would expect it to be. It was raw and nonlinear in the way that those experiences would be in real life. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Haunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton

dark sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

God save me, I loved this book. 

Forever, Interrupted by Taylor Jenkins Reid

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad 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

I struggled to connect with the characters for much of the book, but the ending had me in tears. It is hard to connect with people experiencing grief, even when they’re fictional, and that made this book all the more worthwhile to read. It helped me to remember that sometimes people just need you to keep showing up. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Play With Me by Becka Mack
Did not finish book. Stopped at 6%.

Not a fan of Jenny

Funny Story by Emily Henry

emotional funny hopeful 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

This book genuinely healed something in me. It might be my favorite Emily Henry book yet. 

The Prisoner's Throne by Holly Black

dark 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

3.5

The pacing in this book was a bit off. I wasn’t truly captivated until around the 75% mark. That said, the ending of the book was phenomenal and more than made up for the slow pace throughout the rest of the book. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Violence, Blood, Grief, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Kidnapping and Murder

The Stolen Heir by Holly Black

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Violence, Blood, Murder, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Confinement and Cursing