thattheatrekid's reviews
104 reviews

Fairest by Marissa Meyer

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

I liked this book! I’m not more sympathetic to Levana but it was cool seeing the early plot unfold from her perspective and understanding why she is the way she is. Good character motivation.

Cress by Marissa Meyer

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.5

I truly love how much realism and thought Marissa puts into each book! I like how each character is different and how the plot is so masterfully woven between them. 

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense 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

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

adventurous dark inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I adore this book! Going into it I wasn’t sure what to expect since I love adapted fairy tales and dystopia but I’m not very into science fiction. It was phenomenal! I’m so attached to Cinder now that I don’t know how to feel about new characters, lol. Fabulous book I’ve been waiting ages to read, and I can’t wait to get the next one! This is how you adapt a fairy tale, and it was very fun to see little Easter eggs of Cinderella, like offhand references to rats or pumpkins. 
Only minus was it was slow at times, but only when necessary. No scenes that didn’t tastefully serve the plot, which I appreciate.

Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.25

I was very surprised by this gem of a book! I kept the pages turning all day and was fully invested in the story. Toward the beginning I had to get into it more to appreciate it, and many of the foreign words were not fully explained or visualized, but the story!! It was so good and almost felt like some twisted and dark version of Frozen. Some of the plot twists I saw coming, but others I didn’t and even when I did they were gripping. I loved the character development and that Soraya accepted who she was at the end; the way her curse went from a curse to a beautiful part of her was also moving and reflective. I feel like her family could be more fleshed out but I understand why they weren’t, given how little page time they had. Compared to many other novels, the characters and especially villain were very well developed and I loved the grey morals. 

Bonus points: it’s a standalone so I do t have to commit to yet another series or brace myself for a mediocre sequel!

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares

adventurous emotional lighthearted reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

Solid 3 star book. The writing wasn’t bad and neither was the concept; it just wasn’t my cup of tea. I will say, it was better than I expected and I was invested in all 4 stories, so I gave it an extra half star.

The Hawthorne Legacy by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

lighthearted mysterious relaxing medium-paced

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

3.75

A good sequel! I didn’t find it gripping, per se, but I read it in a day and didn’t struggle to make it through.

None of the guys were very likeable or fleshed out for having so much page time. Even Xander, my favorite from the last book, appeared less, was rather useless, and was not quite as charismatic. The entire romance altogether, aside from a few scenes, was annoying and it was so typically irritating to see yet another female lead go back and forth - “what ever will I do? Two hot brothers like me and I can’t decide which one I want to be with! In fact, I don’t know what I want ever!” I just wish it would be different.

I loved how Max was in the story more, though Avery was kinda selfish barely ever asking her about her own problems and feelings (and when she did, she didn’t care despite knowing what was going on and that

Max had been kicked out of her freaking house

. Anyway, rooting for more Max page time!

Maybe it’s just me but the whole Emily subplot and detailed family tree history was kind of confusing and distracting at times. I also found myself not caring who was related to who and getting annoyed with it all. I also didn’t like the Thea/Rebecca subplot; it just felt very clunky and unnecessary given that it didn’t even matter till the end.

All in all I had high expectations for this book that weren’t quite met, but it was decent with an interesting mystery concept and I’ll be checking out the next one. 

American Royals by Katharine McGee

hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-paced

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

4.0

I struggle on where to start with a review! This book was a really good break from my usual heavier dystopian reads, where it’s just focused on romance drama and non world stakes. I was invested in the story but all the characters but Sam and Beatrice were woefully underdeveloped (especially the male characters) . At multiple points in the story it felt like I was supposed to care about certain characters, but I didn’t because I didn’t know them well enough. The not so subtle political commentary was interesting because it was very obviously trying to be feminist and progressive, yet the only thing any of the female characters ever talked about was guys and shallow social climbing. Beatrice was by far my favorite character (maybe I’m biased as a fellow oldest child); she was very fleshed out and her struggles were the most relatable. 

This was a great book with an interesting premise, despite all the cheesy or unrealistic parts, and I’m excited to read the next one! 

The Last Ever After by Soman Chainani
Did not finish book. Stopped at 62%.

I’ll come back to it but right now I’m just not invested. Truly mediocre 

It by Stephen King
Did not finish book. Stopped at 6%.

I tried hard. I did. But it was the end of the semester, things were busy, and I tried so hard to be invested in the story I just couldn’t. Maybe another time when I’m bored to death and determined to finish it, but at present I just have too many other books I’m actually excited about 😂