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theeo's reviews
8 reviews
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I mostly enjoyed this! I found the plot to be a thrilling slow burn, and disliking the majority of the characters was strangely fun. The writing style is also really wonderful. The characters sometimes sound overly-formal, which at first is a little jarring, but it works because it adds to the weirdly entertaining unpleasantness of their personalities.
I disliked that some descriptions and details felt unnecessary - the author sometimes goes on tangents that don’t offer much substance or relevance to the plot, and almost feel like filler to an already rich story. This is more of a person gripe, but I also didn’t love how long the chapters were. I don’t like to stop mid-chapter (especially when I’m enjoying it) so I ended up sleeping too late on several occasions while reading this…
I did really enjoy this book overall! I may even reread one day, as it’s quite dense and I read it reasonably fast.
I disliked that some descriptions and details felt unnecessary - the author sometimes goes on tangents that don’t offer much substance or relevance to the plot, and almost feel like filler to an already rich story. This is more of a person gripe, but I also didn’t love how long the chapters were. I don’t like to stop mid-chapter (especially when I’m enjoying it) so I ended up sleeping too late on several occasions while reading this…
I did really enjoy this book overall! I may even reread one day, as it’s quite dense and I read it reasonably fast.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Suicide, Antisemitism, Suicide attempt, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Gun violence, Homophobia, and Incest
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Drug use, and Classism
Minor: Rape
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This is one of the best books I’ve read in a while. I love the writing style, it’s well-paced, and the plot itself is so captivating - especially Evelyn and Celia’s love story. I love sapphic stories so much. Also, may or may not have teared up several times…
The only thing I didn’t love about this was that the reveal towards the end felt a tad rushed, and a little too much like a twist just for the shock factor.It maybe could have been more impactful if Evelyn told Monique the truth about her father a little earlier on, so that we could explore more of Monique’s feelings about it instead of only hearing her perspective after the end of Evelyn’s story.
I really enjoyed this overall. Definitely read if you get the chance!
The only thing I didn’t love about this was that the reveal towards the end felt a tad rushed, and a little too much like a twist just for the shock factor.
I really enjoyed this overall. Definitely read if you get the chance!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Car accident, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, and Biphobia
Minor: Alcoholism, Grief, Terminal illness, Outing, Abortion, and Suicide
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Definitely shed a couple of tears reading this. I love the simple premise and the room that leaves for exploring the characters’ journeys. I like the separation into 4 different stories too, it was nice having a few perspectives. The only gripe I have with this book is that a lot of things are unnecessary repeated/overly explained rather than shown; maybe that’s a stylistic choice that went over my head, or perhaps it flows better in Japanese than in English, but I’m just not the biggest fan of it. Overall though, I definitely recommend this!
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The concept was really interesting! I didn’t love the execution but this was still an enjoyable read.
Content Warnings
Minor: Suicide attempt and Animal death
Circe by Madeline Miller
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
relaxing
sad
tense
slow-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
4.0
I don’t know a lot about Greek mythology, but this was still wonderful to read! I adore the author’s wording, and I think the descriptive language is really beautiful. I found the protagonist very compelling, and I especially enjoyed the depictions of Aiaia - both of its environment and its animals (I would very much like to live there).
One thing that weighs this down a little is the fact that large portions of the story overly focus on so many men. I also couldn’t help feeling as though it was missing sapphic elements (but that might just be me as I tend to prefer books with lesbians…) Maybe I’m asking too much of a retelling; perhaps it could’ve benefited from a reimagining instead.
Overall, though, this was a really lovely read! Definitely recommend even if you also aren’t well versed in Greek mythology lore.
One thing that weighs this down a little is the fact that large portions of the story overly focus on so many men. I also couldn’t help feeling as though it was missing sapphic elements (but that might just be me as I tend to prefer books with lesbians…) Maybe I’m asking too much of a retelling; perhaps it could’ve benefited from a reimagining instead.
Overall, though, this was a really lovely read! Definitely recommend even if you also aren’t well versed in Greek mythology lore.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape
Minor: Death, Animal death, Misogyny, Blood, and Body horror
A Dark and Hollow Star by Ashley Shuttleworth
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Fun read!! Anything sapphic and I’m a fan. Nausicaä is a very likeable character, the world building is interesting, and I’m a big D&D fan so the influences from that were really nice to see.
Definitely not perfect though - the queer rep is great but it lacks in other forms of diversity as there were very few poc, and the few that do appear are very minor characters. Also, the dialogue can sometimes be a tad cheesy as lot of pop culture references undermine a few tense moments, but this is fairly easily overlooked.
Definitely not perfect though - the queer rep is great but it lacks in other forms of diversity as there were very few poc, and the few that do appear are very minor characters. Also, the dialogue can sometimes be a tad cheesy as lot of pop culture references undermine a few tense moments, but this is fairly easily overlooked.
Good Omens by Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
fun!!
Coraline by Neil Gaiman
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-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
3.5
an easier book to help me get back into reading (even though it took me so long…)
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