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thiskiwi03's reviews
27 reviews
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
challenging
dark
informative
slow-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
4.0
Definitely an interesting read. I think there are themes of vanity, mental illness, ambition, addiction, and the consequences of all of these.
While it wasn’t the most riveting book in terms of writing (i think there were parts that dragged on), it caused me to stop and think on many occasions, hence the 4 star rating.
While it wasn’t the most riveting book in terms of writing (i think there were parts that dragged on), it caused me to stop and think on many occasions, hence the 4 star rating.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Murder, and Mental illness
My Husband by Maud Ventura
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was a complicated book. On the one hand, there was bugger all plot, but the atmosphere and the descriptions were amazing. I also loved the epilogue where the power dynamic in the marriage made a 180 degree shift .
They're Watching You by Chelsea Ichaso
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I wasn't sure what to expect with this book. But it was a strong choice!
This follows Maren who is investigating the disappearance of her best friend, and in doing so becomes part of a secret society within her college in which they play games in order to progress through the ranks. Ichaso did a great job at keeping you guessing throughout the story, with tension and banter thrown in. The clues were there the whole time, but you just never saw the ending with its twists and turns. It loses a point with some of the dialogue, but it is a SOLID 4 stars.
This follows Maren who is investigating the disappearance of her best friend, and in doing so becomes part of a secret society within her college in which they play games in order to progress through the ranks. Ichaso did a great job at keeping you guessing throughout the story, with tension and banter thrown in. The clues were there the whole time, but you just never saw the ending with its twists and turns. It loses a point with some of the dialogue, but it is a SOLID 4 stars.
The Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera
5.0
The Tale of Kahu is, inevitably, a sad one. A girl just wants some love from her Paka! He is so caught up in the traditions and legends of his tribe that he misses the most important thing. His moko.
Ihimaera does a fantastic job of interweaving the myth and legend of Paikea with the tale of a young girl who can communicate with the majestic sea creatures that grace the coast of their hometown.
As a kiwi, I appreciate the nuances, language, and tone of this book. However, those not familiar with Te Reo Maori will struggle with some of the passages. For this reason I recommend people to read along with the audio book. Here, the Maori language (literally) sings to life.
This is a short little book with a lot of heart and emotion, making me cry on multiple occasions. I give The Wale Rider by Witi Ihimaera 5 stars!
Ihimaera does a fantastic job of interweaving the myth and legend of Paikea with the tale of a young girl who can communicate with the majestic sea creatures that grace the coast of their hometown.
As a kiwi, I appreciate the nuances, language, and tone of this book. However, those not familiar with Te Reo Maori will struggle with some of the passages. For this reason I recommend people to read along with the audio book. Here, the Maori language (literally) sings to life.
This is a short little book with a lot of heart and emotion, making me cry on multiple occasions. I give The Wale Rider by Witi Ihimaera 5 stars!
E-Girl Unplugged: A Fast-Paced British Crime Thriller by Adi Flynn, Adi Flynn
4.0
3.5stars
This is an arc and is due to be released in January, 2024. Thank you so much to the author for giving me a copy, I really appreciate it.
We follow a dual perspective and timeline to figure out what has happened to a kidnapped punk rock superstar spanning back and forwards within 11 months.
Charlie, Rebecca, Ashley, and Clive makeup the Charlie Chan & Co detective agency. It was fun and unique to read about this group of people in their 20s (and clive) solving these cases.
Positives: I thought it was a really fun read. I usually don’t like the whole dual perspective/timeline dynamic, but in this case it worked really well. I loved the banter between the team and think Ash is the best thing ever. For me the dynamic reminded me a bit of Nancy Drew, or even Famous Five grown up.
I liked the way the team figured out where Emefa was and I think Adi was clever in leaving little clues as to what would be the ultimate clue that led them to her.
The one critique I do have is that I felt like there were two adventures and stories being told. This distracted from the main story, at least from the blurb of the book. The team gets an ‘infidelity case’ which is investigated periodically throughout the book, which leads to something a whole lot bigger in the long run. However, it has nothing to do with this kidnapping case. And so in that way, I think it didn’t need to be there. I think that case should be its own book. The space could have been used to flesh out the characters a bit more, maybe speak more to Charlie’s side investigation…
Overall this was a really fun read. It came to me at the perfect time where I was in a bit of a reading slump, and it pulled me right out. I will do a re-read of this again in future!
Characters: 3
Plot: 4
World: 3
Re-readablility: 4
Average: 3.5
This is an arc and is due to be released in January, 2024. Thank you so much to the author for giving me a copy, I really appreciate it.
We follow a dual perspective and timeline to figure out what has happened to a kidnapped punk rock superstar spanning back and forwards within 11 months.
Charlie, Rebecca, Ashley, and Clive makeup the Charlie Chan & Co detective agency. It was fun and unique to read about this group of people in their 20s (and clive) solving these cases.
Positives: I thought it was a really fun read. I usually don’t like the whole dual perspective/timeline dynamic, but in this case it worked really well. I loved the banter between the team and think Ash is the best thing ever. For me the dynamic reminded me a bit of Nancy Drew, or even Famous Five grown up.
I liked the way the team figured out where Emefa was and I think Adi was clever in leaving little clues as to what would be the ultimate clue that led them to her.
The one critique I do have is that I felt like there were two adventures and stories being told. This distracted from the main story, at least from the blurb of the book. The team gets an ‘infidelity case’ which is investigated periodically throughout the book, which leads to something a whole lot bigger in the long run. However, it has nothing to do with this kidnapping case. And so in that way, I think it didn’t need to be there. I think that case should be its own book. The space could have been used to flesh out the characters a bit more, maybe speak more to Charlie’s side investigation…
Overall this was a really fun read. It came to me at the perfect time where I was in a bit of a reading slump, and it pulled me right out. I will do a re-read of this again in future!
Characters: 3
Plot: 4
World: 3
Re-readablility: 4
Average: 3.5
The Savior's Sister by Jenna Moreci
3.0
2.5stars
The Savior's Sister is the second book in The Savior's Series, and follows Leila in her adventures and conflicts while The Sovereigns Tournament is happening. It is coinciding with the first book "The Saviors Champion”, just following a different character.
The ST is held when the Savior comes of age and 20 men fight to the death in order to win the favor of both the Sovereign and the Savior. At the end of the tournament, the victor is arranged to be married to the savior and they rule alongside her. However, explored in TSS, there is an internal plot to murder the savior so Brontes (the Sovereign) can continue ruling the realm.
While I loved TSC, I found it different from what I had read at the time, I found TSS a bit harder to read. This book had the same issue with the first in my opinion, and that was that the world, and magic system felt really flat and claustrophobic. With the world, in TSC it was the labyrinth and arenas and challenges that Tobias was in, and that was it… With TSS, the world is the castle, and that’s it… there are mentions of other realms and the possibility of war, but that was almost like a throw-away plot point.
The magic system is not well explained. The few times we do see magic being used, it isn’t explained.. It just happens. She thinks of somewhere and POOF, she’s there! She touches things and they are healed, Hallelujah!!! Enough said…
I found the use of language in TSS a lot more crass than I was expecting. And there was points of regal formal “summon this person, or that person is dismissed” and then in the next vein there is lots of talk about sex in a modern yet vulgar manner. And the sexual exposures (and one in particular) were just gross and vulgar. The one I'm thinking of, and I don’t want to spoil it, quite late in the book (if ya know ya know), I feel like that was just put in there to be a point of shock value. And it was a shock, completely unbelievable and completely unnecessary except to maybe make you hate these characters even more.
I mean, maybe the crassness used throughout the book is supposed to be there, like a “peek behind closed doors” type of thing. But it contradicted the regalness and more realistic dialog within the book, and it just didn’t work.
There was a lot of politics and murdering and things of that nature within the castle, and those were all really boring to me. Politics isn’t something I follow at the best of times, but I tried…
The plot twist revealing who this secret traitor is, it just didn’t work. Readers would be shocked, for sure, I mean if you really went in with your detective hat, it wouldn’t be too hard to figure it out, but this person was one among several rather forgettable characters that show up very little throughout the story. There was no Chekhov's Gun (that I could see), and the reveal just took me way out of the story and at that point (very late in the book) I kind of rushed toward the end.
The romance between Leila and Tobias: I loved TSC because it was sprinkled in there, but there was constant “I’m not in this tournament to love the savior, I hate the savior, I only have eyes for her sister”. It made for a really sweet romance when they were together, and there was definitely some sweet romance in here as well, but there are a couple of points that I didn’t like through TSS… First, and this did happen a bit in TSC, was the bipolar “I love you, lets have a huge argument about something/get out, wait please don’t leave”. It does make me wonder whether either, or both, Leila and Tobias have bipolar. I know they always had a short time together when they did see each other, but the conflicts felt too rushed, and then suddenly they were over and it was all “no, I’ll wait till you’re ready” type thing…
My other point to make is that I found Leila was a lot hornier than Tobias with so many fantasies about him that happen. And when they are written, sometimes I found it hard to determine if they were real or fantasies. A change into something like italics may have helped to distinguish.
While I have stated quite a few sticking points, I did still enjoy my time reading this for the most part, and I have seen that there will be another installment of the series coming, and I really hope we see more of this world and really get to understand it beyond the castle gates. This is an opportunity to really expand. To develop the relationship even further with Tobias and Leila, and let them get to know each other properly. I will continue on with the series, but I am expecting better from the next book.
Characters: 3
Plot: 2
World: 2
Romance: 4
Re-readablility: 1
Average: 2.5
The Savior's Sister is the second book in The Savior's Series, and follows Leila in her adventures and conflicts while The Sovereigns Tournament is happening. It is coinciding with the first book "The Saviors Champion”, just following a different character.
The ST is held when the Savior comes of age and 20 men fight to the death in order to win the favor of both the Sovereign and the Savior. At the end of the tournament, the victor is arranged to be married to the savior and they rule alongside her. However, explored in TSS, there is an internal plot to murder the savior so Brontes (the Sovereign) can continue ruling the realm.
While I loved TSC, I found it different from what I had read at the time, I found TSS a bit harder to read. This book had the same issue with the first in my opinion, and that was that the world, and magic system felt really flat and claustrophobic. With the world, in TSC it was the labyrinth and arenas and challenges that Tobias was in, and that was it… With TSS, the world is the castle, and that’s it… there are mentions of other realms and the possibility of war, but that was almost like a throw-away plot point.
The magic system is not well explained. The few times we do see magic being used, it isn’t explained.. It just happens. She thinks of somewhere and POOF, she’s there! She touches things and they are healed, Hallelujah!!! Enough said…
I found the use of language in TSS a lot more crass than I was expecting. And there was points of regal formal “summon this person, or that person is dismissed” and then in the next vein there is lots of talk about sex in a modern yet vulgar manner. And the sexual exposures (and one in particular) were just gross and vulgar. The one I'm thinking of, and I don’t want to spoil it, quite late in the book (if ya know ya know), I feel like that was just put in there to be a point of shock value. And it was a shock, completely unbelievable and completely unnecessary except to maybe make you hate these characters even more.
I mean, maybe the crassness used throughout the book is supposed to be there, like a “peek behind closed doors” type of thing. But it contradicted the regalness and more realistic dialog within the book, and it just didn’t work.
There was a lot of politics and murdering and things of that nature within the castle, and those were all really boring to me. Politics isn’t something I follow at the best of times, but I tried…
The plot twist revealing who this secret traitor is, it just didn’t work. Readers would be shocked, for sure, I mean if you really went in with your detective hat, it wouldn’t be too hard to figure it out, but this person was one among several rather forgettable characters that show up very little throughout the story. There was no Chekhov's Gun (that I could see), and the reveal just took me way out of the story and at that point (very late in the book) I kind of rushed toward the end.
The romance between Leila and Tobias: I loved TSC because it was sprinkled in there, but there was constant “I’m not in this tournament to love the savior, I hate the savior, I only have eyes for her sister”. It made for a really sweet romance when they were together, and there was definitely some sweet romance in here as well, but there are a couple of points that I didn’t like through TSS… First, and this did happen a bit in TSC, was the bipolar “I love you, lets have a huge argument about something/get out, wait please don’t leave”. It does make me wonder whether either, or both, Leila and Tobias have bipolar. I know they always had a short time together when they did see each other, but the conflicts felt too rushed, and then suddenly they were over and it was all “no, I’ll wait till you’re ready” type thing…
My other point to make is that I found Leila was a lot hornier than Tobias with so many fantasies about him that happen. And when they are written, sometimes I found it hard to determine if they were real or fantasies. A change into something like italics may have helped to distinguish.
While I have stated quite a few sticking points, I did still enjoy my time reading this for the most part, and I have seen that there will be another installment of the series coming, and I really hope we see more of this world and really get to understand it beyond the castle gates. This is an opportunity to really expand. To develop the relationship even further with Tobias and Leila, and let them get to know each other properly. I will continue on with the series, but I am expecting better from the next book.
Characters: 3
Plot: 2
World: 2
Romance: 4
Re-readablility: 1
Average: 2.5