vexasaurus_rex's reviews
97 reviews

Prince's Gambit by C.S. Pacat

adventurous emotional 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? Yes

4.5

Morning Star by Pierce Brown

adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Golden Son by Pierce Brown

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

4.75/5 Rating

“We are not our station in life. We are us - the sum of what we've done, what we want to do, and the people who we keep close.”

Wow. Okay. So Red Rising really didn't blow me away. But this one? Oh, this one did. Pierce Brown really finds his rhythm and drive in Golden Son. I was more taken by Darrow, more taken by Mustang, Sevro, Victra, Roque...even the Jackal and Nero. This book further developed and complicated characters that in the first installation felt rather surface level or uninteresting to me. The pacing and intrigue was finally there. When I'm disappointed and shocked by a character, Pierce does a great job and making me still understand their motivations, or where they might be coming from. Even with the cliffhanger at the end, it's hard for me to hate any particular character, because I get it. It's easy to understand how the Golds are so flawed—and simply, tragically, products of their environment. 

There's a lot I could say about this book. It operates as the perfect second installation, leaving me desperate to see what happens next. I'm so glad that I held on to continue the series. Crossing my fingers that this conclusion is survivable.

Red Rising by Pierce Brown

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

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

3.75

3.75/5 Rating

This was good. But it didn't really knock my socks off like I anticipated. That's mainly due to the fact, I think, that I don't care for the whole

"fight to the death as a war game"

plot line. (The first Hunger Games book was also not my favorite.) I'm assuming that from this point in the series, things get more serious and intense, and that's why I'm going to keep going with the next book and see what I think from that point. Give me the bloody rebellion—I'm ready!

A few things, though:
-Why is everyone winking so much???
-I feel like Darrow

gets over Eo a little bit too quickly. I mean. I get it. He was young. Is young. But I guess if I thought there was going to be focus on romance, I wish the author could've waited more until later in the series.

Just a personal preference.
-Somewhat related...but I'm not the biggest fan of Mustang. I'm hoping this changes in the books to come.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape

Captive Prince by C.S. Pacat

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

3.25

Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh
Did not finish book. Stopped at 0%.

It took until page 20 (wow) for the MC to scratch her coochie AND sniff her fingers after. Luckily it also took that same 20 pages for me to then decide this book wasn’t for me. 

Intermezzo by Sally Rooney

challenging dark emotional reflective slow-paced

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

2.5

I found every single character unlikeable. Reading this felt like a slog, but I kept pushing because of having previously liked the author. For nearly the entire novel, I was profoundly bored. It picks up a bit (???) near the end, but not nearly enough to push me towards any sort of great (or even minor) appreciation for the story as a whole. Just not for me! 

The Dragon's Bride by Katee Robert

hopeful 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

2.0

The Last Sun by K.D. Edwards

adventurous emotional funny 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? It's complicated

3.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Eating disorder and Rape

Paladin's Strength by T. Kingfisher

adventurous emotional funny 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? Yes

4.0