Scan barcode
vienna_books's reviews
16 reviews
A Crystal of Time by Soman Chainani
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
relaxing
sad
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
4.0
I listened to the audio book and somewhere in the middle I nearly abandoned the story. I‘m glad I didn‘t because once I pushed through this one section, I really enjoyed the story. The whole series plays with tropes but always spins them in a new and interesting way. This one focuses on the idea of different perspectives and the power of historians. Depending on who writes history, the good guys can become the villains and vice versa.
I also like the fact that this book allows to form theories about where the story is going and leaves clues for the readers along the way.
I couldn’t stand Tedros as a character in this book and I hope he will get a good arc in the next instalment of the series.
All in all this was a great entertaining read.
I also like the fact that this book allows to form theories about where the story is going and leaves clues for the readers along the way.
I couldn’t stand Tedros as a character in this book and I hope he will get a good arc in the next instalment of the series.
All in all this was a great entertaining read.
Content Warnings
Minor: Murder
She's Too Pretty to Burn by Wendy Heard
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-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? Yes
3.75
I didn‘t know anything about this book going into it because I‘ve bought it a long time ago and I probably only picked it up because I really liked the cover.
The first few chapters were not for me and I considered giving up on it because it read like an angsty teenage love story. What kept me going was that I really loved reading about the art and photography related themes. One of the main characters is a photographer and another one does illegal art installations that are meant to criticise the system. I would have been more intrigued if I had known that I was reading a thriller but I had intentionally not read the blurb.
The first 100 pages are 2 stars for me but the story picked up speed along the way and I flew through the last few chapters of the book. The more “thrilling“ parts had me on the edge of my seat and I would give them 4.5 stars.
The characters are very much flawed but I feel like it‘s mostly done in a tasteful and age appropriate way. I really enjoyed that we were following a female/female couple and none of the other characters made a big deal about it. There was no storyline about somebody needing to hide, fear of coming out/public dating or judgement from peers. I know that realistically queer people still face a lot of obstacles in our society but it was refreshing to read a book like this where our characters didn‘t need to worry about this. Gives me hope that one day it will be like this for every young queer person.
What I did find strange was how when Veronica posted the photo of Mick she did not discuss the caption with her at all and just posted it with „just kissed“. Even if this wasn’t a same sex relationship, I feel like most people would ask if that is ok for the other person. The fact that it is same sex and they didn‘t even have a discussion about being out makes this behaviour even worse and unrealistic in my opinion.
One other thing I‘ve noticed is that the transitions between chapters are hard to follow at times. The author closes a chapter and opens the next chapter from a different perspective, on a different day at a different location, even skipping multiple days at a time. This made me feel disoriented.
I also have a problem with the fact that this is marketed as a „Picture of Dorian Gray“ inspired story. You can kind of see which aspect of the story is meant to be inspired by it but I feel like there is a fine line between good marketing and misleading the reader in this case.
I believe I would have loved this book a lot when I was 18 (I’m 28) and would definitely recommend it to teenaged thriller fans. I did enjoy the read overall - especially the ending - but I can‘t give a higher rating than 3.75 because I severely disliked the beginning of the book.
The first few chapters were not for me and I considered giving up on it because it read like an angsty teenage love story. What kept me going was that I really loved reading about the art and photography related themes. One of the main characters is a photographer and another one does illegal art installations that are meant to criticise the system. I would have been more intrigued if I had known that I was reading a thriller but I had intentionally not read the blurb.
The first 100 pages are 2 stars for me but the story picked up speed along the way and I flew through the last few chapters of the book. The more “thrilling“ parts had me on the edge of my seat and I would give them 4.5 stars.
The characters are very much flawed but I feel like it‘s mostly done in a tasteful and age appropriate way. I really enjoyed that we were following a female/female couple and none of the other characters made a big deal about it. There was no storyline about somebody needing to hide, fear of coming out/public dating or judgement from peers. I know that realistically queer people still face a lot of obstacles in our society but it was refreshing to read a book like this where our characters didn‘t need to worry about this. Gives me hope that one day it will be like this for every young queer person.
One other thing I‘ve noticed is that the transitions between chapters are hard to follow at times. The author closes a chapter and opens the next chapter from a different perspective, on a different day at a different location, even skipping multiple days at a time. This made me feel disoriented.
I also have a problem with the fact that this is marketed as a „Picture of Dorian Gray“ inspired story. You can kind of see which aspect of the story is meant to be inspired by it but I feel like there is a fine line between good marketing and misleading the reader in this case.
I believe I would have loved this book a lot when I was 18 (I’m 28) and would definitely recommend it to teenaged thriller fans. I did enjoy the read overall - especially the ending - but I can‘t give a higher rating than 3.75 because I severely disliked the beginning of the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Murder
The Girl from the Other Side: Siúil, a Rún Deluxe Edition I by Nagabe
adventurous
challenging
dark
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The art in this is stunning! I find the characters lovable but the nuances of the plot were hard to grasp for me at points. I feel like there is a lot of underlying meaning that completely went over my head and overall I enjoyed this more from an artistic perspective than a literary one. The whole feeling I got while reading this was “dark whimsical fairytale“. Another word I would describe this story with is “weird“ - it is certainly not for everybody but it made me like it more.
A word I would NOT use to describe this book is “cozy“. There is a scene where a character gets beheaded with an axe in front of a child, so I would not call this a cozy read, just in case anyone was thinking that.
Even though I enjoyed reading this, I‘m not sure if I will continue on with the series because the actual plot didn‘t really intrigue me. I can see myself rereading the first book for the art and whimsy though.
A word I would NOT use to describe this book is “cozy“. There is a scene where a character gets beheaded with an axe in front of a child, so I would not call this a cozy read, just in case anyone was thinking that.
Even though I enjoyed reading this, I‘m not sure if I will continue on with the series because the actual plot didn‘t really intrigue me. I can see myself rereading the first book for the art and whimsy though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Violence
Moderate: Abandonment
Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune
emotional
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-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
3.5
I wish I could give this book 5 stars because there were many aspects I really loved about it:
The overall feeling was very cozy and picturesque. TJ Klune managed to describe scenes in a way that made me want to paint them. The book tackles one of the hardest topics one can write about (death) and spins it into a feel good story. Tea is also a very central theme, which I loved because it’s also important in my life (I work for a small tea company). The writing was easy to read and beautiful at the same time. I also loved the first chapter - we as a reader find out that the main character of this book is an asshole which is always a great set up for character development. The characters are very diverse - different nationalities, age groups and sexual orientations are represented.
This is the perfect transition to the things I didn‘t like about the book:
Although the cast of characters was diverse, I feel like this book could have had more women. I feel like it even failed the Bechdel-test. Nearly all characters central to the story are male (there is one woman in the main cast and two VERY minor side characters that barely have any lines). This is not something that bothers me too much - but I noticed.
Another thing I disliked (but didn‘t hate) was the pacing and plot. I feel like it was very slow paced with barely any plot. I like character driven stories, so it was okay for me, even though I did get a little bored in the middle. If you prefer plot driven, fast paced reads - this book is not for you.
My main criticisms are about character development, romance and the ending, I will include mild spoilers (won‘t spoil any plot)
I feel like the development of our main character, who started out as the badest person imaginable, is unrealistic. It read like he was swapped out with a different character. I would have liked it if he had shown more of his bad side during the story and gotten learning moments instead of just becoming a good person overnight.
The romance was so strange to read for me and I would have preferred if it was left out. I felt like the two characters have nothing in common, I even had trouble imagining the main character as bi for some reason. I started to picture him like a meaner version of Darryl Whitefeather from Crazy Ex Girlfriend but it didn‘t help much. I could not get on board this ship. (I feel the need to state that this has nothing to do with the fact that it‘s a queer romance, just about me not liking these particular characters together)
This section will discuss the ending and why I hated it with a fiery passion even though I still liked the book overall (going into spoilers here):
I felt like Wallace becoming alive again defeated the purpose of the whole story. Like WHAT? What about the river only moving in one direction? Loved that quote but it became a joke after this ending. Wallace should have gone through the door or at the very least stayed a ghost. The manager changing his mind seemed so out of character. Maybe it‘s because I usually don‘t read many feel good books but I wanted so much more from the ending. I felt like the whole story should have focused more on Wallace and why he became such a bad person in the first place and his development into a better version of himself without the romance plot. But maybe that‘s just me.
All in all I would still recommend this book to people looking for a relaxing, cozy read.
The overall feeling was very cozy and picturesque. TJ Klune managed to describe scenes in a way that made me want to paint them. The book tackles one of the hardest topics one can write about (death) and spins it into a feel good story. Tea is also a very central theme, which I loved because it’s also important in my life (I work for a small tea company). The writing was easy to read and beautiful at the same time. I also loved the first chapter - we as a reader find out that the main character of this book is an asshole which is always a great set up for character development. The characters are very diverse - different nationalities, age groups and sexual orientations are represented.
This is the perfect transition to the things I didn‘t like about the book:
Although the cast of characters was diverse, I feel like this book could have had more women. I feel like it even failed the Bechdel-test. Nearly all characters central to the story are male (there is one woman in the main cast and two VERY minor side characters that barely have any lines). This is not something that bothers me too much - but I noticed.
Another thing I disliked (but didn‘t hate) was the pacing and plot. I feel like it was very slow paced with barely any plot. I like character driven stories, so it was okay for me, even though I did get a little bored in the middle. If you prefer plot driven, fast paced reads - this book is not for you.
My main criticisms are about character development, romance and the ending, I will include mild spoilers (won‘t spoil any plot)
The romance was so strange to read for me and I would have preferred if it was left out. I felt like the two characters have nothing in common, I even had trouble imagining the main character as bi for some reason. I started to picture him like a meaner version of Darryl Whitefeather from Crazy Ex Girlfriend but it didn‘t help much. I could not get on board this ship. (I feel the need to state that this has nothing to do with the fact that it‘s a queer romance, just about me not liking these particular characters together)
This section will discuss the ending and why I hated it with a fiery passion even though I still liked the book overall (going into spoilers here):
All in all I would still recommend this book to people looking for a relaxing, cozy read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder and Child death
Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I didn‘t enjoy this book as much as I hoped I would. The concept and topics of the story were intriguing:
We follow a couple on their trip to rekindle their marriage. Both of them seem to have hidden agendas from the beginning. What is especially interesting is that the husband Adam suffers from faceblindness and cannot recognise people even if he has seen them everyday for years. This fact makes him an unreliable narrator which can be great in a thriller (not sure if it really did anything for me in this particular story though). We also get to read letters from his wife that she wrote secretly every year on their anniversary.
All of this sounded like the perfect set up but not unfortunately this book as a whole turned out to be just average to me. The beginning got me hooked - I especially liked reading about the phone situation. My issue was the middle part of the story: it felt like NOTHING happened. I was getting really bored and had to push myself to keep reading- and that‘s never a good sign. Maybe I disliked the middle so much because it relied a lot on the setting. The book tried to be creepy but I still never felt like the characters were in any actual danger. The stakes felt really low the entire time.
The ending picked up the pace again. I predicted the main twist of the story but there were more things I didn’t see coming and I actually found the conclusion to be satisfying. I still feel like there was too much set up. My favourite part were the letters and my least favourite part were the chapters from the couple at the house.
Who would I recommend this book for?
You might like this book if the following things fit your current reading mood:
- atmospheric reads
- creepy house in the snowy highlands
- disfunctional marriage
- multiple perspectives
- unreliable narrator
- slow build up to the final of the story with lots of clues on the way
- red herrings
- little to no action
- flashback perspective in the form of letters
We follow a couple on their trip to rekindle their marriage. Both of them seem to have hidden agendas from the beginning. What is especially interesting is that the husband Adam suffers from faceblindness and cannot recognise people even if he has seen them everyday for years. This fact makes him an unreliable narrator which can be great in a thriller (not sure if it really did anything for me in this particular story though). We also get to read letters from his wife that she wrote secretly every year on their anniversary.
All of this sounded like the perfect set up but not unfortunately this book as a whole turned out to be just average to me. The beginning got me hooked - I especially liked reading about the phone situation. My issue was the middle part of the story: it felt like NOTHING happened. I was getting really bored and had to push myself to keep reading- and that‘s never a good sign. Maybe I disliked the middle so much because it relied a lot on the setting. The book tried to be creepy but I still never felt like the characters were in any actual danger. The stakes felt really low the entire time.
The ending picked up the pace again. I predicted the main twist of the story but there were more things I didn’t see coming and I actually found the conclusion to be satisfying. I still feel like there was too much set up. My favourite part were the letters and my least favourite part were the chapters from the couple at the house.
Who would I recommend this book for?
You might like this book if the following things fit your current reading mood:
- atmospheric reads
- creepy house in the snowy highlands
- disfunctional marriage
- multiple perspectives
- unreliable narrator
- slow build up to the final of the story with lots of clues on the way
- red herrings
- little to no action
- flashback perspective in the form of letters
The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
„The Love Hypothesis“ is exactly what I thought it would be: a lighthearted love story in an academic setting. If that‘s what you are looking for, I would totally recommend it. I heard somewhere that it was inspired by Star Wars? I’m not a huge Star Wars fan but I’ve seen all of the main movies and I don’t get it 😅
Miscommunication and fake dating are the main tropes that are used and at times it gets a little bit ridiculous. It‘s still fun to read though.
Miscommunication and fake dating are the main tropes that are used and at times it gets a little bit ridiculous. It‘s still fun to read though.
More...