whatellisreadnext's reviews
623 reviews

A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab

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

5.0

These rereads via audiobook have healed my soul, I really hope The Fragile Threads of Power is good 👀

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

adventurous dark funny mysterious relaxing 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

A great fall read, with a grumpy sunshine main protagonist who you'll love to root for. I bought this upon release and put off reading it for 3 years because of the very questionable passage about dreadlocks within the narrative. This was a definite oversight by Novik, and I think her taking full responsibility for this mistake, apologising, and removing it from future printings was the best way to move forward. I do believe that humans make mistakes and deserve the benefit of the doubt when they try to better themselves. I'm glad I finally picked this up, and I am excited to dive into the rest of the trilogy this autumn. The world building and the magic system and just everything trying to kill them was fascinating, but my favourite part about it all was El and Orion's love-hate relationship. I definitely ship it.

Rouge by Mona Awad

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective 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

5.0

Yesssssssssssssssssssssssssss🙌

Full review to come if I can ever put coherent thoughts together again.

Ripe by Sarah Rose Etter

dark funny hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

I will admit that Cassie had grown on me by the end, but the last 20 pages can't make up for the majority of the book. I struggled with the literal manifestation of a black hole to represent her depression and her very copy and paste back story. I did enjoy the weird off-base parts of the narrative, and I really liked the structure and how Etter used dictionary definitions to give the reader examples of Cassie's past life. This was clever and well thought out, and I appreciated it. I could have done without the cocaine habit. It didn't feel necessary to the story. It was just another device to show how reckless and depressed our narrator was. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction and Mental illness

I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman

dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

5.0

So many people I know and trust have loved this book, and I was scared it wouldn't live up to my expectations, but it was so frigging good. This is a once in a lifetime visceral reading experience. It's so unique yet feels cosy and familiar. It's dark and mysterious, but also really human. The narrative style of our main protagonist telling us her story felt very similar to The Wall by Marlen Haushofer, another book I loved that will haunt my mind for years to come.

I won't touch on plot in this review, just because I feel I could ruin your experience. As part of the enjoyment of this novel is the ambiguity and finding things out for yourself. I will just mention this isn't a cut and dry story. If you need all the answers, you're probably not going to have a good time. Saying that, I do think there is something for everyone in this book, and it will be one I push into many peoples hands. 

The Chrysalids by John Wyndham

5.0

This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub
Did not finish book. Stopped at 30%.

It was so boring, not for me at all.

A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab

adventurous dark funny hopeful mysterious 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

Another amazing and nostalgic reread via audiobook! Very excited to finish the trilogy again and start The Fragile Threads of Power👀

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious 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

3.0

I enjoyed Starling House for the most part, but some aspects of it just didn't marry up. The romantic element was my biggest gripe, which is a shame because if it had worked for me and a few other things had lined up, it may have been a new favourite. I just found myself cringing at how serious the romance was, compared to the rest of the novel, which had more of a jovial tone. When I first dove into this one, I was really hoping for something similar to The Last Tale of the Flower Bride or The Starless Sea, and it didn't touch either of those, unfortunately. Maybe I went in with expectations that were too high. Saying that, I did enjoy the setting and think it would be a great lighter spooky read for autumn.

(AD-PR Product) Thank you so much to Book Break for the gifted copy!

Study for Obedience by Sarah Bernstein

reflective medium-paced

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

2.0

You know that feeling when a book could have been good if it was just written by somebody else? The writing was just not it. Some of the weird folky stuff was really interesting, but then there would be these meandering and vague passages that make up 90% of the book and were completely pointless. I do often like a vague narrative, but this just wasn't good. It felt pretentious in its vagueness, like I wasn't part of the club, because I didn't get it at all. It's a no from me.