woolgathering_jane's reviews
146 reviews

Bel-ami by Guy de Maupassant

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

3.0

a meh, boring story about a topic that was criticised to death

Na větrné hůrce by Emily Brontë

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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

“He's more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.”

The mastery in this story is undeniable, but I don't think I'll pick it up again for a long long time. The story has sucked the happiness out of my life while I was reading it.

Dům v blankytně modrém moři by TJ Klune

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-paced

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

5.0

“I may have lost my mind," he told her. "Isn't it wonderful?”

I cannot describe this book in different words than: an august evening on your porch, when the last bits of sun are making everything gold, with the softest blanket and good book in your lap. 

Winter by Marissa Meyer

adventurous emotional funny relaxing 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

“Greenwich is a funny word, isn't it? All green and witchy. Like soup.”

I don't know how this book managed to be even better than the last one, but it did. It was soooo fun!! I adored Winter and the rest of the crew, the plot was always moving, and it was so easy to get lost in the revolution for hours every day. I had some doubts about reading this series because it was so old (in the ya world), but oh my god how happy I am that I did. Truly one of the best books I've read in a while, it was just pure fun.

COVID-128 by Marissa Meyer

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? No

5.0

The sweetest little story that I'll reread whenever I'll miss The Lunar Chronicles characters. It was so so cute

Vůně Aramteshe 2: Koruna kouře by P.M. Freestone

adventurous medium-paced

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

3.5

It wasn't bad, it just wasn't good. I don't regret reading it but will I pick it up again? probably not
Everything was just so meh - the characters, the final fight, the logic behind everyone's actions, even the (in theory) cool non-binary character felt a bit fake? idk
I did like all the representation tho, that was nice

Kulička by Guy de Maupassant

dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

"Nakonec to vypadalo, jako by jedinou úlohou ženy na tomto světě bylo neustále se obětovat, ustavičně se vzdávat choutkám zhýralých vojáků."

Úderná, až bolestivě pravdivá povídka. Ocenila jsem, že se Maupassant tentorkát vyvaroval barvitým naturalistickým popisům a zvolil téma, které je mi osobně bližší než rozklad lidského těla - rozklad lidské duše, to jak nás společnost dokáže velice efektivně zlomit, jak je morálka velice snadno ohýbatelná myšlenka. Na Kuličku jsem si za ty měsíce od doby, kdy jsem povídku četla, vzpomněla hned několikrát. Myslím, že se mnou rezonovala tak nečekaně silně i proto, že v době, kdy jsem ji četla, jsem si podobným dilematem (jedinec vs společnost) sama procházela a, k vlastnímu zklamání, jsem se podvolila stejně jako ona. Taky se mi líbilo, jak bylo v povídce zastoupeno hodně společenských vrstev, že se Maupassant jako tolik klasických autorů nesoustředil jen na morální přečiny vyšší vrstvy.

Jenom nestvůra by Vanessa Len

adventurous emotional funny mysterious relaxing 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

5.0

“Monsters look like giant spiders," Joan said. "Or like robots." She'd seen enough cartoons to know. Gran sometimes told jokes without smiling. Maybe this was one of those times.
But Gran's eyes weren't shiny with a held-in joke. They were serious. "That's pretend monsters," she said. "Real monsters look like me and you.”

This book was so. much. fun. It was a fast, easy read that I was looking forward to every day. I fell in love with the characters, the plot was easy enough to follow that I could relax while reading. I loved the moral dilemmas sprinkled throughout the book and I even had a nice, good cry at the end. I can't recommend it enough!  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, and Death of parent

Království hříšných by Kerri Maniscalco

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

“My world is broken down into one simple principle: I believe I’m powerful, therefore I am.”

A rather average fantasy. I liked the Italian culture and the way the story was heading at the end, but that wasn't enough to make a good book. If you haven't read a lot of books in this genre, you'll love it. If you have, you will have read like 3-5 very similar books already.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Ching Shih and the Pirates of the South China Coast: Shifting Alliances, Strategy, and Reputational Racketeering at the Start of the 19th Century by Christopher McKenna, Charlie Harris

adventurous informative inspiring fast-paced

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