zaiphon's reviews
153 reviews

Things We Never Got Over by Lucy Score

adventurous emotional funny sad tense slow-paced

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

2.5

I kept seeing this book pop up in recommendations, so thought I would give it a try. 
I did not like this. At all. 

1. The writing style
2. Slow start
3. Too long and too much fluff and filler and gaps and stretches of boring-ness
4. Dialogue was repetitive and didn't keep anything fresh - even when it tried to introduce new characters or new sub plots or to even built out/strengthen the current plot

I am not a fan of billionaire/ceo type romances and so fair warning that money is there to wrap up major problems to guide the story in another direction. 

It just felt cheesy and the characters felt so immature and nothing about this made me feel any type of way when reading it except "why", "I should really DNF this" "maybe that will be important later" (nothing was every that important later). 

If He Had Been with Me by Laura Nowlin

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.5

I originally rated this at 3 stars (3 for me is a solid, enjoyable story), but the more I think about it, I may change my rating to something higher.  The characters in "If He Had Been with Me" have never left my mind and the writing style of Laura Nowlin definitely left its mark. 

Even though the very first chapter sets the precedent for where this story will go, it left a spot in my mind where I thought that the worst that could happen didn't - and somehow this would get resolved. When it didn't, and when the events of the first chapter came back up in the journey of this novel, I definitely felt the emotion within the words.

Animal Farm by George Orwell

challenging dark informative fast-paced

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

3.5

Wanted to read a classic novel that I have never read before and settled with this one. 
I enjoyed this book and finding all the ways the animals and the farm were compared to the events of our world; both current and within history. 

The interesting aspect is how you can interpret the themes presented in more ways that one and it really makes you think a lot deeper about aspects of our life (political or societal). 

A great book club book or a book to discuss with others. 

The Gentleman's Guide to Getting Lucky by Mackenzi Lee

emotional funny fast-paced

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

4.0

Everything that I loved about the Gentleman's Guide to V&V is all included in this and I love that we got this extra segment. It was nice to visit Monty and Percy's world once again. 

The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

adventurous emotional hopeful 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? Yes

4.0

I truly enjoyed this book. It hit a soft spot as it reminded me of a lot of the book/other media I would consume on a regular basis back in high school. It had adventure, love, struggling with accepting yourself, and it was honestly a page turner. This book has elements of historical fiction, which I really liked that as an added bonus to the story. 

Monty, the character the book's POV is written in, is obnoxious, sarcastic, and at times largely problematic - but yet he was loveable and felt realistic and felt like a lot of things we all feel. 
I found myself laughing throughout the story as much as I felt emotional ties to the characters and that is a huge component of what made this a fun read. I definitely will re-read this again.

While I absolutely would love even more Monty POV shenanigans, I did feel satisfied with the ending and how the story wrapped up everything. 

They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera

dark emotional reflective sad 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? Yes

4.0

I really enjoyed the themes from this book and I think it hit a soft spot for me because of the difficult time I was going through at the time I finally finished this book. I started this book and dropped reading completely. When I picked it back up and finally was able to read it in full and finish it, it got me back into reading (so I may be a little biased with my thoughts on this book). 

I kept thinking, despite the title and despite what I know is probably going to happen, that somehow Mateo and Rufus will be fine. Somehow, they will find a way out of this. I think that feeling that I carried with me as I kept reading is really what drove the story deeper for me.

Playlist for the Dead by Michelle Falkoff

dark emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

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

4.0

Although I see there are a lot of mixed reviews on this and can understand why, I personally enjoyed this book and will most likely re-read it at least once more. 

The idea of combining a playlist to pair up with the sequence of events that is occurring throughout the novel was what drew me in (being a music lover myself and somewhat of a playlist enthusiast who feels the need to create playlists for all my favorite book/characters).

I get the idea that the resolutions most may be seeking from this book isn't what the book is focused on resolving at all. In fact, it sets up most of it's questions surrounding the characters in a way that the reader is intended to create their own resolution; their own idea of some darker concepts that is included in this book. 

I don't think we are meant to fully know why Hayden did it. I don't think we are meant to be able to read Hayden's mind completely. Sam constantly felt like the songs themselves would provide these clear answers, but the answers he was seeking was happening right in front of him. You never know or can possibly know everything someone was going through or why someone chooses to do things they do. But if you listen and pay attention to the things that may not obviously be staring you in the face, you may learn something. I am not sure if this book truly intended that message this way or it just accidentally did, but this reason alone is what made me enjoy this read.

Ramona Blue by Julie Murphy

emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-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

2.5

I tried to truly enjoy this book, but I felt this book built up many things and failed to fully deliver on lots of it. First, I don't feel there was enough character development for many of the characters, particularly Ramona. Because this is a very "coming of age and discovering your identify" novel, I felt disappointed that lots of opportunities to discuss lots of deep topics were just left untouched (or barely addressed). 

Ramona mentions throughout the novel how close she is with her sister and in fact is a main reason she prevents herself from moving forward in life - however the family drama is not fully or truly touched upon and Ramona has no real conversation with her sister. Instead, its all just random thoughts in her head that also just feel like half assessed and just feel silly that Ramona couldn't have faced her fears head on and that one fear is the way she puts herself in the role of her family and her sisters companion. Discovering her sexuality is also barely grazed upon and I feel the novel shifted from these topics to "let's see if Ramona ends up with the hero of the story.

 

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

One of those coming of age tales that challenged me to think. I found myself really seeing topics from Charlie's perspective and how they compared to mine.
Characters all grow on you and each character has a layer to them that adds to the story.

(planning on editing this review with more depth in a re-read)

Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust

adventurous medium-paced

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

3.0

I have a love/hate relationship with this book. 
On one hand, I found so much potential in the fantasy elements of this story and the persian inspired legends interwoven within the plot of the book. However, I felt that I would follow this pattern:
1. Get invested - get interested in a plot point/topic/scene
2. Jump down a notch, get boring, rush through character development and dialogue
<...Then rinse and repeat steps 1 and 2 over and over. 

There were some twists and turns, but some were pretty predictable. 

I did not like the romance elements of this book. The romance between Soraya and Parveneh seemed rushed and at times forced. The scene in the forest felt like it was put there to create spark and tension between the characters, but I didn't felt bought into it

BUT, despite the above, I did love the writing style. In fact, that is what kept me reading this book until the end. I would be very interested in reading more of Melissa Bashadoust's novels (crossing my fingers she has a fantasy series because her details and immersive writing deserves to flesh out characters and a series).