zhaenya's reviews
34 reviews

challenging mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No

2.25

the story of elena gilbert and how the world seems to be revolving all around her. as a fan of the vampire diaries, the show, since i was a teen, this was kind of a nightmare to get through, not gonna lie. i found myself really disliking elena and her romance with stefan is the most uninteresting thing ever, and it's literally the focus of the book. at least damon is here! unsurprisingly, he was the best part of the whole thing, lurking in the shadows and messing with his brother, but then he started with his "give elena to me" and lost me there a little. everything in the book just happens so fast, it feels unearned.

the weirdest thing that i had to make myself get used to was katherine, how different they describe her here. i'm so used to her in the show (and i love her dearly), so it was weird reading about her here, i didn't exactly like it, maybe i'll have to get used to it even more. but then again, i disliked more things than i liked, unfortunately. even if i never watched the show, i would still think of this book as something ridiculous and not at all compelling. i'm determined to finish the whole series though, even if i have to power through it..

Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

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emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

saw the movie first and thought it was really cute, i was smiling for two hours straight, so i thought i needed to read this as soon as possible because alex and henry just wouldn't leave my mind. and i'm so glad i did because it was so much better than i expected (i still think the movie was cute but damn, how nice would it be if they made it into a mini series instead?). politics terrifies me, especially us politics because i'm not familiar with a lot of things, and the premise of the book/movie wasn't all that interesting to me, but this was actually such an easy read and didn't bother me at all, i just had a really nice time overall. i gave the movie a five star rating and the book is definitely better, like so much better, for a lot of different reasons, but it's not a five star book for me. i know, i know.. but it's different! it's just not something i would usually sit down and read for myself, and i don't think i would ever pick it up if it wasn't for the movie and how happy it made me after the shitty day i had. the book is so much better, as i already said, but i'm judging these two mediums a little differently, and it still was really enjoyable! <3 i'm a sucker for a happy ending, but i don't think i will ever come back to this book ever again

The Tailor by Leigh Bardugo

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dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

"it hurts, but i can bear it. because i am a doll, and a servant. because i am a pretty thing and a soldier all the same" oh my genya 🫂

Content Warnings

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

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adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.25

(started reading this right after finishing s&b s2) wow, i really just love grishaverse and everything in it. the netflix adaptation is great and did so many things right (and some things better) but i don't think i realized how much time was actually passing when i was watching the show. here, time really feels like it's moving, but unfortunately they didn't have the luxury to take their time in the show, things just had to keep going. in some cases it was a good thing, in others it really wasn't. i just can't believe it took me so long to actually sit down and finally start reading the books, it's about time.. i have this bad habit of watching movie/show adaptations first before looking for the original. but this time around, i think i don't regret waiting, if i read the books first i feel like i would be a little underwhelmed by some of the things but now the book just provided me more context and showed how things were originally. some things i didn't like, like alina having less agency in her choices (this one is a big one), mal wasn't as bad as everyone described him to be but maybe i just haven't seen all of it yet, so i guess we'll see how i feel about him by the end, i still find him quiet boring though; and some things i liked a lot more here, like having genya around more often and seeing her friendship with alina, and her actually talking about david, and baghra's interactions with the darkling too (now THAT i wish we could've seen in the show more), and just darkling being horrible, manipulative and scary in general, there's not enough of that in the show. other than that, very good! i can love and appreciate both at the same time now and that's exactly what i'm going to do!!

though it will never not be weird to me, as a native russian speaker, to see so many russian names and terms (often misused but that's not that big of a deal, it's a fantasy after all, it just makes me smile)

favorite chapter: 22, it was so satisfying to see alina take control of her own power and use it so save herself and mal, and not just using it but LIKING it, that's exactly what i love to see!

Content Warnings

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zhaenya's reviews 34 reviews

zhaenya's reviews
34 reviews