blushinurcheeks's reviews
255 reviews

Stardust by Neil Gaiman

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adventurous lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

your name. by Makoto Shinkai

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

4.0

The Little Ghost Who Was a Quilt by Riel Nason

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Night Sky with Exit Wounds by Ocean Vuong

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emotional reflective medium-paced

5.0

The Hobbit: or There and Back Again by J.R.R. Tolkien

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adventurous
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

2.5

Mr Salary by Sally Rooney

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

3.5

Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney

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challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Emporium of Superstition: An Old Wives' Tale Anthology by Elle Beaumont

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Thank you so much Elle Beaumont and BookSirens for the ARC and the opportunity to review this book! As this is an anthology collection, I will be keeping my review focused on Beaumont’s story (One Last Breath). I did want to make a quick note and say that all of these stories are such a wild ride from start to finish and I throughly enjoyed reading this entire collection.

Now, focusing on One Last Breath.

While I did enjoy the story, the idea, and all the characters, I felt like this one was a little short compared to some of the other works. There was just something about it that seemed like the story was lacking something, to the point that when I finished it, I felt conflicted. I remember thinking “that’s it?” I’m guessing that I would’ve liked the story to be a tad longer so certain parts could be fleshed out more. I think particularly the final battle felt a little rushed to me. But the story idea was very cool. The mystery was very well done. Perhaps after the reveal of the cause of the murders, things ramped up a lot faster than I anticipated. I loved Misty and Iniya and their relationship. Maybe I’m just a sucker for love, but I would’ve loved to have seen them interact a little bit more (I’m a romantic and I love sapphics what can I say?). Overall I think if you’re looking for a quick mystery, One Last Breath is a great one to check out.

Thank you once again to Elle Beaumont and BookSirens!
Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall

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challenging informative medium-paced

4.5

Upstream: Selected Essays by Mary Oliver

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adventurous inspiring reflective relaxing medium-paced

4.5