jkpiowa's reviews
696 reviews

Babylon's Ashes by James S.A. Corey

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

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

4.0

Both main characters are kind of awful, but I didn't despise them and I enjoyed the story quite a bit. I will probably pick up the second book and see if I like it as much. It did seem a bit longer than necessary. 
The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

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emotional lighthearted 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

3.75

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The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
This is WEIRD. Personally I read it as a analogue to queerness and "coming out", but it seems critique of this story is very undecided over what exactly Kafka was trying to explain. Regardless, it is sad, complex, and weird. 
Ejaculate Responsibly: A Whole New Way to Think About Abortion by Gabrielle Stanley Blair

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challenging informative reflective
Some good information and some good arguments. A little simplified, but that is probably intentional for the audience the author is targeting. 
Beefcakes by Katana Collins

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 15%.
Not for me. There is an intro "I bet you're wondering how I got here..." monologue which felt lazy. And some lines were just not written well. 
Ancients by Kathryn Moon

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
I enjoy the plot of this series, and this installment was very action-packed. But I have realized since I started the series that I am a closed-door romance person, and this is very, very steamy. If rating based on plot and overall writing, 4/5. If rating the book/series as it is written, 2/5 maybe? I am not going to rate because it wasn't written for someone who doesn't like a very steamy book.
This one contains a pregnancy, which is very not my thing.
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A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf

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challenging informative reflective slow-paced
Woolf has a style of writing that is extremely stream-of-consciousness, which isn't for everyone. Lots of tangents and run-off ideas that she brings back around to incorporate into her argument. It can be a bit repetitive. 

The content of this is good though. Her thesis is that in order to succeed in an artistic endeavor like writing, a woman needs time, space, and income. She can't be a busy mother, she can't need to work for a living, and she can't be controlled by a spouse as property without her own agency. 

Based on the time this was written (1928), it's great. Looking at it through a modern lens brings up some questions of racism and intersectionality. 
Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 51%.
I know this is YA, but I just couldn't stand how much of an entitled beat the main female character was. 
Funny Story by Emily Henry

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emotional funny lighthearted 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

I laughed constantly throughout, and read this from start to finish in 7 hours nonstop (I took a personal day). As always, Emily Henry writes characters and family dynamics like no one else. This is exactly the type of romance I love, with similar vibes to Book Lovers, which I also gave 5 stars. 
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