jkpiowa's reviews
696 reviews

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

And Shall Machines Surrender by Benjanun Sriduangkaew

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.5

This was a weird one. The story was interesting, but the authors uses SAT words constantly, to the point of distraction. The book didn't know if it was a romantic suspense, science fiction, murder mystery, or all of the above. Towards the end I looked up the author and found some troubling accusations, not sure what to make of those.

Nemesis Games by James S.A. Corey

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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

5.0

The Darkness That Comes Before by R. Scott Bakker

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adventurous dark tense slow-paced

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

2.5

The authors relies on old tropes that are done better elsewhere. His writing is verbose, with nonstop metaphors and analogies. The plot is interesting, moves SO slowly.

There are 3 women in this story: a mother, a sex worker, and a slave. All are sexually and physically assaulted constantly.

Content Warnings

Daddy Issues: Love and Hate in the Time of Patriarchy by Katherine Angel

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challenging informative reflective

1.5

There were no really new ideas here, just a discussion of ideas that have already been put forward by other people. There were some interesting and thought provoking lines, but overall I thought the author's obsession with thinking all fathers want to screw their daughters a little weird.

Cibola Burn by James S.A. Corey

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced