just_an_avocado's reviews
265 reviews

Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor

Go to review page

5.0

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad slow-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

Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Go to review page

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

4.0

Girl A by Abigail Dean

Go to review page

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

4.0

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

Go to review page

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious slow-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

The Starless Sea has to be my favorite book of all time! It is the most masterful example of a book about stories. Our main character Zack is in grad school and wanders into the library one day, picks up a book of stories and finds one about himself, after which he is whisked into a mystical realm of mystery and magic and mythology. Erin Morgenstern has such a way with words. She is the most exceptional writer of this generation that I’ve read from! This book is so unique and whimsical and enchanting. I want everyone to read it, just try it. Not everyone will love it (it’s too obscure to appeal to everyone), but when the right person finds it, they will be forever changed- just like I was. This was one of those books that left me in awe, that made me sit back and think: Oh, so that’s what a book can be. That’s what a story can do. This is what literature is for. It’s for changing lives and minds. It’s for changing people. And that’s what this book did. It changed me. And I can’t wait to read it again and discover myself all over again. 
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Go to review page

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This book feels like a dream. It feels like one of those dreams that are so immersive they feel more real than the waking world. It is a dream that makes you forget your reality, and when you wake up and realize this fantasy of whimsy and magic was all fiction and imagination, you are overwhelmed with disappointment.
I understand why so many readers call The Night Circus one of their favorite books. The writing is beautiful, enchanting, and lush. The story is unique and mysterious and brimming with beautifully tragic characters and events. Lastly, of course, is the Night Circus itself. Never before have I been so entranced by a book’s setting. I found myself wishing countless times throughout the novel that I could attend this circus, that the Night Circus was a tangible place that could be touched and seen and smelled with the senses, rather than simply the imagination. I even sometimes felt inexplicably sad when I realized this was not the case. This is one of the few, non-classic novels I have read that I can call literature, in the way some movies must be called cinema. Mesmerizing!
Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Go to review page

emotional sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional inspiring 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

This book was amazing! I liked the exploration of grief, love, and moving on. The characters! The nostalgia! Immaculate! Narratively, it was not perfect. I am under zero delusions that this was a flawless conclusion. It could have had better conflict resolution and the ending definitely felt slightly rushed. But, I left feeling satisfied, which is the best thing a conclusion can accomplish. There were many squeals (especially when CERTAIN CHARACTERS had cameos), numerous gasps, and an occasional “AWWWW!” I loved this book. Objectively, maybe it was a 4 star. But emotionally, as a longtime fan of this world and these characters, as a reader who loves those moments that bring on that sweet sensation of gratification and nostalgia found only in very few, very special novels, I loved this book. It wasn’t perfect, but it gave me everything I wanted from it and more.
The Serpent's Curse by Lisa Maxwell

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious slow-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

The Devil's Thief by Lisa Maxwell

Go to review page

adventurous mysterious tense slow-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