noclermi's reviews
62 reviews

1984 by George Orwell

Go to review page

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

4.5

Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim

Go to review page

adventurous lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

It was a fun book and pulled me out of my reading slump. Very middle grade to YA but the romance is very cute.
Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann

Go to review page

challenging informative sad medium-paced

4.5

The book is set up very well and informative about the Osage murders. The three act structure provided it with multiple views and rather than getting to know characters, we got to know the story which was what was needed to tell this type of story.

I liked the author’s final point of view at the end describing his own experience about researching the Osage murders and seeing what the effect of the murders are a few generations later.

Definitely a very important story to tell and told well.
To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods by Molly X. Chang

Go to review page

challenging dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The book tries to set up this fantastical world but mostly falls flat and info-dumps in large chunks throughout the pages. I feel like we were told to hate the Romans but it was never clear why the Romans colonised the Pangulings (until the last fifty or so pages). 

It felt like the plot was happening to Ruying and she let it happen? Her naivety makes up for most of the plot and monologues. The dialogue is also in large large chunks and spans multiple chapters sometimes. Lots of telling, not showing.

The character growth is sort of explained through Ruying’s internal monologue with her conflict about “being a coward” disappearing the more she trusts and believes Antony’s lies. Their romance was not it. It’s not a “coloniser romance” as some reviews claim but stockholm syndrome and she really believes everything he says. There wasn’t enough time to set up the romance other than heart flutters and glaces but otherwise had no substance.

Nonetheless, the plot is good and I’m looking forward to the other book(s).
Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: Mo Dao Zu Shi (Novel) Vol. 1 by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

Go to review page

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-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

4.75

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

Go to review page

dark mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Go to review page

adventurous challenging emotional 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 Girls I've Been by Tess Sharpe

Go to review page

adventurous mysterious tense fast-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

3.75

The book is pretty good. The pacing is done well and the style of writing is engaging. I liked the use of flashbacks and the different “girls”, but I feel like the concept would have worked a lot better and flowed smoother if Nora was in her twenties. Being a teenager made her feel out place. Iris’ character felt pointless and a little annoying at sometimes, but overall, it’s a good book.
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

Go to review page

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

4.0

this book is so sad, like, its written in shades of gray so everytime a new sad thing happen, you get sad too and when something not too sad (but still upsetting) happens, you're like, "that's not too bad, better than the other stuff" but then you pause and its like, they're 14-22, why is this happening to them oh my god... and you get so... depressed over it. very well written tho
These Violent Delights by Micah Nemerever

Go to review page

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0