pastelhellion's reviews
132 reviews

Jungle House by Julianne Pachico

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.75

A beautiful book about humanity, the subconscious, free will, environmentalism, colonialism, capitalism and love. Lena's relationships with Mother, Anton, and the jungle were both so wonderful to read. 
What You Are Looking for Is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing 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? No

4.5

If you enjoyed "Before the Coffee gets cold", you'll adore this. This book is about human connection, how our lives intersect, finding meaning and love in even the smallest thing. Loved it. 
Little Eyes by Samanta Schweblin

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dark hopeful mysterious reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.5

So enthralling, and hooked me from the first sentence. We follow the actions of several kentuki dwellers and keepers, and the consequences of welcoming kentukis into their lives. 

A great exercise into human depravity, kindness and connection.
Sheep's Clothing by Celia Dale

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

3.75

Dale makes the characters so grounded in reality, and their crimes are so common-place they feel even more real. Sad, you have an idea of how its going to end but you're left with enough hope that it'll all work out. 
A Helping Hand by Celia Dale

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

4.75

Amazingly crafted. A tale of habitual elder abuse, at its core. What makes it so insidious is that you can see how easy and how prevalent the acts in the book can be. Unnerving and unsettling. 

Hooked from page one, and I was not expecting that small twist at the ending! Could have been more fleshed out in places, but altogether a great read. 
The Centre by Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi

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

3.75

An interesting read. I really enjoyed the premise, but was left wanting more - although the ending was the right choice. The protagonist is at times deeply unlikable - a bit of a spoilt brat with a victim complex but I did relate to some of her experiences of womanhood. However at times it felt like the protagonist (and author tbh) were trying to provide a reflection on morality and privilege, but it was...clunky. Still, a good read!
Sentenced to Murder by Sue Minix

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funny 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? It's complicated

3.25

I was so looking forward to seeing how the skeleton from book 4 would come into play here! Cozy and a fun read, but the ending felt rushed and fell flat for me. Honestly wish it had another 50 or so pages to flesh it out or focus less on some less important clues. Still an enjoyable read but not amazing.
The Voyeur by Alain Robbe-Grillet

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challenging dark mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

This book is so obtuse that it takes away any enjoyment of the plot. However this is a fantastic example of an unreliable narrator, and/or a character consumed by guilt and spiralling into madness and anxiety. There were some sections that I really enjoyed but it was such a slog to get to them and then they were very brief.
My Husband by Maud Ventura

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dark funny mysterious tense 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

4.75

Truly, they matched each others' freak.


Amazing, the main character is so obsessed with her husband I can't even quantify the lengths she goes to. We follow her and her husband across the events of a week - and what a week it is. Seriously, read it.
Hard Copy: A Story of Girl Meets Printer by Fien Veldman

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funny mysterious reflective slow-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? It's complicated

4.0

Girl (autistic) trues to navigate her way through working in an office, neuroses and past trauma, and falls in love with her printer. The printer reciprocates. Not as wacky as I would have liked, and I wish some sub-plots were further explored - but I really enjoyed this.