rcsreads's reviews
720 reviews

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark

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challenging mysterious 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

3.0

Magical Boy, Volume 2 by The Kao

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring 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? It's complicated

4.5

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
George: A Magpie Memoir by Frieda Hughes

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slow-paced

2.0

I'm a big fan of corvids. They're incredibly intelligent and in 2050, if as Fox keeps telling me will happen, the pigeons do rise up and overthrow the humans I imagine they'll employ the corvids as their military strategists. There are however only so many times I can read that a bird jumped on someone's head before things get tedious!
I presume someone told Frieda Hughes that nature memoirs were the current big thing and she was short of cash so quickly edited together some old diary entries. There are several briefly mentioned life events in the background (particularly the deterioration of both her marriage and health) which could have been tied together with George's story to make for an interesting memoir but it's just: bird made mess; bird got wet; bird stole pastrami; oh look he's jumped on someone's head!  Then it descends into and then I bought a motorbike and some ducks and as a reader I got increasingly bored by the fact the fairly dull story of George was over and I was just getting pointless information!
Way too much faecal matter and not a lot else. 
Fear in the Blood: Tales from the Dark Lineages of the Weird by Mike Ashley

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

3.5

The Late Mrs. Willoughby by Claudia Gray

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

4.0

The Late Mrs Willoughby is the 2nd book in a series where the children of Elizabeth Bennett and Catherine Morland solve murders. Jonathan is super autistic, which I appreciate, but sadly Juliet is nowhere near as dramatic as her mother! I do love the detail that Catherine has grown up to be an author though, I'm imagining ghosts and smut!
Mr Willoughby's wife, who he only married for her money and now hates, is murdered and we have a lot of chat about how inappropriate it is to die in mixed company which is hilarious!
It's once again up to Jonathan and Juliet to help solve the crime and hopefully none of our favourite characters from Sense and Sensibility end up guilty! I did work out who did it well before the end, purely because the murderer wasn't suspicious enough, which was a bit disappointing as the mystery in the first book wasn't as obvious.
I really like how Gray remains very faithful to the personalities of Austen's original characters and her new ones fit believably into the world. I'm also enjoying the ongoing will they/won't they relationship between the young Mr Darcy and Miss Tilney.
Magical Boy Volume 1 by The Kao

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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? It's complicated

4.5

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

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challenging slow-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

4.0

The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson

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emotional informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

Ariki and the Island of Wonders by Nicola Davies, Nicola Kinnear

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adventurous tense 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? It's complicated

3.5

Astrid and the Space Cadets: Attack of the Snailiens! by Alex T. Smith

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adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I read this aloud for bedtime. Both children thought it was hilarious so it maybe wasn't the most restful choice! 
Nice short chapters and great illustrations, so a good one for them to read alone too.