sandaru's reviews
191 reviews

Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke by Eric LaRocca

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

3.75

What a weird story.

I had an idea of what I was getting into before I started the book, but I did not expect that to be this eccentrically weird. 
Usually, in relationships, we see one toxic partner and one normal partner, OR if they are both toxic, the toxicity would not be on the same level. Still, my god, the toxicity of these characters was out of this world.
However, this was a very short, interesting read. Written in the formats of e-mails or text messages, it was really easy to get through, and the book itself is a very short one. Nothing was complex in the language used, but the story kept getting worse (in a good way!)

The ending was predicted initially, but you only realize the answer to "how" around 80% into the book.
Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami

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

2.0

Wasn't my favourite of Murakami's novels. I know people think this is the best if not one of the best of his works but the story was quite boring and complexed for me. 
The White Book by Han Kang

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

4.75

I had no idea I would be starting the year with such a good read. This is definitely one of the best books I have read so far. Written around the color white, Han Kang talks about her sisters premature death through these white elements such as snow, time, salt, moon, ice..etc. The grief, the guilt of being born in the place of her sister, the loss are deeply but very lyrically discussed. If you read this you will feel all these feelings through the elements or the subjects of her small prose-poetry (the format is between the prose and poetry, I do not know which one this should fall under) It's amazing how a colour could speak such emotions out. I am definitely up to a great start this year. 
The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 24%.
I think I could have finished this if I gave it more time and peace but it's so slow I gave in after having this in progress for months. I would may be re-read this again but I know the ending already so no promises there.
Diary of a Void by Emi Yagi

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challenging sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

3.5

Took me a long time to finish this despite this being a short audiobook. The reason being thee narrator was also super slow and dragging the voice in a wierd way, if I listened to this before I go to sleep all those days I would fall asleep 😅 
However, the message was loud and clear and the imagery of the void (womb without a child) was nicely written. The starting was great but towards later it was so confusing and slow and unbearable at some points. Not the best audiobook but definitely not the worst as well. Just mediocre I would say. 
The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien

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

3.25

The continuous reading from The Fellowship of the Ring...

Writing style is so slow paced and unnecessary details or descriptions. Not the best of the series.
The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

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adventurous mysterious 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? No

4.5

I prefer The Hobbit's storytelling style over The FOTR. The tone in this story is more poignant and descriptive than The Hobbit's. It is probably because that was more towards children whilst the sequel is for adult readers? Also I think I have seen the Percy Jackson movie too many times now that the paces were a little bit slower for my taste. No wonder it's over 500 pages. Needless to say though I loved reading this book as much as I loved the movie. The whole world building and the immersion is beyond any other story. It's like a whole new world. I have seen only 2 other authors doing that (according to my taste) G.R.R.M. with the Game of Thrones and Rowling with the HP world.
The Christmas Pig by J.K. Rowling

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

5.0

One word to describe this book: precious.
I could see why Rowling wrote a story like Harry Potter. Eventhough this one is a middle grade book, this is by far my favourite book of the year. And I am glad I read it around Christmas this year. 
It was so creative, immersive and entertaining as an audiobook. I loved the characters she created and the plotline too. Bawled my eyes out towards the end but the ending I could not have imagined being more prefect than it is. Left me thinking was it all a dream or a real story. Whichever the way you interpret I guess, would not matter. As a child this would have been an awesome read. Not just for children, it is perfect for a full grown adult like myself as well.
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

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adventurous emotional funny relaxing 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? No

5.0

I have watched The Hobbit movie over 10 folds as many since I was a kid yet it took me so long to actually read the book. The story is much simpler in terms of character development and dramatic storyline-eise, but Tolkien's writing is so precious and refreshing. I was giggling and nodding my head whole throughout. In the earlier chaptersbhe would give small spoilers or details about incidents in the latter part of the story in playful ways. There are only a few authors whose storytelling element I have thoroughly enjoyed so far like Rowling, Murakami etc. And Tokien is definitely up there in that list. 
The Secret History by Donna Tartt

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

1.0

This was an excruciatingly slow read. I had high hopes for this regardless dark academia is not my thing. The reviews I read on this was that the story is gripping and mind-blowing regardless the killer was named in the first sentence it self. However, the storyline was too slow for me to be interested in.