shiv91's reviews
1019 reviews

The Fork, the Witch, and the Worm by Christopher Paolini

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adventurous funny hopeful 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

4.0

Just wish it had been longer!
The Sunderland Vampire by Richard Valanga

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

1.5

Unfortunately, I didn't particularly enjoy this.

As a whole, it was an interesting story but it felt all over the places and there were a lot of errors. A few, I could ignore but with so many, it meant that there wasn't a very good flow as it put me off when I came across them.


Tag, You're Dead by Kathryn Foxfield

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

2.0

The only one who didn't irritate me in this was Erin. Charlotte made me cringe so much that I dreaded getting to her POV each time. Grayson was boring throughout. The ending of the book felt rushed as it didn't seem well planned out and was awkward. 

The main and side characters all seemed like they weren't good people, which made me not really care too much about what happened.

In saying that, I liked seeing all the possible motives for each person for killing Rose but it all felt so immature. Maybe if I had read this as a teenager, I would have enjoyed it more. 
The Locked Door by Freida McFadden

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

3.0

I saw a lot of good reviews for this so was intrigued about it but for me personally, it wasn't the best. 

The characters felt pretty flat to me, so I didn't really care about any of them (except for the cat). The idea of the book was interesting but it was predictable and nothing in it particularly stood out to me.

It's fast paced and it is entertaining, I just expected it to be better.
Morning Star by Pierce Brown

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

4.5

I'm really enjoying this series but it can be a bit repetitive at times.
Golden Son by Pierce Brown

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

5.0

My bloodydamn heart went through a lot with this one
If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio

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dark emotional 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? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I loved this book! At first, I thought the sheer amount of Shakespearean dialogue would be too much and would bother me (sometimes when people reference anything Shakespeare related it's done in an extremely boring way) but I found that it really flowed so well and probably would have been weird without it.

It was a real page turner and I felt like I was the detective there listening to Oliver's story. An emotional and harrowing read.
Parasyte Full Color Collection 1 by Hitoshi Iwaaki

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

5.0

This was a wild ride from start to finish. Did not expect to like it so, imagine my surprise when I realised that I love it. I've never really given Manga a proper chance before, but I thought this was weird and great. Can't wait to see what happens next. 
Surviving Her by Jo Johnson

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

4.5

Surviving Me by Jo Johnson

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A nicely thought out and well written book. It was a nice change reading something relating to mental health that wasn't overly clinical but still informative. 

As someone with mental health problems myself, I often find people who don't have any, play them down or judge people with them very harshly. Obviously it's hard to understand something you don't have but empathy goes a long way with any illness.

 Men, in particular, are often told things like "man up" or that it somehow makes them less of a man to have any kind of mental illness, let alone be open about it.

The story itself was interesting and I found myself quite invested with the characters. Looking forward to reading more from this author.