thoughtsontomes's reviews
778 reviews

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

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emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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

4.25

This book was a delight! Cozy with just enough stakes. While I enjoyed the romance, it wasn’t very romance heavy and I would have liked to see that develop just a bit more. This is what I mean when I say I want something cozy. 
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The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera

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emotional hopeful 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

3.75

This scifi story is about the love of folklore and storytelling and how that makes us human. While I found some of the characterizations, particularly of the villains, to be a bit one note, the themes were strong. 
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The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

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adventurous dark mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

I re-read this on audio and it was excellent. It was a great reminder for everything that was set up in this first installment that I had forgotten. 
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How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu

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dark emotional hopeful 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? Yes

5.0

This is in the same wheelhouse as Station Eleven, so if you liked that I would try this. Except instead of following the same characters, every chapter is a different POV across time during and following a pandemic. Some of the stories weave together closely and some more subtly but it is masterfully done.
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Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn

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

3.0

I can see why this is a popular book club book as it is theme-heavy and a challenging linguistic read at times. But, it definitely isn't for people who enjoy more character heavy reads.
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Come as You Are: The Surprising New Science That Will Transform Your Sex Life by Emily Nagoski

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informative medium-paced

3.5

While I do think this is very informative, it wasn't as informative for me as I was hoping because I ended up knowing most of the content that was in here. I also found the writing to be a bit repetitive, as she repeats herself a lot and summarizes both what is in the chapter ahead and then does the same at the end so I found myself skipping those bits. But there is a lot of helpful information in here, especially if you are someone new to the topic or trying to find verbage to talk to others about it. 
Fevered Star by Rebecca Roanhorse

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adventurous 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? Yes

4.5

I really enjoyed this second installment. It's a little below the first book, since the first book has this big set up and something you are obviously moving towards, but I really enjoy how this book expanded on the political machinations and the gods. 
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The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

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mysterious slow-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

3.0

The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow

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adventurous emotional hopeful tense 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

4.0

Kiss Her Once For Me by Alison Cochrun

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emotional funny hopeful 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

4.0

This is a queer reimagining of While You Were Sleeping where gal makes a deal with a guy to be fake engaged, not knowing that his sister is the woman she fell in love with in a whirlwind day a year ago. This is full of miscommunication but it makes sense for the characters, especially our main character with social anxiety. The writing is a little heavy handed on the music and pup culture references but I was willing to overlook it as that's a common thing in contemporary stories, as much as I hate it and think it dates the book. This is queer all around with lots of queer characters, discussions of non-traditional relationships, etc. I will say they probably could have left he demi-sexuality out as I'm not sure how well that worked for a character who falls in love with someone in a day and sleeps with them, as that's a little too magical, insta-love for my taste but otherwise the rep seems to be handled respectfully. I really fell in love with this little family and all of their dynamics with each other, and pulled for the relationship.
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