books_and_cream_cheese's reviews
154 reviews

Sheets by Brenna Thummler

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted 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? It's complicated

4.0

This was so cute! I've never read a graphic novel before and I'm glad this was my first. The ghosts were adorable and the art style was beautiful all around. 

Storywise, it's definitely more of a children's book, but the messages about grief and friendship felt honest and heartwarming. 
Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 103%.
1. About 250 pages too long. Why is there nothing important happening for 4 chapters in a row? 

2. Y.T. and Hiro are basically the same person. Very tough, very skilled, very clever. Why make Y.T. a sixteen-year-old girl and the let her act like she's thirty? Don't understand. 

3. Forget Snow Crash, the stupid drug, the metaverse is so much more interesting! Pleeeeease give me more of that!

4. The metaphors. Especially in the first chapter - I think they're supposed to be edgy and cool, but BOY, the cringe... 

BUUUUT

1. Great social commentary. The capitalist critique in here is still very relevant today, even 30 years later. 

2. The world and the metaverse itself are so interesting - I think they should've been the focus of the book.

All in all... don't regret reading it, don't regret dnf-ing it. And... if our boi Mark Zuckerberg read this, we should all be worried.
The Friendship Cure by Kate Leaver

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 29%.
I didn't put this book aside because I think it's bad - it just isn't what I was looking for. I'm searching for a book that gives me practical tips on how to reconnect with friends that I kind of lost touch with during those isolated covid times and how to keep meaningful connections with people who moved to other cities. 

This book celebrates and describes different types of friendships and explores it from different angles - but honestly, all those descriptions of heartwarming best-friend-stories just made me jealous and left me with the burning question how those people achieved and maintained those incredible bonds. After almost 100 pages, no advice was given and no question answered. 
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective 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

5.0

Unexpectedly the perfect book for Christmas! Cozy, warm-hearted and whimsical, this is the perfect story to read when the world is grey. One of my new favourite books now. The almost 500 pages flew by - I'll definitely read more from T.J. Klune! 
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

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

4.5

My favourite childhood classic! Although some parts haven't aged very well, this story has a special place in my heart. 
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In at the Deep End by Kate Davies

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adventurous dark emotional funny informative reflective 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

5.0

Yes! This might be my favourite romance novel now. A marvellous depiction of a controlling relationship, written so intense yet funny that I didn't want to stop reading. Also - very, very filthy.
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In the Labyrinth of Drakes by Marie Brennan

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

2.5

Well... this was a pain to get through. The story felt a bit scattered, there were things happening that didn't really move the overall plot forward and then, suddenly, NOTHING happend for a trillion pages - until the very last chapters. The ending was GREAT, I give it that. 

Unfortunately, the pacing in this book varied immensely - a problem the last books have as well. One thing I also noticed was the strange execution of build up to certain important situations. In this book in particular, you wait for something to happen, you know it'll come, but Brennan lets you wait for so long that you drop your excitement and expectation for it. And then - 50 pages or so later - it does happen but it's so all-of-sudden-out-of-nowhere that it has none of the emotional impact it should've had. The (probably intentional) choice to reveal very little about the sentiments and feelings of Isabella that don't regard dragons or her scientific work ruin a lot of the emotional moments, in my opinion. 

Sooo... yeah. A bit underwhelming, all in all. Since I have the last book on the series already on my shelf, I will read it, but I'm unfortunately getting more and more disappointed. 
Die Königsmalerin by Nina Blazon

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adventurous dark emotional informative reflective tense medium-paced

5.0

Als ich jünger war, war das mein absolutes Lieblingsbuch - jetzt, über 10 Jahre später, habe ich es noch einmal gelesen. Ich bin überrascht, wie sehr die Geschichte mich auch als Erwachsene noch bewegt. Man merkt, dass dieses Buch eher an Jugendliche gerichtet ist, doch die kontinuierliche Spannung und die lebendigen Charaktere lassen dich bis zum Ende nicht los. Blazon schreckt nicht vor gravierenden Themen wie z.B. die der spanischen Inquisition oder die Rolle der Frau im 16. Jh., zurück und schafft es, sie eindringlich, aber "jugend-gerecht" zu vermitteln. 

Ein großartiges Buch, das ich nicht das letzte Mal gelesen haben werde. 
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The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Although I could guess quickly where the story might be going, I was not prepared for the intensity of it. Matt Haig created a masterpiece - I was completely immersed in the world he created.  Although the story confronted some heavy topics, he manages to lay them out in a way that hits and hugs you at the same time. The only thing that I would've like to be discussed more is the situation of privilege the protagonist was born into in the first place and how it affected her current and possible other lives. 
The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton

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adventurous dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.5

"Mysterious investigation stories on ships" might be one of my new favourite genres now - this was so, so good! As with Turtons first book, I couldn't put it down, missing my stop on the train on more than one occasion. However, similar to my reading experience with his debut novel, the ending was the only part where I stumbled. I hated it, then liked it, then despised it, then was ok with it - and as of right now, I'm unsure. Either way, I can't wait for his next book!