earlygrey's reviews
302 reviews

Dance Upon the Air by Nora Roberts

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emotional hopeful medium-paced

2.5

Catalina by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio

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emotional reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

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fast-paced

3.5

Jack of Spades by Joyce Carol Oates

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dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character

2.75

The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin

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medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.5

The Lottery and Other Stories by Shirley Jackson

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dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

The Days of Abandonment by Elena Ferrante

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dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes

4.5

The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo

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tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.0

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

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dark mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.25

Chlorine by Jade Song

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dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

I'd give the first half of this novel 2 stars and the second half 4 stars. The writing style didn't work for me--it felt YA but also detached--and I found the romance unconvincing. But the second half focused more on the narrator's state of mind and transformation, which was much more interesting and in which the detached narration actually paid off. I almost DNF, but I'm glad I stuck it out until the end.