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mayhemreading's reviews
81 reviews
Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents: How to Heal from Distant, Rejecting, or Self-Involved Parents by Lindsay C. Gibson
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
4.0
The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America by Thomas King
challenging
dark
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang
challenging
dark
medium-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? Yes
4.75
This was such a good sci-fi / fantasy read! The world and magic system are super detailed and interesting. At some points in the story I literally had to get up on my feet from pure shock LOL.
The only thing keeping this from a 5 star is the writing style. Which was mostly very good but there is so. SO. Much. Dialogue. Everything is explained through dialogue which leads to conversations like this:
“Don’t you know about x?”
“No? What is that?”
“Pfft! Well it’s only the most important part of y and z. Do you understand?”
“Uh.. I guess I never learned that (because this knowledge gap is just so I can be a placement for the reader)”
“Well, let me explain then!”
That started to drive me crazy. It makes me feel like the author thinks I’m stupid and it caused the characters to sound immature. The beginning of the book did an amazing showing-not-telling world building but then turned into this.
Otherwise it’s a wonderful story that I will highly recommend!!
The only thing keeping this from a 5 star is the writing style. Which was mostly very good but there is so. SO. Much. Dialogue. Everything is explained through dialogue which leads to conversations like this:
“Don’t you know about x?”
“No? What is that?”
“Pfft! Well it’s only the most important part of y and z. Do you understand?”
“Uh.. I guess I never learned that (because this knowledge gap is just so I can be a placement for the reader)”
“Well, let me explain then!”
That started to drive me crazy. It makes me feel like the author thinks I’m stupid and it caused the characters to sound immature. The beginning of the book did an amazing showing-not-telling world building but then turned into this.
Otherwise it’s a wonderful story that I will highly recommend!!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Genocide, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation
Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
slow-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? Yes
4.0
I had so much fun with this!!! It was hard to put it down! It was so fun to predict where things were going.
However, this book was slooooww at times. There was a LOT of set ups to a LOT of failures. Some details had MAJOR payoff while other details had none..
I will also say that I typically have a hard time with battle scenes.. but Sanderson’s are very well written. I really slowed my reading down so I could imagine the scenes with the very thorough magic system.
Final note! The humour in this book was very marvel cinematic universe branded. Not my thing at all but maybe it’s yours!
I still can’t wait to drown myself in the comers!!
However, this book was slooooww at times. There was a LOT of set ups to a LOT of failures. Some details had MAJOR payoff while other details had none..
I will also say that I typically have a hard time with battle scenes.. but Sanderson’s are very well written. I really slowed my reading down so I could imagine the scenes with the very thorough magic system.
Final note! The humour in this book was very marvel cinematic universe branded. Not my thing at all but maybe it’s yours!
I still can’t wait to drown myself in the comers!!
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Did not slap as hard as the movies.
I listened to this because I never got to complete reading the series as a teenager. However the writing.. yikes. It felt like the story was written in bullet point format. Then we would get in depth dream like explanations when they were least wanted. *Minor spoiler* We are in 13s bunker for like 60% of the book.
The characters are still loveable. (I LOVE that Katniss is a total bitch!! I ENJOY it!!) The story still holds up after all this time. I can’t wait to watch the movies again.
I listened to this because I never got to complete reading the series as a teenager. However the writing.. yikes. It felt like the story was written in bullet point format. Then we would get in depth dream like explanations when they were least wanted. *Minor spoiler* We are in 13s bunker for like 60% of the book.
The characters are still loveable. (I LOVE that Katniss is a total bitch!! I ENJOY it!!) The story still holds up after all this time. I can’t wait to watch the movies again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug use, and Suicidal thoughts
Death's End by Cixin Liu
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell
dark
emotional
funny
informative
medium-paced
4.5
An essential read. Montell wants us to terminate use of the “thought terminating” name of “brainwashing” and instead focus on what really makes people commit to these causes: language. From Jonestown to CrossFit people seek asylum in groups and follow the language that aligns with their ideals. Montell highlights the patterns and business models of all degrees of cults and finishes it off with the perfect punch.
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews
emotional
funny
lighthearted
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Some of this book won’t age/isn’t aging well. But I laughed and I cried and it was stupid and beautiful.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer and Child death
Minor: Homophobia and Racism
Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
This story was very well researched and beautifully written. However, I do find a lot of the side stories and minor themes were left kind of “hanging” due to their broadness. Not very much happens at all and it mostly feels like a build up to the inevitable end.
I enjoyed this story, especially the writing style, but don’t feel it will leave a lasting impression on me.
I enjoyed this story, especially the writing style, but don’t feel it will leave a lasting impression on me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia and Lesbophobia