pepper_mind's reviews
341 reviews

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo

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emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Dead By Dusk by E.C. Hill

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dark emotional sad tense fast-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

3.5

This thriller is about a group of people, who found themselves with no memories in a cabin in the woods and no way to escape murderous enemies.
While still on the run and being hunted every minute, they have to figure out what happened and form a story out of tiny slivers of memory.

What I liked
I loved how the novel started quickly and the action started immediately without taking too long to build.
Silene was a great main character, actually badass and good at fighting. It happens so often that main characters say to be good at fighting and then aren’t, but not in this case.
This, the short chapters and the constant new questions kept me reading. The tension was high throughout the whole novel. Even the romance was integrated smoothly without slowing down the thriller aspect.

What I didn't like
The writing wasn’t quite for me. It felt inconsistent and confusing, switching from blunt and harsh like the main character to overly metaphorical and flowery in the same paragraph. It also slowed down the action scenes with sentences that were too long.
I was also a little disappointed by a revelation about the main character’s past. That comes totally down to preference but I don’t like that specific trope as a motivator for a female main character.
I won’t mention it because it spoils the whole story. It’s a very niche thing I don’t like, so don’t worry about it.

Last words
This debut thriller was a fun time. I had so many questions throughout, wondering who the one keeping secrets was. I had a feeling about one character and was right in the end. That was a lot of fun!
I would recommend this novel if you are looking for an easy-to-read thriller with lots of action, romance and a big mystery, to read over a weekend.

Content Warnings

City of Strife by Claudie Arseneault

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious 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

Bickering merchant families, eccentric shows of wealth and brutal trading wars. Unspoken rules regulate the battles in the city of Isandor, but when an idealistic elven lord provokes the powerful Myrian Empire, all bets are off.
Nobles and commoners alike must fight to preserve their homes, even if the struggle shatters friendships, destroys alliances, and changes them irrevocably.

What I liked
I did not want this book to end. You know, this little pain, when you know you can't stay in the world forever? Yes, that feeling. It was so queer, with so much found family, and a strong friendship theme: a blanket in front of a welcoming fireplace. Only there also was politics, intrigue, magic, high stakes, elves, humans and wizards in a city of bridges and towers.
The writing was readable in the best way (it flew by without effort). The world-building was done great and it did not feel info-dumpy to me, even when we needed more information. The characters and their struggles made it real and plausible to me.

What I didn't like as much
Personally, and this comes down to preference, I didn't like that the sexuality and identity of every character had to be mentioned and discussed. Sometimes it's necessary to let people know. But sometimes it felt like a hard stop, not seamlessly integrated into the story. I would have liked to guess more and discover it through the character’s relationships or actions, not in a one-sentence inner thought.
The novel also dipped at the midpoint and slowed down too much for my preference. But it didn't last long and it was alright to read through until it picked up again (and oh, did it pick up!)

Final words
I ordered book two while still reading book one and since I finished it, I can’t stop thinking about it. The world, the character, their struggles. I want to be back there!
If you want Six of Crows’ city vibes, made more queer, with massive aromantic/asexual representation and exploration of friendship, while also having intrigue, noble houses, wizards, elves and murder, this is for you!

Alien: Out of the Shadows by Dirk Maggs, Tim Lebbon

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adventurous dark fast-paced