sagareads's reviews
167 reviews

The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong

Go to review page

adventurous emotional funny hopeful reflective
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

Rules for Ghosting by Shelly Jay Shore

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful reflective
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Avatar: The Last Airbender - Ashes of the Academy by Bryan Konietzko, Michael Dante DiMartino, Faith Erin Hicks

Go to review page

adventurous hopeful tense
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

Full Speed to a Crash Landing by Beth Revis

Go to review page

adventurous funny lighthearted tense
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

Would have given it a sold 4.5 if I didn't have to sit through a good five minutes (audiobook) of the main character explaining the clever scheme she'd just pulled off as if I hadn't been reading and following the plot the whole time. Also, fair warning, the final section is the male lead's written incident report with footnotes, which does not work well in audiobook format.

I will say, I did enjoy realizing, after initially feeling annoyed by Ada's insistent focus on how sexy Rian was, that she had a solid reason to fixate on a sexy man: she'd chosen to seduce him to distract him from her plans (and for fun). I thought that was a fun little play on the whole "why is the MC staring soulfully into this stranger's eyes instead of dealing with the life-or-death plot" experience, to have a main character deliberately appear shallow and infatuated to draw attention away from her practical actions. Playing into that, I liked Ada as a narrator who is clearly deliberately shaping the way her story comes off -- building suspense, charming and distracting her audience, painting herself in the best light.
Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

4.75

How to Summon a Fairy Godmother by Laura J. Mayo

Go to review page

Did not finish book. Stopped at 4%.
The characters' actions and reactions quickly went from false to cartoonish, but without enough depth or wit to make this comic fantasy actually funny. Beyond that, the really strong, immediate turn-off for me was the monotonous writing. Every sentence had the same detached, ironic tone, leaving me with the impression that the main character didn't care about what was happening, or really feel anything beyond vague annoyance that her outfit was ugly.
The Village Library Demon-Hunting Society by C.M. Waggoner

Go to review page

adventurous dark funny hopeful mysterious tense
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Divine Mortals by Amanda M. Helander

Go to review page

  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Sorcery and Small Magics by Maiga Doocy

Go to review page

adventurous emotional funny hopeful tense
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

The Color of Revenge by Cornelia Funke

Go to review page

adventurous hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Beautifully crafted, like all the Inkworld books, but I struggled to get very emotionally invested or engaged in reading until near the end.