story_goblin's reviews
360 reviews

City of the Plague God by Sarwat Chadda

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adventurous funny mysterious reflective tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I really liked the idea of this story, but it just takes a really long time for things ti start happening.
The Final Strife by Saara El-Arifi

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adventurous challenging dark hopeful mysterious reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This book was very slow to start. I don't think I got truly invested in the characters, the main plot, OR the mystery element until roughly half to two-thirds of the way into the book. I was planning to give it 3 stars because I still really liked the idea of the book even if I felt like it was too slowly executed, but the last 3rd of the book was compelling enough to raise it to 3.75 stars.
Wrath of the Triple Goddess by Rick Riordan

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adventurous funny hopeful inspiring tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Nimona by ND Stevenson

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adventurous dark funny hopeful fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I’m really glad I finally read this. 💜
Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune

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challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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? It's complicated

4.5

Showcases pure joy in the face of extreme hate 💜

After the Hearing scene, I got nervous and expected to struggle through sections because the story’s villains are the exact type of people that make me the angriest. However, I should not have worried. For the entire rest of the book, joy firmly outweighs the hate and anger from the villains. 
Mirrored Heavens by Rebecca Roanhorse

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This trilogy was AMAZING- the scope of Wheel of Time/Cosmere, but more vibrant and diverse. When does the box set come out?? I mean, the audiobooks were fantastic with their full cast, but I’m eager to reread at my own pace/be able to flip back to reread things that become important later/etc. 
Homeland by R.A. Salvatore

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adventurous dark reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I don't think I loved it enough to read the entire ~40 book series, but I will probably finish the Dark Elf Trilogy.
Vicious by V.E. Schwab

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challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Humans cannot stop themselves from trying to rationalize everything. It’s amazing sometimes what conclusions they draw. (That’s about all I can say without spoilers.)

The writing style is a bit like Brandon Sanderson and Timothy Zahn mixed together?? It’s got Sanderson’s vivid action and Zahn’s philosophical-ness, I guess?
Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino

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emotional funny reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

At first, I really had trouble with this book. I expected to really relate to it considering I have struggled to fit in anywhere pretty much my whole life, but my childhood was extremely different from Adina’s and that was jarring to me. Once she graduated high school, I started really enjoying it. And then the ending left me… unsure again. I just don’t know how to feel about this book. I think she accomplished her goal, at least.
Calamity by Brandon Sanderson

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adventurous challenging dark funny hopeful 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? Yes

4.0

Overall, you can tell that this trilogy is some of Sanderson's earlier works- they're a little less refined, I think. The integration of his philosophies are a little clunkier.