suvissiin's reviews
148 reviews

When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill

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

3.5

A story of empowering femininity  following a young woman’s coming of age story in a society and family being distrupted and challenged by dragoning of women. The best part of this book for me was the moving  relationship between the main character and her sister, and how much the love they had for each other was felt in the page. I also enjoyed the lyrical writing style in the book. What I had problems with where the illogicality of many aspects in the book, even though the book tried to paint it in a realistic light. The dragons are bulletproof and can travel through space, but the US government is not interested at all, not to talk about areas Europe or Oceania where women had more equality in the time period not being mentioned. Even if this all could be excused that the story is for the narrative, the ”research” parts felt very lacking and shallow. And why are the dragons anthropomorphic? All in all this book seems to try to use dragons as symbolism in the story and the society of the main character, but in the end they felt really disconnected, unfinished and overall disappointing
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

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hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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

4.5

Such a lovely, hopeful, and happy book that was such a heartwarming  experience in ways that are hard to describe. I had never read this book as a child and apparently there are movie adaptations too I’ve never heard about. Nevertheless the magical realism with the mystery and secrecy were really compelling combined with the vivid description of the nature. What kind of stood out from the beautifullness of the book was its age. Many instances of describing India were uncomfortable or upright terrible, which is not a surprise for a book written in England in the 1910s. Also, the book’s main character, Mary, fades into the background near the end of the book where the book starts to focus on Colin and his relationship with his self-image and his father, which is disappointing, especially since is such a strong character.
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House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

The premise and the worldbuilding of this book is beautiful from it’s mysterious, dark and rotten magic  surrounding the main characters. Where the book falls short is the main characters, the main character Iris has little to no personality apart from wanting to be like her sister and constantly doubting herself. Tyler’s character was also insufferably flat (I’m hot and have an attitude) even though the writer tried to give them more depth with the backstory. The plot started interesting but was dragged out for so long because the magical sisters were fighting against the thought of magic being real for most of the book… The end just tied few remaining questions together, but other than that it was mostly lukewarm.
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

What can I say, a beautiful gothic romance and Brontë sisters have such compelling storytelling. From dramatic characters to the ever changing moors I really loved the haunting story touching in themes of cast, feminism and marriage. There are so many things I could say about this book, not all good either, but viewing from the context it was written, I cannot give it less than 5 stars.
The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton

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adventurous emotional funny fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Absolutely loved this book. A victorian rom-com that is so refreshing; through its witty and sarcastical humor, feminist stance, and of course beautifully dangerous but oh so propper lady pirates, their flying mansions and their thievery. The romance was also juicy and funny from the start. The paraphrasing and quoting of victorian literature and poetry, especially the quest for Brontë was so appropriate and fun in the book. If I would point something I didn’t enjoy was the love interest getting the mc drunk without their consent, not only once but almost twice? Also there are some mild colonial mindset takes in the book but it fits the era, and the author is from a colonized country themselves so I’ll keep the trust it’s not with bad intent. The sub-plot aroud the romance is also at parts weak but since this book is a comedy it perfectly fits the genre where the plot is just a means for a punchline. I still give this book 5 stars for it’s absolute hilariousness and cleverness that’s unlike anything I’ve ever read before, and I can’t wait to read more of India Holton’s work.
Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

 This book fits well in any basic YA fantasy YA: a mediocre main character that might not be that mediocre after all thrust in a new world where she has to survive. I enjoyed the worldbuilding and the magic system in the book, it was easy to learn but not too simple. The atmosphere of the city and all its secrecy and history was gripping.  I also appreciated the LGBTQ+ representation in the book. The characters themselves turned out to be pretty flat: the street gang boss is really just a sweetheart with a smirk and a gambling problem and the main character is in a perpetual state of either almost crying or feeling nothing. The descripting was also very repetitive in parts, not only did the book constantly remind us how the characters were feeling (the same thoughts as before) but also didn’t leave a lot of room for subtlelty or reading between the lines. It was always ”she did this therefore she felt like this”. Only exception is the romance where first they of course think that there could be no attraction between them to then just saying ”I should go” every time they get closer. I do appreciate the attempt at slow burn, but it’s not burning enough for me to care to read the rest of the series.
Under the Udala Trees by Chinelo Okparanta

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

A beautiful and heartwrenching story of Ijeoma, from her coming of age from the Nigerian civil war to her adulthood.  The conflicts between her mother, religion, Nigerian society, and her sexuality intertwined between stories from the bible, Nigerian folktales, and the udala trees paint and reflect on Ijeoma’s journey as she finds her place as a woman belonging to the LGBTQIA+ community in religiously rigid Nigerian society
Bag of Bones by Stephen King

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

The haunted summer cabin is the perfect setup for a July read. I liked how the paranormal elements started building and intensifying from the very beginning, but I was left cold by the climax and didn’t really feel like it measured up to the buildup. Didn’t really like any of the characters, nor the love (lust?) story between the main character and the love interest
especially since even according to the book Maddie was barely older than a minor even though I know that King has said that his goal was to write an ethically dubious main ”hero”. 

Didn’t like the portayal of the poc in the book either. For a Stephen King novel this is one of the least likable for me, but I enjoyed the beginning enough to rate it mediocre 3/5
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Stardust by Neil Gaiman

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adventurous emotional tense fast-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? No

4.25

Wonderfully captivating adult fantasy, with all the best bits of fairytales while still being unique. I really enjoyed the narration by Neil Gaiman as well.
Sunrise by the Sea by Jenny Colgan

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hopeful lighthearted relaxing fast-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

3.5

Nice and light romantic read that has all the comfy tropes of family and food and a quaint new neighbourhood. The plot was a bit fractured and was not a fan of some of the tropes used i.e. miscommunication and evil ex girlfriend but other than that I enjoyed the read