thesummerstorms's reviews
724 reviews

The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon

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

5.0

A House With Good Bones by T. Kingfisher

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dark mysterious 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? No

5.0

If You Could See the Sun by Ann Liang

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-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

4.75

Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan

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  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.5

Heart of the Sun Warrior by Sue Lynn Tan

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  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No

3.0

Aquicorn Cove by K. O'Neill

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.75

Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber

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adventurous mysterious
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

The admittedly charming prose got buried under the melodrama and an ocean of second hand embarrassment. 

Mysterious jerk of a boy is cruel but intriguing to a Unusual orphaned protagonist with hidden importance. The story felt vaguely glitzy- when I wasn’t wincing- but the characters felt shallow and hard to care about.

Definitely not my cup of tea.
Her Majesty's Royal Coven by Juno Dawson

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adventurous challenging dark emotional
  • 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? Yes

4.0

I had a really hard time getting into this book at first, but once it clicked, it clicked. It became a couldn’t-put-down at that point.

and the BEE on the cover had me cackling once I read far enough to realize what was up!
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
In the Ravenous Dark by A.M. Strickland

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adventurous dark
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.75

This book had a really fascinating concept, and I was so excited for the ace & poly rep. However, I found the plot predictable, the relationships underdeveloped/too quickly developed, and the narrator’s volatility/lack of impulse control/bravado aggravating. There’s some kernels of a really interesting story here, but I just feel like the concept could have been done better.
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

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adventurous slow-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

0.5

If I hadn’t been reading this book with my students, it would have been a hard DNF. The repetition of the narration alone is enough to drive you insane, but ultimately the book is boring. You wouldn’t think it would be given the plot events, but I felt my brains dripping out my ears.