ben_readz_books's Reviews (413)

You'll Be the Death of Me by Karen M. McManus

Five Survive

Holly Jackson

4.0

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Oh my GOD Oliver shut the FUCK up

Skin of the Sea

Natasha Bowen

4.0

adventurous emotional inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

This book had a lot I loved. The characters were real and you could really feel their emotions. The worldbuilding was really cool, and the prose was beautiful but not boggy or too much.

I liked how Simi slips into memories (several of them made me tear up pretty quickly). It’s kind of disorienting, like you almost miss it happening, but I like it. It’s like I’m in Simi’s head.

I think I would’ve rated this higher except that the actual main plot point (Simi trying to find the rings so she can ask the gods for forgiveness) just wasn’t that compelling for me. I know the stakes were high, but it didn’t feel like they were. Idk, maybe it’s just that I’m on a murder mystery kick right now, so I’m just not in the best mood for fantasy?

Either way, I do think this book was well written and beautiful, just not quite for me.