Reviews by betweentheshelves

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betweentheshelves

You'd Be Home Now

4.5

challenging dark sad medium-paced

Glasgow's writing just really hits hard. You know that going into one of her books, and this was no different. Stay tuned for a full review later this week!

Content Warnings

Fruits Basket Collector's Edition, Vol. 1

Natsuki Takaya

5.0

emotional funny lighthearted 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

Started this because I started the anime at a friend's house and kind of wanted to read the manga first! Happy to say this feels the same, and I honestly can't wait to keep reading. The characters are amazing and you'll definitely fall in love with them from the beginning.

Content Warnings

It All Comes Back to You

Farah Naz Rishi

4.5

emotional funny fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This is such a lovely rom-com! Stay tuned for a full review to come later this week.

Content Warnings

The Dead and the Dark

Courtney Gould

4.5

dark emotional tense 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

This is a slow-burn, creepy story that was different than I was expecting, but I still enjoyed it! If you like paranormal ghost hunting shows, you'll definitely enjoy this. The relationships are believable, and Gould captures the feel of small town America spectacularly. I think the feel of this book is the best aspect of it, and it will definitely be perfect for spooky season!

Content Warnings

Gearbreakers

Zoe Hana Mikuta

4.0

adventurous emotional tense 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

This took a bit to get going, but once it did, oh my goodness. The second half of the book definitely makes it difficult to put down. The found family aspect was probably my favorite, as is the budding relationship between Sona and Eris. I loved them! And with that cliffhanger, I definitely need to know what happens next.

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Witch for Hire

Ted Naifeh

3.0

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

This was very much middle of the road for me. It took me a little to get into it, and then it felt like it was all over too quickly. There were parts that definitely need to be fleshed out as well. Like a lot of the reviews on here say, this could have easily been a little longer and it would have made the story much more fleshed out. The art was great throughout, I just wanted more from the story.

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Before We Disappear

Shaun David Hutchinson

3.0

adventurous tense medium-paced

Thanks to HarperCollins and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this to review! Shaun David Hutchinson is probably one of my favorite YA authors, and I was super excited to dive into this historical fantasy.

Let’s start with the characters. One thing Hutchinson is always great at is writing characters that maybe you don’t always love, but you really enjoy reading about them. In this book, we get narration from both Jack and Wilhelm. Immediately, you feel for Wilhelm, who’s been trapped in this incredibly abusive relationship from the beginning. Jack is a bit more of a morally ambiguous character, but you can definitely tell that he has a good heart. The two of them have a lot of great chemistry, and they are what make this book worth it.

However, I think the pacing overall for this book is mostly what threw me off. At first, time passes incredibly quickly, skipping over weeks at a time. It slows down a bit in the middle, but for me, this made for a kind of odd reading experience. I think the book could have been shorter and the story still would have been just as effective.

There were also some moments with the narration that I was just taken out of the story. At times, it seems like maybe the narrators are talking directly to the reader, and at other times, it doesn’t. For example, there’s a moment toward the beginning when something is said in French, and then the narrator says it will be translated from then on. It was little details like that that took away from the overall story.

While this is a promising historical fantasy, it just fell a little bit flat to me. You never know what you’re going to get with a Hutchinson book, and this was definitely the case here.
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I have mixed feelings about this one. The characters were great, but some of the plot and pacing felt off to me. More to come in a full review soon!

Content Warnings

Steelstriker

Marie Lu

4.5

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Children’s for an advanced copy of this to review! I loved Skyhunter and was excited to get to the second book in this duology. AndI am happy to say that it definitely didn’t disappoint!

This book picks up pretty much where Skyhunter leaves off. At the beginning, it seems like all hope is lost. But in true Marie Lu fashion, we know that our two main characters are going to be good at beating the odds. Lu writes characters that have a tenacity to fight against oppressive governments, and Talin and Red are no different.

Not only are the characters great, but the world building also transports you to a new world. What I really enjoyed about this book was the fact that this is set in a dystopian kind of future, but there are issues that are parallel with what’s currently happening in our world. At one point, Red makes an observation about the fact that history is written by the conquerors, but it’s made to be less violent. It never happens how it’s written. And that point just struck home with me because it’s true about our world as well.

If you’re a fan of action in books, you’ll definitely get it in this book, too. Lu is great at writing action scenes, and there are some really great ones in here. This is the end of the duology, and I don’t think Lu fans will be disappointed with how it ends.

All in all, if you’re looking for your next dystopian series to pick up, definitely check into this one!
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As per usual, Marie Lu has delivered an action-packed conclusion to her duology. Stay tuned for a review later this week!

Content Warnings

Rise to the Sun

Leah Johnson

3.5

emotional hopeful 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

I have mixed feelings about this book. It didn't grab me like <i>You Should See Me in a Crown</i> did, but this is also a different story and a totally different kind of book. Yes, there was still a great romance and I loved that aspect of the story. Leah Johnson is great at writing character. Maybe I just wasn't a huge fan of the setting? I don't know! I'll have to give it more thought.

There were some plot points that I also didn't think were really needed for this particular story. I would have been fine with the book just focusing on Toni and Olivia's relationship and how it evolved over the weekend. The rest of the stuff going on with the festival kind of took away from that, and I wish that it hadn't.

Content Warnings

The Crossroads at Midnight

Abby Howard

4.0

dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Ooo this was masterfully creepy! I think the art style really suited each of the short stories included in here. This kind of story isn't usually my cup of tea, but I did really enjoy this!

Content Warnings

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