Reviews by bibliothecary_tyler

223 reviews by:

bibliothecary_tyler

Nestlings

Nat Cassidy

2.75

dark medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Premise: 3

Character Complexity: 3

Character Development: 2

Character Diversity: 3

Atmosphere: 3

Writing: 3

Plot: 2

Intrigue: 3

Logic: 2

Enjoyment: 3

Rating: 2.7 / 5

The Crash

Freida McFadden

2.5

dark tense slow-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

Premise: 2

Character Complexity: 3

Character Development: 2

Character Diversity: 2

Atmosphere: 2

Writing: 3

Plot: 2

Intrigue: 4

Logic: 2

Enjoyment: 4

Rating: 2.6 / 5

My second Frieda McFadden book, and I think I generally find her writing to be compelling yet frustrating.

Pros: Quick chapters, frequent cliffhangers, great suspense
Cons: Repetitive writing, predictable twists, unlikable characters

I struggle with audiobooks, but I found this very easy to listen to. Rarely did my thoughts drift off - so it gets points for holding my attention the whole time, especially with a premise I don’t like (people trapped somewhere). But man, this needed another round of editing, specifically to get rid of the repetition. I wish I’d written down examples. McFadden should feel confident enough by now to be more subtle. The characters just think the same things over and over and over again, and it was maddening.

The plot twist is pretty predictable; because it was so obvious, it definitely lessened the suspense. I’ll probably read another FM book, just because despite the flaws, they are enjoyable.

We Used to Live Here

Marcus Kliewer

4.0

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Premise: 4

Character Complexity: 2

Character Development: 2

Character Diversity: 2

Atmosphere: 4

Writing: 3

Plot: 3

Intrigue: 5

Logic: 3

Enjoyment: 4

Rating: 3.2 / 5
Adjusted Rating: 4 / 5

The Sword of Kaigen

M.L. Wang

DID NOT FINISH

DNF’d at 20%. Wanted to love this but had a hard time connecting with characters, investing in the magic, and the number of in-universe terminology was too big of a hurdle for me right now. Would love to hear from someone that it gets significantly better after this point in the book, but for now I need something that grabs my attention.