claudcloud's Reviews (310)

Clytemnestra

Costanza Casati

4.0

challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I love you women whose stories are finally being told, I love you women who aren't afraid to be messy, I love you women who don't accept patriarchy as a given and fight against it, I love you women with a heart of gold that hardened due to circumstance and who would do anything for the people they love, even if it's not what they necessarily need, I love you mothers, I love you women who will never see themselves as inferior to men, I love you women who play the game and win!!!!!

The River Has Roots

Amal El-Mohtar

4.5

adventurous emotional informative mysterious 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

Absolutely beautiful writing, absolutely beautiful story - I will never know what it's like to have a sibling, but the relationship between Esther and Ysabel was so full of love and so achingly real that I couldn't help but feel it alongside them.

The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina

Zoraida Córdova

3.75

challenging emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

People We Meet on Vacation

Emily Henry

3.5

emotional funny inspiring reflective relaxing 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: Complicated

Oh Poppy and Alex... as much as I knew in the back of my mind that the two of you have some fundamental differences that would make it incredibly difficult to be with each other... I couldn't help but root for you throughout the whole novel!! Also yelling at you both to just talk to each other!!!!! But that's besides the point - the point is that I picked this up for my April readathon hoping for those summery, vacation vibes that I'm starting to yearn for myself, and that's exactly what I got, coupled with a beautiful friends-to-lovers story and with some nuggets of wisdom that I'm sure to keep with me forever (am I also brave enough to stop running from my past - and from myself?)

P.S. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the movie adaptation coming soon-ish, for which I'm also now way more excited that I was, especially with the stellar lead casting that we got!!

Sunrise on the Reaping

Suzanne Collins

4.75

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I'll have to sit with this one for quite a bit. But there's something to be said about snow always falling, but the sun always rising nonetheless, especially in these times that we're living in.

It might take a long time. Even generations. We might not see the future that we truly want in our lifetimes. But it doesn't make it any less worth fighting for. As sure as that sun will rise.

Celestial Monsters

Aiden Thomas

3.5

adventurous emotional lighthearted reflective fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

If I had a nickel for every time a story about the gods ended in some sort of catatheosis/realization that ruling with an iron fist and not actually knowing what your 'children' need is causing more harm than good so you need to dip, I'd have two nickels, but it's kind of nice that it happened twice (thank you, Critical Role campaign 3)!

Being back in this world with characters that I love so much has been so amazing 🥹 Teo has always been a delight to read, and getting Xio's perspective as well has been an unexpected but very fun surprise! This motley group of friends who are all so unique but who come together so beautifully is the best thing about this duology, and I'm very glad to have spent more time with them!

That being said... if I still vibed with YA, this would be the YA I vibe with, but I'm afraid that I've been needing more from what I read ;;; The pacing of the story was so quick I felt like we didn't have time to sit in any of the beats enough for them to really sink in, the plot itself was a bit cookie-cutter and quite predictable (semidioses saving the world with the power of friendship, Xio's double agent-to-traitor-to-friend again arc, our trio coming across a village that is diose-free and seeing for themselves that there's another way for their society to function, the trials officially ending and so on), and while the atmosphere and the really immersive world that Aiden has created does make up for some of it, I'm very aware that the gripes I have are not so much the book itself's fault, but rather me no longer being the target audience.

Overall a very fun and fantastical duology that I absolutely will recommend to my cousin's kids!!

Critical Role: Vox Machina--Stories Untold

Martin Cahill, Jess Barber, Rory Power, Aabria Iyengar, Nibedita Sen, Izzy Wasserstein, Sarah Glenn Marsh, Critical Role, Rebecca Coffindaffer, Kendra Wells, Sam Maggs

4.5

emotional funny inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Getting to read this while also watching Vox Machina's campaign for the very first time is such a treat 🥹 Happy 10-year anniversary (!!!!!) to my favorite nerdy-ass voice actors - may I get to follow you into the stars for many, many more of them to come!

The Golden Raven

Nora Sakavic

4.75

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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: Complicated

Going into this new AFTG series, never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined I'd care so much about a previous side-character - but I guess this is Nora magic. I will genuinely die and kill for Jean Moreau, and getting to see him make friends, find a family, be encouraged and cared for by his entire team and coaches, starting to unpack his trauma and SAY WITH HIS OWN MOUTH THAT HE DIDN'T DESERVE ANY OF IT (🥹🥹🥹), breaking away from the Nest and Riko and Tetsuji and the Ravens, find comfort in Jeremy and Cat and Laila and choosing them every time???? Witnessing him earnestly fulfilling his promise to Kevin, in spite of how much it hurts, and learning to finally live?? Has been nothing short of incredible.

The next and final book will absolutely destroy me, I fear, but I couldn't be more excited!!

I Hear the Sunspot: Four Seasons Volume 2

Yuki Fumino

4.0

emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Demon in the Wood Graphic Novel

Leigh Bardugo

3.5

emotional mysterious reflective fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Given that my Grishaverse knowledge is limited to the TV show (RIP Six of Crows spin-off 🥺) maybe I should've tried the original trilogy before wanting to learn more about the Darkling - but the beautiful art style and Leigh's incredible writing more than made up for it!

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