finnickdeservedbetter's Reviews (209)

Make the Season Bright

Ashley Herring Blake

3.25

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted sad tense 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

Tropes & Themes

Christmas romance
Second chance romance
Exes pretending to be strangers
Forced proximity
Snowed in
One bed
Bi x bi relationship
Set in small town Colorado

Spice: moderate (3-4 explict, open door scenes)

Representation: both main character's are bi, there's an aromantic lesbian side character, male and female bi side characters, multiple gay/achillean side characters, multiple black and mixed black side characters, and an indian/south asian side character

Only music could really do that -- bring everything to the surface, make the memories alive, sharpen the time-dulled pain to a point.

I have mixed feelings about this one. I really liked Charlotte but I couldn't stand Brighton. She's easily my least favourite AHB character now (that position was previously held by Jordan in Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail). She was just so insufferable and immature throughout most of the book. She got better by the end at least but never apologized for acting like a child. Sure they both have their flaws and mistakes, but Brighton was really pulling the weight in that department and it made her really unlikeable for me.

Anyways, after having read this, and all of her Bright Falls series, I'm realizing AHB's writing might just be too millennial for me. Don't get me wrong, I love her settings and cast of characters style...It's just also really hard for me to ignore terms like "cherry queeries" being said over and over.

Will I keep reading her books? Yeah, ofc (at least for now). I'm really excited for Dream On, Ramona Riley coming this May. Will I always keep noticing the millennialisms tho? Yes, unfortunately.

That being said, I'm also lowkey disappointed that it's a standalone and we won't get a book about Sloane, who was my favourite character alongside Wes.

Content Warnings

Hell Bent

Leigh Bardugo

5.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad 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

Tropes & Themes

Mysterious murders
Magical secret societies
Descent into Hell
Demons and ghosts
Corruption
Reclaiming power

Spice: low (sexual language used but no explict scenes)

Representation: Jewish latina main character, black side character

That was the truth of magic—blood and guts and semen and spit, organs kept in jars, maps for hunting humans, the skulls of unborn infants. The problem wasn’t books and fairy tales, just that they told half the story, offering up the illusion of a world where only the villains paid in blood, the ogre stepmothers, the wicked stepsisters, where magic was just and without sacrifice.

Everyone who knows me, knows I'm a big Ninth House fan. I literally have a tattoo for it on my wrist and I recommend it to everybody...this was better.

Content Warnings

The Elements of Marie Curie: How the Glow of Radium Lit a Path for Women in Science

Dava Sobel

3.75

challenging dark hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

"Even now, nearly a century after her death, Marie [Skłodowska] Curie remains the only female scientist whom most people can name."

I think this is a good overview for anyone not already familiar with her work, but it didn't really go in-depth at all (not that I expected it considering the page count) and it barely touched on her being Polish. She didn't just move to Paris and become French. She still very much loved Poland. To many she's Marie Curie, but she's Maria Salomea SKŁODOWSKA-Curie and that's too often erased.

Content Warnings

Ninth House

Leigh Bardugo

5.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

Tropes & Themes

Jewish Latina FMC
Murder mystery w/ magic
Dark academia
Secret societies
Niche magic powers
Ghosts

Spice: low (mentions but nothing on page)

Representation: Jewish latina main character, black side character

"Mors irrumat omnia," Alex whispered. Death fucks us all.

Content Warnings

Lights Out

Navessa Allen

2.0

adventurous challenging dark funny lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Tropes & Themes

"Masktok" cosplayer MMC
Nurse FMC
Stalking
Accidental murder
Random mafia connections?
Dark romance for beginners

Spice: moderate (3+ explict scenes)

Claiming me? Oh, god. No, vagina, do not quiver at that. Damn it. Not you, too, ovaries.

Give him the most toe-curling, leg-shaking, dick-throbbing, sheet-gripping, soul-sucking, ball-draining head of his life.

Did I like it? No. Was it well-written? Definitely not. Did I have a lot of fun listening to the audiobook with my bestie Absolutely I did (10/10 would recommend)

I think the above quotes speak for the vibes of the book better than I can...

Content Warnings

Mythos

Stephen Fry

4.75

adventurous challenging dark funny informative lighthearted tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

What Feasts at Night

T. Kingfisher

3.25

adventurous dark funny mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

Taste: My Life Through Food

Stanley Tucci

4.0

Romeo and Juliet

William Shakespeare

4.0

Written in the Stars

Alexandria Bellefleur

DID NOT FINISH: 49%

I just can't stand Elle. She's so annoying and childish to me. And I hate the trope of "friend or family member harrasses the FMC about being single bc they'll never be happy alone". Definitely makes me never want to pick up her brother's book...which is unfortunate bc I bought the entire trilogy (plus the fiancee farce) before I knew I didn't like this 😬

More...