bone_empress's reviews
95 reviews

This Is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone, Amal El-Mohtar

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

"Red rarely sleeps, but when she does, she lies still, eyes closed in the dark, and lets herself see lapis, taste iris petals and ice, hear a blue jay's shriek. She collects blues and keeps them.

When she is sure no one is watching she rereads the letters she's carved into herself."

This story is achingly and devastatingly gorgeous. The writing is elegant and poignant and at times, startlingly funny. Much of the world feels abstract and complex, and I didn't need to fully understand it to get lost in Red and Blue's story. Love itself is both abstract and complex, and lives between strands- ephemeral and yet transcending time. 

The Mask of Mirrors by M.A. Carrick

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated

3.5

Gallant by V.E. Schwab

adventurous dark mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror

Minor: Suicide

The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic by Leigh Bardugo

adventurous challenging dark reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective tense 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

3.5

Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The Ballad of Never After by Stephanie Garber

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto

funny lighthearted mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

3.0

The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

The Stolen Heir by Holly Black

adventurous challenging dark sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5