cato_mertens's reviews
65 reviews

From Lukov with Love by Mariana Zapata

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3.0

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

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adventurous challenging emotional lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
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

4.0

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

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adventurous dark emotional inspiring 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? It's complicated

4.25

I loved this follow-up to Six of Crows. Although the story slowed a bit towards the last 150 pages (which isn't unusual for 500-paged-books), the book still kept me on the edge of my seat. I'll definitely be reading King of Scars next, since there was a little snippet of it in the book.

I have to say that I think Kaz has made wonderful character develpoment throughout the duology. Also, I love Bardugo's choice to not let the relationship with Inej suddenly physically develop. This shows that Kaz' trauma (and Inej's as well) isn't something they can both just ignore. The tension between them is honestly perfection and you can see how much he cares about her, even though he's still the crookiest crook to have ever crooked.

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Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

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adventurous challenging dark hopeful inspiring 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? It's complicated

5.0

I read this incredible book in just a few hours. It kept me on the edge of my seat and there were many plot twists that I didn't expect. Currently reading the second book!

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The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 74%.

I did like the book, but it didn't keep me interested. Maybe I'll try finishing it later.

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I Will Not Be Erased: Our stories about growing up as people of colour by gal-dem

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hopeful informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

3.75

I really liked this book. It was very easy to read and also extremely accessible because of the language and format the book was in.

I did think the “letter to your younger self “ idea is original, but it became a bit repetitive after a while.

All in all it was an informative collection of essays by a very diverse group of people.

This Poison Heart by Kalynn Bayron

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.25

This book was really good: the setting, the characters, the diversity and the representation and the magic (I loooove the kind of magic Briseis uses). The parts about the mythology were also really interesting and towards the end the links between Briseis and some mythological people became more clear. I think the worldbuilding also deserves a special shout out, because it was done really well. I’m a visual reader, so worldbuilding is important to me.

I read the first 2/3rds of the book rather fast, but after that the story kind of slowed down and was harder to get through. Then, the last 50 pages a lot happened and I just sat there, completely overwhelmed with information and realizations. I also think the relationship between Briseis and Marie could have been explored more in-depth. Comparing this book to Bayrons “Cinderella is Dead”, I can see some similarities between how Briseis’ and Marie’s relationship was written, and how Sophia’s and Constance’s relationship was written. They both feel a bit rushed.

I do have to say that I really, REALLY enjoyed reading this book and I cannot wait for the sequel!

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