daslibrary's reviews
150 reviews

Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-Reum

emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective 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

2.75

The Vegetarian by Han Kang

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

2.75

Beartown by Fredrik Backman

challenging dark emotional inspiring 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape

Moderate: Homophobia, Violence, and Grief

Minor: Addiction, Child death, Mental illness, and Suicide

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
Did not finish book. Stopped at 68%.

DNF at 64%. This book is fine but I could not pretend that I was entertained/intrigued by what is going on if I tried. While it did nothing to make me actively dislike it, I also never got anything that kept me invested, so I will save my time here and move on.

Jade War by Fonda Lee

adventurous dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

These Infinite Threads by Tahereh Mafi

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

Despite my qualms with this book, I found it compulsively readable. The timeframe of this book is sending me. The dialogue is so dramatic (derogatory). Tehereh Mafi is a gifted writer but I can only do so much before I start skimming big paragraphs explaining feelings. I wish nothing for some characters (Ms. Huda and Omid, I'm looking at you). I already have the 3rd book from the library, so I'll continue.

This Woven Kingdom by Tahereh Mafi

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha

dark hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.5

The Broken Girls by Simone St. James

dark informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

2.25

Fiona was a dummy, cops need to be eradicated. I did end up enjoying our group of girls from Idlewild, especially at the end when they were older, it was cute. The historical angle was interesting but the mysteries were a flop for me. Both resolutions to both murders were meh. Jamie's daddy needs to BURN

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death and Murder

Minor: Hate crime and Suicide attempt