elsaschuster's reviews
57 reviews

The House in the Cerulean Sea, by TJ Klune

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted fast-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

3.75

This book was good and I enjoyed my time here. I wish it was advertised as YA, because I think I would have really loved it as a young person. As an adult it left me wanting a little bit, even though there are no real loose ends.

The Starless Sea, by Erin Morgenstern

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adventurous inspiring mysterious reflective slow-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? No

5.0

Truly just curl up on the couch and enjoy the honey coloured dream stage ride for this one.

Most often when I read I want to get to the end to find out what happens. In this book, I didn’t want it to ever end, and I kept checking the pages to make sure there was still enough left. Similar vibes to Piranesi.

There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job, by Kikuko Tsumura

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reflective relaxing slow-paced

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

4.25

Not a lot happens in this book, and it’s pretty repetitive. This is the consensus I had heard before reading it. I can understand why that has been the sentiment because both are true, but also I really enjoyed the pace and style of the writing and it was really interesting and reassuring to read about someone who is struggling with workplace burnout and wondering if they will ever find a job that is truly satisfying with good pay and work/life balance.

As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow, by Zoulfa Katouh

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful 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

4.75

This book is so beautiful and so so sad, it ripped my heart out of my chest and then taped it up again. I read it in one sitting. I didn’t know much about the Syrian Revolution so this also showed me a perspective that I would likely not otherwise have seen, one that I am very grateful for. The content warnings I have tagged are for mentions of these things in the context of war/revolution, they aren’t graphically gory, but they are the reality and often mentioned. Now if you’ll excuse me I’m going to go see if I can find some knafeh to try.

Content Warnings

Before the Coffee Gets Cold, by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

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hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced