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eviecanread's reviews
97 reviews
Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
4.0
i liked this one a lot but i'm taking a star away for the ending because
The Guest List by Lucy Foley
2.0
i think i read it this quickly because i just wanted it to be over. there was no thrill, no mystery, just sickening amount of people thinking about sex and being jealous and insufferable and annoying. considering the high ratings and the hype surrounding this book, i was beyond excited to read this—i probably should've known that by that alone that i'd get disappointed lol the flashbacks to the actual ngiht of the murder built no suspense. there was no good foreshadowing. it only felt dragged out and boring.
i predicted at the beginning but then i thought Nah that's ridiculous and impossible. but then it ended up being real.
the only thing i liked about this book is the setting, truly. MEH
i predicted
Spoiler
will being steventhe only thing i liked about this book is the setting, truly. MEH
Zabójstwo Rogera Ackroyda by Agatha Christie
5.0
throughout the entire book i tried to guess who the murderer was and i really thought i got them so i almost lost my mind when i got to the ending. C R A Z Y.
The Falling in Love Montage by Ciara Smyth
3.0
girl the worst thing abt this book wasn't even the fact that i struggled to connect with the mc but the breaking of the fourth wall to talk to the reader. it annoyed me so much!!! it also felt like there wasn't much connections between saoirse & ruby, even though that was kind of the whole point of the book, i guess.
oliver was my favorite part of the story, and i also found myself liking beth a lot. it's a strong point of this book, that it has even side characters developed into actual people that seem tangible and aren't there just for the sake of filling out the space. (except for izzy and hannah, maybe.)
i jumped into this book expecting fluffy romance with a sprinkle of rom-com-y angst, but it wasn't what i got. not with saoirse's neverending internal conflict and self-sabotaging and depressing background. it all made her into a good character, but i guess there was so much of it that it felt like i missed a good part of the whole falling in love montage.
i thought i'd enjoy it a lot, but it ended up being an okay read.
oliver was my favorite part of the story, and i also found myself liking beth a lot. it's a strong point of this book, that it has even side characters developed into actual people that seem tangible and aren't there just for the sake of filling out the space. (except for izzy and hannah, maybe.)
i jumped into this book expecting fluffy romance with a sprinkle of rom-com-y angst, but it wasn't what i got. not with saoirse's neverending internal conflict and self-sabotaging and depressing background. it all made her into a good character, but i guess there was so much of it that it felt like i missed a good part of the whole falling in love montage.
i thought i'd enjoy it a lot, but it ended up being an okay read.
Rendez-vous ze śmiercią by Agatha Christie
2.0
unfortunately--boring as hell. didn't even get a single Wow out of me. i just wanted it to end.
Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson
2.0
2.5 stars!
taking this off my thriller shelf because there was nothing thrilling about this slow burn lol
i didn't really like the narrator. he felt really pretentious, and his backstories and monologues mostly bored me. i suspected the ending will be like that, and i guess that made me trust malcolm even less. but the plot twist where caught me suuuper off-guard. although the killer was sketchy to me, i don't really "buy" him. idk i just didn't like how that played out lol
i really liked nero the cat, though!! the best part of the book!!! and the way he got to the bookstore made me crack up honestly
the rest was. MEH. that's what i thought when i put it down lol
i'm glad i read a majority of the books mentioned in here that i'd had on my tbr because this book gives MAJOR spoilers that you can't avoid.
taking this off my thriller shelf because there was nothing thrilling about this slow burn lol
i didn't really like the narrator. he felt really pretentious, and his backstories and monologues mostly bored me. i suspected the ending will be like that
Spoiler
the part where he kills himself, at leastSpoiler
he was the one who caused claire's accidenti really liked nero the cat, though!! the best part of the book!!! and the way he got to the bookstore made me crack up honestly
the rest was. MEH. that's what i thought when i put it down lol
i'm glad i read a majority of the books mentioned in here that i'd had on my tbr because this book gives MAJOR spoilers that you can't avoid.
They Drown Our Daughters by Katrina Monroe
4.5
i really love the atmosphere of this book, how chilling and dark and spooky it was, and how easy it was for me to immerse myself in the story. the multiple povs were executed so well; the characters were all distinctive and had their own voice, but they didn't stick out, either. the only thing i didn't enjoy entirely was the ending, but the rest of the book was incredible.
Youngblood by Sasha Laurens
1.0
erm.
now, listen. no one could be more excited than me for LESBIANS. VAMPIRES. BOARDING SCHOOLS. MYSTERIES. no one. maybe i just expected too much.
EKHEM! let's start.
1) the white cishet superwoke saviour thing kat had going on rubbed me off in all the wrong ways. it just felt like poc and queer people were being used in this book just for diversity points, like the author had a list of things to include and just ticked everything off without giving anything any depth. like, the author could have just added poc characters to the damned book!! in this review, the person says, "when you’re a society full of immortal beings you could at least transcend sexism, racism and homophobia. why would such things as sexual and gender identity or skin colour even matter to vampires? a lot of the bigoted ideas in society have their roots in religion, and i honestly don't think many vampires will care about god after being turned. they're literally immortal already—heaven and hell are not really something they have to worry about," and these are my exact thoughts on the matter.
not to mention the downplaying of colonization through galen. it was completely unnecessary--as were all the other racist and queerphobic takes--but,,, yikes. you could take these problems all out and it would change nothing except make the book a tiny bit less uncomfortable to read.
another thing: kat saying "i CAN'T be queer" when both her friends at home are queer and her ex best friend slash current roommate slash the girl she kissed is also queer, when she's clearly from a very, very accepting community (she makes it very clear by bringing it up ten million times),,, UHHHHH . and, okay, internalized homophobia is a very hard thing to go through but when it comes to her, it's literally never addressed in the book. she's like "i can't be queer!!" in one second and then she's in love with taylor in the next. not to mention that she calls evangeline for using 'lesbian' as an insult and then keeps sucking up to her and wanting to be her friend.
i also have an issue with her queer friend saying, “see? straight people always assume it's something you have to discover, but i was born this way.” like--silence. i would even take this if a cishet said this, because they just don't understand. but so many queer people i know--myself included--have struggled and are still struggling with coming to terms with who they are, so the "you just know" message was super weird to read about, especially if it was a person who's questioning their entire identity who read this.
[dj khaled voice] ANOTHER ONE! this was marketed as romance so, you know, i expected romantic tension. whatever was going on between kat and taylor definitely wasn't that. there was no character or relationship development. NONE. they're just fighting, watching twilight, fighting some more, had 10 misunderstandings, and then professed their love to each other because they have ALWAAAAYYSSSS loved each other. they can't live without each other. you're getting expelled?? I'M GOING WITH YOU EVEN THOUGH I LITERALLY COULDN'T EVEN FANTHOM THE THOUGHT OF LOSING MY MENTORSHIP AND SCOLARSHIP!!!!! i'm gonna be honest. for 80% of the book i really thought they weren't even gonna get together in the end.
the writing didn't bother me at first but then it just kept getting worse, especially the descriptions. the unnecessary metaphors just sounded weird as hell. a failed attempt at being poetic.
the only interesting part to me was the virus/cure mystery, but it was done poorly and basically hidden under all the nonsensical high school drama with characters who make the same mistakes over and over and learn nothing from them and have absolutely zero development. it was irrelevant for the majority of the book. even the mystery of kat's fangmaker and benefactor was clear since the beginning i couldn't believe she didn't find out. or that her mother didn't tell her the truth right then--like, she had to know. so, there's basically no plot.
i also can't understand kat's weird need to be accepted by castel. the way she can't fanthom that he could be the bad person just because she depends on him financially and he's "nice" to her??? GIRL??? get help.
i have all sorts of issues with that character, and another one is the way she's playing with galen's feelings when even at the beginning she KNOWS she doesn't like him, the way she cheats on him by kissing taylor, and then later on can't even support him as a FRIEND, and dismissing him when he opens up to her when she's the one who prompted him to think of his behavior and that he should change,,, DUH.
and instead of idk. running away. fighting. grabbing him. kicking him. doing SOMETHING!!!!! they just hugged and were ready to die? just like that?? i'm sorry i had to laugh.
anyway, i'm just very happy i can finally put it down and forget about it.
now, listen. no one could be more excited than me for LESBIANS. VAMPIRES. BOARDING SCHOOLS. MYSTERIES. no one. maybe i just expected too much.
EKHEM! let's start.
1) the white cishet superwoke saviour thing kat had going on rubbed me off in all the wrong ways. it just felt like poc and queer people were being used in this book just for diversity points, like the author had a list of things to include and just ticked everything off without giving anything any depth. like, the author could have just added poc characters to the damned book!! in this review, the person says, "when you’re a society full of immortal beings you could at least transcend sexism, racism and homophobia. why would such things as sexual and gender identity or skin colour even matter to vampires? a lot of the bigoted ideas in society have their roots in religion, and i honestly don't think many vampires will care about god after being turned. they're literally immortal already—heaven and hell are not really something they have to worry about," and these are my exact thoughts on the matter.
not to mention the downplaying of colonization through galen. it was completely unnecessary--as were all the other racist and queerphobic takes--but,,, yikes. you could take these problems all out and it would change nothing except make the book a tiny bit less uncomfortable to read.
another thing: kat saying "i CAN'T be queer" when both her friends at home are queer and her ex best friend slash current roommate slash the girl she kissed is also queer, when she's clearly from a very, very accepting community (she makes it very clear by bringing it up ten million times),,, UHHHHH . and, okay, internalized homophobia is a very hard thing to go through but when it comes to her, it's literally never addressed in the book. she's like "i can't be queer!!" in one second and then she's in love with taylor in the next. not to mention that she calls evangeline for using 'lesbian' as an insult and then keeps sucking up to her and wanting to be her friend.
i also have an issue with her queer friend saying, “see? straight people always assume it's something you have to discover, but i was born this way.” like--silence. i would even take this if a cishet said this, because they just don't understand. but so many queer people i know--myself included--have struggled and are still struggling with coming to terms with who they are, so the "you just know" message was super weird to read about, especially if it was a person who's questioning their entire identity who read this.
[dj khaled voice] ANOTHER ONE! this was marketed as romance so, you know, i expected romantic tension. whatever was going on between kat and taylor definitely wasn't that. there was no character or relationship development. NONE. they're just fighting, watching twilight, fighting some more, had 10 misunderstandings, and then professed their love to each other because they have ALWAAAAYYSSSS loved each other. they can't live without each other. you're getting expelled?? I'M GOING WITH YOU EVEN THOUGH I LITERALLY COULDN'T EVEN FANTHOM THE THOUGHT OF LOSING MY MENTORSHIP AND SCOLARSHIP!!!!! i'm gonna be honest. for 80% of the book i really thought they weren't even gonna get together in the end.
the writing didn't bother me at first but then it just kept getting worse, especially the descriptions. the unnecessary metaphors just sounded weird as hell. a failed attempt at being poetic.
the only interesting part to me was the virus/cure mystery, but it was done poorly and basically hidden under all the nonsensical high school drama with characters who make the same mistakes over and over and learn nothing from them and have absolutely zero development. it was irrelevant for the majority of the book. even the mystery of kat's fangmaker and benefactor was clear since the beginning i couldn't believe she didn't find out. or that her mother didn't tell her the truth right then--like, she had to know. so, there's basically no plot.
i also can't understand kat's weird need to be accepted by castel. the way she can't fanthom that he could be the bad person just because she depends on him financially and he's "nice" to her??? GIRL??? get help.
i have all sorts of issues with that character, and another one is the way she's playing with galen's feelings when even at the beginning she KNOWS she doesn't like him, the way she cheats on him by kissing taylor, and then later on can't even support him as a FRIEND, and dismissing him when he opens up to her when she's the one who prompted him to think of his behavior and that he should change,,, DUH.
Spoiler
it was also ridiculous when the headmaster wanted to kill kat & tayloranyway, i'm just very happy i can finally put it down and forget about it.