fanboyriot's reviews
545 reviews
Slay Bells, by Jo Gibson
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I liked the mystery aspect of the plot but the dialogue and characters were really difficult to get through. It is an older book but didn’t think things would be so dated; not to mention how sexist everything was. The characters are one dimensional at best and the drama the author tried to make between them was very cliché high school vibes—if they were written by an adult who forgot their own high school experience. This book just wasn’t for me. The setting was nicely done though, so there’s that at least.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Grief, Gore, Death, Violence, Sexism, and Murder
Moderate: Gun violence, Blood, Mental illness, and Injury/injury detail
Minor: Body shaming, Ableism, Animal death, and Fatphobia
Beware, the Snowman, by R.L. Stine
mysterious
fast-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
4.0
It was a bit random but one of the better Goosebumps books I’ve read in a while. The main character didn’t annoy me and the plot was interesting enough to keep me reading.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death and Death of parent
Naughty or Nice, by Alexa Riley
challenging
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
0.0
It gave “she isn’t like other girls” vibes. It had surprisingly more plot than I thought it would especially since it is such a short read; but on my god, the dialogue was SO bad. When it came to the other kind of “plot” it read like it was written by a cis straight guy who had no idea how anatomy works for any one. It was like each page got worse to the point it was amusing how bad it was. The epilogues were awful and the whole pregnancy kink thing was even worse than the bland characters. And this is why I should not read books like this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Cursing, Sexual content, Sexism, and Misogyny
Minor: Death of parent, Violence, and Sexual violence
Husband Material, by Alexis Hall
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Absolutely loved the humor in this book, it was so good. Having said that the overall book was kinda meh. I liked some parts better than others. It was slow to start and I actually forgot I was reading this book about 30% through. There were a lot of weddings which are kinda boring to read in my opinion, but the ending was the kicker. Like I went through all of that only for it to end the way it did?? I loved reading more of Oliver and Luc but seriously all that build up and dragging out an ending only to leave it there was disappointing.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, Cursing, and Homophobia
Minor: Eating disorder, Vomit, and Sexual content
Nerve, by Jeanne Ryan
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
0.0
DNF - it read like a bad wattpad book. I just couldn’t get into it, the characters were really frustrating and while the idea of the story was good I don’t think it was for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol
Moderate: Violence, Misogyny, and Suicide
Minor: Child abuse
Little Shop of Hamsters (Goosebumps Horrorland #14), Volume 14, by R.L. Stine
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Why do all the parents and siblings in Goosebumps books suck?? They make everything so unbearable to read. If you want to feel annoyed I highly suggest this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty
Moderate: Violence
Wolfsong, by TJ Klune
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
I really wanted to like this book but for me it was just kinda meh. The drama to me just was draining to read, I didn’t really connect or care about most of the characters, and I just wasn’t a big fan of the writing style. I really thought this would be a five star read, I mean queer werewolf’s?? Yeah sounds good. However, it just wasn’t for me. I did like the sense of family they build and all the queer rep though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual content, Torture, and Kidnapping
Minor: Domestic abuse
Let's Get Invisible!, by R.L. Stine
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Max’s “friends” were so annoying, when Max made rules (reasonable rules at that) they blatantly ignored them. April was okay at first but she gave in and tried out the mirror. Then the ending was just random leaving it more of an open-ending than anything else.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic friendship
We Are the Wildcats, by Siobhan Vivian
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This was not at all what I was expecting, I’ve had this book on my bookshelf for a while so that might be why. It was just kinda meh for me. There were some good parts like the friendships that were made with the team, but there were also some annoying parts like all the texts with Coach. It just seemed to drag on a bit, the Coach was creepy af and I just was more annoyed about it than anything else. The switching POV was nice, it was a bit confusing at times but nothing too bad. The cover was stunning though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Racism
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Hate crime, Cursing, and Body shaming
Minor: Injury/injury detail, Alcohol, and Violence
Bride of the Living Dummy, by R.L. Stine
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
I don’t know how I finished this. I love the nostalgic vibes from reading Goosebumps books but some of them are so irritating. Why is it that the parents NEVER listen in these books, like can we have one that they do? I was going to give two stars but the ending was awful. It made no sense and unless you love vomit I don’t know how it was enjoyable for anyone.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Bullying, and Vomit
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Slavery and Injury/injury detail