graysonari3l's reviews
104 reviews

The Crimson Moth by Kristen Ciccarelli

adventurous emotional mysterious slow-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

2.5

I feel like I'm being gaslit with all the 5 star reviews truly. 

I didn't think this was very good, and the only thing it had going for it was "enemies to lovers where one actually wants to kill the other, but they hook up before one finds out. What happens next!!!!" Trope. 

First, main girl Rune. We are told that she's this skilled "Crimson Moth", breaking witches out of prison, she's alluded the Guards for years, very talented. Key word TOLD. We're never shown. All we see is her struggling to perform spells, lacking the blood needed to do so, and then failing at every mission she undertakes. I really don't see how she could have evaded capture for so long, I think if the book opened up on a scene of her being successful, it could have shown us who the author wanted us to see and provided to more action and plot scenes to balance out the romance.

And Gideon. Yikes girl he's trying to murder you!!!! Had some bad experiences with witches and immediately jumps to killing them all. No remorse. That's your man right there? Plus his name is GIDEON?!?!?! Rune idk why you were so down Bad. Also Gideon called her bluff early on. I think it would have been more effective if he truly thought she was an airhead, figured someone was using her ships without her knowledge, and as he got to know her saw that she was multifaceted and then halfway thought "what if she really is the Moth". I think that would have lead to a more interesting dynamic and more character development than the "this airhead may have layers and might be the Moth. Guess I have to get her naked to check her body for scars" that we got.

Plot twist in the end got me tho I will say that. 

Idk I keep teetering between a 2 and 3 star. Idk. The author could get better and I can see the later books being more enjoyable, but idk if I want to add them to my every growing tbr and sold my coveted special edition. I'm sure it'll make someone else happier than me.

House of Odysseus by Claire North

adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

adventurous emotional mysterious 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

4.0

The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi

adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.0

Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

adventurous funny lighthearted relaxing 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

4.0

So different from the movie but equally as lovely. I feel like we get more depth to Sophie and her backstory, as well as Howl's hometown and family, that adds a lot to the characters. My only disappointment was I wish we saw them together just a *tad* more. More romance if you well. But overall such lovely vibes and the voice actor did wonderfully

The Woman in Me by Britney Spears

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

I don't know if I can rate this, because how do you rate someone's life, especially one as tragic as Britney Spears. 

Have I read better memoirs? Yes. 

It felt a bit surface level and there were times I wish she would give more detail and instead would just speak 2 or 3 sentences on a topic then move on. She often didn't name names either, which, on one hand I get. There's a part in the book where she mentions a woman JT cheated on her with but how she didn't want to name her because she's married with kids now, and I totally get that. However there'd be other times like, for example, she mentions that a Director called and offered her a darker role for a movie but she rejected it for not being in the right headspace. Which director? Which movie? Which role? I don't think any kf that would have hurt anyone if she had given details and instead would have let us understand more why she rejected the role, but ultimately we don't get anything more on it. 

On the flip side, it's clear she's been through a lot, and I understand why she may not want to write more about these topics that obviously sadden and traumatized her. I feel lucky that she is now free enough to give us anything, no matter how deep, about her life. She's so inspiring and I hope this serves as a cautionary tale for how we treat other child stars going forward.

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

adventurous lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

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

3.75

I've seen this book EVERYWHERE and assumed it was an older classic, so had to give it a try. 

It was cute. It reminded me of reading Aesop's fables and the like as a child. If you go into this expecting a story about a boy on an adventure, you wouldn't be wrong, but that's not the point. It leans heavy into the more "self help" side of things, encouraging you to find your life's destiny and go out to seek it. It has a moral and a lesson and it really pushes that on you. Cute for what it was

If I Have To Be Haunted by Miranda Sun

adventurous mysterious 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? No

2.5

Some YA can still be enjoyed by older audiences, but this one unfortunately fell a little flat. I think a younger audience can relate to Caras struggle of pleasing her mom or her grandmother, embracing or shunning her true self, but its not really for me at 26. The most interesting parts were plot lines set up in the beginning, and then ignored for the rest of the book. I know there is supposed to be a sequel but it felt like too much was set up for no payoff. Would probably rate closer to a 2 star but being generous bc I'm not the intended audience 

I feel like if this was someone's first "rivals to lovers" type book, they may enjoy it, but to me it felt like it hit every single key tropey moment and nothing else, making this a hollow shell of the trope without giving it or the characters any personality to stand on its own. We are given no reason for the two characters to hate eachother other than 1) we're just told that they do and 2) Cara thinks he's a privileged rich white boy which he is but he's definitely not the only one at that school. If you're going to imply they've hated eachothet for YEARS then I need some back story otherwise I'm assuming you're doing it only for the marketing.

As a debut, hopefully the author can polish up some more for book 2, but I don't think I'll be around to read it

The Stand-In by Lily Chu

emotional funny relaxing medium-paced

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

3.5

This is a webtoon comic mixed with a direct to TV movie if it were a free audible audiobook. Cute and light, no spice, predictable in that you knew where it was going and the miscommunication got a little much, but also, it was short and sweet and I didn't pay for it.

Deadbeat Druid by David R. Slayton

adventurous dark emotional funny 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

4.0