immabehazzie's reviews
225 reviews

Persephone's Choice by Yihan Sim

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? No

2.75

It was good. That’s all I can say.

As for a Greek Mythology retelling it fell flat. I felt like everything it tried to do was just too modern and it just didn’t work. The romance felt rushed and didn’t feel honest. The characters didn’t make that much sense. 

The epilogue was cute but the character development throughout was iffy at best. 

The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher

adventurous mysterious tense 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

2.75

It was fine. There were times when a shiver ran down my spine but the potential ’The Hollow Places’ had was never met. Any time a scene was tense or suspense was building one of the characters had to crack a joke. 

The characters also felt very two-dimensional. Simon was funny but underutilized and I found Kara annoying. Also, there should be a limit to how many times you are allowed to reference Narnia.

Overall, it felt more like a dark comedy rather than a horror that would have benefited from it being a short story. 

The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren

adventurous funny lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

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

3.75

Have you ever read a book and just knew that the couple wasn’t going to stay together after it ended? That’s how I felt reading ‘The Paradise Problem’. It’s not that I dislike the characters, in fact, I really liked Anna and Liam grew on me. I think they’re cute together but it felt like all the right things had to fall into place for them to even get together.

The story itself felt very much like a romcom, and I’m not complaining, because I love romcoms. They’re quirky, fun, and always have something nutty happening. I thought the majority of it was well written but at the same time some of the things Anna said felt like the authors were trying a bit too hard to make her sound “25”. 

Also if I got a wedding invite that had that many events planned before the actual wedding… I simply wouldn’t go. Liam’s family, almost all of them, second 2D and hollow. There didn’t seem to be much to the characters outside of our main duo other than to make them ‘good’ or ‘bad’ people. 

All that’s the say, I did actually enjoy this book. It was funny and fast-paced with enjoyable characters. 

The Crane Husband by Kelly Barnhill

challenging emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

To say that my heart felt like it had dropped into my stomach and that I felt breathless from this story feels like an understatement. 

The storytelling is both roundabout and metaphorical whilst also being blunt and to the point. It’s only about 100 or so more pages and from the first page, a feeling of dread and fear never leaves you. By the time I closed this book, I felt a sort of hollow sadness.

'Salem's Lot by Stephen King

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

I don’t know what it is about Stephen King’s novels but I’m always entirely engrossed from start to finish even if the story is bad or a bit too disturbing. ‘Salem’s Lot’ wasn’t bad at all. In fact, I enjoyed it quite a bit.

However, I was promised “frightening” and “spine-chilling” and yet the only book of King’s that has managed to frighten me is ‘Pet Semetary’. That’s not to say that ‘Salem’s Lot’ isn’t a good horror novel - it is. It’s slow to start, focusing on building the characters and the town before ramping things up. There was a sense of dread and terror that slowly built throughout that fit this book well. 

‘Salem’s Lot’ is very clearly inspired by ‘The Haunting of Hill House’ by Shirley Jackson and not just because King puts a quote from the gothic story in the very beginning. There is a sense of an evil presence always lurking that haunts the characters and narrative. I think it was extremely well done and paid a well-done homage to the classic book. 

I also really enjoyed the portrayal of vampires in this novel. It takes ideas from the classic vampire lore such as they sleep during the day and need to be invited in as well as their aversion to stakes and crosses. The main vampire and his helper are definitely menacing and make for some pretty good antagonists. 

Book Lovers by Emily Henry

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-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

4.0

‘Book Lovers’ is a vibrant, funny, and heartwarming story that I had high hopes for after reading ‘Happy Place’ by the same author. I was not disappointed.

Book Lovers is a rom-com/Hallmarkesque type of book that despite it being filled with tropes and chichès had me smiling from ear to ear for almost the entire time. Despite the undeniable cheesiness of it all I loved the characters and the relationships. Nora and Charlie’s romantic tension is well-built and blush-worthy and Nora’s relationship with her younger sister Libby is arguably more important to the story and also just as much of a love story as the one going on between Nora and Charlie. 

I’ve seen some people say that there is no character development but I couldn’t disagree more. While Nora’s life doesn’t look that much different from the outside, we as readers, get to see the walls she built come crumbling down as she opens up to people and allows herself to fully grieve. Charlie is just the same as Nora and the two of them work so well because they’re two sides of the same coin. 

I think what I love about this book is that it’s all love. Not just the mushy romantic type but the love that leads to fear and anxiety. Book Lovers doesn’t shy away from the ugliness of what makes a person build a wall up around themselves brick by brick. As “Hallmark” as it feels Nora feels like a completely real person. 

Overall, the setting and live story is cute. The characters are fascinating, and witty and make the story engrossing. Some moments were just a little bit too cheesy but it was easy enough to ignore as the story continued on. 

Atonement by Ian McEwan

4.0

Atonement is so well written. It drags on a bit which is slightly annoying but it’s still enjoyable. I saw the movie before I even knew there was a book and Ian McEwan somehow manages to portray the amazing aesthetic that we see in the movie with words in his book. The characters are written like actual people, they don’t feel fictional at all which adds to the tragedy of the story. I think there’s a simple lesson in this book - people make mistakes. Obviously not on purpose or to cause harm but just because they didn’t mean for something bad to happen doesn’t mean it won’t. All of the characters suffer from a lie that 13-year-old Briony said (that she believed at the time). It doesn’t matter that she was a kid or that she truly believed it - everyone is still paying for the damaged years later. I think maybe that’s what I love about this book. It’s not sugarcoated like a lot of books are. It’s honest and real.

Bird Box by Josh Malerman

3.0

Bird Box is definitely not a perfect book by far and I enjoyed the movie more than the book (probably because of Sandra Bullock) but I still liked the book. It was a unique concept that I haven’t seen in a book in a long time. It confused me at some points but it still managed to suck me into the story.

Under the Dome by Stephen King

4.0

A lot happens in this book. I mean a lot! I mean a dome is place over there town but so much is happening with the characters that you don’t even question the dome. There are a lot of graphic scenes that can be triggering, but that shouldn’t be a surprise considering it’s a Stephen King novel.

Divergent by Veronica Roth

2.0

This was honestly one of my least favorite YA dystopian novels that I have read. Tris, the main character is unlikeable and doesn’t really have any really good redeeming qualities. Four is just a bland hunk who is just there to - what make the character fall in love? Plus, the whole story doesn’t really make sense because everyone has multiple personality traits but in this book it’s illegal to have more than one. Definitely not a favorite, but not the worst.