jarka120's reviews
362 reviews

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-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

5.0

one of my favorite reads of the year

How To Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin

adventurous mysterious fast-paced

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

3.0

interesting enough but i had a hard time keeping track of all the different characters. the solution to the mystery made sense but also wasn't really the direction i was hoping it was going. overall a book that was as the kids would say "mid" 

Severance by Ling Ma

dark reflective tense fast-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

3.75

an interesting read/listen. i liked the messages about the banality of the capitalist society we live in today and in a post-covid world it was interesting how the author actually pretty accurately predicted many aspects of how we would react to a pandemic. also a cool take on a typical ~zombie~ story that still felt properly eerie without the gore and physical horror associated with the genre. i would've liked more focus on the present day, however, and it felt like i was reading more than one book at points when the story focused on the MC's past. overall though would recommend this as a captivating and fast story. 

Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here: The United States, Central America, and the Making of a Crisis by Jonathan Blitzer

informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

Beartown by Fredrik Backman

dark emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

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

5.0

continues to be one of my favorite books of all time

Blood of Hercules by Jasmine Mas

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

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

2.75

okay so i think this was a 2.75/5 but i'm gonna round it up for goodreads because ultimately it did leave me intrigued enough (especially at the end) to not only keep reading, but also to make plans to read the second book

specific thoughts under the spoiler in no particular order

-first: the title and summary give away one of the biggest spoilers of the book and i hate it!!! if they were gonna keep the hercules reveal until that close to the end, it should have been kept out of both the title and the summary. it's bad from both a marketing perspective and a keeping the reader engaged perspective
-the patroclus and achilles characterization absolutely needed to be switched. there's a reason i refer to achilles (lovingly) as the pissbaby prince and SILENCING HIm for the entire book did not do that justice especially when patroclus was made to be a relatively snotty character for so long. it just didn't work and took me out of the whole thing at so many points
-i think the intrigue and suspense of what was going on with alexis would've been stronger if there was only her pov and maybe just the one snapshot of kharon's pov on the boat AND that the kharon chapter should've been the absolute last thing in the book. it would've made such an impactful ending
-i did not get augustus's motivation/actions at all. with kharon it was clear that his attraction to alexis was based on him being drawn to the hunt and her role in the "plan" but it did not strike the same with augustus at all. i know we're given the explanation that augustus feels negatively towards alexis at times because he thinks women should not have to be part of the massacre/crucible, but something about it just doesn't fit with the rest of the book and the way he treats her, especially when he also gets possessive about her. like there's just no real indication of what it is about alexis that attracts augustus which makes their part of the trio hard to sell
-i hated some of the modern slang that was used--it took me out of the story considering it's supposed to be set a good 70 years from now
-@ jasmine mas if you are reading this sorry! there are things that i liked about the book too!!!! i think alexis was an interesting character and i loved her dry sense of humor and the warring sides in her of "oh my god please kill me" and "i have to survive this". i honestly thought was so much more relatable than a character who is gung ho "i must survive" at every moment of the story
-i thought the way the greek myths were woven into the story was very intriguing--modern interpretations of them are not nearly as common as they should be, and the post-apocalyptic setting gave things a very fresh twist. the world building was honestly one of my favorite parts of the entire book
-the bridal kiss scene 10000000/10 

i know this is a lot but i just had a lot of thoughts about this book!! that being said i do want to see where this story goes and how things unfold in the second book

Goalie Tandem by Tierney Rose

emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

3.25

this was cute and i enjoyed the dynamic between nik and theo (im always here for a hero worship crush turned romance especially with an age gap). there were a couple things off hockey-wise that bothered me though and the ending was way too abrupt for my taste but overall a fun read! 

Everything Sad Is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri

emotional funny hopeful reflective 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? Yes

4.5

We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian

emotional funny hopeful 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

adored this just as much as the other book in the series

You Should Be So Lucky by Cat Sebastian

emotional funny reflective 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

5.0

i knew just from the summary that i would adore this book and i was SO RIGHT. i loved mark and eddie's dynamic, how the two came together, and how they understood each other. i also love that in many ways this is a love letter to baseball and the weird ways baseball reflects life (because cat was right--when is baseball not a metaphor for something). just an instant fave and i WILL be purchasing a copy for myself asap.