jessi_c's reviews
26 reviews

Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr

adventurous challenging hopeful inspiring reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

A worthwhile Everest of a book. Every bit of the climb is as challenging as people say, but the triumph at the end was worth the journey.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death and Violence

Moderate: War, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Grief, Death of parent, Death, and Blood

Minor: Child death and Mental illness

Bliss Montage by Ling Ma

emotional funny inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

To be clear, I haven’t finished the book. I just finished the ‘Returning’ chapter and knew I needed to rate this 5 stars immediately. IMMEDIATELY. No matter how the rest of the book unfolds, it’s 5 stars to me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use

Moderate: Toxic friendship and Physical abuse

Minor: Toxic relationship, Body shaming, and Rape

Little Black Book of Stories by A.S. Byatt

dark funny mysterious reflective tense medium-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? Yes

5.0

Mesmerizing. My brand of haunting. 

Circe by Madeline Miller

adventurous reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Strong world-building and cast of characters from beginning to end. Loved the way Miller utilized time, which made the “goddess” aspects of Circe feel real. Would have made 5 stars, but knocked it down a notch due to just nitpicky bits about Circe as a MC. Otherwise, a great read.

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear

informative reflective relaxing medium-paced

4.5

Timely to tackle this audiobook while in the midst of a lifestyle change. Acquired new tools from this listen to assess my current habits and what I need to work on professionally and creatively. Very enlightening.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror and Blood

Minor: Medical content

mild/moderate trigger warning for anyone who has a phobia with eyes/eyeballs

First, We Make the Beast Beautiful: A New Journey Through Anxiety by Sarah Wilson

challenging dark emotional informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

This would be one of the first books i’ve read about anxiety specifically. Had to throw my book across the room a few times because i was so ill-prepared how much of it was a self portrait. So many dog-earred pages. I need to put some distance between me and the book for a while before I revisit those pages. My life coach will be hearing about this. 108/10

Obsidio by Jay Kristoff, Amie Kaufman

adventurous dark hopeful sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Just like AIDAN, story began to stretch wide btwn all the existing and new players in the war. Was initially concerned how much of the present day would be interwoven, but was relieved that the last installment largely remained true to the files format. Largest found family I have grown fond of to date. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Gun violence, Police brutality, Blood, Murder, Violence, Death, Genocide, War, and Suicide

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content

Minor: Terminal illness and Bullying

Gemina by Jay Kristoff, Amie Kaufman

adventurous emotional funny hopeful tense slow-paced

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

4.25

Exciting follow up to Illuminae! Enjoyed the continuation of biological terror mixed in with man-made hunts. The last 80 pages will keep my head spinning for the next 48 hrs. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Drug use, Grief, Violence, Gun violence, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Child death, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Gore and Death of parent

Spoiler

multiverse

Illuminae by Jay Kristoff, Amie Kaufman

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I went into this with space adventure vibes of Firefly/Serenity, but I ended up with the horror, space thriller vibes of Serenity. When that tonal shift happened, the story took off and I got incredibly absorbed to the bittersweet end. I was supposed to slowly read this thru the month of Aug and here I am, finished a week in. Going to find the other two books to fill the month. Well done!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Suicide, Grief, Child death, and Death

Moderate: Murder, Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Gore, Gun violence, Body horror, and Vomit

Minor: Cursing

Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead

adventurous mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

For me, this story was gripping enough to keep me entertained. However, it’s was mainly due to the cast of minor characters, which enriched the plot moreso than the mc. The prose shined when it dived deep into the heists/jobs, again largely unraveled by the side characters. Wished there was more to talk about.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence and Death

Moderate: Racism and Drug use

Minor: Police brutality and Homophobia