lori_larsson's reviews
179 reviews

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

This book is DARK. Like D-A-R-K dark. And bloody. And violent. I need to read a cozy fantasy now to cleanse my brain. It was good and the twist and turns were great. But boy oh boy was it violent.

Content Warnings

Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher

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dark hopeful medium-paced

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

3.5

Bloodmarked by Tracy Deonn

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny medium-paced

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

4.0

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny fast-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

5.0

That Inevitable Victorian Thing by E.K. Johnston

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emotional hopeful slow-paced

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

2.75

I see what the author was going for here, but 1) it was a little heavy handed and 2) you're never going to convince me that an "Empire" can be done ethically.

A Pirate's Life for Tea by Rebecca Thorne

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adventurous funny lighthearted relaxing 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? N/A

3.0

I enjoyed this. It was exactly what I wanted, something light, cozy, sweet, low stakes--especially as the other book I am reading is the exact opposite. Did I think the first book was better? Yes. Do I think there is a weird syntax/grammatical error in the title behind the colon? Also yes. Will I read the next one? 100% The world needs this kind of story too.

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

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challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

3.0

I read this book with my ears.
I am sitting with this one --am I supposed to LIKE Rin? She never seemed to be able to pick a morality and stand with it. She never seemed to grasp the consequences of her choices no matter how many people told her exactly what was going to happen. Is this just being a human tossed around by war? Possibly. Rin just a bad human? Maybe. This book was a slog because it felt so heavy and sad all the way through and sometimes I just needed a break from that. I probably will not continue the series.

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

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reflective slow-paced