martuchi's reviews
138 reviews
Renegados by Marissa Meyer
adventurous
lighthearted
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
Aaaaah to be young and dream of being a superhero!! —says the one still young that longs to have superpowers.
This book has everything that I like about novel tropes: fantasy and romance, and drama, of course. I like how the characters are handled; I like how everyone struggles to have an opinion on the Renegades and how much power they should have; I like the EMOTIONS that this made me feel, I was so nervous
Nova and Adrian are such relatable characters, their problems and conflicting povs are so well developed and accounted for. They aren’t shallow at all, we as readers are able to understand their thoughts throughly. Their past lives are well explained, and the secrets they both hide are critical; meaning that they don’t feel unnecessary to be hidden, they exist for a reason.
My only criticism is that I HATE when books are planned to have a sequel; they really should be, at least the first novel, stand alone stories. And since the first chapters of the book I noticed this wasn’t ending here, which is GREAT in my opinion —but I still am faithful to my original ideology.
I am definitely reading the entire trilogy, plus the Cinder, etc, books too. Marissa Meyer’s writing style is fun and fast, which I completely adore. I’m so excited!
This book has everything that I like about novel tropes: fantasy and romance, and drama, of course. I like how the characters are handled; I like how everyone struggles to have an opinion on the Renegades and how much power they should have; I like the EMOTIONS that this made me feel, I was so nervous
Spoiler
every time they were close to catching Nova and her little dark alter egoNova and Adrian are such relatable characters, their problems and conflicting povs are so well developed and accounted for. They aren’t shallow at all, we as readers are able to understand their thoughts throughly. Their past lives are well explained, and the secrets they both hide are critical; meaning that they don’t feel unnecessary to be hidden, they exist for a reason.
My only criticism is that I HATE when books are planned to have a sequel; they really should be, at least the first novel, stand alone stories. And since the first chapters of the book I noticed this wasn’t ending here, which is GREAT in my opinion —but I still am faithful to my original ideology.
I am definitely reading the entire trilogy, plus the Cinder, etc, books too. Marissa Meyer’s writing style is fun and fast, which I completely adore. I’m so excited!
Elizabeth Costello by J.M. Coetzee
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Elizabeth Costello is such a snob, annoying, close-minded, weird little old woman. I couldn’t empathize nowhere with her. She believes she’s better than anyone else, and she’s too radical while having an opinion on absolutely everything—even when she implies she never has an actual belief.
She’s too stubborn, while I understand she’s supposedly old and tired. She’s a book character, and has to have at least me likable characteristic. She had none, in my opinion.
Coetzee may be a Nobel prize winner, but this book should have disqualified him from the award. Elizabeth Costello is a pretentious novel about a boring old-woman’s life, who no one cares about; and even if she’s so famous and loved by every reader on earth, manages to make her pretty intriguing and amazing life, into a somewhat uncharismatic and uninteresting story.
She’s too stubborn, while I understand she’s supposedly old and tired. She’s a book character, and has to have at least me likable characteristic. She had none, in my opinion.
Coetzee may be a Nobel prize winner, but this book should have disqualified him from the award. Elizabeth Costello is a pretentious novel about a boring old-woman’s life, who no one cares about; and even if she’s so famous and loved by every reader on earth, manages to make her pretty intriguing and amazing life, into a somewhat uncharismatic and uninteresting story.
Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I feel this book is like a slow bubble. When you blow too much into this bubble it becomes much bigger, and eventually it explodes. That’s the story here in Daisy Jones and The Six.
The book lacks amusement up until the middle part when the band actually becomes, well, a band, but then it recovers itself only to fall down at the end. Because, seriously, what the hell was that ending? So unsatisfying, but not in a cool way like The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo; I didn’t like it at all.
About the characters there’s not much to say other than 1) they have a big ass memory; and 2) they are all so unlikeable as they are human.
Camila is so selfish yet I understand her reasoning.
Billy is a waste of talent and seriously needs a therapist.
Eddie should stop complaining all the time.
Karen is okay but sometimes kinda ‘not like other girls’.
Graham seriously needs to get his shit together. He acts like a nice boy who thinks every girl (Karen) needs to love him only because he’s kind and respectful (???
Warren by far the best character. He doesn’t give a damn about anything and loves his job. He was so overlooked.
Daisy… I began hating you but you are like the Sun. Shines so bright, it hurts your eyes. And beautiful.
Good book. Gonna watch the TV show now.
The book lacks amusement up until the middle part when the band actually becomes, well, a band, but then it recovers itself only to fall down at the end. Because, seriously, what the hell was that ending? So unsatisfying, but not in a cool way like The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo; I didn’t like it at all.
About the characters there’s not much to say other than 1) they have a big ass memory; and 2) they are all so unlikeable as they are human.
Camila is so selfish yet I understand her reasoning.
Billy is a waste of talent and seriously needs a therapist.
Eddie should stop complaining all the time.
Karen is okay but sometimes kinda ‘not like other girls’.
Graham seriously needs to get his shit together. He acts like a nice boy who thinks every girl (Karen) needs to love him only because he’s kind and respectful (???
Warren by far the best character. He doesn’t give a damn about anything and loves his job. He was so overlooked.
Daisy… I began hating you but you are like the Sun. Shines so bright, it hurts your eyes. And beautiful.
Good book. Gonna watch the TV show now.
Los Irregulares de Nanking Road by Silvia Aliaga
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? No
4.0
Si bien la sinopsis en la contratapa del libro ya te dice el final, Los Irregulares de Nanking Road ha sido una lectura muy entretenida.
Silvia Aliaga se destaca por sus plot twists indescifrables y por su agilidad con la escritura rápida. Los capítulos son cortos y atrapantes, y los personajes, a pesar de que son adolescentes, se notan maduros y no insoportables.
Me gustó aunque tarde en engancharme con el misterio, porque no creo que esté muy explícito por lo menos hasta el final del segundo acto.
Sin duda, una lectura fácil y amena.
Silvia Aliaga se destaca por sus plot twists indescifrables y por su agilidad con la escritura rápida. Los capítulos son cortos y atrapantes, y los personajes, a pesar de que son adolescentes, se notan maduros y no insoportables.
Me gustó aunque tarde en engancharme con el misterio, porque no creo que esté muy explícito por lo menos hasta el final del segundo acto.
Sin duda, una lectura fácil y amena.
Fruits Basket Another, Vol. 4 by Natsuki Takaya
fast-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
4.0
Éste es el mar by Mariana Enríquez
dark
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Qué acabo de leer.
Totalmente inesperado y un bajón absoluto. Comencé la lectura creyendo que se trataba de una cosa completamente diferente y me sorprendió mucho. Una gran agilidad y habilidad tiene Mariana Enríquez para la escritura, que solo en 100 páginas aprox, logró captar una historia llena de un lore increíble —entiendo, tal vez, que sea demasiada información en pocas páginas, pero se puede disfrutar de cualquier manera.
Qué fácil fue encariñarse con James, y qué difícil fue decirle adiós.
Totalmente inesperado y un bajón absoluto. Comencé la lectura creyendo que se trataba de una cosa completamente diferente y me sorprendió mucho. Una gran agilidad y habilidad tiene Mariana Enríquez para la escritura, que solo en 100 páginas aprox, logró captar una historia llena de un lore increíble —entiendo, tal vez, que sea demasiada información en pocas páginas, pero se puede disfrutar de cualquier manera.
Qué fácil fue encariñarse con James, y qué difícil fue decirle adiós.
El club de los lectores criminales by Carlos García Miranda
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.25
Lleno de clichés, misoginia y personajes completamente aburridos, “El Club de los lectores criminales” ha sido una de mis mayores decepciones de este año.
Ángela probablemente sea la PEOR protagonista que leí en mi vida. Es débil en un sentido súper sexista, sus decisiones no tienen sentido alguno para la trama y dice cada cuatro hojas: “mi novio” (refiriéndose a Nando) Y YA ENTENDIMOS QUE ES TU NOVIO NO HACE FALTA QUE LO REPITAS TANTO.
La narración es terrible. Es muy básica y tiene demasiadas referencias al mundo real; como si el autor quisiera decir “hey! Yo también sigo siendo joven” —cuando es obvio que tiene más de 40 años. Ningún joven adulto habla de la manera que se expresan estos personajes. Da mucha vergüenza ajena (además de como hablan del sexo y la virginidad, absurdo)
Me pareció que el motivo del asesino (no el escritor) era muy flojo. Como que necesitaba alguien a quien culpar y se decidió por porque creo que no muchos sospecharían de él o ella.
Los conflictos ajenos a los asesinatos entre los personajes también fueron flojos y bastante absurdos. No había por qué generar discusiones de la nada. Como cuando Nando y Ángela discutieron en la estación de policía; me pareció ridículo y muy forzado.
Si bien el último capítulo me gustó y logró sumarle 0.25 puntos, esta novela no me pareció nada sorprendente. La primicia es buena pero esta mal llevada a cabo. Además de que el PayasoUCM me pareció mejor escritor que el verdadero autor de este libro. Raro.
Ángela probablemente sea la PEOR protagonista que leí en mi vida. Es débil en un sentido súper sexista, sus decisiones no tienen sentido alguno para la trama y dice cada cuatro hojas: “mi novio” (refiriéndose a Nando) Y YA ENTENDIMOS QUE ES TU NOVIO NO HACE FALTA QUE LO REPITAS TANTO.
La narración es terrible. Es muy básica y tiene demasiadas referencias al mundo real; como si el autor quisiera decir “hey! Yo también sigo siendo joven” —cuando es obvio que tiene más de 40 años. Ningún joven adulto habla de la manera que se expresan estos personajes. Da mucha vergüenza ajena (además de como hablan del sexo y la virginidad, absurdo)
Me pareció que el motivo del asesino (no el escritor) era muy flojo. Como que necesitaba alguien a quien culpar y se decidió por
Spoiler
SaraLos conflictos ajenos a los asesinatos entre los personajes también fueron flojos y bastante absurdos. No había por qué generar discusiones de la nada. Como cuando Nando y Ángela discutieron en la estación de policía; me pareció ridículo y muy forzado.
Si bien el último capítulo me gustó y logró sumarle 0.25 puntos, esta novela no me pareció nada sorprendente. La primicia es buena pero esta mal llevada a cabo. Además de que el PayasoUCM me pareció mejor escritor que el verdadero autor de este libro. Raro.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
adventurous
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I am completely and utterly sad. I can’t believe I’ve finally finished the entire series, which took me about eight years to finish. I cried and laughed and now my life seems meaningless.
I can’t no longer claim I’m a child for I have already grown up alongside Mr. Harry Potter.
Simply beautiful but too sad for my melancholic mind.
I can’t no longer claim I’m a child for I have already grown up alongside Mr. Harry Potter.
Simply beautiful but too sad for my melancholic mind.