ohshanada's reviews
303 reviews

Fangirl, Vol. 4: The Manga by Gabi Nam, Rainbow Rowell

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted sad fast-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

Cookbooks and Demons by Megan Mackie

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious tense fast-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

4.0

The Truth According to Ember by Danica Nava

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funny informative reflective medium-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? Yes

3.0

The Madman's Hotel by Niall Breslin

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious sad medium-paced

3.75

Coatbridge: The Disappearance of Moira Anderson by Chalk and Blade, Sandra Brown

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challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense fast-paced

4.0

A False Start by Elsie Silver

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious sad 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

3.75

John Carpenter's Tales for a HalloweeNight: Volume 1 by John Carpenter, Sandy King, Steven Hoveke

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

3.0

This Will Be Fun by E.B. Asher

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense 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

4.0

Exploring the moments of a fantasy book that we don’t always get, This Will Be Fun by E.B. Asher shows us the what ifs & the what nows that come after the quest ends & the heroes have to just somehow move on with their lives. This premise alone is what grabbed my interest, making me literally think, “Huh. Why don’t we get more of the ‘after’ in the adventure fantasy stories?” 

And you know what? This book was indeed fun. I thoroughly enjoyed this book which had silly vibes similar to Ella Enchanted (the movie), Robin Hood: Men in Tights, Monty Python & the Holy Grail, & dare I say…Shrek. It has all of the fantasy vibes combined with fun elements like gossip magazines, side characters who often steal the show, & even conventions with cosplay. And because we bounce between various POVs, we really get a chance to learn about & experience quite a lot of the realm that is Mythria. 

This is a story of adventure, grief, healing, & love. But the heart of the story is friendship & found family & all the many ways we can grow together & apart. In fact, it’s given me my new favorite quote about friendship & the vibe that I would like to embody more: “Your life isn’t a burden to me.”

I laughed, I cried, but mostly I just had a silly smile on my face while reading this book. It gave me all of the warm, cozy vibes that I needed in this time of my life & I know that I’ll definitely read it again in the future.

Thank you to Avon & NetGalley for providing an advanced digital copy of this book for review. All thoughts & opinions expressed are my own. 

Note/Tip: Read this via audiobook. While I originally received this book as a digital ebook ARC, I ended up reading it as a mix of ebook & audiobook. The narrators, including one of my favorites, January LaVoy, really do a lot of heavy lifting with this story to present it exactly as it’s intended. According to some folks whose opinions I 100% trust & who also read this book only in ebook format, it falls short when in a digital/print format. I had a completely different experience with this book & I absolutely think it’s because I of the audiobook.
The Front Runner by Elsie Silver

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emotional funny hopeful informative 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

4.5

The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5