sierablane's reviews
84 reviews

Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo" by Zora Neale Hurston

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

I fell in love with Hurston’s writing in high school, but I had not read this at that time. My heart broke many times while reading Kossula’s story. The amount of loss that man, and so many others, endured just feels unending sometimes. I hope he found his family in the other side

Eight Hundred Grapes by Laura Dave

medium-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

2.25

I don’t ever read reviews before I start a book (I usually check them out halfway through or if I keep thinking/seeing something and wonder if anyone else has, too), but man do I wish I had even just peaked at the reviews before this read. To be fair, I think I would’ve loved this book a couple of years ago but today? Everything felt so flat. The characters, the plot, the problems - I mean how many times can one person rinse and repeat a missed connections type thing? I didn’t really like any of the characters, but I am a sucker for a happy ending. Though I find it funny that the author chose to ignore how the Ford family’s happy ending was at the cost of like 3-5 other people’s chance at what they thought would be happiness… I guess that falls in line with the fact that it seems the entire family just will not consider how their actions are or will be affecting those around them 

Heartless Hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli

adventurous emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.75

Oh my hell.

All I want is for Gideon and Rune to get married immediately and kill Cressida and just be in love and be happy. I really didn't like the idea of Alex and Rune, but the ending of this book made me regret that - he really loved every part of her so much.

/  It hurts to see Gideon not be able to differentiate in his heart between a witch who hurt him because she is just shaping up to seem like not a good person, and one who doesn't hurt anyone cause she wants to and that maybe if she has hurt people, it's because it's had to happen (like breaking his heart doing the same to him as he was doing to her). I understand Cressida was like Olympic levels awful to him, but as a person of color who's had to deal with people projecting onto them their one really bad experience with one specific person of color in a very specific setting or situation, it's upsetting to watch it color his perception of every witch. Same with Rune, although in her case she's got more of a reason, especially because Gideon immediately turned into a stone-cold bitch the second it was confirmed Rune was a witch. I can't wait for the second book but unfortunately, I'm gonna have to

Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky

adventurous challenging emotional 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

5.0

Started this book terrified of spiders,  ended this book terrified of nano viruses and ants… and spiders. What a journey I went on during this book - cried so many tears for the spiders; I felt all of their trials and achievements and losses. As far as the crew of the Gilgamesh, it took me a surprising amount of time to really start feeling empathy for them. It was frustrating to see humanity repeat their ancestors mistakes and mirror the mindsets which led to earth’s destruction. Overall, I really loved this book and can’t wait to read the rest of this series 

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

adventurous funny fast-paced

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

4.0

I’ve never read this series though I remember when it was really popular. I think I was too busy being “mature for my age” and in my head that required me hating and avoiding anything being enjoyed by anyone close to my age. I’ve been reading so many Greek mythology re-tellings recently, and I figured it made sense to fit this popular modern round in. 

Immediately felt for and liked Percy - he’s an easy to root for protagonist. I’m not sure if I’ve ever read any of Riordan’s other books, but I like his writing a lot in this. I thought the whole “The gods have followed the western world since its conception in Greece” thing is a concise and believable reason for a story involving the Greek pantheon taking place in the US - and without being disrespectful towards non-western religions and pantheons. It made it interesting to imagine an American version of figures you definitely already have a vision of. All in all, I do plan on dispersing this series in between my other reads 

American Ripper: The Enigma Of America's Serial Killer Cop by Patrick Kendrick

challenging dark informative tense slow-paced

3.5

Read this book after Morbid: A True Crime Podcast covered this case. Very informative and fairly well written. I think the author too often tried to disconnect the many examples of poor police work from why Gerard went so long undetected. The more I read, learn, and listen to any content concerning serial killers, especially the ones active in the 60s-late 80s, the more it’s obvious that one of the major reasons they were all able to make victims of so many people was because of the nature of their respective investigations (or, too often, the lack thereof). I don’t think Gerard was railroaded by the justice system - he was charged as he should have been. It’s a shame the other departments thought it would be a “waste of taxpayer money” to try him for any others. Families have a right to know what happened to their loved ones 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, and Murder

How to Be Eaten by Maria Adelmann

dark mysterious 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

3.5

A decent read, although it’s tough for me to read a book and not find any of the characters particularly likable. Which I might be able to be convinced was the point, if not for the (honestly kind of half assed) “this is a feminist retelling of these fairytales” thing. I didn’t hate the book, I liked the lead up to the reveal at the end, but the actual twist being laid out fell a bit flat -

I was expecting more of an outburst from “Will” or for the women to just off him instead of letting the show possibly be released. Idk

 

Gray After Dark by Noelle W. Ihli

dark tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Holy hell this book was so dark and tense. Heavier and more detailed than I thought it was going to be, but worth the distress

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Rape, Violence, and Medical trauma

Stardust by Neil Gaiman

adventurous mysterious slow-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

4.0

I believe this is the first book of Gaiman’s I’ve ever read. I wasn’t prepared for the lord of the rings-esque tone - and after further research I’ve learned that this book is written unlike any of his others. Nonetheless, I ended up liking it quite a bit. I think the ending saved it for me, and I really like that it doesn’t spend too long on the boring in-betweens that fantasy world building can so easily fall victim to 

The Burning God by R.F. Kuang

dark emotional 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

3.5

I’ve finished this book feeling… dissatisfied. Definitely my least favorite of the series. It felt like the book was about 200 pages longer than it needed to be.

the locating and killings of Vaisra and the Trifecta felt, to me, as if they’d happened too quickly. At least too quickly for nearly 1/3 of the book each spent building to that moment. Even the final actual battle between Rin and Nezha was lackluster and rushed. The ending was obviously sad but I felt less affected by it than the endings of the first 2 books

all in all, a kind of disappointing end to the series. Will probably skip this one in any future revisits