woodglimm's reviews
76 reviews

Murder in Mesopotamia  by Agatha Christie

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mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

Babel by Kenah Cusanit

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informative slow-paced
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

Für mich persönlich einfach nichts
The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde

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funny mysterious relaxing sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

4.5

i always knew the story of the canterville ghost, seen plays etc but up until now I never read the original. and boy is it funny- i did not expect all the jokes to be on the source material-
just leave out the racism next time, mr oscar wilde.
Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan

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

3.5

 To dive into the world of your favourite book can be a dream for many – for Rae it becomes reality, with a chance to save her own life because she is dying with a cancer diagnosis.
 With the help of magic she finds herself in her favourite book, in the body of Rahela – the villain who is about to be executed. Thanks to Rae’s knowledge about the story she can manipulate some events. But since her memory isn’t the best anymore, her unreliable knowledge can cause some trouble. 

The premise of the book sounds pretty interesting, and the story starts strong. I really liked the writing style, but there were some passages that stood out negatively and “bumpy” which I would put to the fault of the translation (I read a German copy). For some words I would have preferred to not have been translated, since they really didn’t sound great (“Schurkenhintergrundgeschichte” for villain origin story or something similar, again, I haven’t read the original, so I don’t know the exact words that were used). There were also a couple of typos, which in this case weren’t the author’s fault but after the third one… you just keep noticing them… 

About the story: I have to agree with some other comments I read – a couple of scenes felt too long and dry, about midway through the book I struggled with progressing, and so did the story, in my opinion. But the beginning and ending definitely caught my attention. There were characters I liked, and others I didn’t like so much, but that is truly subjective, as well as liking the romantic plotlines. I can understand that people like to read those, but in the case of Long Live Evil I’d rather not read it
(you’ve known each other for what??? A week?? Hello??)

 But very positive: the way queer characters are included. It made me very happy because it’s so casual and not made into a huge deal – it’s just normal! 

I want to speak about the ending as little as possible, to not spoil anything, but I will say this one thing: I wished it was a standalone. But since I’m too curious, I’ll probably go on and read the next book sooner or later – but definitely not in German. I will 100% choose the original English version again. 

Despite my points of criticism I still enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it! 

Some thoughts about the appearance of the book: 

I really love the cover (dtv paperback version), the art style is all I need and more, and I would definitely have picked up this book in a store – if I hadn’t won it on Lovelybooks. The sprayed edges are on the thin line between pretty and… too much, there is a lot going on and I feel like (one colour or gradient) sprayed edges simply look nicer on hardcover books in general. But that is also a very subjective opinion. 

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The Magnus Protocol by Jonathan Sims, Alexander J. Newall

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

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

4.0

never read twilight when i was young but decided now was the time and honestly? if you don't take it too seriously it's great fun!
Mimik: Psychothriller | SPIEGEL Bestseller Platz 1 by Sebastian Fitzek

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dark emotional sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated

5.0

first fitzek book i read, got recommended to me by a friend who read (almost?) all of his books - she said it's the best one. and damn. i expected a thrilling book that can bind me into its spell and well - i read it in one day. so yeah. it was good. a lot of twists i didn't see coming.
might be worth to read trigger warnings beforehand though.
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Pages To Fill by Travis Baldree

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medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

a little short story on how viv discovered coffee. it was included in my legends and lattes edition (so i didn't include a date and just logged it as read lol)
you get thrown right into it but since i read it AFTER the main story (as it is in my copy) i knew the characters already and it didn't bother me much. only I'd like to know more about her former life and quests...
Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

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funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

very relaxing escapism read. "not much" happening, but it doesn't need to, bc good it is that way - simply to escape a stressful daily life, flee into a different world.

Das Bildnis des Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

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

4.5

all i knew before reading was "theres dorian and his portrait ages instead of him". it was a VERY fun read, i devoured this book (reading slump who???). might need to reread it in english (i just happen to own this german version, got it for free), definitely the gayer version if i can find a copy.
absolutely worth a read in my opinion. 
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