kinzo103's reviews
95 reviews

Burn the Negative by Josh Winning

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mysterious medium-paced

3.0

This book was okay. It started to feel really long about halfway through and at that point, I wasn’t getting excited about picking it up. There were a couple points where the writing felt like it was trying hard to be “deep” and missed the mark. The ending felt disjointed from the beginning, and it felt like everything was just kind of thrown together. I enjoyed the formatting; I liked the extra details and context from the excerpts between every chapter. If you’re looking for a thriller with an HEA, this isn’t it.
Destroy Me by Tahereh Mafi

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Did not finish book.
I think the intention of this novella was meant to make Warner more palatable after making him an obsessive psychopath in the first book while also setting him up as the potential love interest? This book did him no favors, he’s annoying and pathetic. I also think the writing isn’t great and it makes his character seem flat and inconsistent.
The Bank by Bentley Little

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 5%.
Just isn’t what I’m looking for right now, I would like to return to this author later. I also think I might enjoy physically reading this more than listening to the audio.
Final Girls by Riley Sager

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

4.0

I’ve never read a Riley Sager novel that I didn’t like and this one was no different. I read a lot of thriller/horror novels but not many of them make me jump at every noise; this one did. It was eerie and anxiety inducing and I loved all of it. It freaked me out a little extra because it frequently mentions a city I grew up very close to 😅 even scarier when they’re close to home!
Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

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

3.75

The writing style of this book isn’t my favorite, not including the frantic style meant to indicate Juliette’s mental state. Conversations are rushed, choppy, and unrealistic. The book also ended in a really weird place, not enough of a cliffhanger to have me rushing into the next book. I think I’m going to continue this series at some point because I’ve heard good things and I enjoy the concept, but it’s not a super high priority because nothing about this first book made me want to really lock in.
Bring Me Your Midnight by Rachel Griffin

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lighthearted relaxing medium-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? It's complicated

4.25

This was amazing! I don’t know why I haven’t heard of this book before. I really enjoyed the concept and the character development throughout, and the moral questions it poses. This story exists in a vacuum, in a very insulated world, but that didn’t take away from it for me. This is the perfect kind of story to exist as a standalone, the world isn’t very big and the lore isn’t too detailed but it’s just enough to paint a romantic picture of where and how this story is taking place. I loved this so much!
Together We Rot by Skyla Arndt

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dark sad 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

4.0

This is my kind of Christmas story: dark, woodsy, and culty. I appreciated the exploration of religious abuse, but there was a little too much sermon here for me. However, it was made up for by a rag tag group of teenagers that were in way over their heads, I would have appreciated more time with the whole group together.
Clever Creatures of the Night by Samantha Mabry

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mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

This was okay. I liked it well enough, but it felt like a whole lot of building plot for a rather unsatisfying climax and ending. While I am keeping in mind that this is YA horror, it felt pretty lowkey even for YA. I liked the sub-plot/setting even more than the main plot, and I could read a story just about the explosion and the aftermath. Great potential, just fell a bit short for me.
The Emperor and the Endless Palace by Justinian Huang

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adventurous mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

I really enjoyed the concept of this story and I loved the world building and getting to experience the same characters through different points in history. However, this is a love story, not a romance, so there is no HEA. The ending felt unsatisfying, not because there was no happily ever after but because I felt like it left River’s story very open-ended, and we never really know what happened in the Emperor’s timeline. Does the curse get broken? Where did the curse come from? Does it matter? I still very much enjoyed this book, but this doesn’t feel like the kind of story where I can happily not know how it ends.
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

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

4.5

There have been many books that made me cry from happiness or sadness, but this is the first book that made me cry from anger. I hate this story but I love this book. This one will stick with me for a long time.

The only drawback for this book for me personally is that I found the nonlinear timeline a bit confusing. Usually I love no linear timelines but I think listening to the audiobook made it more difficult to follow and understand where I was at in the story. It didn’t take away from the story but I kept having to go back and listen again to digest details that indicated where I was in the timeline.