ladybirder's reviews
437 reviews

The First Day of Spring by Nancy Tucker

dark slow-paced

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

3.75

Well that was bleak

Velvet by Lisette Marshall

adventurous fast-paced

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

2.75

Wicked In My Bed by Tamara Gill
Did not finish book. Stopped at 58%.

Stupid and boring

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

emotional reflective 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? No

3.0

The King's Game by Nicole Sanchez

emotional slow-paced

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

3.25

The god of death needs a wife so he kills twenty odd women and turns their purgatory into The Bachelor. 
Fun but tedious at times.

The Days of Abandonment by Elena Ferrante
Did not finish book. Stopped at 29%.

Miserable

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

Surprisingly quirky for a classic and very funny. Only my third Austen but seems like the most obvious example of her disdain of the typical romance novel. 

Early on in the novel the 'narrator' has a little rant about how her characters are reading fiction, as they should, because it's a decent pasttime and fiction is no less impressive than nonfic even though it's mainly read by women. It made me laugh and also sort of emotional at the thought that Austen was writing and publishing novels which were thought of as trash at the time and now she is an author that people read to seem impressive. 

Babel by R.F. Kuang

inspiring medium-paced

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

3.5

An anti-capitslist, anti-emperialist, Harry Potter meets The Secret History.

The writing is very good, decent plot, but I couldn't really connect on an emotional level. I felt like some characters were a little flat, and there was far too much description of the 'intensity' of the friendships - all telling, not much showing (and when there was showing, it often felt forced). 

Paradise Rot by Jenny Hval

medium-paced

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

2.0

At Last by Edward St Aubyn

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.75