micaelamariem's reviews
742 reviews

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.5

One of the online book clubs I joined decided to start the Mistborn trilogy this month, and I was so excited to finally get a taste of Brandon Sanderson literature. Because I drive a lot, I decided to go with the audiobook for this one, though in retrospect, I think with all the characters, hard magic system, and action scenes, physical would have been better and less confusing.

In the Final Empire, the Lord Ruler rules over all, ash continues to fall, and the Skaa population are treated like slaves. But Kelsier intends to change that. A Mistborn half-Skaa, he recruits elite allomancers to take on the most dangerous mission: take down the Lord Ruler. His secret weapon: a street-rat girl with the same powers as him, afraid to trust anyone. Will she be able to trust him in order to get the job done?

There were so many characters that it became hard to keep track of. Some of the most important ones were: Vin, Kelsier, Elend, Marsh, Sazed, and the Lord Ruler. Vin, Kelsier, and Elend were the main characters with a heavy emphasis on Vin. I appreciate the character development in these three as they learn the importance of trust vs betrayal, empathy, and wisdom. If I had to rate the characters, I'd give them an 8/10.

The atmosphere in the world is grim. It's a dystopian world covered in ash and mist while half the population are enslaved. Sure, the nobility distract themselves from this with balls and parties, but even among them, there is a cutthroat necessity to survive. I thought Sanderson did a good job at bringing out these themes of survival vs love through the environment. The worldbuilding develops a hard magic system that is very well thought out, though a bit dull or heavy for some readers. (It's me--I'm some readers. I'm sorry! I appreciate all the work he put it in this, but I really don't like going through each specific metal and what they do and their drawbacks. It takes away from the plot.) If I had to rate atmosphere, it would be 6/10.

Despite the hard magic system, the writing style was evocative and compelling. Told in Vin's and Kelsier's (and occasionally Elend's) third person perspective, we as readers could fully grasp each character's motivations and how those change or adapt over the course of the book. Though Sanderson switches between perspectives, he's also able to hold back enough detail to keep the mystery going until the plot twist--and there were definitely parts near the end that had me gasping. There were also plenty of action scenes that made the book seem more fast-paced, and he also sprinkled in some witty dialogue to keep the comic relief going. Writing style rating: 10/10

Plot-wise, the book is also compelling. I'm a sucker for any dystopian rebellion story, though, which might make me biased. What I especially loved was the balance of action scenes and budding romance--all knit together with the aforementioned witty dialogue. I did, however, think there were too many scenes where the assembled crew simply sat around and talked and made plans. This part to me was dull, but at the same time, it could also symbolize their closeness to the nobles who would sit and philosophize, or provide opportunity for the crew to build trust and relationships with each other, so I understand the necessity. Still, it brings down my rating of plot just a little to an 8/10.

Intrigue was one of the best components of the book. There were many reveals towards the end that had my mouth gaping. There are still questions that need to be answered in the next two books of the trilogy, like questions about Vin's power, the mists themselves, and a new budding religion. Intrigue: 10/10

Though it took me time to get used to the heavy worldbuilding, hard magic system, and multitude of characters, I really ended up enjoying this book. I think part of my drawback was listening to an audiobook--and one with only one narrator at that. I think I would have been able to follow along easier with the text in front of me, which is what I'll probably do for the rest of the series. Enjoyment rating? 7/10.

Overall, I'd give this book a 3.5 star rating, round up to 4 on Goodreads. I fully expect the subsequent books to be higher rated and me to slowly become a Sanderson fangirl.

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The Connellys of County Down by Tracey Lange

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

I really enjoyed this read! A short but powerful exploration of a broken family as the FMC, Tara, is released from prison and back into the home of her chaotic but loving siblings. I love the exploration of trauma within the characters and how that translated to their relationships with one another (maybe that’s the psychologist in me). I also loved the metaphor of a fairy tale, showing us how powerful stories really are. Perhaps more powerful though, is love, which can be both freeing and debilitating depending on the situation (debilitating in how Tara tries to care for her siblings or how Brian tries to protect his uncle, freeing in how Brian and the siblings stop judging each other and support each other). The characters were each so multifaceted and I think that’s a remarkable thing to pull off in such a short read. I even like the way it bounced perspectives so we got the full picture.
The parts that were supposed to be plot twists I could see coming a mile away but I loved it anyway.
Fully recommend.

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Dark Fae by Susanne Valenti, Caroline Peckham

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dark emotional medium-paced

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

3.25

While I didn’t like this as much as the main series, and the grammar errors take me out 💀, I’m definitely invested in the romance. I genuinely hope this ends up being a why choose lol. Theory time (potential spoilers idk): I don’t think any of the kings killed Elise’s brother. I think it’s someone connected to them, though, who has a way to use their faces.

Um also did we really name the school mean girl Cindy Lou bec that also took me out lol.

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Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

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adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

3.5 stars rounded up
I didn’t love this book as much as I expected to but I did like it! There were twists I was expecting and twists I wasn’t. I do like the different characters (though Jem is my favorite! How is he a teenager but so mature and thoughtful??)
I thought the time, setting, and descriptions were evocative and the plot unique.
I’m excited to keep reading the series, and hope I get more into it.
And I hope Will stops being an asshole!

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Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

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adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

This was a hard book to read, not because of the writing, but because of the content. It’s hard to imagine how people were so cruel (and in some cases, still are). As the first sci-fi novel by a black woman, and a novel that explored the emotional toll of slavery, it is an important read. I wouldn’t be surprised if Tracy Deonn drew inspiration from this for some of Bree’s blood crafting powers in Legendborn.
Some things that frustrated me about the book is never learning how Dina’s powers worked and the empathy she had towards Rufus. I hated him so much, I couldn’t sympathize with the empathy. But I guess that’s part of the exploration of the complexity of emotions (though it sounds almost like a Stockholm syndrome trauma bond thing).

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The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

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adventurous emotional reflective slow-paced

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

5.0

This book!!! I had no clue when I picked it up how much I was going to love it.
I love that the characters were flawed but in a relatable way. I related to Henry so much it hurt—“blink and you’re 28 and everyone is a mile ahead of you.” I cried.
I love how reflective and descriptive the writing style was.
I love the Dorian Gray-coded plot and the twists around the plot.
I love the themes of art being a human mark and love versus possession.
I hate how for a minute there I also fell for the devil.
Honestly 5/5 stars. It was amazing.

Content Warnings

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

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emotional hopeful mysterious reflective slow-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

3.25

Now that I discovered I like audiobooks when I drive (which I do a lot for work) a whole world has opened up for me. I have a chance of getting closer to finishing those 5000 books I want to read. Thanks to Hoopla, my latest read was The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon, published by vintage books.

April is Autism Awareness Month and I know this book featured an autistic main character and was on my want to read list since it was on the summer reading list in 9th grade. Other than those two facts, I didn't know much about it. But now I have some thoughts and in order to share those, this review will have spoilers.

Unfortunately, the author's website isn't updated so I don't have much to say about him.

To summarize, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime is about 15-year-old Christopher who discovers the neighbor's dog lying dead and wants to solve the mystery of who killed it. This mystery spurns a lot of drama in his family and reveals a lot of things about Christopher's parents they tried to hide. And, in learning these secrets, we also learn that Christopher has autism, quite high on the spectrum, and this had become something of tension within the family as well.

First, a note on the representation. Going into this book, I did now know anything about how controversial it was, and as someone who is not autistic (though I am neurodivergent), I didn't fully grasp how poor the portrayal was until reading other reviews. I am aware that autism is a broad spectrum. There are people with it who have highly specialized needs and need to live with a caretaker. Others have it and function in today's society well, though sometimes that is because of masking which can be energy-draining. In this book, Christopher seemed to be the former case, but as I read reviews, I saw that it was dangerous to portray autistic people as being unable to pick up on any social cues as Christopher was. Perhaps more distressing was reading that the author did zero research on the subject. This was an age before sensitivity readers but to do absolutely no research is alarming. Now, again, I am not autistic, so i am not the best person to say whether this is good or bad representation. I'm merely parroting what others have said and am willing to listen to other views.

Moving on to the story itself.

Version 1.0.0

I both loved and hated how deeply flawed the characters were. For one, this made it more realistic, as we are all imperfect human beings who make mistakes and can let anger and frustration get the better of us. But--I also kind of hated Christopher's parents because they were on the verge of becoming abusive and certainly did things that crossed lines. In fact, can we agree that his dad was the worst?? (Here's where the spoilers come in). He lied about Christopher's mom for years. He murdered a dog because a woman wouldn't date him (that was my take on the subject, anyway). I do believe this man belonged in jail, honestly. (It was a plot twist though; I really didn't think he was the one who killed the dog. I saw the lying about the mom but not the murder).

I like the way the setting was described. It really got into the head of a boy who pays attention to detail. And, as someone who lived in England for a few years, I can appreciate a lot of the references, which is why I'm glad I didn't read this in 9th grade.

Again, the writing style was unique. It really captured the main character, and while it took some getting used to, I admire the characterization of it. It floored me for a minute, but I liked the chapters being in prime numbers.

Plot-wise, the book was definitely different. I'll be honest; I thought the "curious incident of the dog" was a metaphor. I had no idea a dog actually was killed. I almost couldn't handle it and that was the first chapter. Otherwise, the plot was exciting, but again a lot of emotional trauma with the characters that I wasn't prepared for.

Overall, it took me a while to get used to, but I ended up enjoying it, even if I hated some of the characters and some parts made me sick to my stomach (especially any mention of bathrooms, I have a weird phobia about that). But I also want to take into count the lack of accountability of author research--so I'm going to have to knock it down a full star for that. Which means I'm giving this book three stars. A good read, but unsure if I'd recommend.

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Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan

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emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-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? It's complicated

2.5

I wasn’t expecting this to be so cringy 😭 I think it’s a novel that 2003 needed. It’s actually sad that by 2025 we still don’t have towns as accepting of LGBTQ+ populations as this town was. That part was beautiful.
But the characters were very melodramatic, even for teenagers. I felt they were a touch sentimental, and not in the good way. It was hard for the characters to feel believable when they did things like dance in the self-help section of the bookstore, be super open with their family, and bet on love lives. Then with a big portion of the novel being about miscommunication and cheating was a huge turn off for me. Also, did we even ever figure out Joni’s situation?? I hate how it ended with her. So it’s actually more like 2 stars but I have extra points for uniqueness and being a comfort novel where gay characters don’t have to “come out.”

Content Warnings

Animal Farm by George Orwell

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reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

I genuinely don’t know how to review this. It’s a classic and social commentary on the Russian Revolution and the rise of communism in the 1940s. But also, I think it’s more of a social commentary on the greed of men. No matter how much people strive for equality, when someone gets a taste of power, they get a hunger that makes them become the enemy. Perhaps that’s a grim take on humanity, but I’m feeling grim lately 😬

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Zodiac Academy: The Reckoning by Susanne Valenti, Caroline Peckham

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dark funny fast-paced

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

4.0

I don’t know exactly why I love this series, but I do. In this book, I start to understand the motivations and backstories for the heirs, and feel bad for most of them. ( except max. F Max. I’m also annoyed by Seth’s whimpering lol). The plot thickens as the twins approach the trials that determine if they can stay at school and the lunar eclipse where shit is planning to go down. With everything, the stakes are raised and the spice increases. The writing isn’t award winning but the characters, plot, and intrigue keeps me wanting more. I tried so hard here not to give anything away lol.

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micaelamariem's reviews 742 reviews

micaelamariem's reviews
742 reviews