theteaisaddictive's reviews
311 reviews

Cursed by Marissa Meyer

adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

[redacted], you had possibly the stupidest fantasy bullshit name I’ve heard in quite some time and it’s a good thing you decided to just go by Gild. 

This book has everything. Demons! Ghosts! Abrupt tone shifts in the third act (just like the first book, which I was delighted to see a return to)! Pregnancy! Murder! Ship names as plot-crucial information! A fun romp as always, and why I will always come back for Marissa Meyer’s YA fantasy retelling no matter how old I get. 

Red, the Wolf, and the Woods by Scarlett Gale

emotional funny lighthearted mysterious fast-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

A bite-sized fun and sexy romp, with the sweetest developing relationship between our MCs. Should the author so desire, I’d love to return to this universe one day for a full-length story. 

Maurice by E.M. Forster

emotional hopeful reflective 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

5.0

Got even more out of this book on the reread than I did on my first reading. Maurice and Alec roam the greenwood still. 

Devotion by Hannah Kent

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

The Vanished Bride by Bella Ellis
Did not finish book. Stopped at 5%.

Really wasn’t for me. The idea of the Bronte sisters solving crimes? Nah. 

The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective 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

5.0

Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter

adventurous dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

4.0

I always have a good time reading Angela Carter and this was no exception — wonderful characters, mixing sublimes of emotion with the dregs of human physicality. Possibly not one I’ll revisit immediately, but it’s more than welcome to keep company on my bookshelf — and made me want to reread The Bloody Chamber…

Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale - The Final Chapter by Benjamin Cook, Russell T. Davies

emotional informative inspiring fast-paced

5.0

I absolutely adored this book. First of all, as a look ‘behind the curtain’ into what it was like scripting and exec producing Doctor Who this really was invaluable — I had no idea how gruelling and stressful it was to showrun. Secondly, as an insight into RTD both as a person and professionally — for instance, I now have a list of shows to check out, the vast majority of which I had never heard of (the curse of being a millennial/zoomed cusp). Thirdly, for all the ruminations on why and how one writes; the drive behind it, the craft behind it, and what is or isn’t bullshit. I suspect if my personal philosophy on writing differed wildly from RTD’s I might have found these sections frustrating to sit through, but as our opinions largely seemed to align I found myself nodding along and thinking ‘Yes, exactly, that’s exactly what it feels like.’

His Sacred Incantations by Scarlett Gale

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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? No

3.75

A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall

adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted slow-paced

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

3.5