thisbookishcat's reviews
663 reviews

Vampires at Sea by Lindsay Merbaum

reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

3.25

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy to read and review. Well that was different. It's giving vampire novels from the 90s,but then with a lot of tech. I like my vampires to be more sultry than slutty, but since this is from their viewpoint I can appreciate how they would view it since I usually read from the human's POV; if this was from the view of one of the other cruise members, I'm sure it'd be sultry as all Hell.

I think I'll be processing this one for a bit, much like Rebekah. 

City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare

adventurous tense fast-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

4.0

What the fuck did I read - I don't remember Clary being so annoying when I first started the series but maybe that's a teenager thing. Regardless, now that I'm older I feel soooo much for Magnus and this one really hit in the Magnus feels. Of course, I'm back on the bandwagon. Time to binge the rest of the series I guess. 

An Outbreak of Witchcraft: A Graphic Novel of the Salem Witch Trials by Deborah Noyes

dark reflective sad tense fast-paced

4.5

This was a really interesting take and representation of the Salem Witch Trials, the build up, events themselves, and the aftermath. The art of this also did a wondefucl job of alluding the horrors of what was taking place without being overt and gory about it. Great graphic novel representation of a terrible moment in history. 

Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster by Adam Higginbotham

challenging dark informative reflective slow-paced

4.25

I thought the author did a really good job of not just explaining the tragedy but also humanizing all of the people involved, and their families, as well as explaining how this wasn't an issue of one accident taking place but an overall failing from conception to recovery. 

Tulip Fever by Deborah Moggach

emotional reflective medium-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

4.0

While this time in history is a bit more dramatized by media than what the realities are, I really enjoyed this step back into time in such a dramatic and all-encompassing way. The author did a wonderful job of highlighting all different sorts of lifestyles and social and economic classes in such a short book. A great read if you want to dip your toe into Dutch history and you happen to like art. 

Dragon by Clive Cussler

adventurous funny lighthearted tense fast-paced

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

4.25

This has been the most enjoyable Dirk Pitt novel yet. Over the top and fantastical? A bit, but in the best way, and with way less misogyny than in the previous books. 

The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan

adventurous tense fast-paced

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

4.5

This is honestly a very solid ending to the main series. Satisfying and tragic in all the right ways (that is age appropriate). 

Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins

adventurous challenging dark sad tense medium-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

3.75

I liked this but I didn't love it. This, for me, didn't have the same punch that the original trilogy had, and not just because I knew his outcome but I'd been expecting to feel sometbing but to me a lot of it felt flat compared with the other books from this series as a whole. Still, I'm happy to have more Panem lore. 

Cruel Princes by Jillian Frost

dark medium-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

3.25

Compared to the prequel book this one was rough. Not my usual thing indeed and it really showed with how long this one took for me to get through. I need a nap after all that. 

The Goblin Wood by Hilari Bell

adventurous medium-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? It's complicated

3.25

This is definitely a book that, if I'd read as a preteen, I would have been crazy about. It had the right level of seriousness and whimsy, the only reason I'm rating it higher is I would have loved to follow the goblins more.