vel629vet's reviews
1015 reviews

Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross

adventurous emotional hopeful sad tense 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

4.75

A quasi-World War novel where the people are fighting for Gods instead of nations and magic is part of life in small but beautiful ways. 

Basically a 5 star read but I knocked just a tad because I had a hard time staying continuously interested in the story. The last quarter of the book was incredible - I wondered many times how Ross was going to tie up all of the loose ends but she did it masterfully. This was really wonderful and unique fantasy and I think she is an expert storyteller. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and War

Moderate: Gore, Gun violence, and Violence

Funny Story by Emily Henry

emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective 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? Yes

4.0

This was a pretty solid 3 star book for me right up until the end. I didn’t feel that Daphne nor Miles were as developed as characters in her other books and I was generally really uninterested and apathetic about their story unfortunately. I felt like jumping so many days throughout the story (from Sunday to Sunday) meant that we weren’t actually getting to SEE Daphne becoming a new person. We just got told she changed. Same for Miles. 
The ending was very solid for me - really comparable to real life when things just blow up. 

Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted 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

4.25

I love Jimenez's writing. Banter is absolutely top tier in this book, and Briana is one of my favorite romance book heroines ever. She is hilarious. That being said, I liked Part of Your World a bit better because the miscommunication trope was a bit too much for me here. And for a literal doctor to not be in therapy for a traumatic life event was a stretch. Otherwise a really cute story that I thoroughly enjoyed. 

Amazing Spider-Man: Big Time: The Complete Collection, Vol. 4 by Dan Slott

3.0

Alpha was a pretty weak story. This isn’t my favorite work by Dan Slott, and I continue to dislike this art style. Kingpin and Hobgoblin(s) are also pretty forgettable. 

Thor: God of Thunder, Volume 3: The Accursed by Nic Klein, Das Pastoras, Ron Garney, Jason Aaron, Emanuela Lupacchino, Esad Ribić

4.0

Lots of action, lots of gore, a little less invested in Malakith as a villain. Continuously fantastic writing from Jason Aaron though. He continues to show us that he is not writing an MCU/Disney Thor. He is a pretty dark hero. Issue #18 was a really good little vignette of what immature, non-hammer wielding Thor must have been like  

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, and Vomit

Heartstopper Volume 5 by Alice Oseman

emotional hopeful inspiring fast-paced

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

5.0

Continues to be beautifully written. Heartfelt, balanced, thoughtful, and sensitive. Oseman is a master of representation in these graphic novels and nothing feels forced or contrived. Every new book addresses a new difficulty in their relationship or in their personal lives and not everything gets wrapped up with a bow at the end, but everything always feels blessedly hopeful. I adore these books. 

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Eating disorder

Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective 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

5.0

Absolutely adored this book. The writing is young and fresh but not cringey. The love story was so sweet and heartfelt and I love when a town is its own character in itself. The climax had everything to do with the story and setting and was set up perfectly by Jimenez and had nothing to do with two people in love having a misunderstanding. Can’t wait to read more by her!!! 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Moderate: Emotional abuse

Godbomb by Jason Aaron

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

4.5

Jason Aaron has unquestionably established himself as THE writer of Thor. This was on a different level than anything I've ever read from Marvel, and I cannot get over how epically Taika Waititi destroyed this intense and dark story. 
The writing that pulled from the bible was incredibly effective. Young Thor was an idiot. Old Man Thor was a grump. Glad we get to keep reading Avenger Thor. 
More more more! 

Dark Web: Ms. Marvel #1 by Sabir Pirzada

4.0

We Ms. Marvel fans are truly hunting for scraps. This was not a bad contribution to the Kamala Khan story but it just makes me long for an ongoing series!

Saga, Vol. 10 by Brian K. Vaughan

4.0

Not gonna lie - it’s getting hard to read this epic series as individual comics. So much going on and so many callbacks to previous story arcs and characters and I find myself lost in the story.