cursed_sapphire's reviews
163 reviews

Stars Above by Marissa Meyer

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.25

The Night Swim by Megan Goldin

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

What I have learned by reading this book: I really hate reading about trials. I already knew that, unless this book was going to have either a seriously questionable or very pessimistic ending, the defendant would get charged. But I had hoped the mystery would still pull me in. It didn't. 

In better news, I did like the murder mystery half. The twists were interesting, and the flashbacks were by far the best written segments of the story. 

But sadly, overall my enjoyment of this book was hampered by a trial plot I did not feel invested in. If you like watching lawyer shows or otherwise just don't mind court stories, this would probably be a pretty good book for you. But I guess I just came for the murder mystery thriller and left disappointed by the legal case.
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Age of Vice by Deepti Kapoor

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

The first two thirds of this book had me hooked. Especially the first third, from Ajay's perspective. But the last third felt unfocused and bloated. I struggled for weeks to read the 50 pages from Sunil's perspective because every time I picked up the book and read a but of that section I found myself frustrated and annoyed. I didn’t care about the bloated life story of a psycho, I would much rather have more of Sunny's perspective. The writing here is top-notch and there are some great characters and concepts in it, but I can’t bring myself to say I liked the book as a whole. I'm glad I read it, but ultimately I'm also glad it's finally over.
The Ghost Sonata by Jennifer Allison

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious relaxing 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? It's complicated

5.0

I thought this was the best of the series as a kid, and I'm happy to find I still see it that way. This book was the funniest of the first three books, and the tension is so much higher. I like that Wendy got more focus in this, and I really appreciated her arc in this. The side characters were all fun and didn't overstay their welcome, and the paranormal aspect was much more prevalent, and tied into the story much better than in Ladies of the Lake. This is such a fun read, and it tones down some of the flaws of the earlier books while enhancing their best parts.
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Upgrade by Blake Crouch

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

This book read like an action move- but a great one. The explorations of genetic science and its relationships to humanity, intelligence, and emotion were really compelling. I saw another reviewer recommend this book if you like the movie Gattaca, and I think it's a great comparison, although this book had more action scenes mixed in. 
My only real complaint is that the main character's arc fell a bit flat at the end- mild spoiler, but
he's still doing the same things he was in the beginning of the story, but on a greater scale.

I will definitely check out Blake Crouch's other books based on this one. This was the fastest I've finished a book in a while, and was a very rewarding experience. 
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Gilda Joyce: The Ladies of the Lake by Jennifer Allison

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adventurous dark funny lighthearted mysterious sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Although a step down from the first book, the second installment of the Gilda Joyce series continues to entertain. The sense of humor continues to delight, although the plot here felt a bit more sparse. Also, this book often lacked a character for Gilda to work off of. In the first book we had Juliet, a character who was Gilda's constant companion once she got to San Fransisco, and served to both humble and help Gilda when necessary. Here that's replaced by Gilda's hostile relationship with her mother's boyfriend Brad, occasional visits with Gilda's best friend Wendy Choy, and a few consistent students and faculty at the Catholic girls' school that serves as the setting for this particular adventure. While Gilda's investigative skills have significantly improved in this sequel, I feel that the central core of the story was lacking- the book, while focusing on the tragic death of a girl who drowned in the lake, often veered into long bouts of unrelated drama, leaving the mystery sometimes forgotten. I also found Gilda's arguments with her mother unpleasant, with her mother trying her best and Gilda being often openly hostile. And unlike the first book, where Gilda often showed sympathy for her mother through narration and typed letters to her dead father, here she seemed exclusively harsh, doubting Ms. Joyce could ever take even a passing interest in her daughter's hobbies/activities. Overall this book felt less focused and a bit meaner than the first book, but the wit and Gilda's odd antics still make for an enjoyable experience. 
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Sea Witch by Sarah Henning

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dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

This book was alright. This is a decent tale as an origin story for the sea witch (of little mermaid fame). However, as a book, I feel it was somewhat lacking. The characters and plot all felt a little underdeveloped. I enjoyed the character of Annemette, who got the most focus throughout the story despite not being the main character. And I think the
tragic
ending was fairly good, although some of the characters didn't get enough of a chance to partake in it, to show their true colors/the way they changed. It was rushed but then landed in a good place. The middle of the story is a bit dull, although the several flashback sequences remain more interesting. The last chapter was my favorite, so at least the book ended on a high note. For the author's first novel, this isn't bad, although it had the potential to be even greater. I don't plan to read the sequel- I believe the ambiguous ending of this story is better than any sequel could be.
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The Invisible Husband of Frick Island by Colleen Oakley

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funny lighthearted mysterious reflective sad 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

3.0

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

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challenging dark reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I don't know if I loved this because I related so hard to parts of it or because I'm a philosophy sucker who loves nothing more than a complex exploration of what it means to be human, but I really loved this. Despite the absurdity, everything in this book felt so grounded and realistic, with the main character losing more of his humanity as he grows more and more isolated. I don't want to spoil the ending, but I really loved it. I couldn’t recommend this highly enough, especially due to how short it is. 
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The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

This book is very easy to pick up and read, with short chapters and lots of cliffhangers and twists. The characters were likable but nothing too special, but all have potential for further growth in a sequel. I saw another review mention that there were too many twists, and I agree, as near the end there was a section where it felt like the suspect changed every 20 pages. The killer's monolog explaining their motivation also went on for multiple chapters which was far too long and complicated (although to be fair, most chapters in this book are between 2-5 pages, so it's more like the killer's monolog lasted for one medium-sized chapter, but the complaint still stands). I wish there was more time spent establishing characters other than the protagonist, but I did like the female lead. The biggest pros were the tension and the fact that it's dripping with atmosphere. This book is fun for a fun, popcorn read, but nothing too deep. 
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