gossamer_lens's reviews
1360 reviews

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse

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adventurous dark funny fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This book was amazing. It had a great plot, character, and writing style. I was especially thrilled with some of the turns it took, and I put the next book on hold before I even got to the end of this one. The ending was satisfying in many ways, but it was definitely a cliffhanger that made me immediately need the next one. I am so thrilled that it is a complete series so I can just keep going! 

This is a book I would 100% recommend to any fantasy lover! 
A Few Rules for Predicting the Future: An Essay by Octavia E. Butler

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hopeful reflective sad

4.5

This was a very good essay about the predictive elements of science fiction and the real-world reality of change and the future being inherently unpredictable. I appreciated how poinent it is for our time while also being inherently hopeful. I struggle to hold hopeful predictions of the future and it is nice to hear a voice who makes such dire works of art speak on the hope they have for the future. I also appreciated the accompanying art that makes it a solid coffee table book that any guest of my home could dive into and read in one sitting. 
Fireheart Tiger by Aliette de Bodard

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

3.75

I enjoyed this read. It was short and intriguing. I did feel the characters were a bit flat and the points of the story were conveyed in a rather heavy-handed way. I also didn't enjoy the ending that much as it just felt rushed and didn't have a lot of emotional weight for me. But I think a lot of my issues come from this work feeling short for no reason... and I think the writing style was intriguing enough I could enjoy more from this author if it had some room to breath and build. 
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Zia Erases the World by Bree Barton

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful reflective 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 love everything about this book. If this book had been around when I was a younger girl... I would have eaten up and it would have been my comfort read. I loved that it takes the reader seriously while being funny, informative, and emotionally vulnerable. The main character is clearly going through a lot and has some childish but completely grounded and natural ways of dealing with things. 

When things take a whacky and magical turn it stays grounded and totally relatable. Even as a big reader myself as a kid, feelings were sometimes hard to categorize and it took quite a while before the idea of anxiety could even be grasped. I thought this had a beautiful, playful,l and heartfelt way of approaching the subject while not defining it as one particular thing but a host of possible feelings and manifestations. It felt like a nice call-in for anyone who may identify with similar feelings and spoke to them being normal and okay. 

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who works with or has kids in a similar age range and of course to any middle-grade aged person. But really... I'd recommend it to anyone because it's beautiful to read books for your inner child too.
Violeta by Isabel Allende

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emotional informative slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I wanted to like this book more than I did. The time span and placement of the characters were very interesting and informative. I felt like I was taken through a very grand journey of a rather remarkable life. I struggled a bit though because the characters felt rather flat and lifeless. I gave it the benefit of the doubt as it could have been the translation or writing style just not working well for me... but the book felt dragged down for me as it felt a bit like paper dolls being taken through interesting tableaus and someone telling me the whole time what lessons they learned with a heavy "but this lesson is for you" *wink* *wink* vibe.

I definitely found myself finding the topics, themes, and journey interesting. I just could have used it feeling a bit more grounded and fleshed out. Maybe it was the POV, or the way it was written, or the way it was translated. But I could definitely see it all working perfectly for someone else and would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in the history of 1920's-2020's from an interesting perspective and covering key moments globally and for Latin and North America. 
Men of the Harem (Season 1) by Alphatart

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

3.5

I found the pacing to be stilted with it hard to sometimes remember which characters are involved in which plots. I am intrigued to see where things can go from here.
The Remarried Empress, Season 3 by HereLee, Alphatart

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

4.0

A fun solid season. I like the thickening plot with our love interest proving to have more to him then it may have first seemed. 
The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

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funny lighthearted sad fast-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

This is the most 3 star of 3 star books. I get what it was going for. It was certainly doing something and was a quick read. It didn't really offer up a lot of indepth though or material within the work itself. But I can see with context or discussion around it could do for the overall impact of the story. 
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Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

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dark emotional mysterious tense 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

5.0

These books are crazy and amazing. It was refreshing to feel like the mysteries were clearly identified during the whole book. The ending was a crazy set of twists. I cannot wait for the 4th book! 
Saga of Viera by Time Princess

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adventurous inspiring lighthearted relaxing 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? Yes

4.75

I loved the first leg of this story that was dropped a couple of years ago. Getting part 2 made my end of summer! I love fantasy, I love these choose-your-own-adventure books. It was a real treat getting to re-enter this world. Just a fun and delightful story that I think Time Princess managed to wrap up really well.