mxpringle's reviews
283 reviews

Heaven Official's Blessing: Tian Guan Ci Fu (Novel) Vol. 1 by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

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adventurous lighthearted relaxing fast-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? It's complicated

3.0

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Castle in the Air by Diana Wynne Jones

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

3.0

Overall this whole series was so wholesome and light. Definitely not as cathartic as the Howl's moving castle movie in my opinion, but still very much enjoyable 
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The Faggots & Their Friends Between Revolutions by Larry Mitchell

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hopeful informative inspiring slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I really enjoyed this mostly because I have never read anything like it. It kind of transcends genre because it is part fable and part manifesto, but also somehow reminds me of a queer communist version of Animal Farm. My one complaint is that I don't feel like too much happened plot-wise, it was kind of an expression of ideas and world-building for 100 pages. I wish this world had been expanded on to create more fleshed out characters and conflicts within the beautiful world that Mitchell created. 
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Capitalism: A Ghost Story by Arundhati Roy

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challenging reflective sad tense slow-paced

4.5

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House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones

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adventurous lighthearted relaxing slow-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? Yes

3.0

This was a very good book just to relax myself, but I wouldn't say there was too much that stood out to me. I am finding that the book adaptations of Howl's Moving Castle and the rest of series simply don't compare to how beautiful the Ghibli film is, which is surprising. 
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Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

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adventurous lighthearted medium-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

3.5

This was really lighthearted and kind of exactly what I needed, but I would say it was missing some of the atmosphere that I got from the Ghibli movie adaptation. 
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Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw

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

1.0

The writing in this book was so bad that it was simply absurd. There were even some lines that weren't even complete sentences. The topics of each sentence jumped around with so little flow that it was nearly impossible to follow what was actually happening. The characters were all incredibly shallow, arguing over decades old arguments yet all for some reason deciding to go on their ex's honeymoons??? This was less of a horror novel and more just a group of people arguing about silly relationship drama from years ago, and then happening to run into a variety of Japanese mythological beasts. The mythology and horror aspects were so poorly researched and explained that they added next to nothing to the story. I was so disappointed in this book because I truly did expect it to be an area of horror that isn't often explored, but it turned out to be one of the most asinine books I've ever read. 
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Radio Silence by Alice Oseman

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emotional medium-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? Yes

4.0

This book definitely didn't live up to my expectations I had of Alice Oseman after reading Heartstopper, but it was still really powerful. I found a lot of the ways that the novel represented mental health and emotional abuse to be subtle, yet ultimately very heart rendering because of their subtlety. 
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Antigone by Sophocles

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

1.0

The Circle by Dave Eggers

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challenging informative reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book was an honestly frightening look into the way that large tech monopolies are taking over our government and society, and what they could do if they further decide to do so. I really appreciated all the insight that this book had to offer, but I thought it might've been a bit long and slow for the message it was trying to give. 
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