sara_berlin's reviews
274 reviews

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

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funny hopeful lighthearted reflective slow-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

3.0

A nice, mid-range 3 stars. I'll be honest, I didn't really click with this. Maybe it's because it took me so long to read, but I just kind of wanted to be done. It was a lot more fun to talk about it after reading and reflect on it than to actually read it, which I find to be the case with a lot of classics, so not my favorite. I get why some people really like the story, and there were a few sections that struck me, but overall not my thing. 
Master of One by Dani Bennett, Jaida Jones

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

This was so much fun but also very good quality. At first it reminded me of Six of Crows, but the writing style and characters are pretty different so it wasn't boring or predictable. The characters are all different and the way their stories are introduced and later connected to one another is very well done, especially for third person. Sometime I find it difficult to immediately get the character's voice from outside of their head, but despite the large cast I never had to check who's perspective I was reading nor did I get confused, because the voices are so distinct. 
 I've also only read one fae story (An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson) before and Shining Talon (lol) is a lot more sweet and kind of innocent than the other one was. Him and Rags are kind of the comedic relief, despite Tal being fae and those generally being intimidating and strange. One thing it had in common with An Enchantment of Ravens was that juxtaposition between the fae and the humans, that comparison of overt roughness versus fierceness hidden as elegance. 
Just from the synopsis, you might think that it's trope ridden and predictable, but I think even from the first chapter it's clear that it's really unique, and then later on you see how it twists in unlikely ways. One thing that took me way too long to notice were the fairy tale references
(I mean, glass coffin? Snow White anyone? And the one I was really proud of, mirrorglass? Definitely Snow Queen inspired)
but those were an entertaining easter egg for me nevertheless. 
P.S. Bonus points for entertaining animal companion characters
Violet Made of Thorns by Gina Chen

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 57%.
I'm halfway through and it's just not hooking me. It's alright, but not good and definitely not great, and I just have other priorities right now. I think I could come back to it later, and I won't even have to reread because we are frequently reminded of what happens. 
Also the romance was just not convincing to me.
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

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adventurous challenging tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I’m not sure if I just don’t really get the point of the story or if it’s just not for me. I think I understood the meaning, about like perseverance just for the sake of it, but that doesn’t mean I enjoyed reading it. We’ll see if I’ll digest it and think better of it later.
Dreams of Gods & Monsters by Laini Taylor

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense 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

5.0

Ladies, gentlemen and the technicolor rainbow in between, Laini Taylor’s done it again! 
I admit, the first half still felt really middle book style, but the half really hooked me. It’s  action packed but still slows down for the more emotional moments. If Laini Taylor is good at anything it’s pacing (besides every other aspect of storytelling that she’s also really good at). 
There’s a decent amount of twists and revelations, but not so many that it’s nauseating to keep up with. I felt shaken by the end, but more by the emotional than plot aspects, which is what I prefer. 
A cataclysmic ending to a superb trilogy about war and peace, love and hatred, regret, and redemption. 
I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

For about the first half, I wasn’t really sold. It was lacking the depth that Casey McQuiston’s adult novels have (and not because it’s YA, plenty young adult books have good depth and wonderful characters) but as I kept reading it just got more complex and multidimensional. Personally I couldn’t relate to having to deal with an oppressive religious environment or livingin the depth south, but it was very interesting to read about. I do wish we got more of the friendships in the story, and Chloe’s love for theater, because honestly those were the best scenes. Though, it does makes sense for the plot, considering how much trying to find Shara takes over her life. Also I’m a sucker for epilogues, but again, so much of this book was about anticipation for the future that having an epilogue that kind of resolved that might not have worked. 
Godslayers by Zoe Hana Mikuta

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective tense 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

5.0

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

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adventurous challenging hopeful mysterious 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

5.0

It reminded me of House of Leaves, but then again, so does everything. In this case especially because of the setting and the unreliable narrator, as well as the "experimental/exploration" vibes of it, albeit House of Leaves really gets into it right away, while Piranesi takes a little while to make you realize "huh, something's weird here." In that way it reminds me of a classic (specifically Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne), since it doesn't really bother to get your attention at the start and only gets good if you stick with it. I admit, if you let yourself get wrapped up in the details, instead of just being swept along by the story and getting immersed, it can be a bit of a drag and tiring to read. There's kind of a slow build up of tension, and then all the sudden so many things are happening and there's almost a plot. Also, the ending was pretty quiet, but so was most of the book so I think it worked. Overall, I think this is an interesting little book that I'd like to reread sometime, as there's probably plenty of foreshadowing.
Days of Blood & Starlight by Laini Taylor

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix

5.0

Yet another hit by the beloved Laini Taylor. I admit, it didn't have the intrigue and curiosity of the first book, but I am still freaking out about what's going to happen in the third one. I fall more and more in love with Laini Taylor's writing the more books of hers I read. I'll be so sad once this trilogy is over. 
Bonjour Tristesse by Françoise Sagan

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

4.0

I think the best way to describe this book is it's insightful in its own, quiet way. Definitely a coming of age story, but I think because of the characters' lifestyle and perspective not everything is relatable. Personally, I've been overly self aware for as long as I can remember, unlike Cecile who is the exact opposite, but I still could empathize with some of her struggles and laugh painfully in understanding as she thought certain things. The ending was definitely... interesting, and not quite what I expected from such a generally-lighthearted-but-melancholy-on-the-inside book, yet somehow it still worked. All in all I don't think it was bad, and I did enjoy a decent chunk of it, however if it was any longer I definitely would've dreaded reading it. Not quite for me but still decent. It only really took me this long because I had other, more interesting, things to read.