sphynxreads's reviews
746 reviews

Ipinanganak Akong Bakla At Ilan Pang Mga Akda by Gerard Gruezo

Go to review page

funny inspiring lighthearted mysterious relaxing fast-paced

4.0

A brilliant sampler of the creative genius behind the online persona Gerald the Bookworm's bubbly personality! I enjoyed all the works in this collection, especially 'Ang Una Kong Regla'. Gerald knows how to write short non-fiction, but I am eager to read any long form stories he might have in store for us in the future.
Lovely Dark and Deep by Elisa A. Bonnin

Go to review page

dark inspiring mysterious tense 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

3.5

I received an eARC of this book through the author via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book had a bit of a rough start for me since there were some character moments that came too early and don't feel quite earned. There were also some emotional moments that felt spoonfed. However, upon finishing the book I found myself attached to the main cast of characters as a group because of how endearing they were individually and how much they unquestioningly cared for one another. I haven't read much dark academia before, but I did find myself wishing there was more world-building, particularly in terms of the school setting which seemed interesting but never really got the full exposure it could have had. I did like how everything wrapped together at the end though and how the themes this book was trying to tackle were explored. There's also some great autistic and queer rep here.
Si by Bob Ong

Go to review page

emotional 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? Yes

4.5

This is my first Bob Ong novel, and wow was I floored by how good it was! Bob Ong's writing style is so accessible yet so beautiful that there were so many seemingly simple lines that hit hard for me. He displays such an intimate understanding of human nature, what it means to love, and how our experiences and the people around us shape us. Phenomenal. Will definitely be reading more of his works in the future!
Spy x Family, Vol. 9 by Tatsuya Endo

Go to review page

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

4.0

This manga can practically go on forever and I'll eat every single volume up. Wildly entertaining as always!
Spy x Family, Vol. 8 by Tatsuya Endo

Go to review page

adventurous funny fast-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

Definitely one of my favorite volumes in the series!! This seems like a huge step up from the previous volumes and I absolutely LOVE Yor!
Spy x Family, Vol. 7 by Tatsuya Endo

Go to review page

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

4.0

Still a lot of fun and I get that occasional character studies are important but some of the missions here felt like filler more than anything.
Spy x Family, Vol. 6 by Tatsuya Endo

Go to review page

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

4.0

Probably one of my least favorite volumes in the series but still incredibly solid! I am amazed at how consistently good this manga is. That said, and to go against the grain of popular sentiment, I think the tennis match lasted way too long and I don't really like Nightfall.
Spy x Family, Vol. 5 by Tatsuya Endo

Go to review page

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

4.5

Still in its A-game with top-notch humor, feel good vibes, and now seemingly higher stakes. I've never had a reason to doubt Tatsuya Endo.
The Battle for Wondla, Volume 3 by Tony DiTerlizzi

Go to review page

adventurous 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

2.0

What a sputtering end to what was initially a promising series. Perhaps it's not the book's fault at all but I just found myself less and less interested the longer the series went. The characters I grew to care about are barely in the picture, the writing has gone quite dry, and there is nothing else holding this series up than the exceptional world-building and thoughtful messages. I'm sure at another point in my life I would have loved this series a lot more, but alas, I was bored to death reading this one.
Young Avengers by Heinberg & Cheung Omnibus by Jim Cheung, Alan Davis, Andrea Di Vito, Allan Heinberg

Go to review page

adventurous tense medium-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

3.5

This is my first foray into Marvel Comics, and I have to say, I'm a little bit disappointed. In this collection I only really liked the Children's Crusade storyline and a few of the issues with Runaways crossovers, but the rest simply fell flat for me. Many of the stories were just downright dull, with big action scenes not feeling like they've really been earned. Still, I was so engrossed with the Children's Crusade that I'm definitely willing to give Marvel Comics another shot in the future. I'm open to taking suggestions for another omnibus to check out if anyone has any.