sphynxreads's reviews
757 reviews

The Anti-Ableist Manifesto: Smashing Stereotypes, Forging Change, and Building a Disability-Inclusive World by Tiffany Yu

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hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

3.5

I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

An excellent primer on understanding disability and how non-disabled people can become better allies to the community. While I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to build more awareness about the triumphs, struggles, contributions, and needs of the disabled community, I can't say it really taught me anything new that I didn't already know before.
Ipinanganak Akong Bakla At Ilan Pang Mga Akda by Gerard Gruezo

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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.