zsabella's reviews
135 reviews

Mort by Terry Pratchett

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adventurous funny lighthearted 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

3.75

Mindhunter by John E. Douglas, Mark Olshaker

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challenging dark informative sad medium-paced

3.0

glad I picked this up as an audiobook, because otherwise it would be a bit of a struggle to make it past the first few chapters. when douglas describes the "unsub's" motives, psychology, or the minute details of each case I feel the minutes fly by, but the pace stops dead in its tracks anytime he talks about anything else. if I wasn't already motivated to read this after rewatching netflix's excellent mindhunter series--which is so much more compelling than this particular work--it's very likely I would have DNF'd it.
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Death's End by Cixin Liu

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

"This is a lovely time, just right for remembering."

this series, and especially this final book, is worth every science fiction fan’s time and patience. I’ve never read a series that could effectively leave me a) amazed, b) frightened, or c) totally intrigued by the end of each chapter. the level of imagination and speculative engineering that it must have taken to write the fairytales leaves me in awe. cixin liu's mastery of weaving numerous scientific concepts and ideas throughout this comes together so harmoniously after the climax, I find it hard to fault it.

I was so stunned by the level of catharsis in the last few chapters that when I reread the preface at the beginning of the book I couldn’t help but cry. I knew while reading three body problem last year that the trilogy was going to be a special read for me, but I could never have predicted the imaginative heights liu wanted to take it to. it's absolutely one of the easiest 5 stars I’ve ever had the pleasure to give.
The Sandman by Neil Gaiman, Dirk Maggs

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious 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

4.5

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful 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? It's complicated

3.75

it’s nice to read a fantasy story where the core relationship portrays sisters with its entire range of love and hate, and doesn’t center on a conventionally brave and capable protagonist. you really feel for marra (who is barely recognized as royalty and more of a nun-in-training) who’s as deeply unsure of herself as we are of her. we follow all the lows throughout her journey as she gets flustered, easily discouraged, and exhausted and yet is still driven enough to take on every obstacle thrown her way all for the sake of her sisters. I adored the character relationships and the wholesome team dynamic that supported marra as our atypical heroine. 
 
I love when a story like this immediately reminds me how fun and satisfying a quest storyline can be! for a novel less than 300 pages, this captures the same adult, fairytale-esque energy I’ve been looking for since reading neil gaiman’s stardust years ago. nettle and bone is my first t. kingfisher read (of likely many!), and I have to applaud her for striking a great balance between being lighthearted and emotional. 100% recommend for anyone looking for an entertaining yet cozy fantasy read. 
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The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly

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adventurous dark emotional sad 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

3.5

this is a deceptively simple coming of age story of a young boy transported into a dark, fantasy world. the story carries the same energy and atmospheric quality of the movie pan’s labyrinth (2006) by guillermo del toro but with a less fascistic, war-torn angle. at first I was pretty enchanted by the fairytale-like writing until the crooked man was introduced and I could literally feel my skin trying to crawl off my body. I liked the adult retellings of classic fairytales and fables, along with reading a few others that I had never come across before. I also really enjoyed the woodsman and roland characters who served david as interesting companions! such a solid read for any fantasy fan that needs a stand-alone novel and not an entire series to win them over.
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The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 59%.
Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh

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funny lighthearted fast-paced

3.5

Dune by Frank Herbert

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

4.5