hmclint's reviews
8 reviews

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

emotional hopeful inspiring sad 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

4.0

Not my usual type of book but read it for a book club and it felt good for the soul, the audio book has an excellent voice actor!

Grey Sister by Mark Lawrence

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Just like the first book in the series I thought the action sequences were confusing to follow but the overall story and internal monologue of the main character drove the story very well, even though at times a bit slow, but it’s a lot to set up. I think it’s easy to tell it’s a man writing about the internal monologue of a young woman. 

Dark Fire by C.J. Sansom

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I do love the progression of Matthew’s character after the first book and all of the new characters but with references to the first book. I didn’t like this one as much as the first one though, I think the two story lines were a bit much, especially when some revelations were fairly obvious considering how much they were referenced. The historical note in the epilogue really show how creative C.J. Samson is though and I’m excited to see how the story develops in the next book.

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Read through the book quickly and really enjoyed it. I only nocked some points because I found the repetition of certain things annoying, even though it could be argued it was a reflection of the main character’s obliviousness.

Postern of Fate by Agatha Christie

lighthearted mysterious slow-paced

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

3.5

I didn’t dislike it as much as some people do in these reviews. I agree it rambles a bit and she did not write her spy novels as well as her full mysteries, but I found the rambling and loose threads organic to Tommy and Tuppence. There were also times where I did wonder if anyone bothered to edit before publishing.

Half-Earth: Our Planet's Fight for Life by Edward O. Wilson

challenging dark informative reflective sad slow-paced

1.0

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly why I did not like this book, but it took me almost a year to finally get through it after frequent breaks. After reading other reviews I think it boils down to the writer wanting show how much he knows and how amazing his specific field is without writing a cohesive story which made it a very dense, slow read. Books like these are hard to keep relevant as well since species populations change so quickly so even though it’s only a few years old, it felt outdated.

Poirot Investigates by Agatha Christie

adventurous challenging funny mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

I am personally not a big fan of short stories so it isn’t a surprise that this wasn’t my favorite. Very predictable or completely off the wall endings though many great Poirot moments.

Red Sister by Mark Lawrence

dark mysterious tense 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

3.75