fictionalhannah's reviews
172 reviews

Diary by Chuck Palahniuk

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

4.0

I struggled with how to rate this book, because I felt so in the dark for so much of it. But overall, I thought it was captivating, unsettling, and eerie. When things began to click into place towards the end, I was satisfied with the mysterious, fantastical nature of the plot wrapped in *seemingly* mundane, one-dimensional characters.
Fragments of Horror by Junji Ito

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

4.0

Didn’t impact me as much as the manga “novels” I’ve read, but overall a good creepy collection. 
A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers

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emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective 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

4.5

Although not as perfect as the first, it was a lovely follow-up to the pair’s travels.
A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers

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emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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

5.0

Cozy, heartwarming, vital.
Bone Swans: Stories by C.S.E. Cooney

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

3.75

This was a great collection, I feel like each story was very unique, although some of them started to drag halfway through. If I were to read this collection again, I would take breaks between the stories and not try to read them consecutively as if it were a novel.
The Color Purple by Alice Walker

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Ugh. What an emotional rollercoaster. This book renewed my hope that even when life beats you down, you can rise back up. The ending made me cry happy tears. I will be thinking about Celie for a long time.
Galatea by Madeline Miller

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hopeful inspiring sad tense 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? No

5.0

Awesome short story based on Ovid’s “Metamorphoses”. I love Miller’s reimaginings.
Maeve Fly by C.J. Leede

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challenging dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The writing was excellent and the “American Psycho” vibes were amazing. Some of this book just read very “LA sadboi pretentious” so I just couldn’t really get into it. Also, the unfortunate ending was predictable which kind of disappointed. 

ETA: rating adjusted to 4 because it’s really sticking with me.
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

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

2.5

The characters fell flat for me, got tired of the “dad-in-socks-and-sandals” inner monologue real quick, and even for sci-fi, the astrophysics jargon was ridiculously hard to follow for someone who reads for entertainment and not a college level lesson.
Looking Glass Sound by Catriona Ward

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challenging dark mysterious tense slow-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

3.5

I love Catriona Ward as an author, but I found this plot to be entirely too meta and the pacing to be too slow.