fictionalhannah's reviews
172 reviews

The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin

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dark reflective sad tense 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? No

5.0

Fantastic classic sci-fi that touches on so many real human issues. 
Sundial by Catriona Ward

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challenging dark mysterious tense fast-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? Yes

5.0

Riveting from the start and deeply disturbing in the best way.
Run Me to Earth by Paul Yoon

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challenging emotional sad 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? It's complicated

2.5

Although I found the perspective of war-torn Laos to be very insightful, the pace of the book was really slow and the plot dragged through most of it, with only a handful of scenes where important things are actually happening. There is more scene-setting than action, which makes sense for a historical fiction, but it just didn’t hold my attention.
Tomie by Junji Ito

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

5.0

Another amazing manga that depicts an unfathomable cosmic horror. Tomie will stick with me for a long time.
The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward

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challenging dark reflective 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? Yes

5.0

This book was INCREDIBLE. Riveted from start to finish. Amazing story, amazing characters.
Thistlefoot by GennaRose Nethercott

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

2.5

I’ll start by saying that I love how Nethercott utilized Eastern European myth and blended it really nicely into an urban fantasy setting.
However— so much of this story takes place in the past. I really just wanted to know what the heck was happening in the present, and usually it was nothing but derping around in Thistlefoot. The prose is beautiful at times, but extensive to the point of annoyance. Full on chapters of just ambiance with nothing really happening. 
To that point, I found the driving action nearly nonexistent, the threat talked up a lot but under-demonstrated, and the characters were written as angsty teens masquerading as adults. Found it really hard to get into and especially to *stay* into.
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Poison for Breakfast by Lemony Snicket

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

2.0

As a lover of the SoUE, I was really looking forward to this book. It started off really strong and ended up being a waste of time, unfortunately. I lost interest about 1/3 of the way in, but pushed through, and was not rewarded for me efforts. I mean that ending— like, really?
Uzumaki by Junji Ito

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

5.0

Incredibly beautiful manga and chilling horror story that will probably stick with me forever.
The Thousand Eyes by A.K. Larkwood

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 15%.
Right off the bat I knew it wasn’t going to click with me. I didn’t care for book one because neither the characters nor the plot engaged me, and I felt the same exact way about book two. I also feel like this series reads very much like YA.
Autonomous by Annalee Newitz

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adventurous tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I enjoyed some of the political and social commentaries of this book, but the plot fell extremely short for me.