Mythos

Not reading because of problematic creator.

1/5 stars
This is a book that wasn't created to bring awareness to the Holocaust. It causes sympathy from the readers towards the Nazis as we tend to feel how ignorant the child was in terms of the situation. This was likely not the case in real life, as they were required to be aware. This tends to lead to misinformation as well as a lot of other details that are inaccurate. The authors themselves tend to ignore what the Jewish community actually has to say. It's rather concerning how schools will use this to educate people about the Holocaust.

3/5 stars

I'm not sure if this is for the manga or the light novel. I am up to date with the manga but am currently reading the light novel. I did notice some differences so far, but they're not that big I believe so far. I do believe that I like the manga better than the light novel because I can actually see the character's actions in comparison to the light novel. I'm not sure I can continue the light novel unless I can find a better translation because it's getting hard to understand in some chapters. This makes me miss a lot of context or events that are going on. It's also taking way too long to catch up.

Right off the bat, I will tell you that the MC is really dumb and can make stupid decisions throughout the journey. It's the typical OP MC but in this case, he is heavily relying on the weapons that he makes. I am more interested in how blacksmithing works, but so far there has been little information given. I'm also trying to figure out the goal of the story because I believe that'll get repetitive at some point if the author has no clear goal.

5/5 stars

I was expecting her to die but not in the way she did. I really wish she had been able to do more before it happened. Even if you're prepared for her death, it still hits hard when it happens. Compared to the main character she had a really strong personality that left a big impression. Then again what else can you do when you know you have little time left to live.

(I'll probably have to edit this later)

1/5 stars

This was worse than I remembered, and I hadn't even read it that long ago. The love triangle is completely nonexistent. Every single character in this goddamn book has zero-character development. Giving this book 2 stars was being generous. Cole was created for the sole purpose of justifying Jordan getting together with Pike. 

There was zero chemistry between Pike & Jordan, & I stand by that. The amount of fits Jordan went through when being in that situation was justified because she is just 19 & he is in his FUCKING 30s so obviously there are going to be arguments because of the levels of maturity involved. (For some reason, I assumed Jordan was older during my first read through. My bad.) So the default dynamic I saw was father-daughter, especially since he was constantly reprimanding her and second-guessing every action she took. So, it weirded me the hell out when, after these situations, he immediately thought of her sexually. Yeah, the author does mention that he likes her personality as well, BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUT it seems as if the only reason he held back the whole time was because she is or was a kid in his eyes. Still weird as hell. Side characters didn't help at all either. They were just there to push the relationship which is annoying because we already have to deal with trashy MCs. Sex scenes were meh some of them were just straight up weird cough (the loofa scene what was even the reason of including that) but nothing that I would go back and read again.

I am going to stop here because if I continue it'll turning into an elongated rant. I 100% do NOT recommend you reading this book. It'll save you a lot of wasted time.

1/5 stars

There are better books that execute the idea this book is trying to convey. I would recommend that people read Olivia Butler's books instead, because I believe they do a better job at conveying the message this book was trying to convey.

2/5 stars

For me, this was 50/50. I knew this wouldn't be a light read but I still decided to read it. I got about 50% through the book before I decided to drop this. I didn't fully connect with the book. I wanted to like this book which is why I kept reading but the more I read the more disappointed I was.

One of the main reasons I disliked this book was that it tried to tackle too many issues at once. When I was barely grasping Charlotte's past, we were already dealing with another issue she was facing. We went from learning about her past to talking about her self-harm. I was thrown for a loop when she described her self-harm to the ocean. I do feel like comparisons to water, or bodies of water come up a lot. Maybe it was just me focusing on the small details and not the bigger picture. Moving on the writing didn't help much either. As another reader had mentioned it reads like diary entries. I can read books with this type of format but specifically with this, I feel like a lot of details could have helped readers immerse into the character's story.

I wouldn't recommend this story at the moment. I understand the appeal of this book to other readers. I can also understand why other people resonate with and love it as it gives a different perspective as to how a person deals with self-harm and traumatic events. I may give it another chance in the future, but I doubt my opinion will change.

It's a great book to show to your friends on what may happen to them when they don't set boundaries.

1/5 stars
When I read the title, I was expecting a very different story from the one I read. They call them widows even though their husbands are alive. Also, it seemed that Cady wasn't even the main character. There were multiple stories crammed into one book.
 
This was a classic case of me getting bored and picking up the first book I see at the library to see if it'll take me out of my reading slump. I was expecting a book about a group of women who helped cover up the murder of their politician husbands because they got tired of running their campaigns for years. 
 
Even when I take out the expectations I had for this book, it's still confusing to understand. You get invested in one story only to have it be over quickly and then be shown the start of a new one. It's hard to keep track of who is doing what. Taking all this into account, I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone unless I knew that they'd enjoy it, whether it's as satire or because they're genuinely interested in the concept.

3.2/5 stars

Lihn Cinder is a cyborg and a mechanic in New Beijing, the capital of the Eastern Commonwealth, a country ravaged by plague outbreaks. Her life changes when the heir to the throne of the Commonwealth, Prince Kai, steps into Cinder's shop to get his android fixed.

I really liked this book, but it lacks details in different areas. For example, the politics aren't explained. We are just thrown into a situation we are supposed to understand. The Lunar Queen is visiting and is doing as she pleases, with no intervention from the royal family. I understand they're not trying to offend her because they need her help, but it doesn't make sense to just leave her actions unchallenged.

Another is character details. We know that Cinder is a cyborg, but we rarely see how it is different to function as one from being a regular human. This is mentioned a few times, but it's rarely explained, and it's typically to help plot-wise.

Spoilers Ahead:
We see this being used to see past the glamour of Queen Levana. At the same time, Queen Levana saw who Cinder truly was.

This didn't really make sense to me because I don't remember them mentioning that her eyes helped her identify what was real and what was fake. Also, as much as I like Prince Kai, I feel like he needs more character development. We mainly see him kind of fade into the background, especially in the presence of Queen Levana. Otherwise, I don't really have any other problems with this book. It's an enjoyable read, but there are some parts where it's better to not overthink them.

I may reread this because I don't remember much of it.

When writing about queer/gender related experiences especially in nonfiction a lot can go wrong. I have read books where the author downplays experiences, writes using overcomplicated terms making it hard to understand, spread misinformation, etc... This is one of the few books which to my experience/knowledge hasn't done.

I would recommend this book to others. I do believe that people can still learn from reading this book even if they are a 100% sure about their gender. This book doesn't only show you how to explore gender but also has information on how intersectionality affects it. A lot of people tend to underestimate the effect this can have whether it's disability, ethnicity, class, etc... it is all more complex than it seems.

1/5 stars

I despise this book. I had zero problems with it before because we read it casually in school. Then they decided to make it part of the curriculum, making it mandatory. I believe people need to be reminded that this does not work for everyone. Still, they decided to make it mandatory for teachers to read this to us and make us do assignments related to the habits mentioned in this book. This was given to us along with a planner. As a person who wasn't aware they had ADHD at the time, this made it almost impossible for me to pass the class. Most of the habits were useless, and after some research, some of them have been debunked. I wouldn't recommend this book if you need help being effective.

3/5 stars

I was conflicted about how to rate this book. It is more difficult for me to discuss a book when it is about the author's own life. The writing style was interesting, but it did not completely immerse me in the story. There were sections where I was really interested, but then it would change slightly and throw me off. In some cases, it was valid. This was noticeable in the chapter where she talked about her older brother's leg getting burned. She mentioned that he had a different account of what had happened than what she and her other brother remembered. I could not understand it in other situations, like the one where her brother is about to head off to college. At the beginning of the chapter, she mentioned that he would not return until she turned fifteen, but I did not really understand why she had to bring up that information. I had assumed that she would talk about why this was a significant change rather than how her dad was attempting to talk him out of leaving. This is more of the type of information you would include at the end of the chapter. (I could be very wrong; I lost the page this happened on, so I'm just going off memory.)

I don't regret reading this book. I know that this is definitely not a book for everyone so I would hesitantly recommend this to people because I feel like it is very hit or miss for people.

2/5 stars

I was excited about the story at first, but I have to drop it. At this rate, I can only keep reading so many webtoons that have lasted way too long. I've tried to continue it, but I've lost interest. From the main character not having any interest in dating, weird best friends, family issues, and the struggles of being broke and a student. All these aspects that originally drew me in grew boring over time. I guess I was more frustrated with the possible love interests rather than the FL. I sometimes go back and skim through some chapters I found funny.

I wouldn't recommend it if you want a romance plot line. Although I felt like the love triangle was also a huge part of what ruined this webtoon for me. I don't believe it's the main focus of the story as it progresses. It tends to appear more as a slice of life. I will say that there are some episodes where I laughed out loud. Although it has its funny moments, I don't believe it should be as long as it is.

3/5 stars
I didn't hate it but I also didn't love it. I will continue to read this series if it's available at the library. It's not the type of book I would go out of my way to buy to get to know what happens next. I will update this review later when I have taken more time to process what I have just read.

In the meantime I'll check out the show that was based on this book. This may be a mistake because I may like it more than the book.

5/5

This gets a solid five stars from me, though I could be biased. It was really well-told and illustrated. Once I picked up this book, I could not put it down. Even though it was short, I felt like I had read a well-developed story. When I read graphic novels, I often get the impression that they are rushed toward the middle or end because they are running out of pages. This was a nice palate cleanser after reading some heavier or darker books recently. Although a part of me wished I could have read it sooner, I felt it was worth the wait. Like Loveless (Alice Oseman), I was concerned that it would fall short of my expectations. I am pleased to say that it exceeded them. The characters did not come across as just stereotypes. There were minor details that became important later in the books. The stunning artwork aided in bringing the story together. Although many people argue about whether or not this is a queer book, I believe it is. It provides excellent representation for those who are still unlabeled or prefer to remain unlabeled. It demonstrates that you do not have to tell the world who you are and that it is more important to wear what makes you feel comfortable, even if it defies “gender norms.”


I definitely recommend this book, but I would warn people that there is a forced coming-out scene.

2.4/5 stars

I will start by saying that I really tried hard to like this book. I read this when I was in high school but dropped it. This time I picked up both the audiobook and the physical book in order to make sure I actually finished. (Sometimes my brain simply cannot compute an audiobook.) It took 2–3 days (I had to pick up the book again today because I already forgot everybody's names. I lost the sheet with all their names/info.), but I was able to get through it. I've only read a couple of Stephen King's books, and by far this is my least favorite one. The only reason that I finished so quickly was because I did not want to have to deal with dwelling on it any longer.

Things I liked

- The narrator did an amazing job of adding emotion and making this long book bearable.

- Evie was an interesting character to follow as well as the rats.

- Norcross's backstory was actually complex and interesting but that isn't transferred much into how he acts as an adult.

Things I Disliked:

- There are too many characters to keep track of. I ended up having to annotate the character's name, chapter they were introduced in, & a little bit of info on them because I kept having to go back. (This could just be a me problem.) Some characters didn't seem to be anything more than a series of stereotypes. Others were given too much thought to not even end up becoming relevant to the plot.

- As mentioned before, I do believe this could have been shorter. I do feel like certain parts could have been cut out. Such as giving too much attention to characters that contribute nothing to the plot or worldbuilding.

- The pacing was driving me insane. It went so slowly, but we were bouncing through so many different people's POVs. Just when I was actually getting interested in what happened BOOM, another person's POV, and its back to square one trying to remember the last time they were mentioned because sometimes you need that to understand what's actually going on.

- The ENDING just sucked in my opinion. It was rather predictable and at that point I was glad I was done. I'm actually proud of myself for getting through the full 23 hours of the audiobook. Even if I took so many breaks.

2.5/5 stars

Dnfed around chapter 24. I was frustrated at the character development of some of the characters.

4/5 stars

I'll probably edit this review later on when I have better processed what I just read.

Summary
In this world, you get a call to inform you that you're going to die 24 hours before it happens. You don't know how it'll happen. In this case, both Mateo and Rufus received this call on the same day. Both can't say goodbye to their loved ones. Mateo can't because his father is in a coma. Rufus, on the other hand, made a mistake that made his friends unavailable to him. They meet through an app meant for these types of situations called “Last Friends.” From there, they go on to befriend and help each other out. 

Review
One of my favorite things about this book was how their friendship developed. Neither decided to mope or just lay down because of the call they received. From there, we see them progress through multiple situations and grow from them.

Mateo was one of my favorite characters in this book. This was mainly because I could relate to him even more than I did to the other characters. Throughout the book, Mateo deals with his father being in a coma and his problems caused by his social anxiety. We see him overthink a lot in the beginning. We see this slowly progress into him learning how to cope with all his anxiety. I really liked how this was dealt with. I have seen other books completely cure characters of anxiety, so this was a nice change. His death definitely affected me the most. He didn't deserve to die the way he did.

Rufus was a more complex character, and it took me more time to understand him and/or relate to him. Rufus is one of the more reckless characters in the book. If we look more into his actions, we will see how this affects him throughout the book. 

The side characters were also part of what made this book so enjoyable. From being a fully developed character to bringing in their own perspective, it allows us to further understand how everything is connected. Even in the case of Peck, we can understand the motives behind his actions.

They Both Die at the End is a book worth reading. Although I was a bit iffy on whether or not it was worth reading, I'm glad I did. The book is more dialogue-based, but it still manages to create well-developed characters. The different perspectives definitely made this book better in terms of getting to know the side characters. The connection between everyone was also well done. This did make me more emotional than I expected. If you want an emotional read, this is a book you should read.

I lost the copy I was reading so I'm going to need to find that first.

3.5/5 stars

Update: I found my copy. I didn't remember when I left off so I just read it all over again. I decided to round it up because, through the majority of the book, I was thinking it was a 4-star read. There were certain parts in which I had to skim simply because I felt like I was not missing much. This happened when the book didn't focus on her life. Unfortunately for me, this meant I had little interest in who Monique was, so I didn't really try to figure out why she was chosen at all to be the one to tell Evelyn's story.

I was surprised to find out that this also falls into the category of historical fiction. I haven't really delved into the genre as much as I thought I had.

Overall, this is a book that I believe lives up to it's hype. Had I been more interested in Monique, this would have been a 5-star read.

2.5/5 stars
I was on the fence about how to rate this book. I felt like I kept jumping up and down from a two-star rating to a three-star rating. Some sections seemed to go on forever, and I found myself having to skim through them repeatedly. I decided to keep it at a two-star rating.

As mentioned before, I felt like certain parts could be cut out. For how long it was, I expected there to be more clarity with how the magic system worked. While it was a cool concept, the extent of their abilities and how they got them were left up in the air. It essentially leaves us wondering. Even though the plot was predictable at points, I generally enjoyed it. The chaotic/messy ending is what really cemented my two-star rating. I won't go too into detail because I don't want to include a spoiler section.

I considered rounding up, but since I don't see myself continuing this series, I decided to round down. I would recommend this story only if long books with underexplained magic systems, predictable plot points, and messy/chaotic endings don't bother you.

3/5 stars

This is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. While the beasts run freely, humans are the ones that aren't as free. The FL Sari phi was raised to be a sacrifice to the King of Beasts in order to save their real daughter. Therefore, she doesn't have any fear of death. The King of Beasts plans the sacrifice while getting closer to Sari phi.

Seeing their friendship develop in this volume was rather adorable, so much so that you forgot that she was the sacrifice. There are many moments in which you are reminded of Sari Phi's purpose for being there, bringing you back to her reality. 

I will continue reading this series, but I am unsure as to whether or not I would recommend it.

1/5 stars
I wished I had DNFed this book. I wasn't planning to read but Spotify had recommended it, it was a free version, and I needed background noise. From the start it was sort of iffy because I couldn't get fully immersed in the story but I had hoped it would get better. It did not at least in my opinion.

Things I appreciated:
. Kestra's wit/sarcasm
. the attempt at giving us two perspectives
.it has a nice cover

Things I didn't appreciate:
This book wasn't particularly good and it is definitely not memorable. I feel like in a couple of months I'll forget that I had read until I came across my own review. I still am in disbelief that this happened over the course of 4 days. At times it felt as if the different days merged or more had passed. Which also brings me to another point which is that it lacked world building. Places were mentioned vaguely as well as world mechanisms but it felt half-assed and felt like it was a missed opportunity to further involve reader. Perhaps this would have helped in my case because j didn't get attached to the story at all. The one character I actually cared for died.

I liked the idea of having two different perspectives in this book. Unfortunately I felt like it wasn't executed well. It feels as if there wasn't much difference in the perspectives and that at times the two voices merged so much that it just felt like one voice.

The romance was the worst aspect of this book in my opinions. It could just be due to my deep hatred of the instant love trope. Also I felt like Kestra had more chemistry with other characters than with her love interest so that didn't help much either.

I don't recommend this book. Its definitely one that you can skip.

3/5 stars

This is one of those books where I really liked the concept, but I didn't really like the book's execution as much. I thought it was a more supernatural or science-fiction type of book, but that was not the case.

Spoilers ahead:

The book kicks off with Chris tripping and breaking his nose. This leads to his mother finding out that he's been using inhalants. From there, the story takes us through two different timelines. One in which he lies and stays in Ohio. The other is when he goes to California to stay with his dad and go to a rehabilitation program.

In the timeline in which he goes to see his father, we see him go through a rocky relationship with his father due to his decision to leave the family. He has to follow a set of rules in order to be able to go to college and get his college paid for. His dad wants him there in order to attend his wedding. We see Chris start a relationship with Swift, which his father disapproves of.

On the other hand, we see everything going normally until his two best friends start dating. We see a possible love triangle (corner) as there are some rather weird interactions between him and Matt. He continues on as a third wheel. However, Matt appears to be a one-dimensional love interest, which made me uninterested in what happened in this timeline.

As the book continues, we see the timelines merge into one. Also, his father finally approves of his relationship with Swift. He also manages to work his friendship problems out as well. In a time jump, we also see him go to college and get a roommate. Overall, I was a little disappointed with the ending. I was expecting Chris to face more real consequences. This is not the case, as we see him working everything out. In terms of the rest of the book, there were certain parts that were confusing, especially with the switch between timelines. There are certain details that you definitely have to read multiple times in order to not miss them. Due to this, I wasn't sure whether to rate this book 2.5 or 3 stars. I'll definitely have to come back to this book.