a_robin_reads's reviews
1271 reviews

Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark

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challenging dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Information:

  • Storytel audiobook
  • Magical Readathon for Conjuration for Qualified: an award winning book 

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Review:

Cool concept, exactly the right length. 

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Review previously placed on my blog:

I'm currently reading Ring shout by P. Djeli Clark. I'm listening to the audiobook. Reading this one for the Magical Readathon for Conjuration for Qualified with the prompt: an award winning book. This is an adult historical fantasy book with horror elements. 

This one is good so far, but very heavy and I was not feeling the best last week, so put it down for now and will finish it later. The start was very good and pretty creepy. Sometimes it is a bit hard to follow, especially with certain accents the narrator does. But the fantasy element is great so far and curious to see where the story will go since it is such a short book.

This was very good. I think it was the perfect length for what the story wanted to be. The whole concept was fascinating and very well thought out. Definitely can see what it has won an award. The rating wasn't higher, because I didn't fully connect with the characters and what I mentioned before with the audiobook. Nevertheless a great book, would highly recommend. 

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Wolfsong by TJ Klune

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challenging emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Information:

  • Library book & Storytel audiobook
  • Reading Authors
  • Reading Series
  • Magical Readathon for Restoration for Ordinary: night sky on the cover 

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Review:

The absolute best 

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Review previously placed on my blog:

I'm currently reading Wolfsong by TJ Klune. This is the first book in the Green creek series. I'm reading a copy from the library whilst listening to the audiobook. Reading this for my Authors TBR. Also reading it for the Magical Readathon for Restoration for Ordinary with the prompt: night sky on the cover. This is an adult fantasy romance book with LGBTQ+ characters.

Loving this so far. I really like the family aspect in this book. It is one of my favorite things to read about. I also like that this is more of an actual adult book from this author. What I mean by that is that there are more graphic scenes like fighting in this one. Refreshing. 

Loved this so much! The only small thing I did not like was that some things were repeated too often, which got me rolling my eyes sometimes. But other then that it was perfection and definitely a new favorite from this author. 

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Never Been Kissed by Timothy Janovsky

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emotional funny 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

3.5

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Information:

  • Storytel audiobook
  • Reading Series
  • Magical Readathon for Art of illusion for Ordinary: random emoji generator 

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Review:

Loved the movie aspect, but this felt more YA then NA 

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Review previously placed on my blog:

I'm currently reading Never been kissed by Timothy Janovsky. This is the first book in the Boy meets boy series. I'm listening to the audiobook. Reading this one for the Magical Readathon for Art of illusion for Ordinary with the prompt: random emoji generator (I got a taxi and think the cars are close enough). This is a new adult contemporary romance book with LGBTQ+ characters.

Very fun book so far, because I love the cinema and this is set there a lot. The premise of the book is good, but I do think the author could have made it better if there was a bit more mystery about who the love interest would be. This book also feels very much young adult even though the characters are in their twenties. Hope the romance will make the book better.

In the end this was a fun read, but definitely not my favorite romance book. The romance did not really get better. It was also not fully the forefront which can be nice, but here it felt too much in the background. I did really like all the characters and loved the cinema aspect. 

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Hurricane Child by Kacen Callender

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challenging emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • 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

3.5

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Information:

  • Kobo Plus ebook
  • Reading Authors
  • Magical Readathon for Psionics & Divination for Ordinary: favorite author's debut book 

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Review:

Good story, but a difficult read for a middle grade 

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Review previously placed on my blog:

I'm currently reading Hurricane child by Kacen Callender. I'm reading the ebook. This one is for my Authors TBR. Also reading it for the Magical Readathon for Psionics & Divination for Ordinary with the prompt: favorite author's debut book. This is a middle grade contemporary book with LGBTQ+ characters. 

So far this is great, but also very heavy to read. I hate how the main character gets treated. I think the writing style is not very well suited to a middle grade audience, it is too complex. I sometimes have a hard time following the story, so I can imagine children having even more difficulty. The story itself is very complex, but a good read so far.

In the end a pretty good book. The story itself was the best part I think. 

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Hani And Ishu's Guide To Fake Dating by Adiba Jaigirdar

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emotional reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Information:

  • Library book
  • Magical Readathon for Shapeshifting for Ordinary: read a book with jewellery on the cover 

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Review:

Really liked the fake dating, but romance was too short 

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Review previously placed on my blog:

I'm currently reading Hani and Ishu's guide to fake dating by Adiba Jaigirdar. I'm reading a copy from the library. Reading this for the Magical Readathon for Shapeshifting for Ordinary with the prompt: read a book with jewellery on the cover or in the title. This is a young adult contemporary romance book with LGBTQ+ characters.

Enjoying this so far, but not having a chance to read it really, so need to make an effort to finish this one. I really like the set up of the book. The fake dating makes sense, which is great. Both of the characters are very well written. Excited to see where the romance will go.

This could have been a higher rating if it was longer. They were together for like 10 pages. In a romance I also want to see them being together. I also didn't like some communication parts.

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How to Be a Movie Star by TJ Klune

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emotional funny 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? No

4.0

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Information:

  • Kobo Plus ebook
  • Reading Authors
  • Reading Series

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Review:

The diversity of this book is just the absolute best

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Review previously placed on my blog:

I'm currently reading How to be a movie star by TJ Klune. This is the second book in the How to be duology. I'm reading the ebook. Reading this for my Series and Authors TBR. This is a contemporary book with romance elements and LGBTQ+ characters.

I really enjoyed book one and I'm enjoying this one as well. What I especially love about this duology is all the diversity, really fun to read. I do think I'm liking this one a bit less, because of the actor element. So might be a bit of a lower rating, but we shall see. 

No, still 4 stars. Mainly because I appreciate this book, and this duology, so much for the diversity. The ending also just made me really happy. 

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The Keeper by Guadalupe García McCall

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

3.5

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Information:

  • Storytel audiobook
  • Year in Aeldia challenge: scary/dark book. 

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Review:

Good book, but had read this kind of story before

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Review previously placed on my blog:

I'm currently reading The keeper by Guadalupe Garcia McCall. I'm listening to the audiobook. I'm reading this for the Year in Aeldia challenge with the prompt: scary/dark book. Wasn't in the mood for anything adult, so choose this one. This is a middle grade mystery book (but might be horror? we shall see).

Enjoying this so far. Like the dynamic between brother and sister. The vibes are good, very mysterious. Not very far into it, so can't say much about the story yet. Do think I will enjoy the book overall. 

The ending lost me a little bit, but overall a good book. I have read a book very similar to this one, so that probably also was why I did not enjoy it fully. That book was adult, so went more towards horror, which was more fun than this one. 

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A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers

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adventurous hopeful 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

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Information:

  • Library book
  • Reading Authors
  • Reading Series
  • Buddy read: Jennifer's Discord Group

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Review:

An absolute delight to read!

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Review previously placed on my blog:

I have read A closed and common orbit by Becky Chambers. This is the second book in the Wayfarers series. I read a copy from the library. This is an adult science fiction book.

This was the absolute best, loved it so much! Felt very much the same as book one, same vibes. I was hesistant at first about us following new characters in this one, but I did not mind in the end. Can't really say much other then that I loved it a lot. 

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A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher

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dark funny mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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Information:

  • Kobo Plus ebook
  • Reading Authors
  • Buddy read: Dead good book reviews Discord

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Review:

Least favorite horror from this author

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Review previously placed on my blog:

I have read A house with good bones by T. Kingfisher. Read the ebook. Read this for the readalong I'm doing for all the books by this author. This is an adult horror book. 

This one was my least favorite Kingfisher horror book unfortunately. It was very funny as always, loved that. Also loved the characters as always. But again with this one, the pace felt off. I also did not think this was scary, only for a small part of it. Still a good read as all of her books are. 

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As Brave as You by Jason Reynolds

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emotional 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

4.0

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Information:

  • Kobo Plus ebook
  • Reading Authors

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Review:

Fun read with indepth characters 

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Review previously placed on my blog:

I have read As brave as you by Jason Reynolds. I read the ebook. Read this one for my Authors TBR. This is a middle grade contemporary book. 

This was a good book. A lot of different layers to it. I really like how the author writes the story and also really liked all the characters. 

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