5-min-book-reviews-blog

[5-min-book-reviews-blog]

Quick review:

I have read this book many, many times, and each time it was easily worth the reread.

- Firstly, Holly Black is one of those authors I’m endlessly impressed with. How do they hold all those facts and ideas in their minds?? I’ll never understand it.

- Hazel Evans is the sort of character you instantly fall in love with. She’s reckless and dangerous in an effort to cover up the fact that she’s deeply insecure, and that is a very human thing to see in a main character.

- I love the setting and story pacing. The weaving of Hazel’s inner turmoil with the difficulties she experiences trying to track down the monster wreaking havoc on her town is very well done. Also, the concept of a regular town that actually has fair folk is so enticing.

- this book also asks the question, “Can a blessing be a curse in disguise?” and vice versa. When Mrs. Evans is granted a boon from a faerie, to be bestowed on her infant son, she is already aware of the consequences. As is often repeated in the TV show “Once Upon A Time,” all magic comes with a price.

- The opening lines (I quoted them below) are absolutely brilliant. They say you have until the end of the first page to win over the reader, but she had me with the first lines.

Summary:

“Down a path worn into the woods, past a stream and a hollowed-out log full of pill bugs and termites, was a glass coffin. It rested right on the ground, and in it slept a boy with horns on his head and ears as pointed as knives.”

Hazel Evans is a regular girl in a regular, small American town -- if your average American town had faeries, that is. To the people of Fairfolk, their way of life is familiar. They keep charms on their person and dried berries under their pillows. They put out bowls of milk and don’t sweep up spilled sugar. There are rules. The townspeople follow them. And the fair folk follow them too.

But things have been getting worse. The fair folk are not keeping up their end of the bargain. When the boy in the glass coffin goes missing, all hell finally breaks loose.

Hazel decides she must get to the bottom of this. With her brother, Ben, and their friend Jack, they go in search of the faerie prince -- and find themselves tangled in a world better left alone.

Fast stats:

Genre - YA fantasy / adventure

Representation - strong female characters, lgbtq+ representation

Recommended age - 13+. The main characters are older high school students

Content - On a 0-5 cursing scale (0 being none and 5 being Very Excessive), I’d give it a 2. There is some making out and like 1 sex scene but nothing graphic at all.

Trigger warnings - there is some gore, as this book contains a lot of swordfighting, and there are also descriptions of broken bones and other similar injuries.

[5-min-book-reviews-blog]

Review:

So I just finished this book yesterday afternoon (read a whole book in a day gang) and hoooo boy was it a surprise. So here’s my quick review and recommendation

- shane is a super relatable character--especially for those people like me, who are crippled with anxiety about starting over, meeting new people, and branching out in general

- it’s mostly set in london, which is a plus, but it also does a good job of delving into the feeling of being American in multiple european cities--and how much of a gift travel can be

- I can relate especially to shane’s difficulties finding love. She’s another one of those pals who, at age 20, hasn’t yet been kissed, and it’s very encouraging and normalizing to see it represented. 

- this one’s mostly for me, but this book also does a great job capturing what it’s like growing up in a strict Catholic (and deeply Italian) household

Quick summary:

Shane, an aspiring writer, jumps at the opportunity to study abroad in London at the creative writing program. This will be a chance to start over, make new friends, and basically do everything she was too nervous to do her freshman and sophomore years. Only problem: Shane is not an English major. Shane is premed. And her parents don’t know the real reason she’s in England.

Still, Shane is excited to make a fresh start. New friends, new internship, new classes--but when things start to unravel, and Shane makes tough decisions, she has to ask herself: how do our choices impact our happiness? And, if you could go back and do it again, would you?

Fast stats:

Genre - YA. I’d put this somewhere between romance and self-discovery.

Representation - Strong female characters, lgbtq+ characters, overbearing parents / strained parent-child relationship, anxious characters

Recommended age - 14+, but since it’s set in college, it’s more applicable to people in that age range.

Content - like 1 curse word and 1 sex scene. Fairly tame.

Trigger warnings - no common violence / gore-related triggers

[5-min-book-reviews-blog]

Hi there!

This is my preliminary post to explain my process, and a little bit about me.

About Me

I’m an avid reader and have been my entire life. My problem is, I tend to tear through books faster than average, and--as I’m very indecisive--have a hard time choosing what book to read next.

I began writing for a few online book reviewing sites, but lost interest because I had limited book options to choose from. And thus, this tumblr was born. 

My Review Process

My reviews are fairly short posts designed to be read quickly. They come in four parts:

- the review

- the summary

- the content

- the recommendation

In the review, I mention things I liked and disliked about the book

In the summary, I summarize the contents--without giving too much away!

In the content portion, I list criteria you may be looking for in your next book: strong female characters, lgbtq+ representation, certain family dynamics, etc

In the recommendation portion, I mention an age recommendation, a content warning (whether there’s sex and cursing, basically), and a trigger warning. 

disclaimer: I will only include common violence / gore triggers, such as graphic bloody or hospital scenes, rape scenes, sexual harassment, etc. while I fully support those with more specific triggers, I can only do so much to cover a broad audience. thank you!