Chris or Cooper
I really loved this! I couldn't stop reading it. The characters were so complex and fully realized. The plot was brilliant and unpredictable. I was particularly impressed with the way it handled the major plot point in the middle. A change that significant can be hard to pull off, but this book did without losing momentum.
As a book about racism, inequality, prejudice, and police brutality it struck as particularly powerful in this current moment.
Fully recommend
I made it 65% of the way done, but I could not finish this. I really loved the first 100 pages! It was such an interesting world and I loved the framing narrative of everything told in a prayer to the god of this story. I appreciated the religion the author developed.
After page 100 it fell flat for me. I think the decision to richly establish side characters and then abandon them for far more poorly drawn side characters was strange. It was hard to feel connected to the new side characters as quickly as the story required. I felt the same way about the establishment and very quick removal of one of the major antagonists. It was such a strange choice. The book felt split into two parts in a way that really left it hard to engage with the second half.
The writing of women in this book was fairly uneven. I didn't love how often the main characters period came up, again it seemed another strange choice.
The main thing was that the plot after about 100 pages in seemed to meander in a way that didn't make sense. A lot of the moments that should be tense felt lacking in tensions.
Honestly, there was a lot of really good and interesting ideas, but some plotting choices and pacing issues that detracted too much for it to work for me.
The Four Profound Weaves is a lovely novella about hope, resilience, and the stories we leave behind. It is lyrical and strange in a lovely way. It is also one of the only fantasy stories I know where both leads are trans, where trans identity is explored through magic, and where trans and non-binary identities are woven into the nature of the world as well.
It is a lovely, inclusive narrative. We need more fantasy like this!
I will probably continue to scream literally and figuratively over this book both because I want everyone to read it AND because I remain completely terrified.
It is on one level the best horror novel I've ever read. A truly amazing contribution to both the world of bizarre cosmic horror and to haunting stories.
On another level it is a genius commentary on capitalism.
The characters are brilliant and the setting is unforgettable! If you are ready for a proper fright, I can't recommend this enough. Now excuse me while I go read everything this man has ever written
I have such complicated feelings toward this book.
I love the increase in fantasy stories full of queer characters. Having a found family story where all three main characters are queer was a delight. I also appreciated the complicated metaphor about trauma and healing. The writing was at times lovely and lyrical.
Unfortunately, the problems outweighed the good on this one for me. The biggest problem being that the first few chapters write a check the body of the book doesn't cash. It promises an interesting story about queer roller derbies, magical coffee shops and ghost hunting, but it delivers a magical other world story that just does not land the way the original chapters do. I would love to read the book this promised to be. The magic is chaos idea was interesting, but doesn't quite do for an explanation of why nothing made sense ever. I also felt generally that sometimes the prettiness of the writing was overbearing on the story, making it hard to follow. Everything felt ungrounded.
I think this author has promise and I would check back in with their future works, but I can't recommend this one.
Carpe Glitter is a strange little bit of magic realism. It is a very internal story, focusing on the lives of the few main characters largely in isolation from the rest of the world.
Overall it was not for me. The characterization fell flat for me. There were only a handful of characters, but I feel like I don't know any of them. The horror elements were fairly boring overall. I was not impressed.
It may be more interesting to fans of the Night Circus, as it read in a similar way.
Out Now is one of the best short story anthologies I have ever read. I could not put it down. The stories continued to surprise me. In such a short time, the stories completely transported me into each new world, which can be challenging in short form. The stories are incredibly diverse, representing a wide variety of queer identities, but also racial identities and body types. I adored it and can not recommend it enough.
The story had excellent pacing and a truly lyrical quality to the writing! I especially appreciated that it starts in the middle of the action instead of spending whole chapters describing things. I enjoyed the world and the main characters. It was a fun, light fantasy.
I really wanted to get to know the minor characters better. They were intriguing but ultimately not well explored. I also found the ending a bit unimpressive when compared to the rest of the book, especially the insta-love quality.
All and all it was fun and an easy read.
This was an incredibly fun read! It was lighthearted and light in topic, sort of a beach read for Star Wars nerds. If you are looking for a pretty straight forward romance set with a Star Wars backdrop, look no further. The characters are really well fleshed out and developed and the word is lovingly described.
I know this book is in many ways a marketing ploy for the new park, but as someone who enjoyed Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, I know sometimes a marketing ploy can lead to a fun story. There's nothing groundbreaking here. It doesn't have the brilliant social commentary of other Star Wars novels like Bloodlines or the exploration of morality like Dark Disciple. It doesn't add to the lore of Star War, but if you want a relaxed read that is pure bubble gum fun, look no further. Summer read for nerds and I enjoyed it
This was a captivating and important read. I am so excited that a YA romance centered on a non-binary character exists. The gender exploration in this story was wonderfully handled. I found story hard to put down and read it in two days because I just wanted to know how things would go. It was lovely.
The exploration of mental health was also really well done. The depression was effective to the point that I could feel the weight of it. The one major problem is in the depiction of the therapist. There are several problematic aspects to how therapy is depicted in this book. First, while we get to see several therapy session on the page, there was a lack of understanding of how therapy should go. If a real therapist started without doing informed consent, only bringing it up when they had to, they would (or at least should) lose their license. There were also times when the therapy techniques were presented in harmful ways. These stood out to me as a therapist in training. However, I do appreciate the effort made her to de-stigmatize therapy.
Overall with the minor problems above, this story is infinitely readable and important. I loved it.
This book was so incredible! It was captivating from line 1 through the many fantastic twists and turns! It was fully immersive in the world of the time. The characters were wonderfully realized. The romance was stellar. It explored class, race, queer identity through the lens of the depression era. I was stunned start to finish. I need everyone out here reading it!
This book was incredible! If you are a fan of Loki, queer representation, Victorian London, is murder mysteries here is a combo of all four! The writing is gorgeous. It's captivating start to finish. It explores the ideas of identity and toxic masculinity through the lens of the Loki character and his interactions with different societies that don't fit comfortably with him.
It was truly funny, romantic and heartbreaking.
Fits well with the MCU cannon as well.
I wholeheartedly recommend
I don't think this is a bad book, for a mystery/thriller it is interestingly written. If you are looking for something along the lines of Wallander, Gone Girl or Broadchurch you may enjoy this. It is a bleak mystery with a bleak outlook.
However, it's not as unpredictable as it seems to think and the directions it goes are so disappointing and depressing. I found myself angry at it.
The biggest disappointments are Spoiler filled so read on with that in mind:
I can't believe they set up such an amazing friendship that made the point that straight men and women can be friends without romance and then pulled a “just kidding no they can't” 80% of the way through the book. It was disappointing and sexist.
The characterization of Rosalind was tired. It was Gone Girl all over again and it had the nerve to imply that this twist wasn't obvious. The book straight up said “you were fooled too weren't you?” To which I had to go, no I wasn't even a little.
It was frustrating and disappointing
I love Pride and Prejudice and this retelling so perfectly captured the feeling of the original while updating it. I love this take. I love using part of the cannon and doing an own voice story of being black in America. It was gorgeous, romantic, and lovely. The writing was lyrical. I laughed and Awwwwed out loud
I adore this story! It's so good to see Duke get his due as part of the Batfamily. I love the exploration of day time Gotham versus nighttime Gotham. I love the way this story leans hard into the idea of found family and claiming your place at the table. It's also a pretty great depiction of Bruce in full Batdad mode. Scott Snyder continues to be the best
This is a book worth reading and rereading. It's definitely one to return to and think over. Mr Miracle is an exploration of mental health and the big existential questions through the lens of a story alternating between big cosmic conflicts and the everyday of life. Tom King remains one of my favorite writers, and his work and ideas draw me back over and over. Mitch Gerads work is haunting and beautiful. There is a fascinating duality in this work that will make you want to discuss it with everyone
A solid 3.5 from me. It was an enjoyable romp. Great if you want a new twist on the Just One Day idea. The lead was fun her backstory was great. There was a lot left unexplored and the ending trailed off for me quite a bit. I will definitely read more of her stuff to see if she's continued to grow in her work, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend this one
This book was the best kind of emotional rollercoaster! I laughed a ton, felt sympathy anxiety, and cried. It was pitch perfect throughout and painfully relatable. The characters were fantastically realized and lovely. The format of emails and texts doesn't always work for me, but here it was flawless