Raynie
Snow White? More like Snow Whaaaaaaaat!?, amirite.This is the second [a:Mona Awad 7104825 Mona Awad https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1680614278p2/7104825.jpg] book I've read, and while I can tell from reading other reviews that they're certainly not for everyone, they're absolutely for me. After [b:Bunny 53285047 Bunny Mona Awad https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1588043687l/53285047.SX50.jpg 58221942] and now Rouge, Awad is officially one of my Favorite Authors of All Time™, and I'm gonna track down all of her other books. It's neither fantasy nor science-fiction, but rather a cuckoo-bananas modern fairy tale about vanity and loneliness, envy and Otherness, grief and family. It has that same unsettling horror baked into it that all of the best fairy tales have, and I loved every moment of it. It goes so far into the Depth (
Read this as an appetizer before I start [b:The Only Good Indians 52180399 The Only Good Indians Stephen Graham Jones https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1601545259l/52180399.SY75.jpg 71431671], and oooooh, she's excited! Fast, thrilling, and tied up really well.Merged review:Read this as an appetizer before I start [b:The Only Good Indians 52180399 The Only Good Indians Stephen Graham Jones https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1601545259l/52180399.SY75.jpg 71431671], and oooooh, she's excited! Fast, thrilling, and tied up really well.
I badly wanted to love this, and was hoping that it'd live up to its gorgeous cover artwork, but the ending was so disappointing to me and knocked a few stars off of it.
There was a lot to like here from the beginning—it started strong—but the author just kept stretching it further and further until it was so thin and unsatisfying that it just kinda fizzled out.
Margaret and Wes are really great characters; they're interesting and complicated, and I was rooting for them. But by the end of the book they're surrounded by a bunch of filler characters, some of which are so cartoony by comparison that it undermines them a bit.
The world building was compelling at the beginning, but then all the useless details that were added along the way just muddied it instead of strengthening it, and I lost interest. It started off like, okay, it's rustic and we've got guns and carriages and alchemy, cool, that's fun. Wait... so we have motorcars now? Arright, steampunk, got it. Mmm right, and landline telephones. Okayyyy. Record players and flappers? So, it's 1920s but fantasy; sure, I guess. A literal condom in a foil wrapper!? Come on now. Shall we just whip out an iPhone and record a dance for Tik-Tok at this point? Ma'am, be serious!
The different religions, politics, and the science of alchemy were so promising when it was first set up, but none of it gets any real development or time to shine, and it's all overshadowed but the most banal and unnecessary romance that sucked all the air out of the room. So many missed opportunities, to be honest.
I don't mind a slow burn, so long as there's a payoff, but the whole Big Event™ that is built up from the beginning doesn't even start until the last 50 pages. And look, if you have a sequence where a magical, deadly, angry creature that you've literally been hunting just politely twiddles its thumbs while your main characters choose that moment to have a long deep'n'meaningful, you have properly lost me.
Don't get me wrong though, I didn't have a bad time, but it was just... fine?
So, between this and Demon Copperhead, I've learned something about myself as a reader.
I am not the audience for books with a teenage boy protagonists, no matter how well written. In fact, the better written it is, the more I'm probably not into it.
Because here's the thing: I was a teenage boy (allegedly), and I went to an all-boys high school, and I hatedevery moment of it. I have zero interest in reading about cis white male adolescence, no thank you kindly please, I opt out, delete my number, warmest regards henceforth.
I badly wanted to love this one because it's one of mother's favorites, and she's my favorite person, but, I just kinda didn't dislike it? 😬🫣
It's a tepid 3-star read for me, being generous, but if I try to be objective, I think it's a solid 4-stars.
What I liked:
- I really enjoyed Silvey's writing style, so I would be interested in picking up something else by them.
- I feel like this time and place is not a common setting for a book — a country town in Western Australia during the Vietnam War — so that was cool.
- There's one part where some racists get their asses handed to them, and that was great to read.
- When the book actually focuses on the mystery that starts the whole story, it's really compelling... but...
What I didn't like
- It set itself up as a whodunnit, and then the mystery is more or less forgotten for two thirds of the book.
- The supporting characters — Jasper, Eliza, Jeffery — were far more interesting than the main character, and some of them disappear for most of the book.
- If there were even one more page describing cricket, I would have screamed and yeeted the book out the window. That could be a plus for some folks, and I love that for you, but I just needed to get back to the mystery.
- Some of the dialogue and banter between the kids is a bit repetitive and starts to grate.
- Not to belabor the point, but... teenage boys.
So, between this and Demon Copperhead, I've learned something about myself as a reader.
I am not the audience for books with teenage boy protagonists, no matter how well written. In fact, the better written it is, the more I'm probably not into it.
Because here's the thing: I was a teenage boy (allegedly), and I went to an all-boys high school, and I hatedevery moment of it. I have zero interest in reading about cis white male adolescence, no thank you kindly please, I opt out, delete my number, warmest regards henceforth.
I badly wanted to love this one because it's one of mother's favorites, and she's my favorite person, but, I just kinda didn't dislike it?
It was interesting and I really liked the ending. In the first half or so, the world-building felt labored and unclear, and the story started to drag, but then it suddenly picked up and became much more organic and vibrant and exciting.
I'd definitely read more set in this world or from this author, but this one didn't quite stand out from all the other great Tor.com shorts I've been read.
It was interesting and I really liked the ending. In the first half or so, the world-building felt labored and unclear, and the story started to drag, but then it suddenly picked up and became much more organic and vibrant and exciting.
I'd definitely read more set in this world or from this author, but this one didn't quite stand out from all the other great Tor.com shorts I've been read.
I went into this expecting a gothic body horror, and it wasn't at all gothic, and the body horror was extremely mild for the most part.
The main character was quite charming in a quippy Whedon-esque kinda way, but they, and all the other characters, react to the events unfolding around them with such a casual “huh, would ya look at that” kind of quality that makes it very difficult for me as a reader to feel very invested or horrified myself. And the twist on Poe's original is pretty much a foregone conclusion from the first chapter, really, and the ending was a bit too rushed and pat for my liking.
I would definitely read other books by this author because I think I could enjoy their writing with better-managed expectations or a different setting, but this didn't scratch the itch I wanted it to scratch (which is more on me, I guess).
Some really stunning writing and compelling world building. Love the mix of the urban setting and ancient myth.
The story was a bit too lean for my liking, given how intriguing the premise was. I wanted more, so while that bumped the star rating down for me personally, it's a complement to the ideas and the writing quality.
It's an objective 5 stars, but a subjective 4 stars for me.
Biographies or memoirs are not my jam, and this read like a memoir. Which is actually a testament to Kingsolver's excellent writing and talent, but just made it less of my cup of tea than the synopsis made it seem. And it felt a bit too long.
If you love literary fiction and memoirs, this book might be ideal for you.
This was going to be a 5-star read for me all the way through until the epilogue. But overall, it was still fab!
A Dowry of Blood is a thoughtfully written examination of toxic love and emotional control and abuse, with some exquisite crafting of mood and atmosphere.
Constanta's observations and difficult struggles with her own emotions and needs were compelling and moving, and the threads of gothic horror were made all the more suspenseful and visceral for Gibson's restraint in doling them out only as often as needed.
While the story spans centuries, it stays very contained and hews tightly to the main characters. This was incredibly effective in raising the stakes of the drama and building the tension and mental claustrophobia of the relationships.
But, the epilogue seemed tacked on and unnecessary. This undermined the vibe of the rest of the book for me, with the previous chapter feeling much more like the true ending. It provided emotional closure, while being just open-ended enough to leave me wanting more while still satisfied. The epilogue, on the other hand, felt rushed and out of place, like it was transplanted from another book entirely.
There were two things about A Dowry of Blood that I loved in particular that I wanted to mention.
The first is the mention of the story of Judith and Holofernes, which is a favorite of mine, and beautifully mirrored the relationship between Constanta and Magdalena, and provided some deliciously clever foreshadowing.
The other thing I found interesting was how this book used the vampire genre as way to examine toxic and abusive relationships in a post-Twilight age, which I thought was a nice counterpoint and refreshing to see.
While the epilogue was a bit disappointing for me personally, it mightn't bother you. It was still a thrilling read, and I definitely recommend it.
The search for own-voices m/m romance continues, and this one was... okay. I feel like two stars is maybe a bit harsh, but I didn't feel like rounding up to three.* I've yet to rate an own-voices m/m romance more than three stars, and I'm starting to wonder if perhaps they're just not for me. I thought I was a big ol' gummi bear, but perhaps I'm more cynical than I thought I was because I found myself rolling my eyes rather than getting all soft and giggly over them. But I wanna get soft and giggly! My main issues with this one were the pacing of the story and the relationship itself. For example, the only sex scene arrives right at the end, and even though they were together for four months and getting serious before the Conflict That Derails The Relationship™ happens, it's written like they've not had sex before and that seemed weird to me. Side note: referring to someone's butthole as their “opening” during a sex scene is perhaps the most aggressively unsexy thing I ever read on a page, imho. This story employed the use of flashbacks to fill in the narrative, and I'm usually here for non-linear storytelling, but these didn't add much to the story for me. By the time they're brought in, the drama of the relationship had already happened, and I already wasn't buying it, so they were too little too late at that point and just felt repetitive. The flashbacks only cover their meet-cute and first two dates, which did not do enough to convey to me why their four months together were important enough for the conflict of the story to have any weight or stakes. Like, okay, y'all met and it was cute, but it's not that deep, so...?Part of the problem for me was that instead of “show don't tell”, the characters are constantly just telling us how they are feeling during their pov sections instead of allowing us to experience how they feel by the way they act and the things they do. In the absence of any other real character development, this just served to hold the characters at arms' length. For example, Carter is constantly remarking about how scatterbrained he is, but we never really see that in any meaningful sense. He just forgets his phone a couple of times (turns out this was foreshadowing I guess, but even then, it felt more of a conceit of the plot than any real personality trait). Instead, it just comes across as a bit “I'm not like other gays, tee hee giggles.” But, to be fair, we do get to see that Carter is kind and nurturing, if a bit needy, and has some vague family issues, so that's something. On the other hand, Dane is just a workaholic who loves Carter and wears cowboy boots. We're not really given much else to understand why Carter loves Dane except that he saw him get a boner that one time. The denouement went for a comedy of errors kind of situation that was a little too convenient and unbelievable to feel earned, but I did like the epilogue as we finally get to see Dane showing his love instead of just telling us. And, I thought it was a nice touch that it was set in a real restaurant in Greenville. That was cute.It honestly wasn't that bad, but because it was just so beige to me overall, the negatives stood out more prominently in my mind. I wonder if the problem was how short it was; if the story were longer and we could explore their relationship a bit more, maybe it would have felt less forced, and the conflict might've had more stakes. But also, what story was there I found a bit boring, so don't know that having to read more of it would have kept me engaged. The writing itself was very readable, and that was probably why I stuck with it and didn't DNF. I'd be open to reading more from this author if the synopsis piqued my interest. Like I said, maybe I'm trying to make fetch happen, and m/m romance isn't for me? I just couldn't suspend my disbelief or my cynicism enough to let it be what it is and go along with it for some light enjoyment. Maybe this review says more about how dead inside I am than the quality of the story... lolBut! The optimist in me persists; I will keep looking for an only-voices adult m/m romance that gets more than three stars! Recommendations welcome!* I looked at some of the other m/m romances I've read and bumped it back to 2 stars. I had a lot of the same issues with this one as I had with [b:A Heart Back Home 55355363 A Heart Back Home (Heart, Home, Family #1) Andrew Grey https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1600293298l/55355363.SY75.jpg 86328245], and it wasn't as easy and pleasant as [b:Melting 54341604 Melting (Otter Bay #1) Sean Ashcroft https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1593551576l/54341604.SY75.jpg 84798237]. Melting was definitely better than the other two, but not a four-star read. I feel like the five-star scale isn't robust enough to rate things accurately and with nuance, but I don't wanna do half or decimal stars since GoodReads doesn't support it. Idk, the world is ending it doesn't matter. lol
This was stunning!
I adored Harrow's writing; it's sparing yet evocative and moody and not a single paragraph goes to waste. Every word serves the atmosphere of the story to exquisite effect. I'm already in the process of seeking out their other works to add to my TBR.
Six Deaths has touches of Joan of Arc, Snow White, Arthurian legend, and hangs them on a time loop narrative device that never gets old or wears out its welcome. Each loop brings us closer to the mystery of the Saint, and lays the groundwork for the emotional pay off.
And that pay off though... oooh, I cried real good.
I've really enjoyed every entry in the Into Shadow series so far, but this was by far my favorite. I enthusiastically recommend you pick it up.
If you have Kindle Unlimited, the ebook and the audiobook is included, and personally I'm a huge fan of the narration function in the Kindle iOS app. The audio was quite good, but the narrator randomly starts trying an accent part way through, which weirded me out because I couldn't tell if it was a deliberate choice or not... but still good!
I'm keen to read the rest of the collection, and maybe try to fit them into the Buzzword Reading Challenge for 2023.
I really enjoyied [b:The Troop 17571466 The Troop Nick Cutter https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1397768496l/17571466.SY75.jpg 24510359]—I gave it five stars—and I remember picking that one up because of the praise it received and how many of my fave booktubers said it was super disturbing. Well, I don't remember too many specifics about The Troop (my memory's fault, not the book's), but I do recall thinking it was awesome and gross, but not super disturbing per se. Well, The Deep was certainly disturbing. But, I understand why The Troop is the Nick Cutter book people talk about most, because while The Deep does what it says on the tin in terms of the horror, it's got its problems. • An overuse of onomatopoeia to the point of distraction.• The story touches on a lot of serious, uncomfortable topics, and they certainly gave me the ick but for the most part, these serve the story and felt intentional. However, there was some fatphobia that didn't quite feel necessary or serve the story that I could have done without. It was very like "Ooh, she got fat, gross! We know she's gonna be a baddie!"• The general dialogue was fine, but when it came to banter, it felt a bit forced and unintentionally cringe, particularly between the main character and his brother. • The ‘Gets, the worldwide pandemic that instigates the whole narrative, was super interesting but is largely forgotten once we get to the underwater lab in the Challenger Deep. It was such an interesting concept that it would have been great to see it have more impact to the story rather than being a throwaway plot device. These things brought it down to a 4-star read for me, but none of them derailed the story. It's a real wild ride and intensely unsettling; exactly what I want from a horror book. Nick Cutter excels in describing horrifying, uncomfortable, and balls-to-the-wall cuckoo-bananas situations. His descriptions of the characters' psychological trauma as they grapple with desperate situations are so intense and unnerving; I often found myself wanting to put the book down to give myself a break but also being absolutely unable to tear my eyes from the page. There was one claustrophobic sequence in particular where Cutter describes the main characters crawling through an access tunnel that gets narrower and narrower with no guarantee that they'll be able to get out at the other end. Ooof, my skin was crawling, my heart was racing, and I almost threw the book across the room in vicarious panic. And frankly, that's some chef's-kiss horror writing if you ask me. I can't wait to read more Nick Cutter, cuz I know it'll be a grand creep-fest that does exactly what it says on the tin. However, I will say that I'd love to see a bit more character diversity, particularly more women.Worth checking the trigger warnings before reading if you have triggers. Definitely do not read if bad things happening to animals in your reading is a dealbreaker.
I started reading this in December, but finished it this year, making it my second book of 2023, I guess.
I had just finished reading a book club book that I really, truly did not enjoy, so I was keen to read something that was more to my own taste, and was feeling like something creepy. It'd seen a few of my favorite booktubers who like horror mention this one, and between that and the striking cover, I decided to give it a whirl.
Gus Moreno's writing has this really uncanny quality of being taut yet casual at the same time. It has a conversational pace and tone that is underpinned by a pervasive tension that holds out right to the end, and I found it super compelling.
We've got some creepy sci-fi stuff, some Lovecraftian stuff, some haunted house stuff, some possession and zombie stuff... it's like Moreno is the Salt Bae of horror, seasoning the book with a bunch of different horror elements that all kind of harmonize and hit those horror tastebuds just so!
All of the cuckoo-bananas stuff that happens is anchored by Thiago's depression and grief. I really connected with the way these themes were explored; his loss is heavy and pervasive, but the way withdraws and turns it all inward was very relatable to me.
I haven't given away much about the plot here because it's really more than the sum of its parts, and I think if a creepy, unsettling horror that explores loss, grief, technology, family, and culture sounds good to you, I recommend picking this up and just jumping right in. Although, if harm to animals is book dealbreaker for you, maybe skip it...
I really enjoyed the artwork; that was my favorite part.
Going into this, I was expecting a romance, and the romance is really an afterthought. The love interest really doesn't feature that much.
The main focus is on Ben meeting culinary challenges to be hired permanently at the restaurant, and his home life with his housemates. I'm not at all interested in food so, to be fair, those sections aren't really my jam. Plus, Ben was a bit of a Mary Sue in the cooking department, making changes to the recipes of experienced, trained chefs, that miraculously elevate the dishes. There was never any stakes that Ben might not pass the challenges.
The restaurant pig was cute... but was a really weird inclusion the didn't really jibe with the rest of the tone.
While simplistic, I liked how it showed Ben and his housemates' life after college and supporting each other, though the programmer housemate (forget his name) could have been entirely cut without affecting anything at all. But, it was nice, and gave the story some heart.
Ultimately, I was expecting something different and wasn't super into the cooking stuff. But in spite of this I still enjoyed it well enough. I think if you like food and aren't looking for a romance, you might dig this.
It's a 3.5 rounded up to a 4. Edit: Moved down to a three after letting it sit for a bit.
I really enjoyed the artwork; but I didn't really connect with the story.
Going into this, I was expecting a romance, and the romance is really an afterthought. The love interest really doesn't feature that much.
The main focus is on Ben meeting culinary challenges to be hired permanently at a restaurant, and his home life with his housemates. I'm not at all interested in food so, to be fair, those sections aren't really my jam. Plus, Ben was a bit of a Mary Sue in the cooking department, making changes to the recipes of experienced, trained chefs and miraculously elevating the dishes. There was never any tension that Ben might not pass the challenges.
The restaurant pig was cute... but was a really weird inclusion the didn't really jibe with the tone of the rest of the book.
I liked how it showed Ben and his housemates' life after college and supporting each other, though the programmer housemate (forget his name) could have been entirely cut without affecting anything at all. But, it was nice, and gave the story some heart.
Ultimately, I was expecting something different and wasn't super into the cooking stuff, which is totally on me picking up a book called “Chef's Kiss”. But in spite of this I still enjoyed it well enough. I think if you like food and the romance isn't your priority, you might dig this.
