aruarian_melody's reviews
467 reviews

It Would Be Night in Caracas by Karina Sainz Borgo

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challenging dark informative reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Engaging read that made me (and many other international readers) aware of the crisis in Venezuela. The writing stile is a bit of a weird mix between (often not quite successfully) hard hitting literary prose and straight forward storytelling. At times it felt like the language was crass just for shock value's sake or to make the book seem more serious. There was one scene in particular that involved the sexualisation of children that made me question if that was really necessary to include. While it reads like it was written mainly for people who do not know much about Venezuela and its crisis, it is still a fiction book that doesn't really give a lot of context. While I took away that there is a crisis and people are suffering, I also wasn't quite sure how much is reality and how much is exaggerated. Still, I think it is an engaging read that made me (and probably many other readers) dive into some articles after reading the book. 
An Unnecessary Woman by Rabih Alameddine

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 17%.
The concept sounded really cool but I just didn't connect with this and decided to move on to something else. The literature references often felt like pretentious name-dropping rather than meaningful additions to the story. The jumping around made everything feel very disconnected. 
Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 21%.
Gave the author another shot after I loved the first book I read of hers (The Once and Future Witches) but didn't like her other work. The premise of this and the excellent narrator of the audiobook were too tempting to not at least try. I still haven't figured out why just one of her books worked for me but this one was another miss. I'm 1/5th in and I don't care about anything that is happening or the characters. I often felt like there was potential for intrigue and atmosphere that just didn't quite connect. 
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 4%.
Very early on it becomes very clear that this is the debut work. I loved The Broken Earth but all the reasons for why I love it are missing in this one. Since I really dislike the writing style in this one and know from reviews that the focus isn't what I am normally interested in, I will move on and keep an eye open to new work from Jemisin. 
Common Bonds: An Aromantic Speculative Anthology by C.T. Callahan, B.R. Sanders, RoAnna Sylver, Claudie Arseneault

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adventurous hopeful lighthearted reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • 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

3.0

Like most anthologies, this one was a mixed bag for me. While I appreciate the effort to collect these aro-focused stories, the quality and my enjoyment of the stories varied immensely. It also wasn't always clear to me who the aro character was supposed to be. Still, any representation is welcome and I imagine it wasn't easy to even find aro stories in the first place. 

I especially liked "Fishing over the Bones of the Dragon" by Jeff Reynolds and "Half a Heart" by Ren Oliveira. Both of which stood out for their atmosphere. 
Aimée & Jaguar: Eine Liebesgeschichte, Berlin 1943 by Erica Fischer

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 57%.
Oof. Sicher ein wichtiges Zeitzeugendokument aber der hin und her springende Schreibstil und der Fokus auf ALLE möglichen Details sorgend dafür, dass der rote Faden fehlt. 
The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 5%.
Dnf mostly because I'm not on the mood for this kind of book
Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett

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adventurous funny slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

This one didn't quite land for me. As usual, there were some golden nuggets as expected from a Discworld story. But somehow the story itself was a bit nebulous and I just never felt like picking it back up. I like the ending when everything finally came together. 
East of Eden by John Steinbeck

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

It's rare for a classic to pull me in this completely and quickly. I absolutely loved the prose with the vivid descriptions of the environment and the many, many quotable reflections on war and personal choice. The characters and their relationships were very well developed and complex. I knew 30 pages in that this would be a 5 star read and nothing along this journey changed my mind. I really liked how the topic of generational trauma and patterns (and how they affect us) was handled. Lee was a surprising highlight of the book. Yes, there was some racism and misogyny and in a way some ace/arophobia in this book. I would have liked to see more women play a significant (and positive) role. But I was honestly surprised by how little of this there was (concerning the publication date) and the positive things about this book far outweigh the few complaints I personally had. What an excellent start to my reading year 2024. I can't wait to read more by Steinbeck and eventually returning to this one. 
Hopeless Aromantic: An Affirmative Guide to Aromanticism by Samantha Rendle

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hopeful informative reflective fast-paced

2.75

I really appreciate the author writing this and the publisher supporting so many books of the aro-ace community in general. As the author points out, there are not many studies and books on the topic of aromanticism. For that reason alone this book is important and I felt like the author took great care with this topic. The very conversational tone didn't always work for me and as much as I appreciated the author's honesty, at times I thought the self-reflection and self-explaining took too much focus. I don't think this will be the best book on the topic in the future - but it is a step.