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beckykphillips's reviews
353 reviews
This Girl's A Killer by Emma C. Wells
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
This Girl's a Killer tells the story of Cordelia Black, a pharma sales rep with a side hobby of using her product to help her kill off horrific men. Cordelia is extremely devoted to her best friend, Diane and her goddaughter, Sugar (aka Samantha). While Cordelia is usually a methodical planner when it comes to her...disposals, things go haywire when she has an off encounter with Diane's new fling.
I think folks will really enjoy the female Dexter - Cordelia is smart and also cares deeply for Diane and Sugar. She is also though very materialistic, which started to grate on me while I was reading the book. The book on the whole didn't quite work for me, but potentially for different reasons than other folks might have. I work in pharma and so was particularly frustrated by some of the characterizations and particularly the quote that "bad medicine is part of the process" when it came to some terrible side effects for the drug that Cordelia was responsible for selling. It made the company/some of the things Cordelia was touting feel a bit too close to Purdue Pharma and made it harder for me to feel endeared toward her as a character.
Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the advanced copy of this book.
I think folks will really enjoy the female Dexter - Cordelia is smart and also cares deeply for Diane and Sugar. She is also though very materialistic, which started to grate on me while I was reading the book. The book on the whole didn't quite work for me, but potentially for different reasons than other folks might have. I work in pharma and so was particularly frustrated by some of the characterizations and particularly the quote that "bad medicine is part of the process" when it came to some terrible side effects for the drug that Cordelia was responsible for selling. It made the company/some of the things Cordelia was touting feel a bit too close to Purdue Pharma and made it harder for me to feel endeared toward her as a character.
Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the advanced copy of this book.
Lifeform by Jenny Slate
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
4.5
I just absolutely adore how Jenny Slate describes the world and all her experiences. Lifeform covers her experiences with being single, getting married, having her kiddo, and the death of her grandma - in one of the most unique memoirs I've had the pleasure to enjoy. I will say I don't know that I fully understood all of her musings, but I was happy to be along for the ride nonetheless.
One of the repeated devices in the memoir was her missives to her doctor where she describes what is going on with her at all her different stages of life. Among other items she discussed, I could not have related more when she talked about how she was worried about annoying her doctor and not necessarily wanting to deal with certain things that were just not going right.
When Jenny railed against her guest who left small, wet, hot bags everywhere and managed to both relate how frustrating it is to feel like you're responsible for everything, and then how our moms are to blame (for better or for worse) for our behavior and how that made her feel as a mom was just amazing.
I listened to this as an audiobook, which is mostly narrated by Jenny herself as well as some guest stars, and I would highly recommend. I always love listening to memoirs when they're read by the author and Jenny does such a fantastic job of reading it I can't imagine consuming it any other way.
I definitely recommend this book - thank you so much to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for the advanced copy.
One of the repeated devices in the memoir was her missives to her doctor where she describes what is going on with her at all her different stages of life. Among other items she discussed, I could not have related more when she talked about how she was worried about annoying her doctor and not necessarily wanting to deal with certain things that were just not going right.
When Jenny railed against her guest who left small, wet, hot bags everywhere and managed to both relate how frustrating it is to feel like you're responsible for everything, and then how our moms are to blame (for better or for worse) for our behavior and how that made her feel as a mom was just amazing.
I listened to this as an audiobook, which is mostly narrated by Jenny herself as well as some guest stars, and I would highly recommend. I always love listening to memoirs when they're read by the author and Jenny does such a fantastic job of reading it I can't imagine consuming it any other way.
I definitely recommend this book - thank you so much to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for the advanced copy.
The Arizona Triangle: A Novel by Sydney Graves
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Jo Bailen is a private detective called in to help a missing persons case for her estranged best friend from childhood, Rose. She returns to her hometown of Delphi, Arizona to try and unravel the mystery of what happened to Rose and who from her past is responsible.
This was an interesting mystery to follow along and I enjoyed Jo as a character - she is 40-ish, queer, and reads like someone with experience who has seen a lot, rather than some ingenue, which I liked. The story of her relationship with Rose really went off the rails from everything that Rose did. In the end, we find out what was going on, but this happens with not much left in the book. This made the pacing feel off as a result and I wish we'd spent more time with the consequences of Rose's behavior and its impact on her family. The ending of the whodunit just seemed out of left field and I don't know that I saw anything in the story that would have led the reader to the conclusion we end with.
While this didn't quite work for me, I would be curious to read another story by the author. Thanks so much to NetGalley and to Harper Perennial for the advanced copy.
This was an interesting mystery to follow along and I enjoyed Jo as a character - she is 40-ish, queer, and reads like someone with experience who has seen a lot, rather than some ingenue, which I liked. The story of her relationship with Rose really went off the rails from everything that Rose did. In the end, we find out what was going on, but this happens with not much left in the book. This made the pacing feel off as a result and I wish we'd spent more time with the consequences of Rose's behavior and its impact on her family. The ending of the whodunit just seemed out of left field and I don't know that I saw anything in the story that would have led the reader to the conclusion we end with.
While this didn't quite work for me, I would be curious to read another story by the author. Thanks so much to NetGalley and to Harper Perennial for the advanced copy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Cultural appropriation
Moderate: Dementia
American Rapture by CJ Leede
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-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? Yes
3.0
American Rapture follows Sophie as she tries to find her twin brother Noah in the backdrop of a zombie apocalypse in Wisconsin. Sophie has spent her life growing up in a sheltered, religious community without access to television, the internet, or even newspapers. When a viral apocalypse hits that sends the US into turmoil, she comes home to her parents having succumbed to the virus in the...unique way that this one hits.
Throughout the book, Sophie is reckoning with her religious upbringing and how she has seen the world for her entire life - much of her inner thoughts deal with this and how she thinks about attraction, which is also complicated by the virus's side effects.
I really enjoyed the different elements coming from Wisconsin as someone who lived there for a long while and thought the premise was very interesting. In the end though, I had a hard time connecting with Sophie and found a lot of her thought processes to be rather melodramatic. This does make sense in the context of the book given that Sophie is 16, but meant that it just didn't quite work for what I typically enjoy reading.
I listened to this as an audiobook and thought the narrator did a great job bringing Sophie to life and would recommend it for sure.
Thank you very much to NetGalley and to MacMillan audio for the advanced copy.
Throughout the book, Sophie is reckoning with her religious upbringing and how she has seen the world for her entire life - much of her inner thoughts deal with this and how she thinks about attraction, which is also complicated by the virus's side effects.
I really enjoyed the different elements coming from Wisconsin as someone who lived there for a long while and thought the premise was very interesting. In the end though, I had a hard time connecting with Sophie and found a lot of her thought processes to be rather melodramatic. This does make sense in the context of the book given that Sophie is 16, but meant that it just didn't quite work for what I typically enjoy reading.
I listened to this as an audiobook and thought the narrator did a great job bringing Sophie to life and would recommend it for sure.
Thank you very much to NetGalley and to MacMillan audio for the advanced copy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Religious bigotry, and Death of parent
Januaries: Stories of Love, Magic & Betrayal by Olivie Blake
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Januaries is an wonderful short story collection. by the masterful Olivie Blake examining love, life, and death. The stories cover genres including Olivie's signature fantasy and sci-fi, and the audiobook is beautifully narrated by a whole host of actors. I definitely recommend the collection to anyone looking to escape in bite-sized story bits.
The collection kicks off with The Wish Bridge, which ended up being one of my favorites of the whole collection - I don't want to spoil too much, but this one made my heart absolutely sing as Lila, the bridge-keeper becomes more and more aware of the world. This is followed up by The Audit where the government is piloting a program to provide people with their future earnings in their 20's so that they can better enjoy their life while their young. The House was another favorite of mine that reads like a treatise on marriage and I can absolutely see this becoming a reading in many literary-minded wedding ceremonies in the future. Chaos Theory was another gem for me - following five women across different worlds and what happens when their lives intertwine. There were certainly a few stories that didn't quite hit for me, but the excellent far outweigh the ones that didn't quite work.
I would also definitely. recommend listening to Januaries as an audiobook, the different narrators each bring their own flair to the different stories and I loved each and every one. Januaries accompanied me on a long road trip up and I couldn't have asked for better company.
Overall, I highly recommend - thank you so much to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the advanced copy.
The collection kicks off with The Wish Bridge, which ended up being one of my favorites of the whole collection - I don't want to spoil too much, but this one made my heart absolutely sing as Lila, the bridge-keeper becomes more and more aware of the world. This is followed up by The Audit where the government is piloting a program to provide people with their future earnings in their 20's so that they can better enjoy their life while their young. The House was another favorite of mine that reads like a treatise on marriage and I can absolutely see this becoming a reading in many literary-minded wedding ceremonies in the future. Chaos Theory was another gem for me - following five women across different worlds and what happens when their lives intertwine. There were certainly a few stories that didn't quite hit for me, but the excellent far outweigh the ones that didn't quite work.
I would also definitely. recommend listening to Januaries as an audiobook, the different narrators each bring their own flair to the different stories and I loved each and every one. Januaries accompanied me on a long road trip up and I couldn't have asked for better company.
Overall, I highly recommend - thank you so much to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the advanced copy.
How to Fall in Love in a Time of Unnameable Disaster by Muriel Leung
emotional
reflective
medium-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? Yes
3.5
How to Fall in Love in a Time of Unnameable Disaster contains a rich, post-apocalyptic world centered in New York where acid rain has devastated the city and everyone is striving for connection with world around them. Throughout the novel, we follow the love across generations and timelines, ranging from a ghost cockroach to the main character, Mira, Many of these love stories absolutely broke my heart, and never did I expect I would care so much for a cockroach, however, I found the storyline at times did not fully hold my attention. This is definitely a vibes book and at times I didn't know if I was quite cool enough to get the book. That being said, I would recommend the book if you're looking to explore a full world with unique characters and think about how love transcends our circumstances.
Thank you to NetGalley and W. W. Norton & Company for the advanced copy.
Thank you to NetGalley and W. W. Norton & Company for the advanced copy.
Rejection by Tony Tulathimutte
dark
emotional
funny
fast-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? Yes
5.0
Rejection is an electrifying collection of short stories dealing with nothing other than rejection - across seven stories we meet loosely connected characters each with their own conundrums. Some of these stories were what one would consider highly online, which I absolutely ate up. The juxtaposition of the stories was fantastic - my personal favorite back and forth was Ahegao, or the Ballad of Sexual Repression, with Our Dope Future where we move between an incredibly sexually repressed man to a man who is so lacking in shame that he believes he is the best partner ever as he love bombs and ultimately attempts to pyramid scheme his way into making a cult comprised solely of his children and their offspring. Re: Rejection was incredibly meta and I loved every word.
I highly recommend this story collection - if you are someone who enjoys reading about...perhaps less than moral characters but with absolutely fascinating psychology you're going to have a great time.
Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the copy.
I highly recommend this story collection - if you are someone who enjoys reading about...perhaps less than moral characters but with absolutely fascinating psychology you're going to have a great time.
Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the copy.
Model Home by Rivers Solomon
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
A haunted house is a violent one.
Model Home is an incredible take on the haunted house trope that explores familial bonds and generational trauma. The book opens on our main character Ezri, who is traveling back to their childhood home in Dallas with their daughter, Elijah. After being estranged from their parents throughout their adult life, Ezri finds their parents dead in their home in an apparent murder-suicide. However, Ezri, joined by their sisters, Eve and Emmanuelle, suspect their death is due to the house, which they had long considered haunted.
We learn more about Ezri, Even and Emmanuelle's childhoods through flashbacks throughout the book, which informs some of the parallel narratives we see with Ezri and Ezri's daughter Elijah, and all of the horrors the children experienced throughout growing up. The character development throughout the book was amazing and I particularly appreciated seeing how the family bonded through the tragedy of losing their parents and how they reckon with the grief associated both with their childhood and losing their parents. I also loved the sessions between Ezri and Max, their therapist, to understand Ezri better and how they processed their trauma.
The last quarter of the book I was absolutely rapt and needed to figure out what was happening to everyone. This was a fantastic novel, but check the content as it is quite heavy and so many of the events that happened left me feeling so anxious and worried for these characters.
I listened to this as an audiobook and the narrator, Gabby Beans, brought each and every character to life. She gave everyone a unique voice and brought so much to the story. I highly recommend listening to this as an audiobook as a result.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the advanced copy.
Model Home is an incredible take on the haunted house trope that explores familial bonds and generational trauma. The book opens on our main character Ezri, who is traveling back to their childhood home in Dallas with their daughter, Elijah. After being estranged from their parents throughout their adult life, Ezri finds their parents dead in their home in an apparent murder-suicide. However, Ezri, joined by their sisters, Eve and Emmanuelle, suspect their death is due to the house, which they had long considered haunted.
We learn more about Ezri, Even and Emmanuelle's childhoods through flashbacks throughout the book, which informs some of the parallel narratives we see with Ezri and Ezri's daughter Elijah, and all of the horrors the children experienced throughout growing up. The character development throughout the book was amazing and I particularly appreciated seeing how the family bonded through the tragedy of losing their parents and how they reckon with the grief associated both with their childhood and losing their parents. I also loved the sessions between Ezri and Max, their therapist, to understand Ezri better and how they processed their trauma.
The last quarter of the book I was absolutely rapt and needed to figure out what was happening to everyone. This was a fantastic novel, but check the content as it is quite heavy and so many of the events that happened left me feeling so anxious and worried for these characters.
I listened to this as an audiobook and the narrator, Gabby Beans, brought each and every character to life. She gave everyone a unique voice and brought so much to the story. I highly recommend listening to this as an audiobook as a result.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the advanced copy.
Odd Spirits by S.T. Gibson
emotional
hopeful
fast-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
In Odd Spirits, we get to see Moira and Rhys in the early days of their marriage just after their honeymoon period has seemed to lapse and watch as they learn how to communicate with each other and grow together. Despite the brevity of the book, Moria and Rhys feel like complete characters and we see them develop in real time as they deal with their own insecurities and the isolation they feel when they stop talking to each other.
I truly enjoyed getting a more in depth look at these characters and revisiting the world S.T. Gibson expanded upon in Evocation. Rhys and Moria's relationship in that book is much more mature and seeing how their marriage began helped explain why they were so secure in Evocation.
I would absolutely recommend this book and think it would work equally well read either before or after Evocation, especially if you want some more time with Rhys and Moira. A wonderful bonus was the beautiful illustrations in this new version. Thank you very much to Angry Robot Books and NetGalley for the advanced copy.
I truly enjoyed getting a more in depth look at these characters and revisiting the world S.T. Gibson expanded upon in Evocation. Rhys and Moria's relationship in that book is much more mature and seeing how their marriage began helped explain why they were so secure in Evocation.
I would absolutely recommend this book and think it would work equally well read either before or after Evocation, especially if you want some more time with Rhys and Moira. A wonderful bonus was the beautiful illustrations in this new version. Thank you very much to Angry Robot Books and NetGalley for the advanced copy.
A Drop of Fortune by Danielle Garrett
adventurous
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
A Drop of Fortune is a cozy fantasy novel with a romance side plot that follows Evelyn Rosewood, the royal witch representing one of the realm's four covens, as she covertly attempts to heal a blight in a seaside town. While settling in, she befriends many of the local townsfolk and gradually enmeshes herself within the community.
This book didn't quite work for me - while I've enjoyed cozy fantasy previously, some of the aspects of the story fell a bit flat. I didn't fully understand the purpose of Archie, Evelyn's familiar, and often found him to be somewhat distracting from the rest of the story. I also listened to this as an audiobook and didn't vibe with the voice the narrator used for him as it felt a bit cartoonish. I enjoyed the romance between Evelyn and Corrin, but found her worries over her interactions with the other folks in town to be a bit overblown. Meanwhile, larger plot points like the conflict between the king and his brother end up being resolved in the background, and some of the less positive interactions with the townsfolk seem to get resolved almost too easily.
Thank you very much to Dreamscape Select and NetGalley for the advanced copy.
This book didn't quite work for me - while I've enjoyed cozy fantasy previously, some of the aspects of the story fell a bit flat. I didn't fully understand the purpose of Archie, Evelyn's familiar, and often found him to be somewhat distracting from the rest of the story. I also listened to this as an audiobook and didn't vibe with the voice the narrator used for him as it felt a bit cartoonish. I enjoyed the romance between Evelyn and Corrin, but found her worries over her interactions with the other folks in town to be a bit overblown. Meanwhile, larger plot points like the conflict between the king and his brother end up being resolved in the background, and some of the less positive interactions with the townsfolk seem to get resolved almost too easily.
Thank you very much to Dreamscape Select and NetGalley for the advanced copy.