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caseythereader's reviews
1749 reviews
The Stardust Grail by Yume Kitasei
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Thanks to Macmillan Audio for the free copy of this book.
- THE STARDUST GRAIL was my first Yume Kitasei book and it certainly won’t be my last. I was fascinated by this universe and its history, which was expertly layered into a great heist plot.
- The story brings in elements ranging from artifact repatriation to what makes a creature sentient and human. There’s so much going on, but it’s all held together on the strength of the main band of characters.
- Also, I would die for Auncle. Anything for Auncle.
- THE STARDUST GRAIL was my first Yume Kitasei book and it certainly won’t be my last. I was fascinated by this universe and its history, which was expertly layered into a great heist plot.
- The story brings in elements ranging from artifact repatriation to what makes a creature sentient and human. There’s so much going on, but it’s all held together on the strength of the main band of characters.
- Also, I would die for Auncle. Anything for Auncle.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Blood, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Pandemic/Epidemic
Just Playing House by Farah Heron
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Thanks to Forever for the free copy of this book.
- Ooh did I love JUST PLAYING HOUSE. It’s the perfect blend of sweet, serious, silly, and just a little spice.
- Farah Heron said she wrote this book to show that sick people and people with high risk of becoming sick are worthy of being loved just as they are, and boy did she knock it out of the park. This book is filled with hard feelings and thorny conversations, but it feels safe and tender the whole way through.
- Marley and Nikhil had such great chemistry, and I loved this version of second chance where they barely had a first chance and were figuring out if they were ready to try it for real.
- Also, love a low key queer romance: Marley is bi and demi.
- Ooh did I love JUST PLAYING HOUSE. It’s the perfect blend of sweet, serious, silly, and just a little spice.
- Farah Heron said she wrote this book to show that sick people and people with high risk of becoming sick are worthy of being loved just as they are, and boy did she knock it out of the park. This book is filled with hard feelings and thorny conversations, but it feels safe and tender the whole way through.
- Marley and Nikhil had such great chemistry, and I loved this version of second chance where they barely had a first chance and were figuring out if they were ready to try it for real.
- Also, love a low key queer romance: Marley is bi and demi.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Sexual content, Medical content, and Alcohol
Moderate: Racism
Running Close to the Wind by Alexandra Rowland
Did not finish book. Stopped at 23%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 23%.
Avra’s antics are too tedious for me, they slow everything down and are repetitive. He feels like an Alexis Hall side character dropped into OFMD, and those characters are best in small doses.
Men Have Called Her Crazy by Anna Marie Tendler
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
Thanks to Simon and Schuster for the free copy of this book.
- Whew, this is A BOOK. I knew next to nothing about Tendler other than her highly publicized divorce, and now after reading MEN HAVE CALLED HER CRAZY, I feel a deep kinship with her.
- Tendler’s writing is a bit removed, but her prose flows so beautifully it took me awhile to clock it. It’s somehow both clinical and deeply insightful.
- She flips between present day at the hospital and looking back at past relationships. I would have liked a bit of a sharper line drawn between the past men and current mental state, but it is all there.
- PS: There’s virtually no mention of said ex-husband. It plays somewhere between “I signed an NDA” and “you don’t matter enough to include.” Plenty of Petunia though, which made me both laugh and cry.
- Whew, this is A BOOK. I knew next to nothing about Tendler other than her highly publicized divorce, and now after reading MEN HAVE CALLED HER CRAZY, I feel a deep kinship with her.
- Tendler’s writing is a bit removed, but her prose flows so beautifully it took me awhile to clock it. It’s somehow both clinical and deeply insightful.
- She flips between present day at the hospital and looking back at past relationships. I would have liked a bit of a sharper line drawn between the past men and current mental state, but it is all there.
- PS: There’s virtually no mention of said ex-husband. It plays somewhere between “I signed an NDA” and “you don’t matter enough to include.” Plenty of Petunia though, which made me both laugh and cry.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Cursing, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Grief, and Alcohol
The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Racism, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Fatphobia
Fiasco by Constance Fay
adventurous
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Thanks to Bramble Romance for the free copy of this book.
- What a joy to be back with the crew of the Calamity! I love the people and the universe Fay has created with this series. It has interesting space politics, edge of your seat action, sharp banter, and some very spicy stuff: what more could you want?
- Cyn is a great prickly heroine. Her history makes it easy to understand why she doesn’t want to let people in, though of course her walls fall down anyway (this is a romance novel, after all!)
- I didn’t quite buy how quickly Micah trusted Cyn. That speed did keep the book from dragging in the middle though, so I’ll allow it.
- What a joy to be back with the crew of the Calamity! I love the people and the universe Fay has created with this series. It has interesting space politics, edge of your seat action, sharp banter, and some very spicy stuff: what more could you want?
- Cyn is a great prickly heroine. Her history makes it easy to understand why she doesn’t want to let people in, though of course her walls fall down anyway (this is a romance novel, after all!)
- I didn’t quite buy how quickly Micah trusted Cyn. That speed did keep the book from dragging in the middle though, so I’ll allow it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Blood
But How Are You, Really by Ella Dawson
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Sexism, Sexual content, Vomit, and Alcohol
Moderate: Alcoholism
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Death of parent
Uglier by Kelly Vincent
Did not finish book. Stopped at 51%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 51%.
Not that I wasn't enjoying this world, but I feel like I got a good enough sense of the book to not need to finish it, as it was getting a bit repetitive and tedious.
Dreadful by Caitlin Rozakis
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Thanks to Titan Books for the free copy of this book.
- I haven’t had as much fun reading a book as I did reading DREADFUL in a long time.
- It’s basically a silly cozy fantasy, poking fun at the tropes of heroes and dark wizards, with lots of misadventures along the way. It’s a little reminiscent of Terry Pratchett’s books with the way it goes over the top.
- I loved everyone in this world. I’d particularly love to see a book from the Mayor’s point of view running a town under a bumbling dark wizard. Basically, more of this, please!
- I haven’t had as much fun reading a book as I did reading DREADFUL in a long time.
- It’s basically a silly cozy fantasy, poking fun at the tropes of heroes and dark wizards, with lots of misadventures along the way. It’s a little reminiscent of Terry Pratchett’s books with the way it goes over the top.
- I loved everyone in this world. I’d particularly love to see a book from the Mayor’s point of view running a town under a bumbling dark wizard. Basically, more of this, please!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Ugly by Kelly Vincent
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Thanks to Books Forward PR for the free copy of this book.
- UGLY and UGLIER are the first two books in Kelly Vincent’s The Art Of Being Ugly trilogy. The books follow Nic, a high schooler in a small town who doesn’t know what her identity is, just that she doesn’t fit the mold of the traditional Southern woman.
- I wanted to scoop Nic up and give her a huge hug. I very much related to the feeling that none of the available labels fit quite right, and shuffling through them in your head to try to find the right ones.
- It isn’t explicitly discussed, but Nic also reads as autistic to me, another reason that I was rooting for her to find her people.
- UGLY and UGLIER are the first two books in Kelly Vincent’s The Art Of Being Ugly trilogy. The books follow Nic, a high schooler in a small town who doesn’t know what her identity is, just that she doesn’t fit the mold of the traditional Southern woman.
- I wanted to scoop Nic up and give her a huge hug. I very much related to the feeling that none of the available labels fit quite right, and shuffling through them in your head to try to find the right ones.
- It isn’t explicitly discussed, but Nic also reads as autistic to me, another reason that I was rooting for her to find her people.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Transphobia, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Cursing and Sexual violence
Minor: Domestic abuse