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gxuosi's reviews
318 reviews
When Among Crows by Veronica Roth
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
if a legacy could be inherited, the guilt of that burden should have pulled dymitr under a long time ago; a crushing chain-march of righteous justice and penitence. if you could atone for not just your own sins, but your family's—not through punishment, but through being changed—wouldn't you peel your flesh down to the bone to make amends?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, and Grief
Moderate: Genocide, Racism, and Murder
Minor: Child death, Genocide, Antisemitism, Death of parent, Alcohol, Colonisation, and War
Lessons on Being Tenderheaded: Poems by Janae Johnson
4.0
this was not written for me. but somewhere hidden in the pages between grasping to frame her own gender within herself and society’s expectations, i find myself hidden; a bookmark left in a donated book on the shelf. i have been here and someone has seen me.
Don't Fear the Reaper by Stephen Graham Jones
Did not finish book. Stopped at 41%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 41%.
dnf at 41%. this was such a crushing, soul-sucking, gutting disappointment. i loved my heart is a chainsaw and spent months excitedly waiting to read this. but it turns out what gave my heart is a chainsaw any of its self proclaimed heart was completely absent here.
i loved the idea of jennifer trying so hard to not be who she used to be that she’s become a non-believing adult and letha being so wrapped up in her final girldom that she’s become who jennifer used to be. but the rest falls apart from there. i didn’t even remember who banner was and had o read a book 1 recap…
the story is tangled in a pit of POV swaps without headers, nonlinear memory recalls, and less than mentally sound conversations leading nowhere. it’s nearly impossible to keep up with even if you perfectly remember the first book. what made the first book such a good story was how connective it’s tissue was, how well written our in-the-know character is, and that nonlinear diversions or POV were few and far enough between that they were comprehensible. i am genuinely so disappointed that this book fell apart for me.
The Blonde Dies First by Joelle Wellington
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
joelle wellington the author that you are... i know anything you write is an immediate purchase. this was such a classic slasher and subverted all of the usual subversions in a modern take on slashers; all while feeling deeply on the pulse of the cultural sphere. you wrote a protagonist so dislikable that i was convinced she was secretly a demon. such a fun ass book. i know some readers may feel like the political, social, and economic narrative may be on the nose or thrown in as an after thought but it's just so true to horror as a genre. horror has always been the leading foot in the social conversation. the best way to measure any era is to know what they considered counter culture and frightening; and this was no different. a true horror story through and through. if they wanna make a movie out of this, PLEEEEEEEASE make that happen.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Racism, Vomit, Medical content, Murder, Alcohol, and Classism
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Police brutality, Stalking, Cultural appropriation, and Gaslighting
Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke And Other Misfortunes by Eric LaRocca
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
it’s a psychological horror lacking any of the thought provoking narrative and symbolism that would give substance to the splatterpunk levels of torture porn happening. just page after page of graphic violence for seemingly no narrative purpose other than to disgust the reader.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Miscarriage, Self harm, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Infertility, and Sexual content
Minor: Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol
continued content warnings: graphic on page animal murder of a salamander and a cat, implication of eyes being gouged out, broken ankle and exposed bone injury, child murder, crucifixion imagery
Ossuary by T.D. Cloud
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
very slow start for such a short book but around 40% the book changes. things get .... sticky. a dark, damp, keening inhuman hunger in a dank horror and full of blood-slick revenge. there's an atmospheric oppressive aura that closes in around you in calculated steps as thierry begins to understand his life and journey no longer in broad strokes, but in critical moments with jarring clarity. given the chance to kill your abusers and the complicit... wouldn't you take it?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Blood, Vomit, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment
Minor: Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, and Kidnapping
the mmc thierry grew up in dangerous neglectful come and remembers that story along side the emotional and verbal abuse he experiences during the novel. he is drastically ostracized for his family name and the focus of targeted harassment. characters in the course of the story experience injuries and conditions like: claustrophobia, concussive head injury, being bitten, broken neck, dismemberment, mind control
When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain by Nghi Vo
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
oh to be great and terrible and love with a hunger that has claws
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Blood
Moderate: Confinement, Violence, and Murder
Minor: Animal death and Sexual content
Dark Emu: Aboriginal Australia and the Birth of Agriculture by Bruce Pascoe
informative
reflective
3.0
really well informed take on aboriginal history with enlightening topics i, as an american, have never remotely heard of; some of which deeply shocking sections in the livestock section. i was able to draw lots of parallels on other nations and peoples like palestine, first nations and native americans, the mermaids of jeju. the author did a lot of grandstanding and circled back to hammer in platitudes which felt a bit like a research paper, but if you read this over the course of a month+ that would have been harmless.
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death, Death, Genocide, Racism, Sexual violence, Murder, Colonisation, and Classism
The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
cannibalism as a metaphor for love, to be so devoted that you devour them whole, but seen from the eyes of the eaten. to be so desired you are torn apart piece by piece. to have nothing left as you are rended from bone and marrow into a porcelain doll, finally an empty husk that’s no longer the idol of your keeper’s eye. to be left in a world of cannibals, devourers, the eaters and eaten; and then against all odds to choose instead of destruction, that someone is worth cannibalizing yourself for; creation, sacrifice, love.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Murder
Moderate: Confinement, Grief, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Miscarriage and Excrement