historyofjess's reviews
2096 reviews

The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo

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

3.0

This is my third Nghi Vo book and I'm coming to the conclusion that there's just something about her writing that I don't really connect with. I like the ideas a lot but the execution just never quite works for me.
My Calamity Jane by Jodi Meadows, Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand

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adventurous lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

This was entertaining, but similar to the second book in the series, it didn't quite capture the punch and surprise of the first volume. I liked that there was finally some queer energy in the series (how can you not when you've got Calamity Jane as one of your protagonists), as that felt a long time coming and, as per usual, there was some lighthearted references to pop culture. A nice bit of a popcorn read.
We Have Always Been Here: A Queer Muslim Memoir by Samra Habib

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emotional reflective medium-paced

3.5

A very emotional and moving memoir. The first half is a hard read as Habib struggles to find her identity in a new country, with parents who are forcing her into an underage marriage with a relative. It's rough and there are a couple of bouts of suicidal ideation. But powering through those parts of the story results in a really lovely and moving tale of Habib discovering her own queerness and community with queer muslims like herself—something she aches for throughout the book even more before she can quite name it—and it's such a beautiful and satisfying conclusion.
Beyond Survival: Strategies and Stories from the Transformative Justice Movement by Ejeris Dixon, Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha

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informative medium-paced

3.25

This was a difficult read for me. Some of it was the content (it hits you with a lot of stories of sexual violence pretty early on) and some of it was the presentation of the material. This is an anthology, but one that assembles a lot of different styles of content. It begins with more personal essays then moves on to items that are more like knowledge share documents then transcribed interviews with folks from the movement and then on to academic-esque articles about transformative justice experiences. Some of this material was easy to digest and relate to and other pieces left me feeling at a distance from what was being communicated. I think there's a lot of valuable information in here, but the disparate nature of its presentation left me, as a beginner to transformative justice, unsure of how to actually internalize and utilize the information. As the book went on it felt like it was speaking passed me to those that were more ingrained in the movement as larger ideas got shorthanded and folks started using acronyms more and more. I just wish the information had been presented more accessibly, but then, maybe it wasn't mean for someone like me that wasn't as familiar with the concepts.
Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Season 9 Volume 5: The Core by Andrew Chambliss, Joss Whedon

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

3.75

This series wasn't the best, but the finale was better than it had any right to be. It did a good job of bringing all the fragmented pieces together in a finish that was satisfying and also emotional. And the epilogue was a nice tease for what's to come.
Exile and Pride: Disability, Queerness, and Liberation by Eli Clare

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emotional reflective medium-paced

3.75

This was a little more expansive than I initially expected based on the subtitle and just a really beautifully written set of essays. Clare's pieces focus on their queerness and search for queer community, their experience as a disabled person, as well as their conflicted relationship with the logging industry that they grew up around. Clare's insights are incredibly insightful and dig deep into their own personal struggles with these issues in a very vulnerable way.
Flash Fire by TJ Klune

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was a really good continuation of the first book. It built on a lot of the character dynamics and plot threads that were introduced and seeded in that volume in a way that felt very emotionally satisfying. I also really appreciated that it addressed the copaganda aspects of The Extraordinaries in a pretty good way. Plus, there's a really fun new superhero character that I hope to see more of in the third book. This just continues to be a fun and fresh take on the superhero genre that adds a lot of great representation, both queer and neurodivergent.
Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe

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informative tense medium-paced

4.0

Such a compelling and beautifully structured book. This is a master class in nonfiction storytelling. Keefe develops character and tension like it's a crime novel as he delves into the intricacies of The Troubles from the on-the-ground soldiers of the fight, to the British Army forces trying to take them down, all the way to a years-long journey to discover the truth behind what happened to an abducted mother caught in the middle of it all.
Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros

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adventurous dark emotional medium-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? Yes

4.0

This a marked improvement over Iron Flame, though it also shared some of the drawbacks. In particular, this also had the feeling of being split down the middle with the action and story feeling a little outmatched in both halves. It also felt a bit weird to go "back to school" after the second half of the last book (not to mention having everyone still in their second year of school, all while still fighting a war).

While there's still some good spice to this book, the real relationships that pulled me through this book were Violet and her dragons. That's the stuff that had the power to make me cry. And I really liked that there was a little more development of the relationships that others have with their dragons, as well. There was also some interesting (and needed) world-building that I hope we'll see the fruits of in the future.
Beloved by Toni Morrison

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dark emotional medium-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

3.75

For as much as I knew about this book going into, I felt unmoored from the beginning almost all the way through the end, which very much felt intentional. It's an incredibly powerful and emotionally gutting book. But as powerful as it is, I often felt at a distance from the characters, like I was a hovering specter above them or watching from afar and I would've really liked to get a bit closer, as raw as that would have been.