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honeyreads1066's reviews
349 reviews
The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas by Ursula K. Le Guin
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse
Marvel 1602 by Neil Gaiman, Todd Klein, Peter Sanderson, Richard Isanove, Andy Kubert
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
3.5
I listened to this as an audiobook which I think is a better way to read this.
This book follows Korede, a nurse who occasionally gets phone calls from her sister Ayoola saying she has killed a man and asking Korede to help clean it up. When the police start sniffing around them because of the last man she killed and Ayoola starts dating a doctor that Korede is particularly fond of she must decide between the man she loves and her sister the serial killer.
The thing that stood out to me the most was the relationship between sisters. As fantastical as the events are, they reminded me of my relationship with my sister, one that is complicated and defined by shared experiences. It showed just how far people are will to go for their family in a way that felt reasonable.
I think the fact that this relationship was the core focus meant that the rest of the characters became a little lacklustre. Some you're fond of, most you're not but even though some weren't 2 dimensional they still felt as though they needed a bit more to them to give them a push into convincing real people.
The thing that fell flat for me was the ending, there was such a large amount of anticipation for what was to happen and it fell a bit flat for me. I understand that the book isn't really about the plot but since I felt it was particularly strong throughout, it was disappointing for it to end the way it did.
Overall, I would recommend this, it was fast and a deep dive into how complicated singing relationships can be. Also from a perspective and in a setting that is not often seen in mainstream media.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Murder
Minor: Addiction and Death of parent
True Crime Story by Joseph Knox
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book had me googling whether it, not this was a true story.
This book follows the disappearance of a Manchester University student Zoe and the events after and surrounding this. The key players in this disappearance are revealed at the beginning, including her twin sister Kimberly. Told through a series of interviews that are cut together after the fact, you get a picture of Zoe's life and the complicated people surrounding her.
The strongest part of this book was probably the style, it was the thing that drew me to it in the first place. The book is told through a series of interviews that are cut together as well as emails between the author and the original author. The style was unique and did keep things interesting.
Despite this, I did have an issue with the pacing, while there were massive reveals and things that didn't make sense, I felt like at times these large things were brushed to the side in favour of snide comments other none interesting information. It made me want to put the book down quite a few times but I stuck through to see how it would end.
The characters themselves started off feeling a little bit like caricatures, there were also a few things said at the beginning regarding race that was a bit iffy and didn't come up later. It did make me want to stop.
You understand at the beginning that everyone has their personal version of events and thus everyone seems to be an unreliable narrator which I think was a massive pro for the story.
The ending left a lot of questions which would be fair if it were a true story but since this is fiction it made me pretty frustrated. There are a few elements that seem to have been completely dropped but then why bring these things up if they're going to be dropped.
Overall, despite what it may seem at times I was drawn into the story. I wasn't expecting the ending but I'm unsure about how I feel about it at the current time. This was solid especially love the style it was written in.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Kidnapping, Grief, and Stalking
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Rape, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Trafficking
I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
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
3.0
I wished that I read this before I watched the Netflix movie because it is so much better.
This book follows a young woman on a journey with her boyfriend Jake. She has agreed to meet his parents but as the journey continues and the more topics they discuss, it starts to get more unsettling
The characters were probably the strongest part of this. This is a very character-based book and a lot of the book consisted of just conversation. While I didn't mind this, I don't think I would keep reading if I had read it physically. Listening to it as an audiobook made it less chunky and pulled me into the conversion.
The pacing did feel very slow for me, maybe that was because of the lack of content and the clues as to things were so subtle. Whenever something interesting happened it was brushed to the side quite a bit.
The ending was where everything got pulled together. It was an extremely long build-up with a lot of questions of what was the point of that. Since very few events happened it just felt like the journey to get to such a brilliant ending took so long.
Overall I enjoyed it but only as an audiobook.in any other medium, I would not have finished it but it is certainly a very peculiar read.
This book follows a young woman on a journey with her boyfriend Jake. She has agreed to meet his parents but as the journey continues and the more topics they discuss, it starts to get more unsettling
The characters were probably the strongest part of this. This is a very character-based book and a lot of the book consisted of just conversation. While I didn't mind this, I don't think I would keep reading if I had read it physically. Listening to it as an audiobook made it less chunky and pulled me into the conversion.
The pacing did feel very slow for me, maybe that was because of the lack of content and the clues as to things were so subtle. Whenever something interesting happened it was brushed to the side quite a bit.
The ending was where everything got pulled together. It was an extremely long build-up with a lot of questions of what was the point of that. Since very few events happened it just felt like the journey to get to such a brilliant ending took so long.
Overall I enjoyed it but only as an audiobook.in any other medium, I would not have finished it but it is certainly a very peculiar read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide
No Pain, No Game by Lucie Ataya
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
So I would describe this as deadman wonderland in contemporary Britain.
This book follows several people including the creator of a radical new idea to reduce crime in contemporary Britain. This idea is a game where 100 death row or life in prison criminals battle it out through a series of deadly challenges to win their freedom.
The premise itself appealed a lot to me. I love the idea of games and I do love the saw franchise so I was interested to see how this book would go. Despite this and the large number of philosophical questions that this asked, I felt like there was very little emphasis on the events of the game itself. It felt almost glossed over which didn't to me.
I had small issues with the coaching, I felt that it was slow in the beginning and only picked up towards the end with a few kicks in the middle. It made the book feel chunky and disjointed at times.
The characters themselves were likeable when they were supposed to be and others of course were not. You get perspectives from the core characters which doesn't ever seem boring or out of place. Each character had a new perspective to give and something to add to the story which I greatly appreciated.
The ending threw a few curveballs, some of which I was expecting to a degree and others which came out of nowhere. Just when you think you have the backstory or understanding of one character it's thrown upside down and something unexpected happens.
Overall I did enjoy this, despite my issues with the pacing and focus I felt like this was a good read. It makes you ask a lot of questions and makes you think about just what people are capable of.
This book follows several people including the creator of a radical new idea to reduce crime in contemporary Britain. This idea is a game where 100 death row or life in prison criminals battle it out through a series of deadly challenges to win their freedom.
The premise itself appealed a lot to me. I love the idea of games and I do love the saw franchise so I was interested to see how this book would go. Despite this and the large number of philosophical questions that this asked, I felt like there was very little emphasis on the events of the game itself. It felt almost glossed over which didn't to me.
I had small issues with the coaching, I felt that it was slow in the beginning and only picked up towards the end with a few kicks in the middle. It made the book feel chunky and disjointed at times.
The characters themselves were likeable when they were supposed to be and others of course were not. You get perspectives from the core characters which doesn't ever seem boring or out of place. Each character had a new perspective to give and something to add to the story which I greatly appreciated.
The ending threw a few curveballs, some of which I was expecting to a degree and others which came out of nowhere. Just when you think you have the backstory or understanding of one character it's thrown upside down and something unexpected happens.
Overall I did enjoy this, despite my issues with the pacing and focus I felt like this was a good read. It makes you ask a lot of questions and makes you think about just what people are capable of.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Torture, and Murder
Moderate: Addiction and Drug abuse
Minor: Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe by Dalibor Talajić, Cullen Bunn
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
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
4.0
A God in a Human Body by Tolu' A. Akinyemi
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
4.0
Reviewing poetry collections is often so difficult because poetry is so personal.
To describe what this collection is about would be doing it a disservice but I can describe what it made me feel which was powerful and divine. It explored the nature of mortality and spirituality in a way that I was able to connect with deeply and understand.
Despite this, there were a few poems, mainly covering feminism that I had to read over to understand the full meaning. I also had an issue with the order, I think these two points paired together made the reading experience flow less for me.
My personal favourites were "solemn" and " portrait of a goddess". Each made me feel two completely different feelings but I relate and I think that's what made me enjoy them so much.
Overall, I would recommend this as something short yet meaningful.
To describe what this collection is about would be doing it a disservice but I can describe what it made me feel which was powerful and divine. It explored the nature of mortality and spirituality in a way that I was able to connect with deeply and understand.
Despite this, there were a few poems, mainly covering feminism that I had to read over to understand the full meaning. I also had an issue with the order, I think these two points paired together made the reading experience flow less for me.
My personal favourites were "solemn" and " portrait of a goddess". Each made me feel two completely different feelings but I relate and I think that's what made me enjoy them so much.
Overall, I would recommend this as something short yet meaningful.
Hulk: World War Hulk by Greg Pak
adventurous
challenging
dark
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
Geiger by Gustaf Skördeman
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
First off what I was expecting was a generic spy thriller but it was a lot more than that.
This book follows Sara, a police officer who was a friend of uncle Stellan's (a retired very famous TV personality) family as a kid and now after he is murdered, she goes on a long journey to figure out who did it.
Agneta is Stellan's wife who after getting a phone call where the other person just says the word Geiger, immediately kills her husband and flees.
I felt like this book was a mesh of two completely different stories. There was of course the spy angle, but there was also an emphasis on the atrocities committed against women, particularly sex workers. While I thought this would be done well, it felt messy and I didn't see why some aspects were put in there.
The spy angle was okay but I felt it was predictable at times up until you got to the end reveal. There were quite a few elements that were predictable outside of the spy angle but not necessarily in a bad way.
With the characters, I felt that some of them were fleshed out well but others seemed unnecessary and it meant that it was difficult to keep a hold of who was important. Also, I felt like I didn't like the characters I was supposed to. I had a major dislike for Sara but I'm not sure that I was supposed to. I just found her overly preachy and frankly annoying.
I also suppose that when there are books from multiple perspectives there's always a chance that one side is going to be more interesting than another and I did find that here.
Overall, maybe this book was not for me. I don't read a lot of spy thrillers but this seemed lacklustre in my opinion.
This book follows Sara, a police officer who was a friend of uncle Stellan's (a retired very famous TV personality) family as a kid and now after he is murdered, she goes on a long journey to figure out who did it.
Agneta is Stellan's wife who after getting a phone call where the other person just says the word Geiger, immediately kills her husband and flees.
I felt like this book was a mesh of two completely different stories. There was of course the spy angle, but there was also an emphasis on the atrocities committed against women, particularly sex workers. While I thought this would be done well, it felt messy and I didn't see why some aspects were put in there.
The spy angle was okay but I felt it was predictable at times up until you got to the end reveal. There were quite a few elements that were predictable outside of the spy angle but not necessarily in a bad way.
With the characters, I felt that some of them were fleshed out well but others seemed unnecessary and it meant that it was difficult to keep a hold of who was important. Also, I felt like I didn't like the characters I was supposed to. I had a major dislike for Sara but I'm not sure that I was supposed to. I just found her overly preachy and frankly annoying.
I also suppose that when there are books from multiple perspectives there's always a chance that one side is going to be more interesting than another and I did find that here.
Overall, maybe this book was not for me. I don't read a lot of spy thrillers but this seemed lacklustre in my opinion.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Gun violence, Pedophilia, and Torture
Minor: Death, Drug use, Incest, Vomit, and Death of parent