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illtakethenightshiftx's reviews
184 reviews
The Galaxy, and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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? It's complicated
5.0
I’m so sad the series is over, but this was such a wonderful way to end it!! These books feel like a warm hug and never fail to make me cry and The Galaxy, and the Ground Within is no different.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia
Moderate: Confinement and War
Minor: Colonisation
Perfume and Pain by Anna Dorn
dark
funny
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
4.0
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster* for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
I loved every second of this!! Astrid is the messiest character I’ve met in a long time. She is a tornado of booze, drugs, sex, and transactional relationships that leaves a path of destruction 100 miles wide in her wake. And yet, you can’t help but root for her the whole novel and want to see her do better and make better choices.
Dorn’s prose is brash, unflinching, honest, and compulsively readable. At times, it feels like you’re reading someone’s journal or secret Tumblr account. I also got major Ava from ‘Hacks’ vibes (just less funny) from Astrid, which I enjoyed. I liked how Dorn wrote the side characters and how the reader gets to watch their relationships to Astrid evolve over the course of the novel.
There was one point towards the middle of the novel where Astrid’s cyclical shenanigans got a bit old for me, but that feeling quickly went away as the story progressed.
Overall, I really enjoyed this novel and will be reading the rest of Anna Dorm’s catalogue immediately!! Perfume and Pain is for anyone who likes to watch mess and drama from a safe distance, until you inevitably get swept up in it in some way.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
Moderate: Fatphobia and Stalking
Minor: Ableism and Homophobia
Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey
adventurous
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? It's complicated
4.5
I wish this was a full-length novel!!! I wanted to know more about the world and spend more time with these characters.
More books like this, please!!!
More books like this, please!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Homophobia
The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.5
I have so many thoughts about this book and I feel like I need to reread it immediately! Nelson is brutally honest and unflinchingly candid in her explorations of motherhood as it relates to gender, patriarchy, and society’s conventionally held beliefs about the aforementioned. I will admit that my knowledge of gender and feminist theory is limited, and parts of the book felt hard to access without some kind of prior knowledge about the authors and scholars referenced. (But that’s on me, I own it, and I’m learning from it) I know in my gut that this is a book that I’ll return to many more times in the future.
Lost Ark Dreaming by Suyi Davies Okungbowa
hopeful
reflective
tense
fast-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
Thank you to NetGalley and Tordotcom for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Lost Ark Dreaming is a novella that explores a future marred by the severe effects of climate change, classism, capitalism, and greed.
I really liked the 3 main characters! I found their stories to be compelling and I genuinely cared about all of them. I almost wish this was a full-length novel because I wanted to spend more time with them.
This pacing was tight, engaging, and the action scenes were punchy and impactful. There was also enough world-building so the reader has a full understanding of the world the characters are living and the implications of their actions without getting bogged down in it. There are interlude chapters interwoven throughout the novella as well that give context to the world and to characters’ backstories.
There were a few interlude chapters that took me out of the flow of the narrative, but I did liked them as stand-alone chapters.
Overall, I enjoyed this and can’t wait to read more from Suyi Davies Okungbowa!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement and Violence
Moderate: Classism
The Night of Baba Yaga by Akira Otani
adventurous
dark
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
What a ride! Compulsively readable and a fun time.
Also, I was so surprised at the end, though have no idea what happened to me because I totally didn't figure out that the two storylines were about the same characters until the last like 3 chapters
If you like action movies (like Love Lies Bleeding), you’ll dig this!
If you like action movies (like Love Lies Bleeding), you’ll dig this!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest and Violence
Moderate: Racism and Classism
Be Not Afraid of Love: Lessons on Fear, Intimacy, and Connection by Mimi Zhu
Did not finish book. Stopped at 50%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 50%.
Soft put down, not in the headspace for this right now :(
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship
Hell Followed with Us by Andrew Joseph White
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I think I would’ve liked this if I were a teen, but it was a little too all over the place for me as an adult. The premise is super interesting, the characters were compelling, though I would’ve liked to get to know the side characters from the ALC a bit more. The body horror scenes were visceral and gross, in a good way!! I’m definitely not the target audience, but I’m glad I read this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming, Gore, Violence, and Religious bigotry
Meet Cute Diary by Emery Lee
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I know I’m not the target audience for this, but I didn’t like it at all.
The main character was really whiny and didn’t learn a THING - like 0 character development… What?! The side characters were awesome and I really liked getting to know them!
The audiobook narrator didn’t do it for me either, which I think contributed to my genera dislike for the book, which is a bummer. I really wanted to like this, but it didn’t do it for me :(
The main character was really whiny and didn’t learn a THING - like 0 character development… What?! The side characters were awesome and I really liked getting to know them!
The audiobook narrator didn’t do it for me either, which I think contributed to my genera dislike for the book, which is a bummer. I really wanted to like this, but it didn’t do it for me :(
Friday, Book One: The First Day of Christmas by Muntsa Vicente, Ed Brubaker
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5