jdamae11's reviews
84 reviews

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
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

4.25

Matt Bomer narrating the sad gays .. amazing. It’s been at least a decade since I’ve read this and it’s no less tragic & lovely. David sucks so bad but ugh he’s so darn human. I understand it’s a reflection of the time but the misogyny / treatment of women here from pretty much every character is not my fave at all. Feel like I might have a lot more to say on that later but for now, that’s it. Using as a familiar title to get in a groove of reading all of Baldwin’s novels this year, & it was a banger.

Content Warnings

Worry by Alexandra Tanner

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dark funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was genuinely hilarious. I actually cackled many times reading this book. I don’t imagine it being as funny if you haven’t been chronically online // aren’t a millennial & that might be a major self read but aw well. There’s a particular sequence with the narrator, a doctors office, and a goldfish that I was wheezing at. The main characters are a hot mess express. Everyone is so unwell and so toxic to each other, especially the two sisters at the heart of it all. It’s all a bit unfiltered and absurd. The narrator, Jules, is insufferable and has a deeply unsettling parasocial relationship with conspiracy-theorist-religious mommy bloggers on Instagram. No real plot just vibes. I loved it!

***tiny spoilers below***

The ending with the dog was so fitting but jarred tf out of me & was the one time in the book I actually couldn’t stand the main character in a visceral way, that’s the only reason it “lost a star” (if I have to use a rating system).

Content Warnings

Pedro Páramo by Juan Rulfo

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challenging dark mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

The Three of Us by Ore Agbaje-Williams

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funny tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

I was so engrossed in this book told from the POV of 3 very aggravating people. It was so funny & sharp & I really enjoyed the writing style even though I wasn’t sure I would at the start. I think the build of the 3 POVs is really well done, having you spend time in the wife’s perspective first then moving to the two people who control her in different ways yet have convinced themselves they’re not controlling her. I think the last POV of Temi is so built up with so much anticipation and it really doesn’t let you down. If you don’t like unlikable / unreliable narrators, this won’t be your vibe but I loved it. I really hope this author publishes another book soon!

Spoilery:
I’m SICK at the end like everything was getting juicy like we were eating good with the drama in the last 10% & then it just ENDED? HELLO?

Grief Is the Thing with Feathers by Max Porter

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dark funny reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
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

Content Warnings

Dear Black Girls: How to Be True to You by A'ja Wilson

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

Content Warnings

Love at First Set by Jennifer Dugan

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lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No

2.5

Black Friend by Ziwe

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funny reflective fast-paced

3.25

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Miss Major Speaks: The Life and Times of a Black Trans Revolutionary by Miss Major Griffin-Gracy

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challenging funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

Content Warnings

Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes

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adventurous emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

genuinely enjoyed this but really just wish we would’ve spent much more time with Medusa / being in her perspective. The parts focusing in on her and her Gorgon sisters were my absolute favorite. I really appreciated one of the central questions posed in this novel which was “who gets to decide who the monsters are?” It seems pretty clear that those who have power and have gotten to run the narrative for too long are the true monsters, not thinking twice about the extreme (and often fatal) harm they cause to others less powerful than them. Even though we know how the myth goes it still was a heartbreaker when Medusa was killed genuinely needlessly by Perseus, especially with the way Haynes painted her and her sisters with such empathy and love, I genuinely was so sad for them and wished they had gotten better. Lastly I really loved the perspective of post death Medusa as the gorgoneion, because I too found Perseus to be pathetic and annoying and wanted him to die for his senseless killing of Medusa, so really enjoyed living in her COMPLETELY JUSTIFIED pissed off POV.

Content Warnings

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jdamae11's reviews 84 reviews

jdamae11's reviews
84 reviews