jdamae11's reviews
84 reviews

adventurous dark 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? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

The sci-fi was HEAVY on the science for sure (namely biology & genetics) which I haven't read in a minute! I enjoyed the fast-paced action of this and the thriller-esque moments, as well as the questions that are posed about what makes us human. This book for me was a "they had us in the first half I'm not gunna lie", the middle to end could drag at points, ultimately culminating in a conclusion that I think really undermined the real power of the book's main antagonist. Great critique on our climate crisis and what different POVs think should be done to address it as well.

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Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

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emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

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Friday Black by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

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challenging dark funny reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.5

Content Warnings

Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

3.5

** spoiler alert ** Bardugo excels at putting together misfit crews, and the one in Hell Bent had promise from its stronger foundation in its predecessor, Ninth House. The characters all have great potential, but I would have loved some time for them to breathe and for us to get a feel for their relation to one another, more of a “why” to get at their loyalty to each other. This book is filled to the brim with plot & at times I felt suffocated by the action of the book. However, let’s talk about how they do a HELL HEIST. Hello!?? I was LIVINGGG for this and really locked in for about the middle 100 pages of the book when the buildup for this event and the actual event is happening, and then the rest of the book is just kind of doing the absolute most. I enjoyed the heavier Horror genre lean in this book, thought it was scarier than Ninth House, and the collegiate First-Gen low-income narrative was really relatable. One thing I think is done really well is capturing the feeling of being trapped when you just do NOT have resources—especially in a U.S. context—and how ever-present that burden can feel. I really feel for Alex and relate to her so much in this regard. I think this book overall was a stepping stone to the rest of the planned series Bardugo has for the main protagonist, Alex Stern.

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The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson

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adventurous dark reflective tense 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

5.0

Read this back in January but I'm back to give a full review of one of my favorite books, probably taking the crown for my top book of 2023 tbh. Micaiah Johnson took a common Sci-Fi concept—the multiverse—and created a super Queer adventurous narrative exploring classism, exploitation, and race, and identity. In the world of the novel, it has been discovered that multiverse travel can be fatal if one’s alternate self is still alive on another universe that one travels to. So the tech-run ultra capitalist govt on Earth 0 creates a class of “traversers” comprised of the mostly Black and Brown working-class poor to travel to other universes. Our main character, Cara, is a traverser and is only alive on 8 versions of earth. There are so many satisfying plot twists and moments of exciting action throughout the book. We also experience Cara’s internal crises as she grapples with the idea of her true self, mortality, and the fallout of having lived a life constantly in survival mode no matter the universe. The author’s writing is just beautiful and made me want to pick up my own pen again. In Johnson’s world, gender is fluid and Trans elders are widely regarded with the highest respect, as they should be always! It also features a central wlw love story that’s really heartfelt and the ending leaves you full of hope and imagination for what could be. In terms of setting there’s a bit of both Mad Max and Hunger Games Capitol vibes, which was very fun!

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