katiemack's reviews
1288 reviews

I've never read anything quite like this. In its disparate, distancing forms, it's closest to Biography of X, but the content feels visceral and raw even though it's wrapped up in a depressive, intellectual bow. I identified with a lot of Olga Ravn's (I mean...Anna's) thoughts and feelings about motherhood, about her child, about her relationship. I hope others will feel the same (or maybe I don't...it's a tough read at times). 

 I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I didn't enjoy this as much as the first book in the series--somehow I missed the second one--but it's a cute and fluffy (and steamy) read. There's some elements of insta-love, but otherwise Bax and Olive's relationship develops well; I enjoyed how they played off of one another and were similarly vulnerable with one another. There's more surface-level development in the rest of the characters, plot, and setting than I thought there would be, but that lends itself to being a fun and quick read. 

I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I'm being generous with my rating because I'm assuming some of the punchiness of the prose was lost in translation, but these stories are...dull. I requested this because the marketing team emphasized Junji Ito's involvement, so I thought it would be similar to Mimi's Tales of Terror (in which Junji Ito both adapted the text and created the illustrations). Here, there are illustrations interspersed throughout (plus a fun mini-manga at the end), but it's primarily blocks of Hirokatsu Kihara's text.

It's a disappointing effort, but I enjoyed the art. 

I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

As fun as the poop jokes are, I appreciate the earnestness and accuracy with which Dr. Virnig writes this middle-grade look at disgusting jobs throughout history. She provides solid historical contextualization for why people might take these "disgusting" jobs (which highlights inequity as well) and describes the motivations and the job duties in an accessible way. The book ends abruptly, which I wasn't expecting, and there are some continuity issues; I'm hoping these will be resolved before the publication date. 

 I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

The ideas are compelling, but the execution is...poor. There are plenty of blanket statements about the vicissitudes of love and human existence, but the actual storytelling is scattershot and doesn't make sense. A good fantasy book has solid world-building and balances explanation of magical rules with an assumption that the reader is a (somewhat) intelligent person; this has neither. I wish Roselle Lim had more clearly outlined Camille and Ward's previous relationship and current predicament (and, in fact, the plot in general); I went back to review certain chapters because I thought I had missed something when, in fact, the explanation was never there.

Perhaps this received better editing before final publication, but even so...it needs improvement. 

I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I adored this fantasy mystery! Robert Jackson Bennett excels at world-building and indirect characterization here--extra points for the queer-coding and neurodivergent representation--and the dialogue is wryly hilarious. I found myself wanting to learn more about the settings he created as well as Din and Ana's pasts. I can't wait to read the next one in the series (and was, in fact, sad that I couldn't immediately get my hands on it).

Pick this up if you're hankering for a new fantasy series with a Sherlock-and-Holmes dynamic. 

I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This is sort of intuitive as a solution—I feel silly for not thinking of my own Sigh, See, Start earlier in my parenting journey—but I really identified with the present-day ShouldStorm risks and look forward to trying some of Dr. Escalante’s proposed techniques. 

I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This is a cute book with solid (and realistic, despite the setting) queer rep! Even though they spent a short time together, Abby and Leo’s relationship develops organically and in a genuine way. Plus, their madcap adventures across NYC are fun! 

I devoured this for the drama (someone compared it to an episode of Scandal, which I've never seen but feels apt) and its progressiveness; however, it is messy in often-distracting ways. The way Rachel and Nathan's relationship develops doesn't feel particularly organic (even in this setting of rich people behaving badly), and both of them grated on me over time. Also, Rachel's justifying her affair based on her husband's cheating feels a little gross, though I understand the motivation. Otherwise, this was a fun read that I flew through. 

 I love Parker Posey, but the narrative structure of this memoir did not work for me. I am glad I tried this as an audiobook, though, as I think it was written with that format in mind.