mar's reviews
394 reviews

This Fatal Kiss by Alicia Jasinska

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medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

3.0

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

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adventurous emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Wild Seed by Octavia E. Butler

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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

4.5

jesus christ man
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Dreamsnake by Vonda N. McIntyre

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emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

a very heartfelt and empathetic book, remarkably frank and open about sex and sexuality for its time. could've done without the wildly underdeveloped straight romance though. you knew him for a day girl get UP
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Murder Under Her Skin by Stephen Spotswood

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mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

Mind of My Mind by Octavia E. Butler

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dark fast-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

4.5

butler loves inventing brand new means of making power dynamics fucked up and disturbing and then writing about them in the most compelling and unputdownable way 
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Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 33%.
yeah so the horrifically fatphobic graphic cannibalism chapter is where i've decided i've had enough 👍
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The Vanishing Velázquez: A 19th Century Bookseller's Obsession with a Lost Masterpiece by Laura Cumming

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informative mysterious slow-paced

4.0

This was fascinating! I find the world of lost and rediscovered masterpieces (with their questionable identifications, weird provenances, allegations of forgery and the like) absolutely captivating, so it's no surprise I enjoyed this book.

The author does come off as rather biased, though, and while I did not mind it in her descriptions and interpretations of Velázquez's paintings - seeing art through the eyes of someone who obviously adores it and has spent a lot of time thinking about it always makes me appreciate it more - her takedowns of other artists (mostly contemporary to Velázquez) were just bizarre, and some of her speculations did feel rather unsubstantiated. Still, her research into John Snare and his painting is impressively thorough, and she certainly uncovered an intriguing story to tell.
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Hammajang Luck by Makana Yamamoto

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adventurous medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

this was fun! classic heist, Lesbian Edition, as unapologetically tropey as they come. there were definitely parts that could've used some work - the worldbuilding was pretty bare-bones, and the romance lacked the development that would've made the ending feel fully earned and satisfying (the ending overall
went a little too hard on the cutesy found-family happily-ever-after in a way that just felt forced
), but i can't deny that as a heist enthusiast i had a pretty good time. in any case, main takeaway: more butches in scifi NOW!!!!!!!!!!
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Dreamships by Melissa Scott

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

3.0

an enojoyable enough, if somewhat forgettable book; some very well thought-out worldbuilding and an interesting exploration of AI - sometimes pretty dated, sometimes strikingly relevant - but the characters lacked depth that’d breathe life into the story, imo. (the casual queerness and disability was nice though! finally representation for girlfailure bisexuals
you just don't see books with a romance subplot where the protagonist fumbles that shit enough honestly
)
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