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moonytoast's reviews
267 reviews
Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Cursing, Gore, Sexism, and Vomit
Not Quite a Ghost by Anne Ursu
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness
Moderate: Ableism and Medical trauma
The Witches: Salem, 1692 by Stacy Schiff
informative
slow-paced
3.0
this would have been DNFed so quickly had i not been listening to the audiobook and already familiar with the timeline of events in 1692, because this book has moments where it diverges from the story to discuss some minute detail to the point that it makes it so easy to forget where you are in the history of the Salem Witch Trials… wouldn’t recommend this to anyone who hasn’t had the events of 1692 as a hyperfixation or special interest due to its density of prose and meandering pace (a good alternative: the first season of the Unobscured podcast by the creator of Lore, which has interview excerpts from a multitude of historians as well as the author of this book and is still thorough—though much more approachable)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Wash Day Diaries by Jamila Rowser
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
Medea by Eilish Quin
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Thank you to the team at Atria Books for sending me a physical ARC of this book!
My fellow queer Greek mythology and Frankenstein enjoyers.... DO I HAVE A BOOK FOR YOU!!!!!!
Eilish Quin’s Medea follows the titular character from Greek myth from her childhood on the island of Kolchis, where she begins to learn the art of witchcraft, to the high seas alongside Jason and the Argonauts to the city of Corinth. The book seems to ask: Whose narratives are perceived as monstrous and whose are not? What do the monsters we fear—or hate—most say about us? When monsters can take mythic or mortal form, what do we define as monstrosity? Lush with its writing style and character interiority, Medea is an amazing addition to the growing body of feminist Greek myth retellings.
My fellow queer Greek mythology and Frankenstein enjoyers.... DO I HAVE A BOOK FOR YOU!!!!!!
Eilish Quin’s Medea follows the titular character from Greek myth from her childhood on the island of Kolchis, where she begins to learn the art of witchcraft, to the high seas alongside Jason and the Argonauts to the city of Corinth. The book seems to ask: Whose narratives are perceived as monstrous and whose are not? What do the monsters we fear—or hate—most say about us? When monsters can take mythic or mortal form, what do we define as monstrosity? Lush with its writing style and character interiority, Medea is an amazing addition to the growing body of feminist Greek myth retellings.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Misogyny, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Domestic abuse, and Grief
Minor: Mental illness, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Vomit, and Pregnancy
Divine Might: Goddesses in Greek Myth by Natalie Haynes
funny
informative
medium-paced
4.25
Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins Publishers for providing me with a digital ARC of this book!
In a time where retellings and reimaginings of Greek mythology are at the height of their cultural relevance—see the current adaptation of Percy Jackson & the Olympians and the continued success of Hadestown on Broadway—Natalie Haynes never fails to breathe some fresh air and new ideas into the public conversation around these myths. This is true of her previous works and of Divine Might, which delves into the goddesses at the heart of many Greek myths... and some who, despite their lack of narrative importance in such stories as the Titanomachy, still held an almost omnipresent space in ancient Greek culture.
Haynes does not just focus on the past importance of these goddesses to ancient Greeks and Romans, though she does excellently examine their roles throughout various poems and epics and their role in the lives of ancient Greeks. She also looks at the way the modern world and media landscape continues engage with these myths and divine figures, our current ideas and values shaping our own perceptions of these goddesses and their stories. (The chapter about Artemis features a brief but delighted mention about the character of Katniss Everdeen.)
The standout chapters for me are on Hestia, Demeter, and Athene, with an honorable mention of The Furies, but every chapter is well written and infused with Haynes' pension for dry humor, candor, and nuanced love for these myths. I always come out of Haynes' works with new eyes for the iconic stories from Greek mythology.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Murder, and War
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Infidelity, Kidnapping, and Grief
Baby Dragon, Baby Dragon! by Melissa Marr, Lena Podesta
lighthearted
3.25
read this to gauge whether it would be a good addition to my list of books to highlight during our library’s summer reading program this year, safe to say i think this will be a cute book to share with our younger patrons about adventure and unlikely friendship
Hijab Butch Blues by Lamya H
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Islamophobia, and Dysphoria
Minor: Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Lesbophobia, and Deportation
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
Did not finish book. Stopped at 22%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 22%.
This is reminding me a bit too much of my experience reading A Little Friend by Donna Tartt, but without the well-built intrigue—too many characters, too slow in introducing the crux of the plot, and a lack of care I felt as a reader for some of these points of view. If this was only restricted to the POVs of Tova and Marcellus, the Pacific octopus, I think it would be a much tighter story and feel less busy and unfocused.
I could theoretically push myself through the rest of this book until an actual plot develops, but I’m trying to be better about giving myself the space to DNF books.
I could theoretically push myself through the rest of this book until an actual plot develops, but I’m trying to be better about giving myself the space to DNF books.