Scan barcode
savvylit's reviews
530 reviews
Smothermoss by Alisa Alering
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Smothermoss is equal parts earnest coming-of-age tale and slow-burn magical horror. Most of the novel is focused on the strained relationship between sisters. However, as the narrative progresses, mysterious and magical occurrences increase in frequency. At the novel's climax, there's nothing but magic - menacing magic.
The sibling dynamics at the crux of Smothermoss are impressively realistic; Alering's skill at characterization shines through every page. The plot is well-developed and kept me hooked until the end. All in all, Smothermoss is the perfect read for folks who enjoy magical realism and coming-of-age tales.
The sibling dynamics at the crux of Smothermoss are impressively realistic; Alering's skill at characterization shines through every page. The plot is well-developed and kept me hooked until the end. All in all, Smothermoss is the perfect read for folks who enjoy magical realism and coming-of-age tales.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Murder
Craft: Stories I Wrote for the Devil by Ananda Lima
Did not finish book. Stopped at 71%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 71%.
I felt very neutral about all of these metafictional stories. The promised surreality was not surreal enough. I suddenly realized that reading this felt like a chore and so I simply decided to be done.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia
Forest of Noise: Poems by Mosab Abu Toha
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
Forest of Noise is filled with immense thoughtfulness, heartache, and near-unimaginable loss. Mosab Abu Toha's singular voice brings an urgency and proximity to Gaza that is genuinely palpable. Though this collection is more experimental than its predecessor, each poem lingers in a way that only the words and imagery of Mosab Abu Toha can linger.
To illustrate, here is one of my favorites from the collection:
"Ramadan 2024
Around that dinner table, missing are the chairs
where my mother, my father,
and my little sister used to sit with us on Fridays,
and where my siblings and their kids
used to drink tea at sunset when they visited.
No one is here anymore. Not even the sunset.
In the kitchen, the table is missing.
In the house, the kitchen is missing.
In the house, the house is missing.
Only rubble stays, waiting for a sunrise."
Thank you so much @netgalley and @aaknopf for the advanced reader copy of Forest of Noise in exchange for my honest review! As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own. Forest of Noise is out now, wherever you source your books!
To illustrate, here is one of my favorites from the collection:
"Ramadan 2024
Around that dinner table, missing are the chairs
where my mother, my father,
and my little sister used to sit with us on Fridays,
and where my siblings and their kids
used to drink tea at sunset when they visited.
No one is here anymore. Not even the sunset.
In the kitchen, the table is missing.
In the house, the kitchen is missing.
In the house, the house is missing.
Only rubble stays, waiting for a sunrise."
Thank you so much @netgalley and @aaknopf for the advanced reader copy of Forest of Noise in exchange for my honest review! As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own. Forest of Noise is out now, wherever you source your books!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Violence, Grief, and War
Fragile Animals by Genevieve Jagger
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Fragile Animals is a coming-of-age tale about a woman who barely knows herself. After being raised strictly Catholic, Noelle has distorted ideas of guilt and sin that have dictated and destroyed her past relationships. Said post-Catholic confusion is also deeply wrapped up in her mother's abandonment of Noelle as a young teen. Unlike most vampire stories, the vampiric subplot in Fragile Animals is portrayed as merely an intriguing, catalytic dalliance. At its core, this novel is less horror and more firmly in league with other "sad girl" coming-of-age stories for New Adults.
Fragile Animals was Jagger's debut and she has indeed proved her talent. This story was deeply atmospheric, which I really loved. However, the plot suffered from pacing issues that kept me from fully loving it. I look forward to Jagger's next book, which will hopefully be even more polished!
Fragile Animals was Jagger's debut and she has indeed proved her talent. This story was deeply atmospheric, which I really loved. However, the plot suffered from pacing issues that kept me from fully loving it. I look forward to Jagger's next book, which will hopefully be even more polished!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, and Abandonment
Bezoar: And Other Unsettling Stories by Guadalupe Nettel
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.5
Bezoar is aptly titled: every single story is indeed unsettling. Specifically, Nettel's use of vivid, often disgusting imagery is what defines each vignette. As a result, there are several scenes that I still feel haunted by since finishing Bezoar. For example, there's one story where a man becomes captivated by a woman based on the residue she left in a toilet. (!!) I was deeply grossed out to the point of grimacing for the entire run of that story.
Ultimately I liked all of these stories quite a bit -- definitely enough to be interested in reading more of Nettel's work in the future!
Ultimately I liked all of these stories quite a bit -- definitely enough to be interested in reading more of Nettel's work in the future!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Violence, Excrement, and Stalking
Housemates by Emma Copley Eisenberg
adventurous
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Housemates is a well-written and sweet story. It's a road trip novel, a queer romance, and a testament to the power of art & creating things together. Bernie and Leah are both whole, believable individuals and I appreciated them for all their complexities. Overall, Housemates was an enjoyable journey but I left it feeling incomplete.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Sexual assault
Model Home by Rivers Solomon
dark
emotional
reflective
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
4.25
Model Home is a terrifying look at trauma and the way it shapes our lives and family dynamics. Ezri's memories from their childhood home are awful and inexplicable. Along with their sisters, Eve & Emmanuelle, Ezri became estranged from their parents for many years. All three siblings had known evils from which their parents didn't protect them. That initial ominous text that reunites the trio and cracks open their trauma forces them to heal together -- even as it simultaneously tries to tear them apart.
This disturbing and heavy book had me riveted from the start. Solomon is definitely one of the best literary horror authors and Model Home only cemented that fact. The only reason this wasn't a five-star read for me was that I felt that the storyline and POV of Ezri's daughter Elijah was disjointed. I understand that Elijah was most likely included in order to demonstrate the cyclical nature of trauma. However, her POV arrived late enough in the story to leave me feeling like it didn't quite fit the rest of the narrative.
Thank you so much @netgalley, @fsgbooks, & @mcdbooks for the advanced reader copy of Model Home in exchange for my honest review! All thoughts and opinions are my own. Model Home is out now, so go get a copy from wherever you source your books!
This disturbing and heavy book had me riveted from the start. Solomon is definitely one of the best literary horror authors and Model Home only cemented that fact. The only reason this wasn't a five-star read for me was that I felt that the storyline and POV of Ezri's daughter Elijah was disjointed. I understand that Elijah was most likely included in order to demonstrate the cyclical nature of trauma. However, her POV arrived late enough in the story to leave me feeling like it didn't quite fit the rest of the narrative.
Thank you so much @netgalley, @fsgbooks, & @mcdbooks for the advanced reader copy of Model Home in exchange for my honest review! All thoughts and opinions are my own. Model Home is out now, so go get a copy from wherever you source your books!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, and Violence
Rejection by Tony Tulathimutte
dark
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This series of interconnected short stories is possibly one of the most effective and brilliant satires I have read recently. Rejection is both the theme and the object of obsession for each character. Tulathimutte's incredible grasp of hyper-specific neurotic behaviors allows him to portray the most unsympathetic people in the most nuanced of ways. Let me give you a snapshot of some of the characters that populate Rejection. First, we have a white Nice Guy™️ who is a proud Feminist but also furious that no woman will sleep with him. Second, we have a selfish, entitled white woman who gives too much significance to a one-night stand to the point where she becomes quite unhinged. Third, we have a deeply introverted gay Thai-American man whose very niche fetishes keep him from being able to connect in real life. Fourth, we have a hyper-positive white entrepreneur dudebro who is constantly optimizing his life. Fifth is a nonbinary Thai-American prolific Internet troll who gives us their entire backstory... Or do they? And sixth we have Tony Tulathimutte himself in a very meta passage where he imagines this book being rejected by publishers.
If you like cultural criticism and satirical fiction, then you absolutely must read this book.
Thank you very much to @netgalley & @williammorrowbooks for the advanced reader copy of Rejection in exchange for my honest review! All thoughts and opinions are my own.
If you like cultural criticism and satirical fiction, then you absolutely must read this book.
Thank you very much to @netgalley & @williammorrowbooks for the advanced reader copy of Rejection in exchange for my honest review! All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
A Sunny Place for Shady People: Stories by Mariana Enríquez
dark
emotional
reflective
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
5.0
I am a big fan of short story collections, in general. However - and this seems to be the nature of the form - many short stories often leave me wanting more; there's a sense of incompleteness when they're over. As someone who has only dabbled in writing fiction of my own, I know that a satisfying ending is the worst (and hardest!) part. That's why I was ultimately blown away by A Sunny Place for Shady People - Enriquez has achieved a collection of twelve stories that are each perfectly complete.
Now, onto the content of the stories themselves. In A Sunny Place for Shady People, readers are treated to a variety of scares that range from the mildly unsettling to the downright terrifying. Each scare is based in the paranormal yet reflects a terror that is all too real-world: loss, mortality, colonization, murder, family secrets, greed, sexual assault, addiction, aging, guilt, and disgust. In Night Birds, a young (un)dead girl worships her older sister's world of make believe. In Face of Disgrace, a woman inherits a disturbing maternal legacy from a mother that she hated. In Hyena Hymns, a couple accidentally enters a torturous dimension while exploring a mansion in ruins. In the titular story, a woman returns to the site of her grief and spends time with a cult that communes with a famous dead woman. In A Local Artist, a couple escapes to the countryside to seek tranquility but what they find instead is a gradually escalating trap.
Thank you so much to @netgalley, @hogarthbooks, and @marianaenriquez1973 for the advanced reader copy of A Sunny Place for Shady People in exchange for my honest review! As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
A Sunny Place for Shady People is out now and can be found in a bookstore or library near you! What are you waiting for?
Now, onto the content of the stories themselves. In A Sunny Place for Shady People, readers are treated to a variety of scares that range from the mildly unsettling to the downright terrifying. Each scare is based in the paranormal yet reflects a terror that is all too real-world: loss, mortality, colonization, murder, family secrets, greed, sexual assault, addiction, aging, guilt, and disgust. In Night Birds, a young (un)dead girl worships her older sister's world of make believe. In Face of Disgrace, a woman inherits a disturbing maternal legacy from a mother that she hated. In Hyena Hymns, a couple accidentally enters a torturous dimension while exploring a mansion in ruins. In the titular story, a woman returns to the site of her grief and spends time with a cult that communes with a famous dead woman. In A Local Artist, a couple escapes to the countryside to seek tranquility but what they find instead is a gradually escalating trap.
Thank you so much to @netgalley, @hogarthbooks, and @marianaenriquez1973 for the advanced reader copy of A Sunny Place for Shady People in exchange for my honest review! As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
A Sunny Place for Shady People is out now and can be found in a bookstore or library near you! What are you waiting for?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, and Murder
The Barrow Will Send What it May by Margaret Killjoy
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-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
4.0
A satisfying follow-up to the speculative thrills of The Lamb Will Slaughter the Lion! Danielle Cain and her demon slayer crew land in a small town with a terrifying necromancy problem. Like its predecessor, this novella was a delightful and entertaining read that celebrated radical living and queer chosen family. A perfect one-sitting escape!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Murder