skudiklier's reviews
617 reviews

How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 17%.
Idk, I just wasn't very into it, and I wasn't reading it for any particular reason. Once I considered DNFing I looked at reviews and didn't feel like I'd end up thinking it was worth my time. 
A Snake Falls To Earth by Darcie Little Badger

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adventurous hopeful medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

I really liked this! Sometimes it takes me longer to get through books from multiple POVs just because it goes back and forth and I have to wait longer for the bits I might be more interested in (cliffhangers last longer, etc.), but at a certain point I just was very invested in the whole story and all the characters. It took them longer to cross paths than I anticipated, but that's not a bad thing by any means. I'd definitely recommend this!
Chicken Run: Hatching The Movie by Brian Sibley

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informative lighthearted slow-paced

4.5

I love Chicken Run, and found this used for cheap at Powell's and got excited and bought it. The beginning felt like it was just a bunch of patting everyone who made it on the back/an advertisement for the company, and I thought maybe it would be disappointing. But the book is actually much longer than it seems (or at least than it seemed to me--I thought it would be a lot of pictures and not much text and I'd speed through it, but that wasn't the case), and more substantial! It was super interesting once it got into the way the movie was made, the story was written, how all of it works. My partner also recently started a job at a (different) stop motion studio so I was extra interested in things that might still be what they do today in similar movies. I enjoyed reading this for sure! I'll probably never read it again cover to cover but I think I'll keep the book around to reference.
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Finally got around to reading this and I was super invested, for sure! It got darker than I thought it would, there was a lot more hunger games-y vibes than I expected, but not in a bad way. I definitely want to read more in the series.
Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker

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adventurous emotional lighthearted mysterious 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? No

4.75

This was really cute! I'll read anything if it's queer and this was in no way disappointing in that regard. This was a lovely little adventure that got a bit darker than I thought it would, but not in a bad way. I'd definitely recommend this! 
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The Freedom Clause by Hannah Sloane

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emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I really enjoyed this book. The premise was interesting to me, but I wasn't sure if I'd like it--I felt like it would be easy to keep things surface-level, light, not to get too real or complicated about it. I'm really glad though that this book definitely gets into things in the way I was hoping it would. 

It's super character-driven, in a great way. It makes you feel for the characters even if they make bad decisions, without excusing their behavior. I think this is super well-written and I'd love to read more from the author in the future. 

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for the chance to read and review this ARC. 
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Fat Talk: Parenting in the Age of Diet Culture by Virginia Sole-Smith

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challenging hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

If I could give this book more than five stars, I would. I think everyone should read it, but especially anyone who spends a lot of time around children, or may have kids one day. This book both explains and debunks a lot of myths around fatness and fatphobia, and also gives practical advice and tools for how to talk about and address these issues. When I was only a quarter of the way through this book, I knew I was going to ask my husband to read it, which I almost never do. It just feels like such a crucial starting place for any conversations around food, weight, and body image, especially with regard to issues we're definitely going to run into when raising kids. I'm so grateful for this book and couldn't recommend it enough. 
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Boys Weekend by Mattie Lubchansky

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

I'm not a big horror person, but I like Mattie Lubchansky's work and comics so I definitely wanted to read this. It was wild and actually reading it a couple days before the whole submersible thing happened felt very weird in hindsight. I sped through this and read it all in one sitting, and I'd recommend it to anyone interested in the premise and/or Lubchansky's work. I'll read anything trans people write even if it's fucked up lmao.
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The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton

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adventurous funny lighthearted reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

It took me a bit to get into this, and tbh a lot of it felt so weirdly dissonant that it was hard for me to be super invested. But on the other hand, the romance was well-done and the ~tension~ was high with that. I ended up reading the second half of the book all in one day, so I must have been at least somewhat engaged.

I wasn't sure if I was going to read the next book in the series, but then I found out the author is autistic and the main character(s) of the second and third books are autistic as well. So now I want to if only for that reason--I haven't read a lot of romances with autistic MCs, so I'm excited!
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Persephone Made Me Do It by Trista Mateer

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dark emotional inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

I love all of Trista Mateer's work, including the first two books in this series--but I think this one has to be my favorite of the three. I just couldn't stop reading it, and writing down my favorite lines, and yelling about it to my friends. It's just too good. I love the way Trista writes about girlhood, and rage, and generational trauma, and reclamation, and pain. It's incredible. I'd highly recommend this book. 

Thank you to Netgalley and Central Avenue Publishing for the chance to read and review this ARC. 
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