sllkv's reviews
306 reviews

The Blonde Dies First by Joelle Wellington

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adventurous funny mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

joelle wellington the author that you are... i know anything you write is an immediate purchase. this was such a classic slasher and subverted all of the usual subversions in a modern take on slashers; all while feeling deeply on the pulse of the cultural sphere. you wrote a protagonist so dislikable that i was convinced she was secretly a demon. such a fun ass book. i know some readers may feel like the political, social, and economic narrative may be on the nose or thrown in as an after thought but it's just so true to horror as a genre. horror has always been the leading foot in the social conversation. the best way to measure any era is to know what they considered counter culture and frightening; and this was no different. a true horror story through and through. if they wanna make a movie out of this, PLEEEEEEEASE make that happen.
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Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke by Eric LaRocca

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

1.0

it’s a psychological horror lacking any of the thought provoking narrative and symbolism that would give substance to the splatterpunk levels of torture porn happening. just page after page of graphic violence for seemingly no narrative purpose other than to disgust the reader.
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Ossuary by T.D. Cloud

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dark emotional mysterious tense 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
very slow start for such a short book but around 40% the book changes. things get .... sticky. a dark, damp, keening inhuman hunger in a dank horror and full of blood-slick revenge. there's an atmospheric oppressive aura that closes in around you in calculated steps as thierry begins to understand his life and journey no longer in broad strokes, but in critical moments with jarring clarity. given the chance to kill your abusers and the complicit... wouldn't you take it?
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When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain by Nghi Vo

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

4.0

oh to be great and terrible and love with a hunger that has claws
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Dark Emu: Aboriginal Australia and the Birth of Agriculture by Bruce Pascoe

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informative reflective

3.0

really well informed take on aboriginal history with enlightening topics i, as an american, have never remotely heard of; some of which deeply shocking sections in the livestock section. i was able to draw lots of parallels on other nations and peoples like palestine, first nations and native americans, the mermaids of jeju. the author did a lot of grandstanding and circled back to hammer in platitudes which felt a bit like a research paper, but if you read this over the course of a month+ that would have been harmless.
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The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

cannibalism as a metaphor for love, to be so devoted that you devour them whole, but seen from the eyes of the eaten. to be so desired you are torn apart piece by piece. to have nothing left as you are rended from bone and marrow into a porcelain doll, finally an empty husk that’s no longer the idol of your keeper’s eye. to be left in a world of cannibals, devourers, the eaters and eaten; and then against all odds to choose instead of destruction, that someone is worth cannibalizing yourself for; creation, sacrifice, love.
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Rogue One: A Star Wars Story by Alexander Freed

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

5.0

i am never reading this fucking book again. i cant put myself through this shit again man.
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Girls Like Her by Melanie Sumrow

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dark emotional tense fast-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

4.0

this was fucking HARROWING. that's it. that's the review.
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The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo

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

5.0

i can't get a coherent thought together quick enough before i start crying again. it's like there's this heavy snow on it all; a silenced weight. and the story is slowly, heavily creeping along as we shift from the realization that this story isn't really who you thought it was about in the first place. OH THE GIRLHOOD OF IT ALL. easily one of the best books i've read.
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The Blessed Vessel by Venus Cox

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

4.0

honestly? fun as hell. if you go into this expecting a royal dignitary navigating a political scape... you picked the wrong book. but if you go into this expecting a girl raised outside of the royal political scape navigating a coterie/harem all with distinct social and sexual needs... frequently? this is a good enough pick.
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