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stardustandrockets's reviews
363 reviews
The Way of the Househusband, Vol. 1 by Kousuke Oono
5.0
I haven't laughed so hard during the first volume of anything like I did with this. Looking forward to the rest of the series.
The Witch King by H.E. Edgmon
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
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
5.0
Content warnings, and actual review to come.
A Neon Darkness by Lauren Shippen
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The Bright Sessions has been one of my favorite podcasts for years. When these companion novels were announced I was beyond excited—especially A Neon Darkness because it's the origin story of my favorite character, Damien.
This book was everything I wanted. Insight into why Damien is the way he is, how he got the name Damien, and just how broken of a human he is. Struggling to control his power of persuasion, he doesn’t always know what’s real when it comes to other people. Do they genuinely like him or do they only like him because he wants them to like him? This book focuses on the present while giving little glimpses of the past and what led Robert (Damien) to LA in the first place, the loss of Them. There are also little snippets from the perspective of the other characters prevalent to the story that help push the story along. I don’t always like little interjections like that, but I think the author used them sparingly and in a way that helped the overall story instead of taking away. Because of what Damien can do and what was going on it was nice to have a little peek into the other character’s minds at times. This was especially true knowing that the book doesn’t start out from Damien’s POV (which was a little confusing at first, but was soon cleared up as to why this was the case).
While the whole story isn’t happy (much of what we know about Damien from the podcast isn’t happy, so I don’t know why I expected this story to be happy), it definitely explains a lot about everyone’s favorite (or not so favorite) villain from The Bright Sessions. It breaks my heart knowing what he's gone through and how he can't really trust anyone or himself because of what he can do. Overall I am extremely happy knowing more about Damien and what led him to the events of the podcast. It’s an origin story more than anything and I hope you’ll pick it up. You don’t have to know anything about the podcast to enjoy it, but you’ll definitely get a lot more out of the story if you do. This is another excellent book by Lauren Shippen.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Moderate: Addiction, Drug use, and Self harm
One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston
UpStairs Lounge fire, NYC blackout of 1977
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
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? Yes
5.0
Actual review to come because damn. I need to gather my thoughts.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Homophobia, Sexual content, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Cursing, Hate crime, and Violence
Minor: Racism and Police brutality
Deep Secret by Diana Wynne Jones
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Pregnancy
Hana-Kimi: For You in Full Blossom, Vol. 23 by David Ury, Hisaya Nakajo
What a semi-bittersweet ending to one of my favorite manga series. I had a feeling it was going to end the way it did, but I wish it had gone on for a little while longer. 😭
Hana-Kimi, Vol. 21 by Hisaya Nakajo
"This volume has 30% more romance than all the other volumes..." Okay Nakajo. I see you. Thanks for having me smiling like a complete FOOL the whole time I was reading this one. 🙈