akira_outofthegravity's reviews
179 reviews

Telling the Bees by Peggy Hesketh

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

3.75

A very melancholy book of “what ifs”. After his next door neighbours- his first love and her sister- are brutally murdered, this shakes our narrator Albert’s cosy routine up and forces him to look at his past mistakes. A very bittersweet book about missed chances, jealousy, and first loves.
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Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

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

4.75

It’s not a comedy, but it’s such a good story. Mr Darcy is so loveable, and Lizzy is fantastic. Also I will never get over Jane Austen naming the most Beautiful, Gorgeous, Sweet, Her Only Flaw Is She’s Too Nice and Forgiving, character Jane. That’s hilarious!
The Case of the Constant Suicides: A Gideon Fell Mystery by John Dickson Carr

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

2.0

Boring as all hell. Don’t bother.
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The Good Son by You-Jeong Jeong

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

3.75

Very well written but the ending made me so mad/sad. In like, a semi good way.

HAE JIN DESERVED BETTER. I will forever be pissed off at that he was so kind ;3; *cries*
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The Tokyo Zodiac Murders by Sōji Shimada

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

4.75

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Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan

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funny hopeful lighthearted fast-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

4.0

Not every LGBTQ book needs to be some groundbreaking story. We are allowed cheesy romance, and this brings it in spades. Very cute, very lighthearted, very fun. 
The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t with Her Mind by Jackson Ford

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emotional funny lighthearted 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

3.75

A really fun read. Teagen as a protagonist was really interesting, she’s very relatable and I liked her a lot. The supporting cast were all nice characters. The twist villain sucked though. And the ending felt very rushed.
the only lgbtq character and man of colour is the villain, wow, that’s never been done before /s. It’s so tiring and quite frankly that ruined a lot of the book for me
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Murder in the Crooked House by Sōji Shimada

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

4.25

A really good murder mystery. I love that you’re encouraged to solve it yourself. It’s strange in that the main character- the detective- doesn’t show up until halfway through. But I really like this book! Perfect for murderphiles like myself 
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Murder on the Ballarat Train by Kerry Greenwood

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

3.0

It’s okay. The show is better. 
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A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

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dark sad 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

2.0

I hate this book. I hate it with every fibre of my being. My hatred is amplified because I Ioved the first 300 or so pages. It’s beautiful, four unlikely, diverse friends trying to make a living while dealing with personal traumas and issues. It was incredible reading this deep, meaningful friendship between the four boys. But eventually it just turns into torture porn. It’s not inspirational, it’s not meaningful, it’s just violence for the sake of violence. For shock factor. It feels almost homophobic. The end is a mess. Rated 2* for the first half because that could have been an incredible story of recovery and hope- but it isn’t. Instead it’s just pain for shock factor.
Don’t read this book.

Jude’s life is full of pain, from abandonment to pedophilia to sexual assault and rape from adults he trusted. Not only that but he’s chronically ill, meaning he’s in pain a lot. Judes story could have been amazing. The argument between himself and a drugged up JB could have been an amazing lesson on forgiving but not wanting to be friends again, I thought the plot point where he’s adopted as an adult by his professor and his wife was also incredible. Adult adoption is rarely spoken about, and I thought that was so touching. 

But no. For some dumb reason Hanya Yanagihara thought “just for laughs we’ll make sure everyone Jude loves dies in very violent and horrific ways”- but what’s the reason? It’s gratuitous violence. Not to mention his relationship with (whoever it was I can’t remember) is really toxic? He can’t have sex- for obvious reasons- so his partner goes out and fucks other people? Ugh. A shitty book.
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