alf_read's reviews
113 reviews

If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio

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informative slow-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

2.75

Oh wow this one is overhyped. The twist at the end was completely unearned. For a writer that studied Shakespeare the book is surprisingly bare on any intelligent discourse, preferring instead to just randomly quote the bard. Style over substance, a cautionary tale about why we must avoid annoying theatre kids.
Bunny by Mona Awad

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

3.0

It was never boring but my goodness was it an awful lot. The book prioritises aesthetic over storytelling so while it was visually arresting the plot has no focus and the characters are one-dimensional. A wild read though, would recommend for fans of wacky stuff.
The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham

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dark funny reflective 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? It's complicated

3.75

The concept is very creative and while dated there’s a lot of thought-provoking behavioural science conversations. Classic for fans of small-town alien invasion. 
Of The Flesh by Susan Barker, Adorah Nworah, Irenosen Okojie, Mariana Enríquez, Emilia Hart, Bridget Collins, Lucy Rose, Lionel Shriver, Robert Lautner, Michel Faber, Evie Wyld, JK Chukwu, James Smythe, Lewis Hancox, Lavie Tidhar, Francine Toon, Louisa Young, Ainslie Hogarth

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

3.25

Don’t let my rating distract from how I loved this book. Sure the consistency was poor but that’s to be expected from an anthology of this many authors and the ones I did enjoy were some of the best horror short stories of recent memory. Michael Faber, Adorah Nworah, and Lucy Rose were the standout authors for me.
James by Percival Everett

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adventurous dark emotional funny reflective 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? It's complicated

4.25

As someone who hasn’t read Huckleberry Finn there was a sense of putting the cart before the horse and I think a lot of the clever parallels were lost on me. Having said that, this story is incredibly readable, paints broad strokes of the Antebellum South, and has a lot of arresting characters to enjoy. I do think the third-act twist was unnecessary and cheapened the message slightly but if this doesn’t win the Booker Prize I will be shocked.
Graveyard Shift by M.L. Rio

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funny lighthearted relaxing fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.25

While this doesn’t take itself as seriously as IWWV, that same pretentious style of writing carries over. While I love the idea of an insomnia-based work of horror academia, the execution was so lacking with basic characters and a story that never really seemed to get off the ground.
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke

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adventurous challenging dark funny informative lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I liked this book a lot but I have no plans to read it ever again. The read was a Herculean effort but I do appreciate the gold standard of world-building and what a point of inspiration this has become for modern fantasy authors. Secretly, Piranesi is the same story told better in a fraction of the time.
Elevation by Stephen King

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

2.0

I love Stephen King for wanting to be an ally but he does not need to write about topics that he is so obviously removed from as a person. The book is also just not scary, kind of reads like a lukewarm sci-fi version of Thinner.
Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

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adventurous dark emotional funny informative mysterious reflective sad tense 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

One of the most intelligent books I’ve ever read. This was my introduction to Butler and I’m very excited to read more from her.
White Nights by Fyodor Dostoevsky

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

5.0

Dostoyevsky is allergic to not serving. How does this man consistently deliver masterpieces?