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alyxthebookdragon's reviews
137 reviews
When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill
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? No
1.5
When Women Were Dragons speaks of silence around women’s issues. That pseudo-peace that people are terrified of breaking. The white wash that keeps people trapped in their own pain. The space where shame flourishes. This book was fairly triggering for me because I lived in a similar silence, drowning in my own self-hatred, for years, and I'm sick of it. Reading this book didn't help me process that trauma, I did not find catharsis in these pages.
Barnhill is partly right. This peace that we cling to is a mirage, a white wash, a falsity. Who among us is experiencing peace? Post pandemic, when finances are hell and mental health issues are rising, when the world is on fire around us, when we are witnessing a genocide live streamed to our phones, when exhaustion seeps out of every pore. Where is the peace? It’s time to talk about difficult things. It’s time to acknowledge them, name them, voice them. How else can we ever parse through the sins of our past, heal, and build something better?
The thing is, this isn't news. And I found the representation of the repressed to be incredibly narrow with no concept for intersectionality. I was not endeared to the dragons who returned and tried to fit in, because their version of improving the world is not the improvement I want. It is still a whitewash. So you elevated the dragons, what about everyone else?
For my part, I want no more time in the silence. I’d rather read about the dragons who broke free from it, because I want to know what we do after the silence. I want to read the stories of those who ripped the silence away with their claws, those who are building something beyond the shame. I want dragons with a broader view, who have listened to the people who have been telling us this for centuries. This fight is not knew. It's been going on longer than any of us have been alive. And there is a wealth of knowledge from communities who have been fighting it, if we would just shut up and listen. If we win the battle for only one group, that isn't enough. We're not free until all of us are.
Tech Mage by Chris Fox
adventurous
dark
tense
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
4.0
Science-fiction and magic mix in this fascinating space drama. It’s got spaceships that cast counterspells, slightly sentient swords, and weapons that level up when exposed to wells of energy. There’s space battles and reanimated corpses and void wyrms hell bent on human’s destruction. I greatly enjoyed Chris Fox’s worldbuilding.
Mages gain access to eight different types of magics (fire, void, dream, air, life, water, spirit, earth) by visiting catalysts, powerful places that arise when gods die. The magic is mixed with technology that allows the mage to harness and control the forces of whatever magic type they are using. Hence the term, Tech Mage.
These magical tools are absolutely necessary against the void wyrms who are hell bent on human’s destruction. These things don’t go down easy, and it takes everything you’ve got when you battle against them. This book contains a lot of death, some amnesia, and even a tiny bit of trauma bonded family. At the end of it, I’m ready for the next book, and eager to see what else Fox has in store in terms of lore.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
How to Bite Your Neighbor & Win a Wager by D.N. Bryn
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Blood
Viral Airwaves by Claudie Arseneault
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Why is revolution so heart breaking? I just finished this book and am sitting here, stunned, as I try and process all my feelings. In short, this book was so good. I got so damn attached to the characters so I'm heartbroken over the ending. But that's the nature of a revolution, isn't it? You don't come out of it unscathed. We don't need heroes. We need normal people to do a little bit, just what they can.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Torture, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Duking It Out by E.J. Russell
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
This is a cute and easy read. A little spicy, a little bit of wish fulfillment. I thought the mix of political courts and superpowers was interesting.
The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Warriorborn by Jim Butcher
adventurous
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
3.75
A delightful and light read!
Real Life by Brandon Taylor
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
If you have sat across from a group of people and realized, with a widening abyss in your chest, that your fullness will never be welcomed and understood in that space, then you will resonate with this book. It is heartbreakingly lonely. It punched me in the gut and I thanked it for the time. Don’t expect resolution. The tenuous space between being known and being unknowable, the pain of being knowable but having no one that will put in the effort, of seeking to be known and both getting hurt and hurting others in the process… all this exists indefinitely.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse
Moderate: Racism and Sexual assault
Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75