angelfoodcakes's reviews
119 reviews

How to Talk to Anyone: 92 Little Tricks for Big Success in Relationships by Leil Lowndes

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informative inspiring slow-paced

3.5

While some of the tips are outdated by today’s standards and others are geared more towards businesspeople rather than “anyone”, I still found some of these tips to be pretty useful for me as someone with social anxiety and difficulties communicating, especially in a post-Covid world.
The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix

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dark mysterious tense medium-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? No

4.5

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My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

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

4.25

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Beyond the Clouds, Volume 3 by Nicke

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adventurous hopeful lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes

3.75

The Maidens by Alex Michaelides

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dark mysterious sad medium-paced

1.5

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The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin

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

4.25

I finished this book in 2 days and I really don’t know what to do with myself after the fact, super engaging from start to finish.
Captain Marvel, Vol. 1: Re-Entry by Kelly Thompson

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

3.25

For some reason I decided not to read this run when it came out and I somewhat regret it, but now that it’s ending and a new Captain Marvel run is coming out soon I figured now would be the best time to start. There were things I loved about this book and things I didn’t love about it.

The writing is pretty solid, for one, and the art is beautiful. I love the character designs, the apocalyptic styles were very fun. The dynamics between the characters were also really compelling, especially among the women, which of course in a story like this is very important. I’m glad they didn’t shy away from addressing Carol’s trauma, both with Rogue and her sexual assault. I also felt like Som was a pretty compelling character and I’d love to see more of him in the future.

There are a few aspects of it I didn’t like, however. For one, the way gender is portrayed is extremely binary which sort of rubbed me the wrong way. I also felt that Echo’s deafness wasn’t handled as well as it could have. They address the fact that she can read lips in the beginning of the story but they frequently have conversations facing away from her. They can build high-powered weapons and planes in a matter of hours but no one can be bothered to learn a little bit of sign language so they can communicate with her better?  The closest we get is Hazmat learning some very rudimentary signs that we only see in three panels. Idk.

It was campy and a bit of a fun “girl power”-type story but that’s about it.
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Venom: Lethal Protector - Heart Of The Hunted by David Michelinie

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adventurous lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

2.5

I usually love venom comics but I can’t say this one was one of my favorites. There were aspects of it that I liked, it had the campiness and dialogue typical of 90’s comics which was very fun, but overall the story felt very disjointed. I’ve talked before how I wish more comics would go back to that sort of episodic, villain of the week style they used to have and this book seems to be making an attempt at that but it just feels over-complicated and bloated.
Beyond the Clouds, Vol. 1 by Nicke

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

4.0

Venom by Al Ewing & Ram V, Vol. 1: Recursion by Bryan Hitch, Ram V, Al Ewing

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

2.75

Eh, I just can’t say this run is for me, not yet at least. I’ve said before, I’m not sure how I feel about Dylan bonding with the Venom symbiote, I really think he should be his own thing or at the very least bond with Sleeper, which would make a lot more sense in general. I can’t say I’m a fan of Eddie as the King in Black either, I think he works a lot better as just a man trying his best as opposed to an omnipresent god. I don’t enjoy the weird alien time travel stuff.

There are some aspects I somewhat like, such as the conspiracy theory stuff with the Life Foundation and Alchemax since it feels a bit more closer to earth than whatever is going on with Meridius, though I know they’re gonna tie in with each other eventually.

Another, much much smaller story detail that I think is interesting is the way that “we are Venom” becomes a declaration of family in a way.

Idk I have a lot of complicated thoughts on this book and I feel like this review is all over the place lol.