blackcatkai's reviews
989 reviews

Pumpkin Spice and Poltergeist by Ali K. Mulford, K. Elle Morrison

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funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

if you don't tell someone you have an allergy, you don't get to be mad if an allergen ends up in our order, that's all I'm saying! undeserved anger imo!

Anyway. this was cute af and I love it so so much.
Cat + Gamer, Volume 6 by Wataru Nadatani

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lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.5

cw: a minor fatphobia/diet culture moment
Absolution by Jeff VanderMeer

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emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

that fucking ending has me in a chokehold, thank you.
Ocean of Sin and Starlight by Karina Halle

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

4.0

CW: trauma, abuse, kidnapping, violence, rape & sexual assault, body horror, blood, torture, murder, sexual content

very close to erotica in nature, if it's not categorized as such overall, so spice is pretty high. its a dark fantasy, not quite a dark romance or a romantasy just as a heads up.

there's a lot of graphic sex scenes & the author includes types of kink in the beginning of the book. these include dubious consent & blood play. I highly recommend you download the ebook sample before purchase for the full authors note!
Summer Camp for Slasher Victims by Matthew Mercer

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2.0

DNF @ 35%

not for me. skimmed the rest, not much of a slasher with the body count quite low by the end, but mostly it's just not for me. I wanted it to be, but the writing didn't end up working out. 

I also just wasn't a fan of the immediate moments of fatphobia, general body shaming, ableism (casual & otherwise), jokes leaning into homophobia & weird hate toward virgins (a cultural thing that really means nothing and you're not less or more of a person depending on whether you have or haven't had sex before, please know that♡), and misinformation regarding emotional support animals (do research before putting them in your books, please. also for real life so we can stop mistaking/equating service dogs/animals with emotional support ones, thanks!).

maybe I'll try this author again in the future, maybe you'll like this more than i did, but I'm onto my next read, now!

other CWs include: blood, violence, murder, bullying, conversations around trauma & mental health in general
The Lamb Will Slaughter the Lion by Margaret Killjoy

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dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

The Cockroach King by Andrew Cull

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dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Lights Out by Navessa Allen

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

3.0

CW: stalking, accidental death, mentions of sexual assault & murder, mentions of cannibalism (eaters weren't aware until afterwards), casual ableism, some demonization of mental illness (no, someone isn't crazy or literally insane even if they happen to be a rapist or murderer, that's not how that works), lots of extremely kinky sex (consensual & well written imo. the author has a section right at the front of the book with what those sex scene specifics are if needed)

started strong, then the middle/end puttered too much for my taste. if you don't like even seeing a mention of someone potentially wanting to get pregnant & have kids with someone at any point (end, beginning, whatever) or harry potter references, skip this.

overall not awful, I just loved it a lot more in the start than the end so 3 stars. Will read more from navessa allen in the future, 100%
Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman

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

2.0

no thank you

CW: infidelity, casual ableism, violence, death
Stars in Their Eyes by Jessica Walton

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informative lighthearted 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? It's complicated

4.0