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evdark's reviews
111 reviews
The Boys Next Door by Miranda Silver
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? Yes
2.75
For a first novel this was a great effort, especially with how difficult it is to write erotica. People react viscerally to some words used in this context and it ruins the fantasy. For me, this happened so many times in this book it was unreal. I hate "cream" and "juices" and "arrowed straight to my crotch" and "crotch" in general. The amount of times certain adjectives were repeated was astounding. The positive is the author did have distinct characters and she did work through issues in her main character. I think she could be a really good author someday but today is not that day. Do not read this if cheating triggers you or dubious consent.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Toxic relationship
Scratch One by John Lange, Michael Crichton
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
The beginning was hard to get into and I found Zott so insufferable. The characters did not feel fleshed out and the messaging was very heavy handed. That being said, I did like the writing style and the idea of a chemist with a cooking show teaching women science like a feminist Alton Brown. But the book was instead a bash party of hate for white men and religious people. I understand people who hate religion or the stereotype that scientists are atheist. It made me feel icky after reading but there were parts of it that worked, little nuggets of insight and advice that stuck with me.
Fool Moon by Jim Butcher
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Still the worst one. Not bad but I just really am not a fan of this one and it made me hate Susan. It's not boring, it's just not my style and it feels like there is potential but nothing really comes of it. The audiobook narrator does okay though.
Hello Stranger by Katherine Center
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
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
I love her writing style, and I fly through her books. The romance is always the weakest part for me. I was more fascinated by her temporary disorder from a car accident than the romance. The plot seems like where Katherine Center struggles, but usually, she makes it up with character development. Unfortunately, she didn't quite accomplish that here with the love interest, but she did with all the other characters. If she took out the romance entirely and focused heavier on the heroine learning to paint with her condition, this would be a 5*, actually. There is no chemistry and no spice.
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
adventurous
medium-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? No
3.5
I couldn't connect with this one. It made me appreciate ACOTAR in a whole new light. It felt like ACOTAR with dragons in a magic school, which sounds fine, except this was very light on the plot until the end. The stakes were life and death, but I didn't care about any of the characters, and Xaden seemed like a pretty okay guy but a terrible love interest. The sex scenes were hilariously bad.
Tampa by Alissa Nutting
challenging
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The writing was gripping, and the reason the book was written was important, but the author absolutely failed to deliver the message she set out to achieve. It is based on a true story of a teacher that had sex with her 14-year-old pupil in 2005. Nutting wants to make a point that young men are never seen as victims of sexual assault, and it is too easy to forgive the woman in the situation. Which is exactly how I felt after reading the book. Having just read Lolita, the standard might be set a little high. Psychologically, I can tell this author wanted to be provocative and maybe even erotic but did not truly understand the mindset she was trying to convey in the female pedophile and ended up taking a very male stance to this. Stalking. Obsession with semen. Souvenirs and pornography. It didn't feel authentic to a female pedaphile and this author was just winging it. It was well-written but poorly crafted, and it made me feel icky after reading it even though I have no problem with any of the graphic sex, I had a problem with almost everything else. It did the worst thing a book can do. It wasted my time. The ending was downright awful.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
First Person Singular: Stories by Haruki Murakami
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
No matter if a short story collection from Murakami is a hit or a miss with me while reading it, I always think about it afterward. And in small incremental steps, as each day passes, images and passages seep into my mind and by the time I've realized it, I have changed.
The Orchard Keeper by Cormac McCarthy
dark
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? Yes
2.5
I don't like this book, but I respect it. There are flashes of the genius that McCarthy would become with beautifully described passages of walking through the orchard and how his characters talked to one another. It had a country backwoods kind of vibe to it that really worked, just there was no focus, plot, moral, or message.
What We Don't Talk About When We Talk About Fat by Aubrey Gordon
informative
sad
medium-paced
3.25
There is a fine line between body positivity and endorsing a deadly lifestyle. I do get that the author said that she eats healthy, exercises, and is almost 400 lbs. She cites Lizzo as another person who is "athletic and fat" as proof of her point that you can do everything right and be fat. That did not age well as Lizzo dropped over 100 lbs due to her activity on stage. The part of this book I enjoyed was about how diet culture hurts society and reinforces terrible habits in overweight individuals, barring them from losing weight while also shaming them for it. It probably does mess with the metabolism so much that when you try extreme dieting at a certain weight, you can die trying to lose the weight, too much too fast, too little too late. Another part was how doctors treat overweight and highly obese individuals, which I have experienced even as a "small fat person" (after pregnancy). What I did not enjoy about this book was that this author would probably be happy if every person in the world were fat, based on her manifesto at the back of the book, and that we shouldn't try to improve ourselves but give into that lifestyle and embrace it. That fat people should be celebrated and catered to and embraced as a standard of normality. That's a dangerous mindset to have, especially in light of several body-positive influencers dying due to their weight.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Emotional abuse, and Fatphobia