hazel_georgene's reviews
98 reviews

Sex at Dawn: How We Mate, Why We Stray, and What It Means for Modern Relationships by Cacilda Jetha, Christopher Ryan

hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

4.25

I feel like this book should be a must read for everyone. That being said I do have some critiques. I know it was written in 2010 but it leans very cis-heteronormative. Queer people are only brought up to prove the authors’ points about straight cisgender people. While they do give space to women’s sexuality the final few chapters are glaringly lacking in this perspective. In addition much of this attention is focused on childrearing which makes sense for the evolutionary history portions but less so for the modern discussions. Also there was corset slander which I found grating as corsets are the historical equivalent of bras not Victorian torture devices. Just like there are push up bras today, SOME Victorians tight laced but most just used them as a regular support garment. I would love to see an updated or revised version that pays more attention to queer folks but I still think this is definitely worth reading as is so long as you keep these criticisms in mind.

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Honestly modern day settings with magic generally aren’t my thing but I did like some of what this did with it. I ultimately found the Arthurian stuff the least interesting and wanted more about Bree’s family’s magic and history. As an audiobook I also found it confusing to keep all the lines and characters straight so maybe it would be less confusing in print. Overall not bad by any means but not really for me.

Bandits at Sea: A Pirates Reader by Kevin Delaney, C.R. Pennell

Go to review page

Did not finish book. Stopped at 7%.

Dropped the class it was a textbook for

Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune

Go to review page

challenging dark hopeful inspiring tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I ultimately found the ending unsatisfying as it leans so far away from the analogy. While it provides hope, I was hoping for something that would reflect actionable change in our real world rather than

deus ex machina via a super powerful rightful queen who can banish the evil bigots and create a sanctuary nation

. I wanted something that could mirror steps we have in our world to deal with bigots. It ultimately felt like the story couldn’t decide whether to be serious analogy for real world issues or escapist fantasy. Both of which I would be down for but the blending of which didn’t feel satisfying in the end.

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

Go to review page

adventurous emotional hopeful lighthearted relaxing fast-paced