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jediprincess's reviews
378 reviews
Rouge by Mona Awad
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-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? Yes
4.5
Mirabelle, — a half-Egyptian, half-French Canadian, dress shopkeeper in Montreal, obsessed with her skin-care routine — returns to her mother’s home in California for her funeral. There she is drawn into a mysterious, elite spa where her mother seems to have been a member in her final months.
This took me a long time to read. I think that I wasn’t sure where the story was going and couldn’t see the vision on how it was to become a horror, but once I did, wow! The descent into Mirabelle’s involvement with the spa crept up on me and each chapter had me more and more invested. The horror elements of Rouge are spectacular, I was so uncomfortable as I continued reading.
Rouge is ultimately a story of grief surrounding the mother-daughter relationship. Mirabelle’s past and present intertwine to showcase the impossible beauty standards pressed upon young girls, how white supremacy shows itself in the beauty industry (and from your own family), desire, envy, and obsession (it wouldn’t be a Mona Awad novel without those three!) to create a surreal horror that was captivating to read!
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!
This took me a long time to read. I think that I wasn’t sure where the story was going and couldn’t see the vision on how it was to become a horror, but once I did, wow! The descent into Mirabelle’s involvement with the spa crept up on me and each chapter had me more and more invested. The horror elements of Rouge are spectacular, I was so uncomfortable as I continued reading.
Rouge is ultimately a story of grief surrounding the mother-daughter relationship. Mirabelle’s past and present intertwine to showcase the impossible beauty standards pressed upon young girls, how white supremacy shows itself in the beauty industry (and from your own family), desire, envy, and obsession (it wouldn’t be a Mona Awad novel without those three!) to create a surreal horror that was captivating to read!
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Racism
Network Effect by Martha Wells
adventurous
mysterious
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? No
4.5
A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Do You Remember Being Born? by Sean Michaels
emotional
reflective
slow-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? Yes
4.25
Do you remember being born is a wonderful story about an elderly poet, Marian, being asked to co-write a historic poem with an AI, Charlotte. It's a poetic (who would have thought!) piece on loneliness and regret.
I loved the characters and their interactions. Marian's thoughts felt real, if at times a bit too arrogant. Her relationships with family, Charlotte, other poets, and the likes felt intensely vivid - I could imagine a little old lady in a fancy hat making funny comments and "swooping" to music. Charlotte stole the show though. Her poetry and questions had me in tears at points. The idea of AIs experiencing loneliness is something I'm sure we all think about since we tend to anthropomorphize robots and AIs, so I found Charlotte's journey working with Marian to be especially moving.
The format of this book was excellent, the dialogue between Marian and Charlotte was heart-wrenching at times. The use of second person was delightful, it felt as though the conversations between Marian and Charlotte were continued with its use, as if Charlotte was narrating Marian's life, feelings, joys, and failures from the moment of her birth, which Marian, as a human, is incapable of remembering completely, unlike Charlotte.
My one complaint about the book was when Marian would go introspective and have these thoughts about her reactions to others/events being gendered, like "am I only reacting this way because I am a woman" type thoughts. They were heavy handed and jolted me out of the story sometimes because they didn't feel natural to her thought process. Although perhaps it was a bias on my part learning the author is a younger man writing the POV of an elderly woman.
Overall I quite enjoyed the novel, the pacing was a bit slow but I think that lent to the drawn out feeling of the week going by and life being reminisced upon. Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I loved the characters and their interactions. Marian's thoughts felt real, if at times a bit too arrogant. Her relationships with family, Charlotte, other poets, and the likes felt intensely vivid - I could imagine a little old lady in a fancy hat making funny comments and "swooping" to music. Charlotte stole the show though. Her poetry and questions had me in tears at points. The idea of AIs experiencing loneliness is something I'm sure we all think about since we tend to anthropomorphize robots and AIs, so I found Charlotte's journey working with Marian to be especially moving.
The format of this book was excellent, the dialogue between Marian and Charlotte was heart-wrenching at times. The use of second person was delightful, it felt as though the conversations between Marian and Charlotte were continued with its use, as if Charlotte was narrating Marian's life, feelings, joys, and failures from the moment of her birth, which Marian, as a human, is incapable of remembering completely, unlike Charlotte.
My one complaint about the book was when Marian would go introspective and have these thoughts about her reactions to others/events being gendered, like "am I only reacting this way because I am a woman" type thoughts. They were heavy handed and jolted me out of the story sometimes because they didn't feel natural to her thought process. Although perhaps it was a bias on my part learning the author is a younger man writing the POV of an elderly woman.
Overall I quite enjoyed the novel, the pacing was a bit slow but I think that lent to the drawn out feeling of the week going by and life being reminisced upon. Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-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? No
5.0
Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher
adventurous
hopeful
fast-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? No
4.5
I breezed through this in a couple hours, it was so captivating!
The Jasad Heir by Sara Hashem
Did not finish book. Stopped at 15%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 15%.
maybe I’ll come back to this but the first few chapters were not gripping, which is sad cause I was really looking forward to this book!
The Unbroken by C.L. Clark
adventurous
dark
emotional
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? Yes
4.0
I quite liked this but there were some pacing problems where the scene would shift really awkwardly or quickly in a way that made it take a minute to realize what was happening
Star Wars: Yoda by Marc Guggenheim, Jody Houser, Cavan Scott
adventurous
dark
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
THAT LAST ISSUE IS PERFECT WOW
Cibola Burn by James S.A. Corey
adventurous
emotional
tense
slow-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? No
4.25