joyfulfoodie's reviews
324 reviews

Winter's Orbit by Everina Maxwell

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

This book! It is a beautiful intersection of science fiction and romance. The romance is not overpowering or cheesy. There are a few moments early book where you might go (barely a spoiler, but abundance of caution spoiler cut)
”…really? Just talk already.” We don’t need a “this could all be solved with one conversation trope.
But overall the characters grow as appropriate and tropes of several varieties are skirted past. I love the world building, especially with regards to gender norms. So nice to see non-binary and non heteronormativity as standard and it is done so fluidly too. Little gestures like “Prince” being a generalized title like modern use of “actor” - no gender indication present. 
I loved it. Everything about it. Might count it as a new favorite. Will definitely read more from this author in the future. 
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Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie

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adventurous emotional hopeful informative 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

5.0

This was a quick and easy read, but contains depths. I loved experiencing classic works through the eyes of two “intellectual” late teen characters, sent to the peasant laborer communities of mountainous rural China for reeducation. This book serves as a short history of this difficult time period and is an approachable summary of some of the issues even for someone without any background in the subject. It doesn’t read like a history text, but as a novel - you learn about the daily lives of the two boys and their fears and hopes. I do believe I’ll be thinking about this one for some time, and rather want to add some of the classics they discover to my TBR pile. I doubt they could possibly be the same revelation for me, as I am already familiar with (and a product of) western culture, but the wonder and excitement over their themes is catching. 
The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix

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

2.0

This was the darkest, goriest book I have read, possibly ever. I don’t even know where to start with the trigger warnings. I HAD to finish it so I could have some resolution, something to replace some of the awful images from early in the book. But I won’t say I enjoyed it. A lot of this book had me staring in horror at the page with my eyebrows knit together and my mouth curled in disgust. Not for the squeamish, and I thought I was pretty strong. Apparently I can watch the gory shows and movies but not read the gory books. Who knew. 
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Feast: True Love in and out of the Kitchen by Hannah Howard

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challenging emotional hopeful informative medium-paced

4.0

Not a casual read for anyone with an eating disorder. This book describes in excruciating detail her struggles with compulsive eating. It also describes in delightful detail the many wonderful foods that she has encountered on the food scene of multiple cities. Don’t read this while hungry, and consider taking notes of meals you’ll want to make or order soon. 
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The Way the World Ends by Jess Walter

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hopeful informative reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This isn’t quite what the blurb sets you up to expect, and that works out as a good thing. The characters reasons for existing makes sense and doesn’t feel contrived. It does read a little like a screenplay at points, but I don’t read many short stories currently so maybe this is how it has to be to get it all done in less than 50 pages.
Wow, No Thank You. by Samantha Irby

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funny slow-paced

2.25

I did not really enjoy most of this book. There was a lot of eye rolling. The author is an anxious person and listening to her self deprecating rambles and whining about how much she hates parties really gets old. Especially tedious was the chapter “sure sex is great but” which featured that phrase a million times each followed by things she compared to sex that implied they were supposed to be better… but about half of which were neutral at best and many of those seemed downright unpleasant. By the end I was mostly finishing it because a) I was on a long road trip and it beat staticky radio and b) I wanted an “I” author for my reading challenge. 

Also possible this isn’t my top genre… I also struggled to finish “I was told there would be cake” by Sloane Crosley. 
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Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett

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adventurous funny 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? Yes

5.0

Why did it take me so long to pick this one up?

Seriously. If you haven’t read Good Omens yet you are in for a real treat. Especially if you like absurdist tongue in cheek Hitchhiker style humor, passages good enough you want to read them out loud to anyone that happens to be in ear shot, and footnotes (so many witty footnotes. ) 
I arrived as a fan of Gaiman (who is deeply lovable and allows students writing reports about him to call him friend and address him as Neil in their writing, and defends sense all over the internet) and I depart a fan of Pratchett, though I suspect I was always destined to end up there. 
Instant new favorite. 5 stars
XOXO by Axie Oh

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funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing 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? Yes

4.0

I’m currently on a Korean media consumption kick, and this was a sweet little read to nestle in amongst the rest. The characters are lovable, their growth enjoyable, and while some of the predictable plot points happen they managed not to happen quite the way I expected which was nice. 
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

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adventurous funny hopeful mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

I laughed out loud multiple times during this book. Like The Martian, the science is great, the characters likable, and the flow strong. Fast paced, engaging, simply delightful. There are lots of lines I wanted to read out loud to my husband (or quote to you here) but they are so much better enjoyed in the context so I restrained myself. 
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Firefly: Big Damn Hero by Nancy Holder, James Lovegrove

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adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This is not a new favorite of all time book. If I had to do full stars it would probably be four instead of five. But it takes you back and makes you feel like maybe there was just one more episode you forgot about. And that’s pretty gorram shiny.