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lovefromhannah's reviews
364 reviews
Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton
lighthearted
medium-paced
2.0
enjoyed the nostalgia. didn’t enjoy the self absorption. it was pitched to me as self help AND memoir but it’s just a posh white girl talking about boys, not realising her privilege and not much else.
Closer Baby Closer by Savannah Brown
closer baby closer is the third poetry collection and fifth book by savannah brown. though i have not read her novels, i have read Sweetdark and quite enjoyed it!
closer baby closer is the middle ground between short, sweet instagram styled poetry and traditional verse. brown covers digital topics, the internet, jeff bezos' sexts which is what makes instagram/social media style poetry come to mind.
i am sad that I don't have favourite poems, and even sadder that I am not obsessed with this. I do have favourite descriptions! (if I did have a fav poem it would be My God, girlhood ripened) Here are the ones that caught my eye:
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
Under the nail
skin unravels like a[n] ...
orange peel (p. 3)
closer baby closer is the third poetry collection and fifth book by savannah brown. though i have not read her novels, i have read Sweetdark and quite enjoyed it!
closer baby closer is the middle ground between short, sweet instagram styled poetry and traditional verse. brown covers digital topics, the internet, jeff bezos' sexts which is what makes instagram/social media style poetry come to mind.
i am sad that I don't have favourite poems, and even sadder that I am not obsessed with this. I do have favourite descriptions! (if I did have a fav poem it would be My God, girlhood ripened) Here are the ones that caught my eye:
plushy leg fat straining against a grater of fishnet (p. 15)
obsession grants me the precision
of a surgeon... (p. 19)
Paradise Rot by Jenny Hval
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
absolute BRILLIANT writing! I will definitely be consuming the rest of hval's oeuvre.
Godslayers by Zoe Hana Mikuta
rtc
adventurous
emotional
tense
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
3.5
“The only God in this room … is me.”
rtc
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
for the first 175 pages, i was waiting for something to happen, for a fire to be lit. i was bored and wanted something to happen—and then it did and I could not put this book down.
Furies: Stories of the Wicked, Wild and Untamed by Kamila Shamsie, Sandi Toksvig, Eleanor Crewes, Caroline O'Donoghue, Helen Oyeyemi, Emma Donoghue, Kirsty Logan, CN Lester, Linda Grant, Ali Smith, Claire Kohda, Margaret Atwood, Chibundu Onuzo, Susie Boyt, Rachel Seiffert, Stella Duffy
adventurous
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
my overall rating is 3.5: i liked some stories better than others. some i absolutely adored.
I'm a Fan by Sheena Patel
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
i'm a fan is a thought provoking debut from sheena patel, an author who I urge you to watch out for. though I found it repetitive at times, I adored patel's commentary on society and patriarchy and is what kept me reading.
Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica
tender is the flesh is a horrid 'what if' dystopian that has normalised cannibalism. the protagonist, marcos, works at a processing/slaughter plant and this is the story of his descent into madness.
the opening of this short book is so disturbing and yet I was so intrigued. swiftly after the narrative opens, we are taken, along with some characters, on a tour of the plant and saying this is the most fucked up thing I have read in a while is one hell of an understatement. the quote i have highlighted at the top of this review comes immediately after the detached and yet so visceral and clinical descriptions of procedures--I had to shut the book and take a moment. the simplicity and power of those three words made me excited to see how bazterrica was going to deliver.
and yet, i was left feeling hungry for the remainder of the book.
the ending attempts to hit my seemingly too high expectations, but falls short due to being predictable. though I did enjoy the ending, it was simple and I wished basterrica would have pushed marcos further into his descent into madness.
despite all of this, I still will be reading her next book nineteen claws and a black bird.
* please check tws for this book. there are quite a few *
dark
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
want a sandwhich?
tender is the flesh is a horrid 'what if' dystopian that has normalised cannibalism. the protagonist, marcos, works at a processing/slaughter plant and this is the story of his descent into madness.
the opening of this short book is so disturbing and yet I was so intrigued. swiftly after the narrative opens, we are taken, along with some characters, on a tour of the plant and saying this is the most fucked up thing I have read in a while is one hell of an understatement. the quote i have highlighted at the top of this review comes immediately after the detached and yet so visceral and clinical descriptions of procedures--I had to shut the book and take a moment. the simplicity and power of those three words made me excited to see how bazterrica was going to deliver.
and yet, i was left feeling hungry for the remainder of the book.
the ending attempts to hit my seemingly too high expectations, but falls short due to being predictable. though I did enjoy the ending, it was simple and I wished basterrica would have pushed marcos further into his descent into madness.
despite all of this, I still will be reading her next book nineteen claws and a black bird.
* please check tws for this book. there are quite a few *
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Rape, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Rape, Trafficking, and Pandemic/Epidemic
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
challenging
emotional
reflective
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? It's complicated
4.0
beautiful and lyrical, vuong’s writing is something i will always love.
The Girl from the Other Side: Siúil, a Rún Vol. 1 by Nagabe
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
this is the first manga i have read in a while!! i think i'm definitely going to continue this series! the monsters are what i liked the best! and i think it's interesting how nagabe twisted the good/human vs evil/other trope.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment
Moderate: Death of parent and Pandemic/Epidemic