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luluwoohoo's reviews
472 reviews
Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane (audiobook narrated by Tom Stechschulte)
☀️☀️☀️⛅
A suspenseful and intriguing psychological thriller that explored grief and trauma in interesting, albeit outdated and sometimes simplistic ways.
The pacing was handled perfectly, tension strung out just enough to keep the action exciting without burning through the plot too early. I guessed the twist much earlier than expected, and though that didn't really ruin anything, I was surprised at being correct.
Teddy's journey both physically and psychologically was captivating with beautiful prose from Lehane, often teetering skilfully on the edge of reality and fantasy with precision. Stechschulte's narration further enhanced the quality of the writing and added a layer of emotional maturity that I might not have found reading the book myself.
I enjoyed this and would recommend to anyone seeking a well written thriller, but the twist was ultimately a bit too predictable to really knock my socks off.
☀️☀️☀️⛅
A suspenseful and intriguing psychological thriller that explored grief and trauma in interesting, albeit outdated and sometimes simplistic ways.
The pacing was handled perfectly, tension strung out just enough to keep the action exciting without burning through the plot too early. I guessed the twist much earlier than expected, and though that didn't really ruin anything, I was surprised at being correct.
Teddy's journey both physically and psychologically was captivating with beautiful prose from Lehane, often teetering skilfully on the edge of reality and fantasy with precision. Stechschulte's narration further enhanced the quality of the writing and added a layer of emotional maturity that I might not have found reading the book myself.
I enjoyed this and would recommend to anyone seeking a well written thriller, but the twist was ultimately a bit too predictable to really knock my socks off.
"Someday we'll medicate human experience right out of the human experience."
The Lady's Handbook for Her Mysterious Illness: A Memoir by Sarah Ramey
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0
The Lady's Handbook For Her Mysterious Illness: A Memoir by Sarah Ramey
☀️☀️☀️☀️
With statistics like 75% of all autoimmune patients being female, it's no wonder that I found this book in equal parts fascinating, elucidating, and horrific.
Ramey spends approximately half of the book detailing her harrowing, drawn out experience trying to seek help for her mysterious illness. This takes place over more than a decade through both Western and alternative medicine systems, and the tales she shares within are nothing short of depressing. The lack of care, understanding and support for people with chronic illness is a blight on society.
The second half I found less effective or appropriate: the tangent on gender was interesting and made some good points but ultimately left me feeling a bit icky with the assuredness she assigns certain characteristics to each gender, ignoring the obvious fact that these too are socially applied and not inherently built into us. I was also not impressed by her claim that those outside of Western countries have less troubles due to diet etc, which is patently untrue. She does, to an extent, acknowledge her unbelievable privilege as a white woman with access to money to make her prescribed changes - changes that a significant amount of her readership would struggle to achieve - but I wished she did more here.
Ultimately though, for all of my criticisms, I think this is a very important book tackling very important issues that should be read, at least in part, by a wider readership than simply women who might have a mysterious illness. I identified multiple people in my life who live under this category and also myself suffer some mild issues within this realm, so it was beneficial to see this sort of information all laid out like this.
☀️☀️☀️☀️
With statistics like 75% of all autoimmune patients being female, it's no wonder that I found this book in equal parts fascinating, elucidating, and horrific.
Ramey spends approximately half of the book detailing her harrowing, drawn out experience trying to seek help for her mysterious illness. This takes place over more than a decade through both Western and alternative medicine systems, and the tales she shares within are nothing short of depressing. The lack of care, understanding and support for people with chronic illness is a blight on society.
The second half I found less effective or appropriate: the tangent on gender was interesting and made some good points but ultimately left me feeling a bit icky with the assuredness she assigns certain characteristics to each gender, ignoring the obvious fact that these too are socially applied and not inherently built into us. I was also not impressed by her claim that those outside of Western countries have less troubles due to diet etc, which is patently untrue. She does, to an extent, acknowledge her unbelievable privilege as a white woman with access to money to make her prescribed changes - changes that a significant amount of her readership would struggle to achieve - but I wished she did more here.
Ultimately though, for all of my criticisms, I think this is a very important book tackling very important issues that should be read, at least in part, by a wider readership than simply women who might have a mysterious illness. I identified multiple people in my life who live under this category and also myself suffer some mild issues within this realm, so it was beneficial to see this sort of information all laid out like this.
"There may exist a graceful and elegant way to begin one's gynecologic and colorectal memoir, but it never does spring to mind."
Mortgage of Convenience by Dani McLean
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Mortgage Of Convenience by Dani McLean
☀️☀️☀️
Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC!
I think this is a case of a romance book that simply isn't my style. There's nothing objectively wrong with it but the simplicity of the story, the instant gratification of the romance and the perfect HEA didn't appeal enough to me to make this book something special.
I think my biggest gripe is the setup: I just simply don't find the joint house venture believable with zero conversation beforehand, nor did it make sense to me that Bee did it in exchange for... confidence lessons? I'm still unclear honestly. It's a fun setup and probably would have appealed to me with more development but in this context I was more confused than amused.
The humour was good and helped carry through the plot at a quick pace. The fact that the MCs had past history did help immensely with the chemistry, and I enjoyed the sex scenes more for this, but ultimately I felt like everything ran too smoothly (or if it didn't, the roadblock felt convenient rather than a legitimate hurdle to overcome)
☀️☀️☀️
Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC!
I think this is a case of a romance book that simply isn't my style. There's nothing objectively wrong with it but the simplicity of the story, the instant gratification of the romance and the perfect HEA didn't appeal enough to me to make this book something special.
I think my biggest gripe is the setup: I just simply don't find the joint house venture believable with zero conversation beforehand, nor did it make sense to me that Bee did it in exchange for... confidence lessons? I'm still unclear honestly. It's a fun setup and probably would have appealed to me with more development but in this context I was more confused than amused.
The humour was good and helped carry through the plot at a quick pace. The fact that the MCs had past history did help immensely with the chemistry, and I enjoyed the sex scenes more for this, but ultimately I felt like everything ran too smoothly (or if it didn't, the roadblock felt convenient rather than a legitimate hurdle to overcome)
"I need words. The kind that go in a row. Or a sentence, because I'm a good writer who remembers words well and isn't thinking about how full I felt with Sebastian's fingers inside me."
Vanishing Below the Waist by Ellie White
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
3.25
Vanishing Below The Waist by Ellie White
☀️☀️☀️🌥️
A big thank you to NetGalley for this ARC!
I've not ventured into the world of poetry too much - something I wanted to rectify this year - so stumbling upon this collection was fortuitous. I knew nothing of the content or style going into this publication.
I didn't find every poem grabbed me, but that's to be expected from a collection like this. The works are stronger as a whole, painting a powerful and raw picture of womanhood and the female experience, and the trauma that can be associated with it.
Individually the pieces that really spoke to me are:
Vulvodynia
What I Mean
Blue Mud Dauber
Ode to Bathing on My Period
Poem in Which I Expand
White takes time to explore elements of life that I haven't seen touched upon, unique angles and entries into the minutiae of existence. I liked her perspective and the honesty through which she explored.
"As our bodies revolt, as they have every time this year: this decade: this life: we are still quietly apologizing as the elephant crushes us to death."
☀️☀️☀️🌥️
A big thank you to NetGalley for this ARC!
I've not ventured into the world of poetry too much - something I wanted to rectify this year - so stumbling upon this collection was fortuitous. I knew nothing of the content or style going into this publication.
I didn't find every poem grabbed me, but that's to be expected from a collection like this. The works are stronger as a whole, painting a powerful and raw picture of womanhood and the female experience, and the trauma that can be associated with it.
Individually the pieces that really spoke to me are:
Vulvodynia
What I Mean
Blue Mud Dauber
Ode to Bathing on My Period
Poem in Which I Expand
White takes time to explore elements of life that I haven't seen touched upon, unique angles and entries into the minutiae of existence. I liked her perspective and the honesty through which she explored.
"As our bodies revolt, as they have every time this year: this decade: this life: we are still quietly apologizing as the elephant crushes us to death."
Waiting for the Flood by Alexis Hall
emotional
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Waiting For The Flood by Alexis Hall (audiobook narrated by Will Watt)
☀️☀️☀️⛅
Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC audiobook!
I'll admit I was a bit confused when I reached the 30% mark and the story completely changed! Now I realise this is a combination of two novellas - but only the first is described or named, which I find misleading - I'd prefer the title and description to reflect the two stories being distributed together.
Now for the stories themselves:
Waiting For The Flood is the titular story. I liked Edwin as a narrator and the romance, albeit rushed, was sweet. The supporting characters both added humour and depth, but ultimately the length of this was my biggest problem - I wanted more! The story ended just as the plot started progressing into interesting territory.
Chasing The Light is the second story told here, following Edwin's ex Marius through his own romance. I found the length of this story better to spread out the romance, which was still rushed but somehow more believable to me contextually. Where I felt it lacked a bit was the depth of characterisation - Marius has interesting backstory components that weren't explored enough for me to totally connect to him as a character, but the overall shape and style of this novella was definitely enjoyable.
Aftermath helped to converge the two MCs in a more resolved fashion - this had more depth than I'd expected for its length, which was appreciated.
Will Watt's narration was impressive and appealing in both stories, especially so in Edwin's dialogue where he added a lot to his emotional response to stuttering.
☀️☀️☀️⛅
Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC audiobook!
I'll admit I was a bit confused when I reached the 30% mark and the story completely changed! Now I realise this is a combination of two novellas - but only the first is described or named, which I find misleading - I'd prefer the title and description to reflect the two stories being distributed together.
Now for the stories themselves:
Waiting For The Flood is the titular story. I liked Edwin as a narrator and the romance, albeit rushed, was sweet. The supporting characters both added humour and depth, but ultimately the length of this was my biggest problem - I wanted more! The story ended just as the plot started progressing into interesting territory.
Chasing The Light is the second story told here, following Edwin's ex Marius through his own romance. I found the length of this story better to spread out the romance, which was still rushed but somehow more believable to me contextually. Where I felt it lacked a bit was the depth of characterisation - Marius has interesting backstory components that weren't explored enough for me to totally connect to him as a character, but the overall shape and style of this novella was definitely enjoyable.
Aftermath helped to converge the two MCs in a more resolved fashion - this had more depth than I'd expected for its length, which was appreciated.
Will Watt's narration was impressive and appealing in both stories, especially so in Edwin's dialogue where he added a lot to his emotional response to stuttering.
"This is the story of my life: standing on the edge of things and worrying when I'm supposed to just walk through them."
Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
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
4.75
Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs
☀️☀️☀️☀️🌤️
A captivating fantasy that drips with atmospheric magic and tense mystery.
I haven't enjoyed a standalone fantasy quite this much in a long time. Törzs blends fantasy, mystery and literary fiction beautifully into something rich and dark and full of tension. Her writing is lovely and I appreciated the little differences between POVs.
The pacing of this novel isn't for everyone but I found it brilliantly deliberate, an excellent way to establish the three protagonists in their own isolated worlds before coming together in the second half. They were all fleshed out well and given opportunities to push beyond their physical and metaphorical boundaries throughout the course of the novel, and even the supporting characters felt like they had rich lives beyond what we were shown in the context of this story.
The magical lore was wonderfully thought out with strict rules and restrictions that made sense within the confines of the story. Each character's relationship with magic was unique to them and the combinations they formed together enriched their connections to create interesting subtext. I particularly appreciated the relationship between Esther and Joanna, whose fractured sisterhood wasn't fixed or made whole for convenience but still felt on the way to recovery.
I loved every aspect of this book and struggled to put it down. I cannot wait to see what Törzs comes up with next if this is her debut!
☀️☀️☀️☀️🌤️
A captivating fantasy that drips with atmospheric magic and tense mystery.
I haven't enjoyed a standalone fantasy quite this much in a long time. Törzs blends fantasy, mystery and literary fiction beautifully into something rich and dark and full of tension. Her writing is lovely and I appreciated the little differences between POVs.
The pacing of this novel isn't for everyone but I found it brilliantly deliberate, an excellent way to establish the three protagonists in their own isolated worlds before coming together in the second half. They were all fleshed out well and given opportunities to push beyond their physical and metaphorical boundaries throughout the course of the novel, and even the supporting characters felt like they had rich lives beyond what we were shown in the context of this story.
The magical lore was wonderfully thought out with strict rules and restrictions that made sense within the confines of the story. Each character's relationship with magic was unique to them and the combinations they formed together enriched their connections to create interesting subtext. I particularly appreciated the relationship between Esther and Joanna, whose fractured sisterhood wasn't fixed or made whole for convenience but still felt on the way to recovery.
I loved every aspect of this book and struggled to put it down. I cannot wait to see what Törzs comes up with next if this is her debut!
"He'd never felt so passionately all-caps about another person [...] and certainly no one had ever felt that way about him. He expected to be sad about this realization, and instead found that he was mostly curious. Maybe [...] if he began to lead a life on his own terms, all-caps was a feeling he himself might find someday."
The White and Blue Between Us by Kiyuhiko
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
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
2.5
The White And Blue Between Us by Kiyuhiko
☀️☀️⛅ 2.5/5
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!
I loved the style of this graphic novel - the art itself is spectacular and really eye-catching. At first I didn't appreciate the black and white styling but it grew on me, though I think the story could have felt more impactful with some frames including one or two signature colours for emphasis here and there because the plot itself felt pretty weak in comparison.
For me the most impactful part of the story was the flashback sequence which is only listed as a bonus chapter at the end, so structurally I would have liked to see this upfront to build on their relationship first because without any context their rekindling didn't grab me as anything exciting. The development back into trying a relationship again was way too rushed, and the first sex scene was unexpected and felt out of place in the narrative. The pair spending time together after the time jump was nice but with all of the narrative conflict resolved there wasn't much to keep me interested from then on.
This was a quick and mostly enjoyable read but ultimately I don't think it will be very memorable with the very simple plot.
☀️☀️⛅ 2.5/5
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!
I loved the style of this graphic novel - the art itself is spectacular and really eye-catching. At first I didn't appreciate the black and white styling but it grew on me, though I think the story could have felt more impactful with some frames including one or two signature colours for emphasis here and there because the plot itself felt pretty weak in comparison.
For me the most impactful part of the story was the flashback sequence which is only listed as a bonus chapter at the end, so structurally I would have liked to see this upfront to build on their relationship first because without any context their rekindling didn't grab me as anything exciting. The development back into trying a relationship again was way too rushed, and the first sex scene was unexpected and felt out of place in the narrative. The pair spending time together after the time jump was nice but with all of the narrative conflict resolved there wasn't much to keep me interested from then on.
This was a quick and mostly enjoyable read but ultimately I don't think it will be very memorable with the very simple plot.
Time to Rise by Heléne Holmström
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Time To Rise by Heléne Holmström (translation by Marlaine Delargy)
☀️☀️☀️
A big thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!
As an overall shape I liked the plot of this book, though it didn't do anything special for the genre. I was actually more drawn to the flashback scenes once that storyline got going, with that relationship feeling more authentic than the (purposefully scripted) manufacturing of our main pairing.
The sex scenes felt a bit rushed and clinical in the writing but that's a personal preference of mine, though I also felt like the rapid progression of the main relationship towards the end felt fast too in comparison to the 'enemies' portion. I also wasn't a fan of the ending (pre-epilogue) but I can see why Holmström went in that direction.
As someone who has only a passing knowledge of European traditions when it comes to Christmas, this book leaned into them just enough to enlighten me without being overbearing with the details, particularly with the focus on food.
The formatting itself could use reviewing before publication - some text message segments were written as regular paragraphs, and in another spot italics continued incorrectly beyond an internal thought, which pulled me out of the story completely.
3/5 stars
☀️☀️☀️
A big thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!
As an overall shape I liked the plot of this book, though it didn't do anything special for the genre. I was actually more drawn to the flashback scenes once that storyline got going, with that relationship feeling more authentic than the (purposefully scripted) manufacturing of our main pairing.
The sex scenes felt a bit rushed and clinical in the writing but that's a personal preference of mine, though I also felt like the rapid progression of the main relationship towards the end felt fast too in comparison to the 'enemies' portion. I also wasn't a fan of the ending (pre-epilogue) but I can see why Holmström went in that direction.
As someone who has only a passing knowledge of European traditions when it comes to Christmas, this book leaned into them just enough to enlighten me without being overbearing with the details, particularly with the focus on food.
The formatting itself could use reviewing before publication - some text message segments were written as regular paragraphs, and in another spot italics continued incorrectly beyond an internal thought, which pulled me out of the story completely.
3/5 stars
"All you have to do is gaze at her for a few extra seconds, maybe make a nice remark after you've been all critical. Enemies to lovers... we'll take care of the rest."
The Atlas Complex by Olivie Blake
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
The Atlas Complex by Olivie Blake
☀️☀️🌤️
The final book in this trilogy had many good chess pieces left to play, but instead the lack of focus and intention in the final half really let the whole series down.
Like the previous two books, 'Complex' is lush and indulgent and seemingly without plot for much of the page count. This worked for me in book 1, less in book 2 or 3 - the first half of 'Complex' was tolerable in an "I'm remembering why I like these characters" sort of way, but of all books to not stick the landing on, Blake missed the mark here by quite a longshot. She got too caught up in the philosophical/science tangents, which felt especially tedious with her particular writing style, to honour the important characters or their relationships (aka the entire point of this series) which had nice moments but ultimately fell by the wayside to whatever moral message Blake was trying to send us...which is that it's all pointless I guess? So why write three long-winded books to tell me that?
The character deaths I didn't hate so much - thematically they made sense - but the way in which they were executed and delivered to us were very unsatisfying. The whole ending was, which I fear was Blake's point, but I should be able to mourn a favourite character's death with proper procedure and not feel blindsided multiple times.
More egregious was the amount of time dedicated to Atlas, who I frankly failed to give a shit about since halfway through book 2, and the secondary characters who all got totally unnecessary POV chapters. None of that needed to be there to move the plot forward and didn't contribute to my understanding of the world, so they were wasted pages.
This book ultimately seems to suffer from a lack of direction and a failure to edit. The bones were good and I enjoyed some parts tremendously but for a series so focused on being intellectual and important, it didn't actually say anything in the end, which is pretty insulting to the readership who went along for the ride.
☀️☀️🌤️
The final book in this trilogy had many good chess pieces left to play, but instead the lack of focus and intention in the final half really let the whole series down.
Like the previous two books, 'Complex' is lush and indulgent and seemingly without plot for much of the page count. This worked for me in book 1, less in book 2 or 3 - the first half of 'Complex' was tolerable in an "I'm remembering why I like these characters" sort of way, but of all books to not stick the landing on, Blake missed the mark here by quite a longshot. She got too caught up in the philosophical/science tangents, which felt especially tedious with her particular writing style, to honour the important characters or their relationships (aka the entire point of this series) which had nice moments but ultimately fell by the wayside to whatever moral message Blake was trying to send us...which is that it's all pointless I guess? So why write three long-winded books to tell me that?
The character deaths I didn't hate so much - thematically they made sense - but the way in which they were executed and delivered to us were very unsatisfying. The whole ending was, which I fear was Blake's point, but I should be able to mourn a favourite character's death with proper procedure and not feel blindsided multiple times.
More egregious was the amount of time dedicated to Atlas, who I frankly failed to give a shit about since halfway through book 2, and the secondary characters who all got totally unnecessary POV chapters. None of that needed to be there to move the plot forward and didn't contribute to my understanding of the world, so they were wasted pages.
This book ultimately seems to suffer from a lack of direction and a failure to edit. The bones were good and I enjoyed some parts tremendously but for a series so focused on being intellectual and important, it didn't actually say anything in the end, which is pretty insulting to the readership who went along for the ride.
"I will spend my life orbiting yours [...] I consider it a privilege. Does that mean less if we never sleep together? If we never have babies and hold hands, does that have to mean less? You're in every world I exist in, your fate is my fate, either you follow me or I follow you, it doesn't matter which and I don't care. If that's not love then maybe I don't understand love."
Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
slow-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
3.75
Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson
☀️☀️☀️🌤️
▪️This Asian-inspired story delivers beautiful imagery, creative world building and a satisfying journey with two unique characters
▪️By going with a newer standalone for my first ever Sanderson read I am probably infuriating some people, but I actually think this was the perfect gateway into his writing for me - it leans into romance more than I'm told his other books do, and the fantasy was fun if not a bit too complicated for my liking
▪️My favourite aspect of the novel was the exploration of both Yumi and Painter's loneliness. Their situations are so different but both are relatable and their reactions to guilt and grief are valid. The world building is good here but I don't think I'd have appreciated it without such well designed characters
▪️The drawback of having a third party narrator - and one who relies on humour and info dumping to describe the intricate systems at play - is that I felt somewhat disengaged from the characters and their relationship
▪️For a solid concept I wanted to be more emotionally invested, but this was still a heartfelt story that I enjoyed reading and has encouraged me to seek out more of Sanderson's work in the future.
☀️☀️☀️🌤️
▪️This Asian-inspired story delivers beautiful imagery, creative world building and a satisfying journey with two unique characters
▪️By going with a newer standalone for my first ever Sanderson read I am probably infuriating some people, but I actually think this was the perfect gateway into his writing for me - it leans into romance more than I'm told his other books do, and the fantasy was fun if not a bit too complicated for my liking
▪️My favourite aspect of the novel was the exploration of both Yumi and Painter's loneliness. Their situations are so different but both are relatable and their reactions to guilt and grief are valid. The world building is good here but I don't think I'd have appreciated it without such well designed characters
▪️The drawback of having a third party narrator - and one who relies on humour and info dumping to describe the intricate systems at play - is that I felt somewhat disengaged from the characters and their relationship
▪️For a solid concept I wanted to be more emotionally invested, but this was still a heartfelt story that I enjoyed reading and has encouraged me to seek out more of Sanderson's work in the future.
"Loneliness, even in a group. Shame and its stalwart companion: those whispers that say you aren't worthy of attention or love.
He understood. Without needing to touch her, he understood."