nookandcrannyseattle's reviews
237 reviews

Service by Sarah Gilmartin

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emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Vagabonds! by Eloghosa Osunde

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad 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

4.5

I went into this expecting a novel (mostly because it says "a novel" on the cover) and while it may be in the technical sense, in the colloquial sense it is not. It is, in fact, a loosely connected collection of short stories, and not a particularly well-constructed one (though it improved structurally near the end). I got a bit of whiplash reading it before I figured this out. That said, the individual stories were exquisite!
The Coast Road by Alan Murrin

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emotional funny hopeful informative reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Beautiful, musical prose. Vivid characters. My only complaint is that the "prologue" page should be torn right out and burned. If you have any appreciation of style, you will be offended by its existence.
Clara Reads Proust by Stéphane Carlier

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emotional funny informative inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing 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? No

5.0

A love letter to Proust and the value of language, the beauty of the mundane, the power of memory. Gorgeous start to finish. I feel like a lot had to have been lost in translation because the French language is so integral to the story, but huge props to the translator because I still "got" it.
My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

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dark funny tense 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

3.75

I thought I would love this more than I did. I kept hoping there would be some big twist that would make any one of the characters less insufferable, but it never came. And to be clear, I take issue with manipulative sibling relationships, not murder.
The Vanishing of Carolyn Wells: Investigations into a Forgotten Mystery Author by Rebecca Rego Barry

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informative slow-paced

3.5

Carolyn Wells was some kind of Renaissance woman who rubbed shoulders with Presidents and literary giants, then fell into sudden obscurity despite being one of the most famous authors of popular fiction for decades during her lifetime. That would be be like no one having heard of Stephen King in 50 years. With all that going for her, how did this biographer manage to make her story so boring? The research process was the most interesting part and it consisted of a single chapter, more or less. Also the narrator's mispronunciations were rampant. It did make we want to read a Carolyn Wells mystery, though!
Abarat by Clive Barker

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

3.0

Kittentits by Holly Wilson

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny sad tense fast-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

4.0

This book is weird and wonderful, unexpectedly poignant and utterly profane. It definitely won't be for everyone. Especially not in an era of readers that adamantly refuse to engage with or examine anything that makes them uncomfortable. And this will make you uncomfortable if you have any sense of decency. But you might also recognize something in these remarkable characters. I dare you to sit with them until the end.

The blurb should have prepared me for a new level of absurdity, but it didn't. 4 stars because the first half felt more gratuitous and less compelling than the second. 
The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard

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

4.75

The Painter's Daughters by Emily Howes

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emotional hopeful informative reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25