oatmilktea's reviews
118 reviews

Call Down the Hawk by Maggie Stiefvater

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adventurous emotional mysterious 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? Yes

3.25

I have mixed feelings.

Call Down the Hawk is really slow and I struggled with the pace. But I immediately liked most of the characters, which, ultimately, were the ones that pulled me through to the end. Too late I realised that there is a trilogy preceding this, The Raven Cycle. It would have introduced me to some of the characters and explained a few things, like Adam's powers, which left me with question marks.

I generally like the subject of dreaming, the power of dreams, but it bears the risk of engendering vagueness and confusion. I couldn't follow everything that was going on and that took me out of the story a little bit at times.

I didn't dislike this book but I didn't really like it either, mostly because of the pacing. I understand that it's the first of three, so the next instalment is probably faster and more connected, since the band of protagonists have formed by the end of book one. However, I'm not eager to continue at this point.
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A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

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

3.5

An exciting, easy read, one you can breeze through. Is it deep? No. Is it entertaining? Absolutely!

Great as a palate cleanser or for getting out of a reading slump.

Keep in mind that it's YA, for those who are not the target audience. One character definitely scratches the back of their head too much and there is a lot of “dorky/funny” dialogue as well as a teen romance I did not care about, but if that's something you can overlook, you’re still going to have fun with this one.
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A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan

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adventurous lighthearted mysterious slow-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

2.75

A Natural History of Dragons is set in a fantasy world that really isn’t that different from reality with the exception of the existence of dragons and dragonlike species. In my opinion, it should have just been set in an alternate reality. The anglocentrism and the references to real-world countries were obvious to the point of being unnecessary. Using real-world countries etc. wouldn't have made a difference other than being easier to read because the author wouldn't have had to mention so many made up names for things such as regions, languages, and months.

Initially I liked what felt like a low-stakes, faux-historical, Austen-esque story. There’s “period appropriate” sexism, of course, and our narrator doesn’t fit in with other girls and young women. As a scientist, she does stick out. And that would have been fine! Naturalism is an unsual interest for women to pursue in that setting, and there is nothing wrong with depicting the difficult path that lies before her. But. It's glaringly obvious that it's important to Isabella that she is not like other girls. Because unlike other girls she is neither faint of heart, nor does she care about silly novels and gossip. She is a scientist, after all. (And scientists can't enjoy the occasional silly novel?) If this is something that you don’t like in a protagonist, you might want to steer clear of this book. 

Other than that, there is plenty of half-heartedly or not at all reflected upon classism, prejudice, entitlement, and colonialism. The mystery that unfolds was not exciting to me, and, like I said, I found the main character less and less likeable as the story progressed. Since this is written as a memoir with the older Isabella commenting on her past actions quite a lot, she could have easily commented on her NLOG qualities as well, but didn’t. I appreciate that through the memoir-style, older Isabella criticises her younger self in other regards, and I liked the bits and pieces of dragon-lore we got, as well as the illustrations. However, there weren't nearly enough dragons, and if there were,
they'd usually be shot or already dead
.

I really wanted to like this one. Will not be reading the other books in the series. 
Kleine Stadt der großen Träume by Fredrik Backman

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challenging emotional sad tense slow-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? It's complicated

2.5

I don’t know why, but I expected this book to be lighthearted and cosy, going in. Probably because of the German title, which roughly translates to “Small Town, Big Dreams”. A bit misleading imo, but on me for not looking it up prior to reading. Also, I don't think I would have picked it up if I had known that most of the book is about SA and how the town handles it (not well. At all.), but that's also on me.

All right, let's do this. I did not really enjoy this book but I can recognise it for what it is and/or tries to achieve. The way I see it, it’s mostly a character study as well as an analysis of society, in the broadest sense. There are almost as many themes as pov characters, so, a lot: (club) hierarchies, peer pressure, esprit de corps, hush-up/rape culture, abuse of power, classism, sexism, homophobia, lynch law, child abuse… I could go on. Some themes take the spotlight, others are only touched upon, but overall there's value here.

Despite not being a fan of an omniscient narrator with an unlimited pov, especially one who keeps jumping back and forth in time and place, I thought the author handled it rather well. I may not have liked the narration style, but there were only a few characters, like Benji’s sisters, that I failed to tell apart from one another. Most characters were discrete, and I don’t think that’s easy to do.

However, I have gripes. This book is way too long. It could have easily done with a hundred pages less. It moves very slow and I get it, it’s all about the characterisation, but then the book is so repetitive in places that it added unnecessarily to the word count. Especially with the constant foreboding, ice hockey analogies, and telling-not-showing statements about friendships or how things work in this town. Because, you know, it’s Björnstad, after all, and ice hockey is ice hockey, so... cherry blossoms?

I found Bear Town intriguing enough, but for the most part I wanted to finish it for the sake of moving on to another book. 
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Wie die Schweine by Agustina Bazterrica

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challenging dark reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

A captivating and disturbing piece of dystopian literary horror, Tender is the Flesh utilises legalised and industrialised cannibalism as a mirror image for humanity's cruelty, double standards, and wilful ignorance of the gruesome realities we won’t acknowledge for the sake of our own convenience and supposedly clear conscience. This novel also explores the dissociation between the food on our plate and its source as well as the juxtaposition of legality and legitimacy.

Some further, critical thoughts that don’t contain actual spoilers, but hint at what is not in the novel, and thus indirectly give away parts of it:

I do wish the author had touched more on veganism–perhaps through (at the least) the mention of a movement, a rebellion, some underground thing going on that might herald a possible end to this “Transition”. Then again, our perspective was limited to that of Marcos, and while he has his suspicions and reservations, he is just another cog in the system, and that seems to be the point after all, frustrating as it may be.

It’s always difficult to guess the author’s intentions, but I believe the novel is supposed to make us feel and think and reflect–among other things–on the status quo of the meat industry as well as all the ethics surrounding the consumption of meat/animal products in the first place, not serve as a handbook on how to dismantle the system. I respect that because that would be a far bigger undertaking, and perhaps that’s enough for this novel, all it can do, to make people feel and think and talk about it. That alone can inspire change in the individual at least, perhaps even more so without the exploration of veganism as an alternative, because in my personal experience so many non-vegans get defensive and shut off all critical thinking/self-reflection the instant there is a vegan at the dinner table.


Difficult to stomach but hard to put down and now seared into my brain. I definitely understand the critiques about there being too much gore for gore's sake, so make sure to check the content warnings.

I read the German translation. 
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The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff

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

4.75

The Vaster Wilds is a well-written story about survival and death and questioning one's faith as well as place in a cruel and beautiful world. It was a sensory, visceral experience, sometimes a little too graphic for what I can stomach but granted, I'm a little squeamish (definitely check the content warnings!).

I preferred the second half to the first, since the second has most of the character development and insight into what happened at the fort. This book might have worked without some of the parts about sheer survival and travel, but I'd still recommend it to anyone who enjoys a truly gritty and unfiltered tale exploring some of the bigger questions in life. 
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The Hound of the Baskervilles and other stories by Arthur Conan Doyle

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

Paper Names by Susie Luo

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-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

4.25

Paper Names features the POV of three characters throughout their lives in New York City. Tony Zhang is a Chinese immigrant who came to the US with his wife Kim and toddler Tammy. Tony and Kim (their American names) had been successful in China yet have to start at the bottom in America. Tammy — the main character in my opinion, also because her chapters are the only ones written in first person — navigates two worlds, as illustrated by her father’s story as well as Oliver’s, a young rich white lawyer living off a trust fund whose life is entangled with the Zhangs’.

I really liked this book! It’s a moving story about immigration, family, and the American Dream. It’s sometimes charming, sometimes melancholy. Luo writes very well, I only stumbled over a few phrases, or maybe just the one, that I immediately associated with fanfiction or cheap romances (”Her eyes darkened”), but it didn’t take away from the overall experience. 
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Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

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funny lighthearted relaxing medium-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? No

4.5

Northanger Abbey is charming and witty (as always with Austen), easy to follow, and entertaining. I liked Catherine and Mr Tilney, and I loved to hate Mr Thorpe and Isabella.

While Mr Thorpe basically tells Catherine that he likes her because ‘she’s not like other girls’, she replies, “Oh, but there are a great many people like me, I dare say, only a great deal better.” — which I love.

And Mr Tilney, instead of belittling Catherines worries or shaming her for them, tells her this: “I will not say, do not be uneasy, because I know that you are so at this moment, but be as little uneasy as you can.” Definitely a green flag.

The only real gripe I had with this story was the portrayal of England as morally superior towards the end, as opposed to other parts of Europe. As in, how could something depraved such as
a femicide
possibly happen in such a respectable household in such a formidable country? This completely glosses over England's imperialism or maybe on the contrary, shows the foundations of it.

All in all, a great Austen novel and a good one to start with, if you’ve never given Jane Austen a go.
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious reflective 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? Yes

5.0

This book is like a cup of hot chocolate: there is some bitterness, but just enough to make you appreciate that it’s mostly warm and sweet and comforting.

I loved the characters and the exploration of the bonds that exist and form between them. To me it was all about discovering what it means to love and be loved, and by that I don’t even mean the romance part of the story. The House in the Cerulean Sea also focuses on otherness and being othered by society.

This book is rather simply written, but it has wit and charm. It’s also rather predictable, especially where character development is concerned, but to me that doesn’t take away from the positives, of which there are many.

I have almost no notes on this. Aside from what I’ve already praised, I found this book to be actually funny, as in, I had to chuckle many times, which is rare for me (usually, supposedly “hilarious” books are not funny to me at all). The House in the Cerulean Sea made me laugh as well as tear up, and my heart is still melting when I think about Chauncey and his dream occupation.

The only thing that I personally would have changed is the epilogue. I think that it didn’t need half of what was in there, especially a romance thrown in at the very end without being hinted at at all in the story, as far as remember. But it’s only the epiloque, and I can choose to ignore what I didn’t like about it.

Overall, this is a new favourite for me. 
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