sageysage's reviews
124 reviews

How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Really enjoyed this book! Some of the scenes had me genuinely shocked and stressed, which was interesting because the book read like a young adult novel in a lot of ways. The book somehow made me sympathetic to Mark by the end which I was not expecting. Good easy spooky read.

A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf

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challenging hopeful informative inspiring reflective

3.5

A very interesting book that gives some great insights. You can definitely tell that it’s a book written in the 1920s by some of the perspectives offered by Woolf, but perhaps they were satire that I wasn’t picking up on. Very eye opening to see how much feminism has progressed in the near century since the book was published.

Content Warnings

South of the Border, West of the Sun by Haruki Murakami

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mysterious reflective medium-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

1.0

I don’t know if I’m just stupid but I have no idea what the hell was meant to be going on. I feel so bad for this man’s wife and kids. Usually love Murakmi but I felt like this had all of the things I’m not a fan of with Murakami (poorly developed female characters and unredeemable misogynistic men) and none of my favourite elements (creativity and magic). Would not read again unless someone gave me some vital context on why this is actually a good book.

Outlawed by Anna North

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

I loved this book! Way more religious undertones than I expected but makes sense for the time period. The book did a great job of having an interesting premise and setting while also making the reader invested in the characters. Kept wanting to pick this up so I could know what happened next. Would definitely read a sequel.

Content Warnings

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

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adventurous inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Nice quick read. Did find it a bit laborious but I think that’s kind of the point.

Content Warnings

The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan

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challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Fascinating and well thought out premise/plot. The experiences the women in the book have to go through are insane and made my jaw literally drop and share passages with my partner. I wish more was revealed in the ending.

I struggled to understand if I was meant to want Frida to reunite with Harriet as her mother though. Despite her progress, I do think she was unfit to parent. However, the decision for her not to be able to visit Harriet at all felt cruel and obviously her treatment in the centre was inhumane and psychologically damaging. I really wish they revealed how the days following her kidnap of Harriet went, and if the details of the program ever leaked or if those responsible faced any consequences for their treatment of the mothers and artificial children.

Content Warnings