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saintmaud's reviews
320 reviews
The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
most anticipated book of the year for me and it… was just okay. knew i shouldn't have fallen for the "mexican gothic x rebecca" marketing but I'm a simple girl who loves gothic stories. mexican gothic works because it takes a normal story and makes it Weird™ this book unfortunately does not :/ Nothing about the setting, characters, plot was particularly intriguing it just felt bland to me. I think the fact that I read this on dark, rainy days helped the mood more than the writing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Alcoholism and Rape
Minor: Animal death, Vomit, and Abortion
Acqua Alta by Donna Leon
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape, Violence, Xenophobia, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Blood and Murder
Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-joo
sad
fast-paced
hm mixed feelings about this one. while i understand the impact it's had the book didn't actually work as novel. the statistics thrown in randomly, the genuinely interesting premise that was never built on, the overall translation all failed to make this work. whether all of this was lazy writing or authorial intent (working off the psychiatrist's pov) is not a question I'm ultimately bothered about.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny and Sexism
Moderate: Sexual harassment
Minor: Pregnancy
Spirits Abroad by Zen Cho
favs: the fish bowl, odette, 起狮，行礼 (rising lion—the lion bows), the mystery of the suet swain, and of course, the terracotta bride.
Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami, Philip Gabriel
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Only myself to blame for picking this up after i promised not to read another Murakami again. I don't think he actually knows how women talk to each other, talk about each other but still keeps writing about it. Some parts genuinely made me uncomfortable :/ loved the writing in the second half though which is why I'm adding an extra star. But overall, no more reading his books with the same story over and over again for me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infidelity and Sexual content
Minor: Gore
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism and Abandonment
Moderate: Sexual assault, Grief, and Murder
Minor: Racism
Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Murder
Moderate: Confinement, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Death of parent
Minor: Vomit
The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
Would've enjoyed this more if I wasn't so confused about what was going on: the curse, paper boats, whatever was happening with the red string of fate. It felt all muddled especially around the middle of the book. Loved the overall vibes though.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Child death