I am surprised that I enjoyed A Toast to Twenty-three. I accidentally bought the ebook and decided to commit to reading to get my money's worth. I really like the premise and the characters. I also like how the Victorian setting went well with the omegaverse trope.

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Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees by Patrick Horvath

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dark funny relaxing 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? Yes

5.0

This is one of the best graphic novels that I've read in a while. The mystery is fresh, and Samantha Strong is such a great protagonist. The anthro character leads the reader into a false sense of security until the first on-page murder happens. It can be gory, but it is tasteful enough that hopefully doesn't deter readers from finishing the novel. I recommend this to anyone who loves the vibe of a cozy mystery and can handle some gore!

Content Warnings

Unofficial Omegaverse Field Guide by A. Ramsey

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informative lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

4.75

This book is a very light guide for those who are unfamiliar with the omega verse as a whole, and it also includes the history of omega verse in fandom and a few case studies in human behaviors. I definitely recommend this if you want a short unofficial guide of the genre if you are interested in writing it yourself or are simply curious.

Content Warnings

The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix

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challenging dark sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

The book itself was great, I love the research that went into The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires, and the plot was pretty good. However near the end of the book, I found myself nearly gagging at the SA scenes in the book, and it didn't help that I was reading the book in public too at the time. While I love Hendrix's writing, I don't believe he handles the racial aspect of the vampire also targeting black children that well, and Mrs. Green felt like a background character compared to the white main leads in the story. I was uncomfortable with the son character being obsessed with nazis, and I don't remember if Patricia ever does anything about it.

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The Elementals by Michael McDowell

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challenging dark sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

This was a very interesting paperback horror book and I’m glad I got it as a birthday gift. I wasn’t expecting Dauphin to be killed off at the very end of the book and to seem like it was rushed off and not very well thought out but the twist was great at the end.

I recommend this book if you are into old paperback horror in general.

Content Warnings

Buddy Holly is Alive and Well on Ganymede by Bradley Denton

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.5

Alternative title: Buddy Holly comes back from the dead and doxes a 20-year-old man because of aliens.

In between the randomness of this book and Michelle‘s diary entries, this was a weirdly good book if you are into sci-fi and can handle Rock ‘n’ roll references every turn of the page. Even though I side-eyed some of the dialogue in this book, I love Oliver and his mother’s relationship and at some points made me want to cry.

I don’t know if it was tended by the author but between Oliver reading Michelle’s (his mother) diary entries you get to see her perspective during the 60s,70s, and 80s up till her death.

I feel bad for both Michelle and Oliver because Michelle was never able to cope with the death of her boyfriend and Oliver’s father, she ended up fixating on predominant rock and roll figures (like Buddy Holly obviously) to UFOs and aliens. This was also her downfall because she ended up projecting this to Oliver who later stated in one chapter when he was getting glasses that he didn’t want to be the spitting image of Buddy Holly and just wanted to be himself which Michelle wasn’t helping with that ( she compares him to Buddy Holly when he was getting picked on because of the glasses).

But it’s not her fault because she was 17 and pregnant with Oliver and her boyfriend killed himself after he impregnated her, it could have been traumatizing for her and a lack of support from her family wasn’t helping, so she turned to rock and roll and spiritualism as a coping mechanism so she doesn’t have to face the reality that everyone dies (including herself and Oliver).

In my perspective Oliver, while also being on the run from the police and trying to figure out how to stop the aliens, is also trying to figure out if his mother had been right about all of this happening or was disturbed as a person.

Either way, this is just my theory but the main point Is that I enjoyed the book.

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thedarklady's reviews 19 reviews

thedarklady's reviews
19 reviews