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youreawizardjerry's reviews
113 reviews
Babel by R.F. Kuang
emotional
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
Ambitious. The good parts I adored, but somewhere amidst all the ambition and intertwining genres and concepts Kuang got lost in the sauce. Tried to be so much that it diluted a lot of the initial punch and heart by the end. I appreciate holding to the constraints of the time, but it left me unfortunately feeling less inspired, and more deflated. In many ways I understand that direction, in others I genuinely don’t think I’d recommend it to other bipoc. Also I really don’t appreciate storytellers killing off the darkest guy first and also #2 kuang have the boys kiss already how dare you lead me on like this
From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death by Caitlin Doughty
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
"All that surrounds us comes from death, every part of every city, and every part of every person."
The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin
adventurous
mysterious
medium-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
4.25
My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
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? Yes
4.0
Went from being completely fine to fully sobbing in one sentence. Powerful, brutal, and illuminating.
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
love to my homies who adore this, but damn...it was just fine? 🤷
some parts rocked but other parts lulled. a lot of over-explanation in some sections but not nearly enough in others. also i am not huge on heavy hand-to-hand combat description so some specific parts bored me additionally so, it is what it is.
A lot of interesting ideas and snippets of world-building were set up here that I'm sure will add a lot of enrichment to the enjoyment of the further installments (and this one as well of course, i definitely appreciated the aesthetics and mood created throughout the book) but the crux (HAHA!) of this first book standalone is...a pretty standard murder-mystery in one incredibly under-utilised setting.
Kept waiting for something else to come that never did. Just a lot of key/door/swordfight/vaguely queer scene/repeat
but i am still interested to see where the story goes from here.
will definitely be reading on. i hope it gets queer-er, dark-er, and funky-er
catch you on the flip side, sugarlips
some parts rocked but other parts lulled. a lot of over-explanation in some sections but not nearly enough in others. also i am not huge on heavy hand-to-hand combat description so some specific parts bored me additionally so, it is what it is.
A lot of interesting ideas and snippets of world-building were set up here that I'm sure will add a lot of enrichment to the enjoyment of the further installments (and this one as well of course, i definitely appreciated the aesthetics and mood created throughout the book) but the crux (HAHA!) of this first book standalone is...a pretty standard murder-mystery in one incredibly under-utilised setting.
Kept waiting for something else to come that never did. Just a lot of key/door/swordfight/vaguely queer scene/repeat
but i am still interested to see where the story goes from here.
will definitely be reading on. i hope it gets queer-er, dark-er, and funky-er
catch you on the flip side, sugarlips
The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
What You Are Getting Wrong About Appalachia by Elizabeth Catte
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
5.0
Allegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I don't know what it was about the writing but I just didn't care about anyone or anything that was happening.
Maybe Mrs. Richardson? but even for being a central figure her impact fell short imo.
With peace and love, this book could've been 100 pages max with all the nothing that was going on.
I genuinely loved some of the themes explored, the brutal logistics of coming back from systemic disenfranchisment in particular, humanizing the often-dehumanized, legal prejudice etc it was great until the author decided to undermine it all with that ending ( I don't mind predictable endings and I love an unreliable narrator as much as the next, but a predictable ending thrown in at the very end with poor pacing, and so many missed forshadowing opportunities? Yeah it didn't hit. ) A big miss for me.
Maybe Mrs. Richardson? but even for being a central figure her impact fell short imo.
With peace and love, this book could've been 100 pages max with all the nothing that was going on.
I genuinely loved some of the themes explored, the brutal logistics of coming back from systemic disenfranchisment in particular, humanizing the often-dehumanized, legal prejudice etc it was great until the author decided to undermine it all with that ending (