zarap's reviews
524 reviews

The Kingdom Over the Sea by Zohra Nabi

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adventurous emotional fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

Witch Hat Atelier, Volume 1 by Kamome Shirahama

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adventurous lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

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reflective medium-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

3.5

Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

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challenging dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall

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challenging informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

Lake of Souls: The Collected Short Fiction by Ann Leckie

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adventurous challenging reflective medium-paced
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

Leech by Hiron Ennes

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.5

Jawbone by Mónica Ojeda

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

4.5

The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera

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challenging dark hopeful mysterious medium-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? Yes

4.75

This book has a lot going on, and I'm not sure it juggles all the parts successfully - but the parts are so, so good. The world is different from our own but mirrors ours in many ways, commenting on the prison system as a tool of oppression, the way our pasts and mistakes can haunt us, interpersonal manipulation, what it means to be a self... I didn't get particularly attached to any of the characters for reasons that become clear later, but Fetter works well as a sort of "everyman" main character, doing his best to live a normal life despite the weird and dramatic things that keep happening to/around him. 

I think it would've been five stars for me if the
reveal had been hinted at, at least enough to notice the clues afterward. As it is, it does feel pretty deus ex machina, but as a sucker for narrative surprise I still loved it.
I'm honestly not sure who I'd recommend it to, but I have a feeling I'll be thinking about it for a while. I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for Chandrasekera's next novel, and I may have to read some of his short fiction in the meantime... 
Mislaid in Parts Half-Known by Seanan McGuire

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adventurous fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5