Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
dark
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
this has a lot of really well done depictions of sexual desire and sexual harm in voice that makes perfect sense
really good read need to get into some of her other stuff!
really good read need to get into some of her other stuff!
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Some of the stories were interesting and some in a fascinating way, others less so.
Very pessimistic, but specifically in a way that hinges and encourages fear and loneliness. Which I do not want to discredit as at times having some standing behind them but overall I am left feeling like this book wants me to believe the world is full of mainly evil people, both men and women, who want to hurt you and each other.
Very pessimistic, but specifically in a way that hinges and encourages fear and loneliness. Which I do not want to discredit as at times having some standing behind them but overall I am left feeling like this book wants me to believe the world is full of mainly evil people, both men and women, who want to hurt you and each other.
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
I gobbled this book up. I am a big fan of scifi/fantasy. Part of the joy I experience reading is going beyond the real world, but all too often it feels like a male dominated, over the top, and heavily dystopian genre. This is such subtle, lifelike scifi. It's feminist, it's upsetting, it's haunting, it's relatable, but still so creative.
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
I loved the writing style and the amazing atmosphere Carmen creates. I felt so immersed in each story. Some stories left me a bit unsatisfied with the open endings but i guess that just made me reflect a bit more about what i just read.
the author has a magnificent way of writing, like melted butter.
i was left wanting more after each of the stories. i personally prefer when a story has more closure.
i was left wanting more after each of the stories. i personally prefer when a story has more closure.
A little too literary for our tastes. The writing was great and engaging but the stories were too open ended.
Reading this, I know, is how it felt to sit around the fire, and listen to your elders tell stories, when the only way we told stories was out loud. Machado’s voice echoes and resonates with divinity. It is a spell most intricately woven. Her stories are difficult, the weight of knowing chained to every word, an understanding earned in Hellfire.
Some of these stories I reread as soon as I finished them, unable to continue through the anthology until I had a full grasp of them. I can’t wait to read every single one of these again. Since starting this book I have spoken to so many people about it, and that is the magic, the kind of work Machado creates. I feel moved to share. To reach out for my community, to hold them, look in their eyes, and tell them about the art I experienced. The way it’s hitting my ears, how it lingers in my head.
A few of these stories filled me with dread not because of their horror elements (although those are delicious) but because Machado’s words felt like my own. I could’ve written these experiences, for they are mine, just as they are hers. To be so entirely seen by fiction, is unendingly rare, and I am entirely certain that my head would go the same way, should the green ribbon find itself pulled loose.
Some of these stories I reread as soon as I finished them, unable to continue through the anthology until I had a full grasp of them. I can’t wait to read every single one of these again. Since starting this book I have spoken to so many people about it, and that is the magic, the kind of work Machado creates. I feel moved to share. To reach out for my community, to hold them, look in their eyes, and tell them about the art I experienced. The way it’s hitting my ears, how it lingers in my head.
A few of these stories filled me with dread not because of their horror elements (although those are delicious) but because Machado’s words felt like my own. I could’ve written these experiences, for they are mine, just as they are hers. To be so entirely seen by fiction, is unendingly rare, and I am entirely certain that my head would go the same way, should the green ribbon find itself pulled loose.
This is a completely personal star rating. It has nothing to do with the value or skill of Carmen's writing. This collection just really, really wasn't for me. (Although I will say that I've been seeing lower star ratings for the short story titled The Resident, and weirdly enough, that was actually my favorite of the bunch! I related to the main character, and I connected with what I considered to be the message (or at least what I personally got out of it)- how women can't be different from society's ridiculous, restrictive expectations without being deemed "crazy," so embrace the crazy!)