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kygpub's profile picture

kygpub 's review for:

Radiance by Catherynne M. Valente
4.0
adventurous emotional funny mysterious reflective sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

"they looked so lovely together, like summer in two people."
 
gorgeous, enviable prose with the (eventual) emotional investment to back it up. if there was a book that could show you what 'style over substance' means, it would be this one, a fact that is not helped by the severin unck being a character who was clearly designed to be full of "hidden depths" but ends up as mothing more than a hollow shell. does much better with characters who feel anything other than sorry for/full of themselves; didn't actually get invested until about halfway through, but the highs make up for their slow-coming infrequency. grew very fond of the st. johns.

update (29.10.23): still thinking about how valente set up this erudite, light-hearted murder mystery only to slip in a twist like that. who gives a fuck about
severin's real mother
i need that gay shit INJECTED