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aimeenotpond's reviews
128 reviews
Real Life by Brandon Taylor
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
We love a depressing, queer, uni campus read for September!
The Marches: Border walks with my father by Rory Stewart
Did not finish book. Stopped at 7%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 7%.
I WANTED to but I cannot get through all these library loans before Oxford. </3
And the Sky Bled by S. Hati
Did not finish book. Stopped at 33%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 33%.
NetGalley ARC Review:
The new-adult, cli-fi novel And The Sky Bled, from author S. Hati, is not a bad debut. Unfortunately, it’s one I didn’t feel inclined to finish.
The new-adult, cli-fi novel And The Sky Bled, from author S. Hati, is not a bad debut. Unfortunately, it’s one I didn’t feel inclined to finish.
The book’s opening chapters are rushed, full of heavy-handed exposition that is devoid of emotive detail. Emotionally sparse world-building could be used throughout to convey the characters’ desensitisation - but, at this point, we don’t know Hati’s characters well enough for that to work. Instead, an onslaught of geopolitics and side-characters’ names ironically make the world feel too large all at once, disengaging the reader early on.
This sort of pacing feels like it should fit a YA audience but imagery like that of the fleshy gash in the sky is too gory for that. Similarly, that central image wasn’t executed as well as it could have been: Hati seems to treat it as another part of the world she needs to explain rather than use. It is mentioned, then left in the story, in the same way that the politics of Tejomaya’s colonialism are: quickly, obviously, shallowly.
Of the three main characters, despite being saddled with confusing political jargon, Anastasia’s chapters were by far the most entertaining to read. She was the most unpredictable, where Zain fell flat and Iravan acted too immaturely. Still, Hati’s tendency to ‘tell’ the audience about her characters rather than show them makes them less sympathetic: too often it took me out of the story to read such redundant and unrealistic conversations.
In general, the lack of impactful world-building felt like smog from the fire which blankets the plot. I kept reading, looking for more - more intricate characterisation, more ideas about the world’s layout, or how its bleeding sky came to be.
But the smog remains, choking the world and the characters alike.
Witchcraft: A Graphic History: Stories of wise women, healers and magic by Lindsay Squire
3.0
Edelweiss ARC Review:
Expecting a history of female persecution in rural Britain, I was a little taken aback at the author’s assertions of ‘real’ witchcraft. The read is a little jarring for a sceptic like myself. Still, I held that it was more interesting to keep reading about this woman’s beliefs - how they intersect with absolutely real history and common modern practices in witch groups - than to close the pages with a scoff.
Expecting a history of female persecution in rural Britain, I was a little taken aback at the author’s assertions of ‘real’ witchcraft. The read is a little jarring for a sceptic like myself. Still, I held that it was more interesting to keep reading about this woman’s beliefs - how they intersect with absolutely real history and common modern practices in witch groups - than to close the pages with a scoff.
This is not a persuasive argument as to the existence of witches and magic: the author knows her own beliefs. This is a history of the world she has clearly immersed herself in - subject to the reader’s suspension of disbelief.
The graphics are enchanting; some are simpler, as though to reflect the Irish countryside where our story takes place, but the design flourishes are present in the female characters’ depictions. Clearly care has gone into the curation of this book’s overall design.
Though for the most part a cute read with a young adult tone, it is worth mentioning that Chapter 4 denotes historical witch trials across the Western world, rather explicitly describing and depicting executions in what is otherwise a kid-friendly book.
Overall, this is an interesting, quick read (with obvious darker undertones) for anyone at all curious about witch-y rituals; one I might decorate my coffee table with in October, an autumnal conversation starter, or use with older kids to introduce them to unconventional ideas about the existence of magic.
Paradise Rot by Jenny Hval
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
4.0
I'm confused, but I understood more than I thought I would.
This Summer Will Be Different by Carley Fortune
emotional
lighthearted
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Sometimes you just have to sit in your car in a summer storm with a punnet of strawberries and read a summer rom-com.
Owen and the Soldier by Lisa Thompson, Mike Lowery
emotional
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0