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august_ambrosia's reviews
50 reviews
The Binding by Bridget Collins
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
ooooh boy. first review of 2023! i loved this book and will talk about why i debated on whether to give 5 stars later on, but if you’re wondering whether to read it or not i highly recommend it! it took me about 5 hours to read in total and i don't regret a moment!
collins’ whimsical (but grounded when necessary) style of writing builds suspense and prompts you to ask questions while also not losing a wonderful storytelling vibe… great descriptions and well rounded characters galore! collins writes emotion perfectly, and when the characters feel shocked or frightened, you do too. oh, and joyful.
i’ve seen some comments saying they didn’t like it because it was “depressing” and i just thought that was a little… privileged? juvenile? that’s the point. a well written book makes you think, ask questions, and reflect on your own biases and privilege.
debated with giving this 5 stars and i may still change my mind on a future read, but for now it’s a 5 :) thought it had a slow(ish) start that ended up making sense and i don’t like ambiguous endings a huge amount, but that's a me problem.
(spoilers here) the worldbuilding around the concept of binding was wonderfully done, with the mystery surrounding it initially turning to wonder as we see seredith guard her secrets with her life, but also being able to see the prejudice and horror of losing memories later on. one of my favourite parts of it was when the first woman to be bound didn't even know who her father was, because the memories associated with him were too painful. that early glimpse into the power of a binding was so interesting and subtle, i only noticed on a second read. i also loved how a binding wouldn't let you hear anything about it afterwards! loved the double-edged sword nature of binding in general, how it could be used to regale people with stories you no longer need as you were close to dying anyway, or in the more horrifying and frankly, disgusting way that people in power had twisted it into forcing people to be bound to forget things like rapes so as to give individuals the power to push themselves on others multiple times. or the heartbreaking way emmett was bound to forget being gay… i have to admit i cried a little reading that. i am VERY glad there was a way to reverse binding; and the line “memories want to burn” gave me chills.
just as a last note: collins wrote the queer romance so beautifully. i had been silently rooting for emmett and lucian since their introduction and the little moments all meant so much to me. this book will forever have a treasured place in my heart purely because of them.
but yes, overall this book was a treasure and i'm so glad i picked it up :)
collins’ whimsical (but grounded when necessary) style of writing builds suspense and prompts you to ask questions while also not losing a wonderful storytelling vibe… great descriptions and well rounded characters galore! collins writes emotion perfectly, and when the characters feel shocked or frightened, you do too. oh, and joyful.
i’ve seen some comments saying they didn’t like it because it was “depressing” and i just thought that was a little… privileged? juvenile? that’s the point. a well written book makes you think, ask questions, and reflect on your own biases and privilege.
debated with giving this 5 stars and i may still change my mind on a future read, but for now it’s a 5 :) thought it had a slow(ish) start that ended up making sense and i don’t like ambiguous endings a huge amount, but that's a me problem.
(spoilers here)
just as a last note: collins wrote the queer romance so beautifully. i had been silently rooting for emmett and lucian since their introduction and the little moments all meant so much to me. this book will forever have a treasured place in my heart purely because of them.
but yes, overall this book was a treasure and i'm so glad i picked it up :)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Violence, Outing, Sexual content, Kidnapping, and Animal death
Moderate: Abandonment, Addiction, and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Vomit and Violence
The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
eeeh. 3.5/5
i loved this book, i thought it had a lovely premise, well rounded and beautiful characters (and poc!! amazing!! - saying this as a poc) but i did not like the writing style. the pacing felt off and deka's internal monologue was.. childish? that's not the perfect word, but it works. she is 16, close to 17 by the end, but it felt more like she was 13. the characters deal with such tragedy, and it is phrased and written in a way that is supposed to make you flinch and feel sick. but deka.. hm. im not sure. forna finds ways to skip time that feels clunky and a little confusing, with descriptions not being overly great either. the final battle felt.. rushed? i was a little confused as to how all the alaki just turned to deka pretty much immediately.
i doubt i'll read the merciless ones, but i don't know for sure. i am overjoyed that books that depict poc in such a beautiful light exist, but maybe this is just meant for a younger audience to me.
i loved this book, i thought it had a lovely premise, well rounded and beautiful characters (and poc!! amazing!! - saying this as a poc) but i did not like the writing style. the pacing felt off and deka's internal monologue was.. childish? that's not the perfect word, but it works. she is 16, close to 17 by the end, but it felt more like she was 13. the characters deal with such tragedy, and it is phrased and written in a way that is supposed to make you flinch and feel sick. but deka.. hm. im not sure. forna finds ways to skip time that feels clunky and a little confusing, with descriptions not being overly great either. the final battle felt.. rushed? i was a little confused as to how all the alaki just turned to deka pretty much immediately.
i doubt i'll read the merciless ones, but i don't know for sure. i am overjoyed that books that depict poc in such a beautiful light exist, but maybe this is just meant for a younger audience to me.
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
emotional
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
it grew on me.......... slow to start and also im always rubbish at books with lots of names in them but the writing felt a bit plain to me?? it didnt help that i had just finished reading an incredibly descriptive book + was simultaneously reading another. unsure if i recommend. some bits felt a bit uncomfortably misogynistic but it was. you know. fine. its a fine book. i almost dnfd before the first short story had finished because i just hated fumikos character LOL but i felt bad judging a translated book with english criteria. so i finished + wouldnt read again but its not long so i dont think it was a waste. it got better toward the end i think.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Car accident, Death, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Dementia, and Grief
The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave
5.0
i thought this book was wonderful! very vivid emotions and imagery, i could almost taste the ocean. overall i thought this was beautiful and would definitely recommend and read again!
Spoiler
the romance was not why i picked it up, but i loved the way it was handled! i have seen some people saying they didn't like it because the ending wasn't a happy one but i will have to disagree. as a queer reader, it was bitter but rang true. lgbt people in those times wouldn't have gotten a happy ending, and i think its important to awknowledge those stories.
Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr
5.0
easily 5/5!!
wow, this was long.. however, i am so grateful i read this. it's a beautiful book. the pacing is lovely and the characters are unique and diverse with flaws and strengths, making them feel unflinchingly human. it's a story about a story, following five characters through different periods of time as they interact with an ancient greek text called cloud cuckoo land by antonius diogenes. we are given small extracts of the text as we read through, and the content of it feels like a fairytale, certainly something you'd read to a child. however, that is what the characters do. it is loved by children, all throughout time, and it is read to them by adults who loved it as children once.
this is a book, ultimately about humanity, and the things people will do for love. i have an incredible soft spot for people recognising the beauty in the mundane, and this book ticked that box by the first page.
one thing i particularly loved about this was that everything seemed to have a reason behind it. nothing, even the particularly upsetting (spoilers ahead!) the scenes were all well placed and didn't feel like they were just placed for shock value.
HOWEVER!! and here are spoilers
this is my other gripe. why was it that only the autistic and the queer people didn't get romantic interests? omeir and anna found each other, and we are to assume that konstance also finds some sort of love, if not in a long-term partner, at least in her son. rex is killed off, admittedly to give zeno motivation to translate the text, but zeno doesn't find love AFTER rex either. he dies alone, and it wouldn't have taken much effort to just shift his story to include a husband. again, (albeit begrudgingly) willing to let this slide under the rug, but i just wanted to point it out. also, last thing, but hillary's presentation felt kiiiinda transmisogynistic to me. i won't say anything more because while i am queer, i haven't done enough research into the specific dogwhistles and stereotypes, but i hope this can prompt someone else to do so.
despite my somewhat negative points in the spoiler, i did enjoy this book a lot. it felt very storytale-esque and i will be reading again. :)
wow, this was long.. however, i am so grateful i read this. it's a beautiful book. the pacing is lovely and the characters are unique and diverse with flaws and strengths, making them feel unflinchingly human. it's a story about a story, following five characters through different periods of time as they interact with an ancient greek text called cloud cuckoo land by antonius diogenes. we are given small extracts of the text as we read through, and the content of it feels like a fairytale, certainly something you'd read to a child. however, that is what the characters do. it is loved by children, all throughout time, and it is read to them by adults who loved it as children once.
this is a book, ultimately about humanity, and the things people will do for love. i have an incredible soft spot for people recognising the beauty in the mundane, and this book ticked that box by the first page.
one thing i particularly loved about this was that everything seemed to have a reason behind it. nothing, even the particularly upsetting (spoilers ahead!)
Spoiler
like the deaths of the crew of the argos, and zeno's, maria's and rex's.HOWEVER!! and here are spoilers
Spoiler
i did not appreciate the way doerr vilified seymour, someone clearly (at least to me) written to be autistic. i appreciate the redemption he got, but it seemed a little off as i was reading. i am willing to sweep it under the rug because autism can make people more susceptible to being pulled into cults because of the desire to fit in and having a strong sense of justice that can be manipulated, and it would be worse to treat seymour like a child. he knew what he was doing, and the way he was sucked into bishop's cause was very believable.this is my other gripe. why was it that only the autistic and the queer people didn't get romantic interests? omeir and anna found each other, and we are to assume that konstance also finds some sort of love, if not in a long-term partner, at least in her son. rex is killed off, admittedly to give zeno motivation to translate the text, but zeno doesn't find love AFTER rex either. he dies alone, and it wouldn't have taken much effort to just shift his story to include a husband. again, (albeit begrudgingly) willing to let this slide under the rug, but i just wanted to point it out. also, last thing, but hillary's presentation felt kiiiinda transmisogynistic to me. i won't say anything more because while i am queer, i haven't done enough research into the specific dogwhistles and stereotypes, but i hope this can prompt someone else to do so.
despite my somewhat negative points in the spoiler, i did enjoy this book a lot. it felt very storytale-esque and i will be reading again. :)
Sixteen Souls by Rosie Talbot
5.0
HELLL YEAHHH THIS WAS A GOOD FREAKIN BOOK!!!! hooked from the start - the worldbuilding was lovely and thought out and i only have two tiiiny criticisms that arent really criticisms more just observations that i think could do with some work.
ok. lets start from the beginning. DISABLED PROTAG!!!! QUEER DISABLED PROTAG!!!! and what a lovely lad he is :) i thoroughly enjoyed his dynamic with his disability and his family and his queerness!!! thank goodness FINALLY a queer character whose internal conflict isnt about his queerness!!! even mitch who was sort of ambiguous didnt seem to be conflicted or anguished over finding his specific label AND AWWW SAM!!! LOVELY SAMUEL <3333 ADORED!!!
ok thats my superficial gushing over. i gave the five stars because this book was just plain good. the worldbuilding was great, the mystery kept you hooked and the plot twists fully made sense and felt grounded and sensible even though theyre just!! about ghosts!!! i loved the way that ghosts could touch seers and not regular folk. that really was a lovely detail and made a lot of sense AND helped the story along in a very clever way. AND the whole revelation about how seers are made!!!! a life for a life!!!! a love for a love!!!! how BEAUTIFUL.
tiny gripes: i thought generally the horror of deathloops was dealt with very well, i particularly enjoyed how the seer would be trapped in it with the individual if they didnt know how to get out by physically dying the same death. that was very good. i liked that a LOT. however, i thought the general ideas of grief were not dealt with nearly with enough gravity as i would have liked. charlie seems horrified and traumatised by the deathloop and rightfully so!! his trauma blocking fully makes sense. i get that. i thought that sam didnt have the same weight to his grief about luci or his dad. in any other story i would criticise the sudden murder of mr harrow but in this one it made sense. i also liked how caleb gates wasnt (as far as i recall) referred to with "insane" terms, even though to all rights he was definitely not thinking straight. thank you very much miss talbot for not being ableist <3 that paragraph was more praise than gripe but its ok
second thing: i thought this was sort of funny actually. it felt like talbot skipped over some scenes that would have required a bit too much action or emotional outpouring (eg the scene where charlie gets in a car to escape crew-cut and the scene where heather tells him how he became a seer. and the end scene where charlie and sam are crushed by the harrow's house instead of us seeing how gates is defeated. i guess you assume hes also crushed but i thought that was a convenient part to leave out) also i could be entirely wrong about those spots because that could easily be just the way the story goes. but at those spots (i dont think there was any others) i could tell this was a debut novel, but because i am somewhat of a writer myself it just made me smile because i would do the exact same thing. hehe.
and now to cancel out the negativity i will say my favourite parts: sam being trans, the reveal about rawley. villiers !!!!!!!, AUDREY/RACHEL!!!!, sam just in general, charlie just in general, charlies getaway scene from the part where his sister asks if hes killed anyone to where he gets out of the nice lady's car, CHARLIES LITTLE SISTERS <3333 absolutely adored every moment they were on the page i need a whole sequel just for them tbh.., the LOVELY scene at the end where charlie is thanked by all the ghosts and has to try not to cry (OK ACTUALLY I WAS SO SAD ABOUT THE TEENAGERS IN RIPPED JEANSSSS PART IN THIS AAAA POOR THINGS!!!!), the river scene!!!! theres so many ghosts!!!!!!, the second scene with ophelia, the first kiss!!!!, the second kiss!!!!!, the last kiss!!!!!!, LEONIE!!!!! i also need a spinoff starring her thank you very much, MITCH!!!! i absolutely NEED the scene where he beats up charlies bully it is vital to my wellbeing THANK YOU
i realise i have basically just said everything that happens. well. that is true also. this review got long. READ THIS BOOK!!! i will be recommending and buying a copy myself to annotate all over <3 peace and love
ok. lets start from the beginning. DISABLED PROTAG!!!! QUEER DISABLED PROTAG!!!! and what a lovely lad he is :) i thoroughly enjoyed his dynamic with his disability and his family and his queerness!!! thank goodness FINALLY a queer character whose internal conflict isnt about his queerness!!! even mitch who was sort of ambiguous didnt seem to be conflicted or anguished over finding his specific label AND AWWW SAM!!! LOVELY SAMUEL <3333 ADORED!!!
ok thats my superficial gushing over. i gave the five stars because this book was just plain good. the worldbuilding was great, the mystery kept you hooked and the plot twists fully made sense and felt grounded and sensible even though theyre just!! about ghosts!!! i loved the way that ghosts could touch seers and not regular folk. that really was a lovely detail and made a lot of sense AND helped the story along in a very clever way. AND the whole revelation about how seers are made!!!! a life for a life!!!! a love for a love!!!! how BEAUTIFUL.
tiny gripes: i thought generally the horror of deathloops was dealt with very well, i particularly enjoyed how the seer would be trapped in it with the individual if they didnt know how to get out by physically dying the same death. that was very good. i liked that a LOT. however, i thought the general ideas of grief were not dealt with nearly with enough gravity as i would have liked. charlie seems horrified and traumatised by the deathloop and rightfully so!! his trauma blocking fully makes sense. i get that. i thought that sam didnt have the same weight to his grief about luci or his dad. in any other story i would criticise the sudden murder of mr harrow but in this one it made sense. i also liked how caleb gates wasnt (as far as i recall) referred to with "insane" terms, even though to all rights he was definitely not thinking straight. thank you very much miss talbot for not being ableist <3 that paragraph was more praise than gripe but its ok
second thing: i thought this was sort of funny actually. it felt like talbot skipped over some scenes that would have required a bit too much action or emotional outpouring (eg the scene where charlie gets in a car to escape crew-cut and the scene where heather tells him how he became a seer. and the end scene where charlie and sam are crushed by the harrow's house instead of us seeing how gates is defeated. i guess you assume hes also crushed but i thought that was a convenient part to leave out) also i could be entirely wrong about those spots because that could easily be just the way the story goes. but at those spots (i dont think there was any others) i could tell this was a debut novel, but because i am somewhat of a writer myself it just made me smile because i would do the exact same thing. hehe.
and now to cancel out the negativity i will say my favourite parts: sam being trans, the reveal about rawley. villiers !!!!!!!, AUDREY/RACHEL!!!!, sam just in general, charlie just in general, charlies getaway scene from the part where his sister asks if hes killed anyone to where he gets out of the nice lady's car, CHARLIES LITTLE SISTERS <3333 absolutely adored every moment they were on the page i need a whole sequel just for them tbh.., the LOVELY scene at the end where charlie is thanked by all the ghosts and has to try not to cry (OK ACTUALLY I WAS SO SAD ABOUT THE TEENAGERS IN RIPPED JEANSSSS PART IN THIS AAAA POOR THINGS!!!!), the river scene!!!! theres so many ghosts!!!!!!, the second scene with ophelia, the first kiss!!!!, the second kiss!!!!!, the last kiss!!!!!!, LEONIE!!!!! i also need a spinoff starring her thank you very much, MITCH!!!! i absolutely NEED the scene where he beats up charlies bully it is vital to my wellbeing THANK YOU
i realise i have basically just said everything that happens. well. that is true also. this review got long. READ THIS BOOK!!! i will be recommending and buying a copy myself to annotate all over <3 peace and love
The Yellow Wall-Paper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
5.0
how fun!! what an interesting exploration of psychosis and post-partum depression; i read this on the website owleyes.org and thought the accompanying annotations were very well written :) quite lovely! it feels like something you could conjure up on a stifling hot summers day in an english classroom, very good imagery and such! one of those stories that will sit with you forever
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
5.0
fucking fabulous. i wept, i laughed, i gasped. queer love just hits different in such an amazing and beautiful way. i'm so glad i read this. easy 5 stars, would read again.
evelyn is multifaceted and unlikeable in a likable way. she's painfully human, in a terrible wonderful way. taylor jenkins reid truly has SUCH a tight grip on the narrative and the narrative voice its truly spectacular. the distinctions made between all types of complicated love - familial, platonic, forbidden, romantic and sexual - and sex, and sexuality were all so beautifully written + CLEVER. just clever. the awknowledgements made me cry, the descriptions of love made me cry, celia and evelyn's marriage made me cry, and i'm so glad i read this. this is one of those books you want to read over and over, and highlight every other page to death. amazing, no notes
evelyn is multifaceted and unlikeable in a likable way. she's painfully human, in a terrible wonderful way. taylor jenkins reid truly has SUCH a tight grip on the narrative and the narrative voice its truly spectacular. the distinctions made between all types of complicated love - familial, platonic, forbidden, romantic and sexual - and sex, and sexuality were all so beautifully written + CLEVER. just clever. the awknowledgements made me cry, the descriptions of love made me cry, celia and evelyn's marriage made me cry, and i'm so glad i read this. this is one of those books you want to read over and over, and highlight every other page to death. amazing, no notes
When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill
2.0
hm. well. pros: i liked the writing style and i read this in a day. cons: kiiinda TERFish. there was something about how boys can dragon but it felt a little ohhh white women (housewives) stuck in a tower (50s america) that didnt touch on race. at ALL. uh. yay lesbians. liked the bits that described experiences (the dragoning at prom was. fun!) but wasnt tooooo keen on how very very Bland it all felt otherwise. what Happened. its good. not that good. probably shouldve been a short story. and alex coulda been a woc. or sonja couldve been a woc. or camilla. 50s america felt like an odd choice for timing, but i guess it helped barnhill because she didnt need to do any extra work. theyre christian, dont ever say the words lesbian or gay or queer, and all white. all of them. obviously.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
4.0
this was fun!!! the characters were so realistic it felt like they could walk off the page. sure, they weren't always likeable, and some of their misunderstandings made me want to yell, but that was just because of how painfully Human they all are. its nuanced, and clever. a bit confusing at times because of the time shifts and pov changes, but i liked how zevin handled queerness and misogyny and abuse and grief and trauma and racism. i didn't cry, though i get how people could have. would probably read again :)