bestbedhead's reviews
129 reviews

The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

I feel a little dissatisfied after reading the Bone Houses. The concept itself is really interesting however as I read through the story I never really got what I was looking for. I wanted the characters to have more depth. I followed Ryn and Ellis on a whole journey and at the end I still didn't feel like I really knew them. I never truly connected to them in a way that gave their journey any sort of emotional stakes. 

I love a good fantasy about the otherkind or fae, but you didn't really get a lot of that either. What you know of the magic and the Otherking is only told through old stories and dashes of world building. I suppose I was left expecting there to be a lot more to the magic that afflicted Ryn's home and felt a bit disappointed when it remained so surface level throughout the book. I appreciated the ending though I think my gripes about the shallow characters made it less emotional and poignant as I would have liked. 

Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand

adventurous dark emotional 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? No

4.0

House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland

dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

What a dark and delightfully wild ride this was. I have to say from the jump I was pulled in by Krystal Sutherland's beautifully descriptive writing and the fantastically eerie tone of this book. The story of the Hollow sisters gripped me, twisted my heart around in my chest, and spat me out at the end feeling thoroughly run through. I found myself wishing it had been longer if only to stay caught up in the mystery of these sisters longer. It was tense, dark, and the secrets you uncover along the way left me in a moral quandary. I loved the characters, the dialogue, and the way Sutherland writes that made this world feel so vivid and tangible. 

There's not a lot to say about this book that wouldn't start to reveal the plot and I think that is better left unsaid. The spooky, mysterious vibes were immaculate and Iris Hollow is truly a ya protagonist that I could connect to despite the otherworldly oddity that is her life. 

The Whisper Man by Alex North

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I rarely read crime/thrillers but when the mood strikes I do love to find good mystery. I really enjoyed The Whisper Man. It wasn't as dramatic as some thrillers tend to be and I think the quiet normal-ness of the town and the lives of the characters who are dragged into the darkness makes it all the more eerie. It was easy to picture a man like Tom, or a quiet sensitive boy like Jake. I also enjoyed the inter-linking generational story that this turned out to be. It added layers that I wasn't expecting to the story and wove the lives of these three men together in an interesting way. 

I really enjoyed the author's narrative voice as well, it made for an easy read and I would like to read from Alex North again. 

Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells

adventurous funny tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

It's a murder mystery for Murderbot this time. I had a lot of fun in this wild romp around Preservation Station with my favorite construct. Like a lot of the Murderbot Diaries I'm always sad when they end, my time with the snarky Sec Unit always feeling too short. Still, it's enjoyable to watch his evolution. Each story reveals him becoming somewhat more confident in his existence and his place in the world. 

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

adventurous emotional funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This is my kind of sci-fi story. As someone who loves sci-fi I always love when humanity is not alone nor is it even the most developed or powerful species. The alien species included in this first Wayfarer book was the first thing that got me truly excited as I started to read and that excitement never waned. I'm a sucker for a found family type story as well and this one well and truly delivers on the trope. What I appreciated most was the loving characterization of each member of the crew. They are real and grounded, each with their own unique perspective and Chambers gives each of them their own story. No one fades into the background as an after thought and I loved that so immensely. I adore this world she has built and all the aliens that inhabit it. I found myself more than intrigued with the roles of society and cultural customs weaved into the intergalactic fabric of the story. 

Chamber's writing was easy and fun and her character dialogue was fresh and natural. I found myself really engaging and connecting to her characters and I think it is large in part because of how like me they felt, despite most of them not even being human. 

The Crown of Gilded Bones by Jennifer L. Armentrout

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

If you liked the first two Blood and Ash books then like me you'll probably have just as much fun reading this one. It is a dramatic rollercoaster of a book from the very start and that is a feeling that doesn't let up throughout the story. The third book starts to unravel the mystery of who Poppy is, what she is, and what there is to come. There's a large amount of world building in this book which I know a lot of people tend to complain about in fantasy but I was really intrigued. The tension and the adventure in this installment is faster paced I found than the first two but it still has that trademark romantic indulgence. 

All in all solid next book in the series and just like the other endings The Crown of Gilded Bones will make you wish you didn't have to wait. 

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

This book is a quiet thing. Klara is an Artificial Friend through which this story is told. Like all AFs her beginning is at a store where her life begins with the hope of being chosen by a child. Klara is unique in that her observational skills and her insights go far beyond those of the AFs around her. I found myself for a lot of the story wondering what it was I was to glean from Klara's perspective. Perhaps she is just a vehicle that Ishiguro has chosen to examine human nature or the human condition. Klara's story is thoughtful and introspective mostly. Despite being a sophisticated robot she has thoughts and beliefs which grounded her. 

I would say that I would have appreciated a touch more world building in the story. So much of this futuristic setting was left vague which worked in some instances and left me a little frustrated. The world seemed a lot bigger and more involved than what was depicted in Klara's narrow scope and I wish a little more of it had bled into the plot. Over all this was a nice, albeit slow, read that left me with a twinge of sadness in its conclusion.

A Complicated Love Story Set in Space by Shaun David Hutchinson

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

3.5

Like the title, I have complicated feelings about this space love story. There were parts of this book I really loved and parts that fell a bit flat. I would say that this book reads as a YA contemporary set in the back drop of space rather than a YA Sci-Fi. The large portion of the plot centers on the characters, their past traumas, self discovery, and interpersonal relationships. Not that these are bad things though the focus of the book is squarely on the characters and less about the looming space mystery that Jenny, Noa, and DJ have found themselves in. 

I found myself enjoying the characters and the careful examination of accepting one's past and how Noa especially allowed himself to move on. I found myself often wishing the story would lean a bit harder into the sci-fi- elements of the plot. Some of the story events felt random or not fully explained as they were just vehicles to bring Noa and DJ together. However, once I got to the twist things got infinitely more interesting. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Sexual assault

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious slow-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? It's complicated

5.0

The Starless Sea is a book that feels like a love letter to readers. It is a tapestry of stories woven into the fabric of time and space that leads you on a journey like no other. This may be one of my new favorite books of all time. It is beautiful and poetic and chock full of metaphor. The Starless Sea asks you to be patient. It asks you to read each piece of endless stories to find their clues, their secrets, and their mysteries.  

Zachary took me over heart and soul from the first start of this book and I found myself in love with him and his story so completely. I don't know how to describe my thoughts and feelings other than to say that reading this book was a beautiful experience. Zachary is a gem of a hero and the characters who come into this life are all so fascinating. I didn't know where the story was leading me but I couldn't help but to be enchanted by its strangeness and found that I didn't need to know the ending. Stories end so new ones can begin.