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bittennailbooks's reviews
269 reviews
Stag Dance: A Novel & Stories by Torrey Peters
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
5.0
A genre-bending novel tucked between gritty and visceral novellas that push the limits of literature.
The collection includes the speculative sci-fi "Infect Your Friends and Loved Ones", boarding school obsession in "The Chaser", and claustrophobic "The Masker", insulating the title story "Stag Dance" of an illegal logging outfit in the isolated mountainside.
Horrifying, atmospheric, and a triumph of storytelling, this is a must read for 2025.
The collection includes the speculative sci-fi "Infect Your Friends and Loved Ones", boarding school obsession in "The Chaser", and claustrophobic "The Masker", insulating the title story "Stag Dance" of an illegal logging outfit in the isolated mountainside.
Horrifying, atmospheric, and a triumph of storytelling, this is a must read for 2025.
Motheater by Linda H. Codega
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
Benny is a Black woman living in a small Appalachian mountain town, working to expose a crooked mining company after the death of her best friend. She comes across a barely breathing witch, Motheater, who is out of time from the 1880s, freed from inside a mountain during a mining expansion. 150 years later, they are bound by the same vow: to stop the deaths on the mountain.
A dark folk tale with a splash of fantasy elements, this story fails to deliver on its own message: anti-capitalist? Anti-progress? Or perhaps suggesting that progress is sometimes necessary at the expense of the environment? The sapphic elements would have been more enjoyable had they given both Motheater and Benny any real chemistry, rather than just a lot of internal pining. The queer and BIPOC elements, along with the impacts of living in a small, highly religious, and primarily white town, are mostly glossed over. It’s a hodgepodge of themes but never fully fleshed out enough for the reader to sink their teeth into.
This book was fine—it took some incredible folklore and delivered a novel that highlights an often overlooked demographic, leading to my own deep dives into Appalachian history. 3/5 stars.
A dark folk tale with a splash of fantasy elements, this story fails to deliver on its own message: anti-capitalist? Anti-progress? Or perhaps suggesting that progress is sometimes necessary at the expense of the environment? The sapphic elements would have been more enjoyable had they given both Motheater and Benny any real chemistry, rather than just a lot of internal pining. The queer and BIPOC elements, along with the impacts of living in a small, highly religious, and primarily white town, are mostly glossed over. It’s a hodgepodge of themes but never fully fleshed out enough for the reader to sink their teeth into.
This book was fine—it took some incredible folklore and delivered a novel that highlights an often overlooked demographic, leading to my own deep dives into Appalachian history. 3/5 stars.
Nicked by M.T. Anderson
Did not finish book. Stopped at 54%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 54%.
I think I would need to physically read this, I struggled to understand the audiobook narrator.
Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell
dark
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75