blackcatkai's reviews
1012 reviews

Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth

challenging dark hopeful medium-paced

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

5.0

CW: child abuse (physical, emotional) & neglect, child death, drug abuse & overdosing depicted, gaslighting, mentions of sexual assault

this book stressed me out

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

adventurous challenging emotional funny medium-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? Yes

5.0

CW: talks about the potential end of the world, casual ableism, government kidnapping & isolating individuals, death. mentions of drugs, guns, suicide, & potential war/famine, grief

this is one of the best books I've ever read and is, personally, 10x better than the Martian. I loved it so so much, im just sobbing over that ending.

The Knight and the Butcherbird by Alix E. Harrow

dark hopeful medium-paced

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

5.0

CW: death, some body horror, religious zealotry, classism, grief

I adored this. the writing is like a fairy tale & the story is heartbreaking and hopeful. love the descriptions & the two main characters.

Mal Goes to War by Edward Ashton

adventurous funny medium-paced

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

4.0

His Black Tongue by Mitchell Lüthi

3.0

The Last One by Rachel Howzell Hall

adventurous 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? Yes

2.5

ultimately the writing style just didn't work for me. there were moments I enjoyed, kai is overall a wonderful character, but too many things felt repetitive or went back and forth leaving me confused and unsatisfied. characters made decisions or had ideas that felt out of nowhere and there were a couple too many info dump moments. I think amnesia stories might just not be for me, though I may need to try a few more to know for sure.

the action scenes were fun, some of the banter was delightful, I can see someone liking this more than me. I AM here for more fantasy stories from Hall, love her thrillers, but I won't be picking up the sequel for this specific one.

Jack & Jill by Kealan Patrick Burke

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

CW: mentions of infidelity & child sexual assault (not graphic or on page depictions but is talked about), death (child and adult though only adult is on-page), murder, depictions of PTSD & hallucinations, violence, blood, one instance of the R-slur

Unfamiliar by Haley Newsome

hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

this is so cute, my heart!

The Wood at Midwinter by Susanna Clarke

fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

3.0

a cute short story with stunning illustrations. Clarke initially read this story for a radio broadcast and the afterword is interesting for the context/inspiration. a tiny too vague for my liking, but its overall magical and I adore Clarke's writing style.

Cat + Gamer, Volume 7 by Wataru Nadatani

funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

5.0

this is way too cute a series, i adore it so so much!