blackcatkai's reviews
1007 reviews

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

reread 2024: upping this to 5 stars, it was amazing on so many levels. I think I liked it more now than initially, obviously, but I'm not sure why? either way, I'm finally going onto the 2nd book and I can't wait to have my heart ripped out again & my bones turned to dust. LFG!

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original review: that was quite the ending.

if you like your scifi relatively light but love you some necromancy, magic, & weirdness? Then you should probably give this a try.

Breaking The Habit by Yolanda Sfetsos

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes

4.0

CW: violence, gaslighting, abuse, blood, death, gun use

heartbreaking & tense af. I loved this.

What the Dead Know by Nghi Vo

4.5

cw: death, murder, some light body horror & gore

oh I LOVED this so so much.

Out of the Mirror, Darkness by Garth Nix

3.0

cw: medical content, animal death, drug & alcohol use, some violence

first garth nix, wont be the last. like his writing style, overall liked the story, though I did get a smidge confused in some parts.

The Candles Are Burning by Veronica G. Henry

emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

cw: death

i loved the majority of this story, but the ending didn't quite work for me. big fan of watching a character learn new things about themselves, though this was in quite the sad way. will absolutely read more from this author in the future!

The Six Deaths of the Saint by Alix E. Harrow

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

2.0

cw: war, death, violence, murder

this is so repetitive. I like the writing style and i get why it's repetitive, but omg did it feel like grinding through a roguelike game you're not enjoying. cool concept, but not for me. also comes with a type of paradox I REALLY don't like. the which came first thing always bugs me, not the authors fault!

Persephone by Lev Grossman

2.0

Black River Orchard by Chuck Wendig

dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

5.0

cw: body horror, gore, gun violence, medical content, mentions of war, infidelity, homophobia, & transphobia. blood, death of animals & people, kidnapping, some light sexual content. casual ableism, murder, gaslighting, toxic relationships.

this slow burn horror novel with a cult lean is, I swear, one of the best things I've ever read. my first Chuck Wendig novel, but certainly not my last. his way with descriptions were gorgeous as well as disturbing af. I was unsettled, upset, & cheering for the hero group. we've got characters across a multitude of gender, sexuality, race, age, & class. everyone felt fleshed out, real, & I felt all sorts of emotions for all of them.

an absolute delight of an experience, highly recommend!!

if you have the chance to listen to the audiobook, you won't be disappointed. we've got multiple voice actors narrating and they do a phenomenal job brining this story to life!

Mr. Villain's Day Off, Vol. 5 by Yuu Morikawa

funny lighthearted fast-paced

4.0

Chaos and Ash by Carrie Pulkinen

adventurous funny fast-paced

4.0

cw: casual ableism, one moment of a transphobic/exclusionary joke, blood, death, fire