bookedbymadeline's reviews
883 reviews

Daughter of Ruins by Yvette Manessis Corporon
Did not finish book. Stopped at 21%.

Thank you to netgalley and Harper Muse for the eARC.

This was a DNF because I honestly just couldn’t care enough about the characters or story to finish. It’s supposed to be about 3 different women but we really only get Demetria POV for most of what I’ve read. The other two aren’t fleshed out/ one dimensional, and I wished we had gotten to know them better/see them more! By part 2 I still wasn’t engaged and kept putting it down to read other books so I ended up DNFing after not feeling excited to get back to it. I’m sure many others will enjoy it more than me! 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse and Sexual assault

Minor: Death of parent

Remember You Will Die by Eden Robins
Did not finish book. Stopped at 7%.

I love epistolary novels and this sounded really interesting and unique! Unfortunately the execution was lacking for me. Through the use of obituaries and dictionary entries, it feels mashed together rather than a cohesive story. From reading reviews I understand now that the AI is the narrator reading through these articles/stories but that’s not being made clear. There’s no break between these entries to allow us to make a connection or get to know the narrator (AI Peregrine). The detached storytelling style and lack of cohesion led me to feeling confused and bored so for that I DNFd the book-great idea, poor execution 

The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

I love the mixed media with the podcast and articles throughout the story! This was an excellent retelling of the horror classic “Carrie” in which our FMC Maddy has telekinetic powers that erupt after years of bullying and racial prejudice.

Jackson writes a moving account on issues like bullying and racism in this small town to the point where I felt enraged and sad on Maddy’s behalf. I loved the plot twists and thought it was well-paced! 

We get a few POVs from different characters, some of which were infuriating/annoying. Because of the number of POVs plus the podcast/newspaper articles and transcripts, we didn’t get to know Maddy as well as I would’ve liked!  

 I also wish we got more about Maddy’s background with her family because it’s alluded to at times but could’ve gone deeper. Lastly the romance felt very rushed and kind of out of the blue.

Overall this was a fantastic retelling and perfect YA horror/thriller for Halloween! Very much a “supporting women’s wrongs/female rage” book

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Racism, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Body horror, Death, and Police brutality

Minor: Racial slurs

The Summer Before by Dianne C. Braley
Did not finish book. Stopped at 5%.

The writing style isn’t working for me and my own tastes. The writing is choppy and repetitive, plus the dialogue feels unnatural/forced. There’s a lot of telling through the dialogue as opposed to showing. I really wanted to like this book and sounded up my alley but the writing style just isn’t for me

The Volcano Daughters by Gina María Balibrera

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.5

Slow start but by the third chapter I was more engaged! I loved the Spanish interspersed throughout the book. I also loved the atmospheric descriptions! The Volcano Daughters is a historical novel with magical realism throughout, as our ghost narrators take us through Graciela and Consuelo’s life and we learn about the folklore of El Salvador.

The book is narrated in third person POV by Lourdes, Cora, María, and Lucía recounting the tale for us. It’s split into 3 parts, from early 1900s to 1932, 1932-38 and then finally ending in 1942!

First half focuses on the sisters’ lives in El Salvador, specifically Izalco, leading up to the massacre and then the second half is the aftermath. Sometimes the four narrators interject, bickering and adding side commentary-it was entertaining and reminded me of the muses in Disney’s Hercules! 

I learned so much about El Salvadorian history in terms of colonization and exploitation in taking land away from the indigenous peoples; making them work on farms to mass produce coffee and indigo as part of a “settler system” common at the time! Also that they had large Black and indigenous populations, referred to as Indians or Indiadas, that the government committed mass genocide against in 1932.

It was interesting learning the history and has made me want to learn more about El Salvador. I also appreciated the infusion of mythology and folklore! There’s talk about spirits that taunt or prank people, and La Cigua who haunts men and grieves for her stolden children.

The characters are also well written and although their stories are dark and emotional at times, I enjoyed following their stories getting to know them! The chapters could be a little long for my personal preference but it was an interesting and beautifully told story, giving voice to the indigenous women of El Salvador ❤️

Thank you to netgalley and one world publications for the eARC!

TW/CW: colonialism, genocide, xenophobia, racism, miscarriage, death, rape, blood, violence, suicide (brief mention), emotional abuse, suicidal ideation, sexual harassment, police brutality, PTSD, still birth, war, pregnancy

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Genocide, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Murder, and Colonisation

Moderate: Miscarriage, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and War

Minor: Racial slurs and Suicide

The Black Tides of Heaven by Neon Yang
Did not finish book. Stopped at 13%.

I honestly could not get into this and forgot about it 💀

A Spartan's Sorrow by Hannah Lynn

dark emotional sad medium-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

3.0

The first chapter pulled me in!

I know a bit about the story because of Troy (the movie) but don’t know most of it. This is probably the darkest, most depressing myth retelling I’ve ever read and one of the few that has made me cry.

Slower paced compared to Lynn’s other books and my least favorite of hers so far.  I will say I did enjoy getting to know the characters and marked a lot of memorable passages! I also was glad to finally learn the rest of the story surrounding Clytemnestra and Orestes.

I didn’t love how much Clytemnestra talked down about other women, especially Helen, her own sister. She’s trapped in a marriage to a man she hates and has never loved and yet she seems to think she’s the only woman stuck in that situation?! 

Clytemnestra is very complex and often times unlikeable. I can sympathize with her for losing her daughter but that doesn’t give you free rein to be shitty about other women and act like you’re a goddamn martyr. Oh and the way she treats Electra, her youngest daughter? Listen she was annoying and arrogant but she’s a child and she can clearly tell that her mother has favorites and she’s not one of them-of course she’s going to act out and hate you?!

This was the most infuriating, pick me, internalized misogyny book that Lynn has written thus far in the series. The other 2 I’ve read do a great job of giving a voice to women but this one does so at the cost of tearing other women down the majority of part 1. Anyone saying there’s feminist undertones in this story has to be joking. The amount of times whore is used and Clytemnestra victim blames made me set the book aside for 3 days to calm down.

Lastly this is me being Nitpicky maybe but twice she mentions Penelope and her suitors when the suitors did not arrive to Ithaca yet! This book takes place mostly during the war in Troy, but the suitors don’t show up until after the war has ended and Odysseus is on his (long journey) home. Just made me irritated that such a glaring mistake was mentioned not once but twice. Also, Athens did not have an acropolis nor democracy at this time for another 500+ years?! Sooo many inaccuracies that are easy to research😭

Overall it’s not the worst myth retelling I’ve read but it was wildly disappointing compared to Lynn’s other novels and especially as a so-called “feminist retelling.” I’m hopeful other Clytemnestra retellings are better so far now I’d say it’s a skip and to research the myth/plays rather than read this retelling.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Blood, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and War

Minor: Incest and Rape

My Darlings by Marie Still

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Thank you to netgalley and Rising Action Publishing for the eARC of My Darlings by Marie Still!

Pulled in immediately and didn’t want to put it down! I finished My Darlings in just 2 days, I was gripped the entire time. I loved

the switching POVs and occasional timeline switches to slowly reveal the secrets/twists! I was also happy that the author included content warnings at the start of the book because this is very dark.

MC is unlikeable but sooo intriguing and complex. And really all the characters are unlikeable but they’re like “love to hate them” type characters-very dramatic, entertaining, and over the top rich people 😂 It’s described as desperate housewives meets Dexter and for once the comparison is spot on!!

I predicted a couple of twists early on but not all of them so I was pleasantly shocked! The ending was soo good 😨 I’d highly recommend My Darlings for anyone looking for a fast paced thriller with unlikeable characters and a serial killer POV! Definitely a favorite for September ❤️

TW/CW: murder, blood, violence, child abuse, alcoholism, body shaming, suicide, hazing, bullying, child death, infidelity, torture, domestic violence, emotional abuse, drugged without consent or knowledge, underage drinking, body horror, self harm

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Self harm, and Suicide

Minor: Pregnancy

The Eid Gift: An Adam and Zayneb Story by S.K. Ali
Did not finish book. Stopped at 24%.

Too much telling over showing. I adored Love from A to Z but honestly it should’ve been left alone because I just couldn’t care about them further the way they’re written now 

Love from Mecca to Medina by S.K. Ali
Did not finish book. Stopped at 3%.

I loved the first book, Love from A to Z but what in the heck is this…Was Ali’s writing style always this much telling over showing?! It got so annoying and cringey. They’re supposed to be 2 married adults but they sound like they’re still teenagers. I had second hand embarrassment from that cat POV like that was a choice 👀

Based on other reviews the fact that this hinges on miscommunication I’m just gonna hate read it so DNFing now