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714 reviews
Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng: A Novel by Kylie Lee Baker
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-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
Thanks to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of the audiobook in exchange for my honest review.
Mark me down as a forever fan of Kyle Lee Baker.
I approached this book with extreme trepidation and left crowing. This book is rife with trigger warnings: death, animal cruelty, COVID-19, nationalism, racism, sexism, ableism, hallucination, body horror, gore, and more. Each and every trigger was skillfully wielded by Lee Baker in this gripping story about the tension of being bicultural, the violence of white supremacy, and the grief of loss. The sensitivity that the author approached the violence towards Asian, specifically Chinese, women during this time through her book was remarkable and allows this book to be as successful as it is. I think authors who did not experience this pain so acutely or share these identities would not be able to pull off this book.
Cora Zeng was a remarkable main character and her growth throughout the novel was astounding. She's neurodivergent (diagnosis never given, but extreme interventions were taken) and the role of her unstable brain only heightens the tension of the story without demeaning Zeng. As a neurospicy individual myself, I appreciated this. Cora is also courageous, which made me root for her from page one.
The folklore and stories shared about Chinese death beliefs and practices were completely new to me. Lee Baker did a fantastic job explaining it and it made for a fantastic foundation for the story. I was completely bought into the premise, though I was never scared. Other reviewers found themselves much more frightened than I ever was. I was certainly swept along by the pace and the thrill of the unknown, but I was not afraid.
In the author's note, Lee Baker talks about how in dedicating this book to everyone we lost in the pandemic, as well as to "all that we lost, including the parts of ourselves." And wow, I needed to hear that. 5 years and 3 days since the first lockdown started and I am just beginning to realize that yes, something did change and die in me, even though I did not. I thought that the grief of the pandemic, and reliving it through this book would overwhelm me. This was not the case at all. Instead, I felt strangely comforted as I confronted my second plague book since living through one.
Mark me down as a forever fan of Kyle Lee Baker.
I approached this book with extreme trepidation and left crowing. This book is rife with trigger warnings: death, animal cruelty, COVID-19, nationalism, racism, sexism, ableism, hallucination, body horror, gore, and more. Each and every trigger was skillfully wielded by Lee Baker in this gripping story about the tension of being bicultural, the violence of white supremacy, and the grief of loss. The sensitivity that the author approached the violence towards Asian, specifically Chinese, women during this time through her book was remarkable and allows this book to be as successful as it is. I think authors who did not experience this pain so acutely or share these identities would not be able to pull off this book.
Cora Zeng was a remarkable main character and her growth throughout the novel was astounding. She's neurodivergent (diagnosis never given, but extreme interventions were taken) and the role of her unstable brain only heightens the tension of the story without demeaning Zeng. As a neurospicy individual myself, I appreciated this. Cora is also courageous, which made me root for her from page one.
The folklore and stories shared about Chinese death beliefs and practices were completely new to me. Lee Baker did a fantastic job explaining it and it made for a fantastic foundation for the story. I was completely bought into the premise, though I was never scared. Other reviewers found themselves much more frightened than I ever was. I was certainly swept along by the pace and the thrill of the unknown, but I was not afraid.
In the author's note, Lee Baker talks about how in dedicating this book to everyone we lost in the pandemic, as well as to "all that we lost, including the parts of ourselves." And wow, I needed to hear that. 5 years and 3 days since the first lockdown started and I am just beginning to realize that yes, something did change and die in me, even though I did not. I thought that the grief of the pandemic, and reliving it through this book would overwhelm me. This was not the case at all. Instead, I felt strangely comforted as I confronted my second plague book since living through one.
I Am Made of Death by Kelly Andrew
3.0
I struggled HARD with this book. I thought the horror elements were really intriguing and enjoyed the take on exorcism. However, I felt emotionally distant from the horror, as in I wasn't scared. Shouldn't I be scared? Shouldn't I feel haunted? Instead, my enjoyment came from a literary analysis standpoint and that was a bummer.
The romance was also a bit difficult for me to buy into.
A lot of my experience may have been due to the other books I was reading, but still - a good book should be able to hold itself up.
Thank to NetGalley for the free eARC in exchange for my review!
The romance was also a bit difficult for me to buy into.
A lot of my experience may have been due to the other books I was reading, but still - a good book should be able to hold itself up.
Thank to NetGalley for the free eARC in exchange for my review!
Deep End by Ali Hazelwood
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
5.0
The Sirens by Emilia Hart
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Thank you to Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Once again, I am the target audience for Emilia Hart's beautiful stories!!!
"The Sirens" is another masterfully woven intergenerational tale of longing, freedom, fear, and magic. One timeline is in the early 1800s and the early colonization of what will be known as Australia and two Irish women sent there for crimes against the crown. The other is modern-day New South Wales, where a uni student wakes up after choking a boy while sleepwalking. Tell me how you could ignore this plot- I'll wait. Hart's use of dreams to move us between the two timelines furthered the sense of magic within the story and helped tie them together.
Adoption and family can be difficult waters to navigate and I thought Hart did so with care and tenderness. I come from a family shaped by adoption and my hackles immediately rose when it came up in the book. To my surprise, but maybe I shouldn't have been, Hart dealt with this very well, reinforcing that biology does not make one family. Do I condone how some chose to handle the knowledge of adoption in this tale? Absolutely, not and the tensions portrayed between the adoptive parents and the child were well warranted in my opinion.
All in all, another wonderful book from Hart. I only wish she had used the relationship between the sisters in the 1800s to share more about the Irish lore surrounding sirens. She could have used the time about the Nyad to share folktales about sirens and other mythical water creatures to further up the magical elements within this story.
Once again, I am the target audience for Emilia Hart's beautiful stories!!!
"The Sirens" is another masterfully woven intergenerational tale of longing, freedom, fear, and magic. One timeline is in the early 1800s and the early colonization of what will be known as Australia and two Irish women sent there for crimes against the crown. The other is modern-day New South Wales, where a uni student wakes up after choking a boy while sleepwalking. Tell me how you could ignore this plot- I'll wait. Hart's use of dreams to move us between the two timelines furthered the sense of magic within the story and helped tie them together.
Adoption and family can be difficult waters to navigate and I thought Hart did so with care and tenderness. I come from a family shaped by adoption and my hackles immediately rose when it came up in the book. To my surprise, but maybe I shouldn't have been, Hart dealt with this very well, reinforcing that biology does not make one family. Do I condone how some chose to handle the knowledge of adoption in this tale? Absolutely, not and the tensions portrayed between the adoptive parents and the child were well warranted in my opinion.
All in all, another wonderful book from Hart. I only wish she had used the relationship between the sisters in the 1800s to share more about the Irish lore surrounding sirens. She could have used the time about the Nyad to share folktales about sirens and other mythical water creatures to further up the magical elements within this story.
The Other March Sisters by Ally Malinenko, Linda Epstein, Liz Parker
hopeful
fast-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
4.0
It’s no small task to tackle “Little Women” by Louisa May Alcott right as it enters the public domain. “The Other March Sisters” takes a much-beloved novel and protagonist and expands this universe with reality, where reality may be very unwelcome. I struggled with the first big of this book and then grew to appreciate it more as I settled in. I particularly enjoyed the expansion of Meg’s story as I always found her marriage to John Brooke immensely dissatisfying.
I wish the authors’ note was at the beginning instead of the incendiary “dear reader” note. That sets the tone for the book better and provides the reader with context about how much care the authors put into this writing.
Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
I wish the authors’ note was at the beginning instead of the incendiary “dear reader” note. That sets the tone for the book better and provides the reader with context about how much care the authors put into this writing.
Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo
adventurous
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
Butcher & Blackbird by Brynne Weaver
dark
emotional
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Torture, Blood, Vomit, Cannibalism, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail