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bravokidroxy's reviews
59 reviews
The World of Sugar: How the Sweet Stuff Transformed Our Politics, Health, and Environment Over 2,000 Years by Ulbe Bosma
challenging
informative
slow-paced
3.0
It was a book. Actually it was a doctoral research thesis. And I wanted it to be …idk more than that. It was informative and important but the delivery was dry and despite there being multiple instances of “we met this guy in chapter 3” call backs, I couldn’t meet anyone’s name or why they were a part of the story I was being told.
Big jist is colonialism is actively ruining our lives.
Big jist is colonialism is actively ruining our lives.
Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology by Shane Hawk, Theodore C. Van Alst Jr.
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-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
4.0
After I finished this book I sat and stared out the back window into the darkness of stolen land with a fence around it I like to call mine, with two sentient four legged creatures I like to call my dogs running around saying hello to all the creatures I can never see that are always there. The tension in my chest never dissipated and then I got the best sleep I’ve had this year.
Thank you. I needed that.
Thank you. I needed that.
Hatchet Island by Paul Doiron
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Hatchet Island by Paul Doiorn
3/5 checked out returned audiobook to local library.
To be enterily clear, this is book 13 in the series starring Maine Game Warden Investigator Mike Bowditch. I have not read any of the other ones. And I probably won’t.
I picked it up because it was available now as an audio book and Gary Paulsen’s Hatchet is one of my faves.
The murder was fine. The world building was good. There was an attempt at addressing the overwhelming whiteness of Maine and murder mystery genre in general that felt badly heavy handed. The worst thing was that the title island literally does not become actually useful to the plot until like 62%. We are on so many different islands off the coast of Maine, Hatchet just ain’t one of them. Seriously why.
3/5 checked out returned audiobook to local library.
To be enterily clear, this is book 13 in the series starring Maine Game Warden Investigator Mike Bowditch. I have not read any of the other ones. And I probably won’t.
I picked it up because it was available now as an audio book and Gary Paulsen’s Hatchet is one of my faves.
The murder was fine. The world building was good. There was an attempt at addressing the overwhelming whiteness of Maine and murder mystery genre in general that felt badly heavy handed. The worst thing was that the title island literally does not become actually useful to the plot until like 62%. We are on so many different islands off the coast of Maine, Hatchet just ain’t one of them. Seriously why.
Thunder in the Sky by William Sarabande
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Thunder in the Sky by Williams Sarabande
1/5 not sure what’s going to happen to this copy yet but it’s not staying in my house.
I tried to DNF this book, I started reading it on Dec 1 while I was getting my newest tattoo done and the whole session I hated the main character and didn’t think the story was going any where and so I was going to DNF when I got home.
I stopped reading the book for two weeks but I kept thinking about Bold Man and how he deserved every bad thing that hadn’t happened yet. So I found myself picking Thunder In the Sky back up.
But it wasn’t fun to read.
- Every character has at least two names so it was hard to keep straight who was doing what
- out of three POV characters only one felt like he was doing anything worth watching
- there is so much misogyny
- I once spent an entire lunch break reading 1 page of their book and then getting lost in a Wiki rabbit hole about ancient camelids, which fun fact, originated in what is now known as North America, and is a common ancestor for what we call camels, llamas, alpacas, and vicuñas.
- So. Much. Misogyny.
- I have been spoiled by Jean Auel’s Earth’s Children series that is so well researched and uses extant anthropological evidence as basis for her stories, this just feels like glorifying violence and extrapolating savage myths about natives.
- In the authors note at the end the author basically says that because we discovered sewing needles and hair pins and burial traditions of ancient humans in North America, he is allowed to extrapolate what ever visions of culture he has and you can fight him about it be writing his publisher a letter.
Not a fan. No one else should read this book.
Oh! And keeping with the theme, this is book 6 of a series, I started here because NOWHERE on the cover does it say that. And apparently this year I don’t care and will read whatever, whenever lol.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, Slavery, and Cannibalism
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and War
Minor: Vomit and Pregnancy
State of Fear by Michael Crichton
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
State of Fear by Micheal Crighton.
3.75 /5 book dropped in local LFL
I was invested in the story but only while I was reading it. As soon as I put the book down at the end of my lunch break there was nothing to draw me back in until tomorrow’s lunch break. It took me way longer than I expected because of that, I will sometimes take a books back and forth to work but this one just lived under the seat in the work truck except for the hour or so I was eating.
The fact that there were foot notes and actual graphs printed in even the MMPB copy was impressive. It strengthens the arguments that were being made by the characters and by extension, the author.
Everyone knows Crighton from Jurassic Park but he’s a prolific creator of intense action stories full of social political commentary, this one focuses on media relations, ethics, environmentalism and by extension colonialism. A good quarter inch of pages at the back of the book is him talking about how he formed his ideas and what else to read if you’re interested.
Generally, glad I read it because it made me think, met my completionist tendencies about authors, and for the quote…
“I believe people are well intentioned. But I have great respect for the corrosive influence of bias, systemic distortions of, the power of rationalization, the guises of self interest, and the inevitability of unintended consequences.“
3.75 /5 book dropped in local LFL
I was invested in the story but only while I was reading it. As soon as I put the book down at the end of my lunch break there was nothing to draw me back in until tomorrow’s lunch break. It took me way longer than I expected because of that, I will sometimes take a books back and forth to work but this one just lived under the seat in the work truck except for the hour or so I was eating.
The fact that there were foot notes and actual graphs printed in even the MMPB copy was impressive. It strengthens the arguments that were being made by the characters and by extension, the author.
Everyone knows Crighton from Jurassic Park but he’s a prolific creator of intense action stories full of social political commentary, this one focuses on media relations, ethics, environmentalism and by extension colonialism. A good quarter inch of pages at the back of the book is him talking about how he formed his ideas and what else to read if you’re interested.
Generally, glad I read it because it made me think, met my completionist tendencies about authors, and for the quote…
“I believe people are well intentioned. But I have great respect for the corrosive influence of bias, systemic distortions of, the power of rationalization, the guises of self interest, and the inevitability of unintended consequences.“
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Car accident, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Neuromancer by William Gibson
Did not finish book. Stopped at 80%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 80%.
I had it digitally checked out and my time ran out and I didn’t notice til it was too lata.
Dragon Teeth by Michael Crichton
adventurous
dark
funny
informative
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
It reads like Crichton. It is a fun and fantastical story of real history and science with a bit of fudging around the edges.
My favorite character is either Little Wind or Edward the little brother. My favorite scene is toward the end when Johnson gets one last bamboozle because Emily is not who he thinks she is because why would you believe anyone in the literal Wild West boy
My favorite character is either Little Wind or Edward the little brother. My favorite scene is toward the end when Johnson gets one last bamboozle
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence
Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, and War
Minor: Homophobia and Gaslighting
Serendipity: Ten Romantic Tropes, Transformed by Marissa Meyer
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
Man. I keep reading romance because Natalie Naudus keeps reading romance but it is really just not my genre. This book took me 6 days to finish. It’s like eight hours long.
She Gets the Girl by Alyson Derrick, Rachael Lippincott
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Would be a 2.5 star if not for the fact that Natalie Naudus read one of the POV and I will consume literally everything she reads to me. Buuuut Romance is not my genre. I liked the idea of an anti Korean, Korean American, but feel like it was too little of the story to be fleshed out all the way. I loved the way the food truck boss was fleshed out tho and he was in just as much of the book probably by pages so maybe it was just a difference in the way the two authors went about the story.