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brennanaphone's reviews
651 reviews
All Systems Red by Martha Wells
5.0
I love Murderbot. Its voice is funny, quick, and somehow deeply humane. All the books in this series are quick reads with characters that you fall for quite quickly, all filtered through the lens of this socially awkward, sarcastic, and slightly depressed robot who does a great job of representing autistic traits and gender nonconformity.
The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman
4.0
Much like the first book of the series, this was a fun, clever, and wonderfully engaging read. I love all of these characters and will read about them and their beautiful friendships and brilliant minds for a thousand more books.
Like the first book, though, this story lacked some of the emotional investment from the characters that made the second book so amazing. The second book transcended simple good fun with real emotional weight, stakes, and grief. This one felt more like another installment in the series, one I happily read and enjoyed nonetheless.
Like the first book, though, this story lacked some of the emotional investment from the characters that made the second book so amazing. The second book transcended simple good fun with real emotional weight, stakes, and grief. This one felt more like another installment in the series, one I happily read and enjoyed nonetheless.
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
2.0
Absolutely loved the idea, but I didn't think he really pulled it off.
In order to have a story where a man comes into a situation with assumptions and bigotry and changes his mind, you kind of have to make the assumptions feel understandable. You have to let the reader understand where that bigotry might be coming from, maybe even share in it a little so that they too can learn a lesson. But from the get-go it's clear that Linus's job is terrible, everything about his life is paper-thin, and everyone at the island is not a monster but a wonderful person. Even the Antichrist kid doesn't come across as threatening or scary for even a moment.
Because there's this huge chasm between how the reader is experiencing the characters and how Linus is behaving, it makes it incredibly hard to connect to his character and perspective. I just kept waiting for him to figure out the obvious, becoming kind of annoyed and impatient with how dim he was being. The whole thing was written with a slow, plodding storyline. I wanted more of the romance, more of the magic, more of the fun.
In order to have a story where a man comes into a situation with assumptions and bigotry and changes his mind, you kind of have to make the assumptions feel understandable. You have to let the reader understand where that bigotry might be coming from, maybe even share in it a little so that they too can learn a lesson. But from the get-go it's clear that Linus's job is terrible, everything about his life is paper-thin, and everyone at the island is not a monster but a wonderful person. Even the Antichrist kid doesn't come across as threatening or scary for even a moment.
Because there's this huge chasm between how the reader is experiencing the characters and how Linus is behaving, it makes it incredibly hard to connect to his character and perspective. I just kept waiting for him to figure out the obvious, becoming kind of annoyed and impatient with how dim he was being. The whole thing was written with a slow, plodding storyline. I wanted more of the romance, more of the magic, more of the fun.
The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman
5.0
The first book in this series was a quick, delightful, hilarious read, even if the mystery itself never truly grabbed me. This book, however, knocked me off my feet.
Before you even open the book, Osman is teasing you with information, making you wonder who the man who died twice will be. He sprinkles little clues throughout, and I gamely fell for the head fakes throughout, thinking I was clever, a little bit wrong all the time. The revelation of the title was brilliant and, more importantly, indicative of how this book is different from the first book.
The first book was cheeky and fun and a little frothy. There was meant to be a big emotional blow for Elizabeth at the end, but I knew nothing about her friend Penny, so it didn't do that much for me personally. This book lets us watch characters we love falter, lets the specter of age and looming mortality really do the work to fill the reader with grief and longing. It takes place one week after the first book ends because these characters don't have years and decades to spare between mysteries. They are losing people and abilities to the effects of time, but they are still wholly themselves, still brilliant and clever and willing to use their age as camouflage to get access and information. The ending made me cry, and so did a few deaths, but the whole thing made me laugh. What a wonderful balance.
This book is more than a mystery, but it is also a very good mystery.
Before you even open the book, Osman is teasing you with information, making you wonder who the man who died twice will be. He sprinkles little clues throughout, and I gamely fell for the head fakes throughout, thinking I was clever, a little bit wrong all the time. The revelation of the title was brilliant and, more importantly, indicative of how this book is different from the first book.
The first book was cheeky and fun and a little frothy. There was meant to be a big emotional blow for Elizabeth at the end, but I knew nothing about her friend Penny, so it didn't do that much for me personally. This book lets us watch characters we love falter, lets the specter of age and looming mortality really do the work to fill the reader with grief and longing. It takes place one week after the first book ends because these characters don't have years and decades to spare between mysteries. They are losing people and abilities to the effects of time, but they are still wholly themselves, still brilliant and clever and willing to use their age as camouflage to get access and information. The ending made me cry, and so did a few deaths, but the whole thing made me laugh. What a wonderful balance.
This book is more than a mystery, but it is also a very good mystery.
Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley
3.0
Enjoyable read but I think people who recommended this to me set the bar a little high. The voice is very young, which is good for a high school protagonist, but there are some pulpy elements to this that didn't seem fully explored or necessarily intentional.
While I found the style and voice a little uneven, I did really enjoy learning about the Ojibwe community in Michigan. Those parts were very clear and felt honest. I had a LOT of side-eye for the romance with Jamie, but I thought she did a very elegant job of subverting expectations at the end. Ultimately this is a story about growing up, and even with the slow-burn crime mystery and the somewhat dramatic twists and betrayals, that part really shone.
While I found the style and voice a little uneven, I did really enjoy learning about the Ojibwe community in Michigan. Those parts were very clear and felt honest. I had a LOT of side-eye for the romance with Jamie, but I thought she did a very elegant job of subverting expectations at the end. Ultimately this is a story about growing up, and even with the slow-burn crime mystery and the somewhat dramatic twists and betrayals, that part really shone.
Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
5.0
The best fantasy book I've read this year. I love that the author pulled from Eastern European folklore instead of creating a whole different world. Much like fables used to be, this takes place in the real world, and it is eerier and more dangerous for it. The other benefit of it being set in our world it that it stars a Jewish girl! Not a shitty fantasy stereotype of a Jew (looking at you, JK Rowling's garbage-ass goblins), a real one, with all the prejudices and difficulties that entails.
This book follows three young women who are each living in vastly different circumstances. They are each fascinating, strong, uniquely gifted characters. Each time it switched from one perspective to another, I was briefly sad to be out of such an engaging perspective.
I will say that in such a dark, dangerous book, I did not expect the romance to creep up on me the way that it did, but it still made me burst into tears (I was postpartum too, but we'll disregard that for the moment). The magical world and the fey creatures in this story were truly unworldly, and while their magic wasn't always necessarily something I understood, I believed that the author had thought it through.
This book follows three young women who are each living in vastly different circumstances. They are each fascinating, strong, uniquely gifted characters. Each time it switched from one perspective to another, I was briefly sad to be out of such an engaging perspective.
I will say that in such a dark, dangerous book, I did not expect the romance to creep up on me the way that it did, but it still made me burst into tears (I was postpartum too, but we'll disregard that for the moment). The magical world and the fey creatures in this story were truly unworldly, and while their magic wasn't always necessarily something I understood, I believed that the author had thought it through.
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
5.0
What a delightful and expertly rendered gothic tale! Eerie, unsettling, grotesque, and occasionally fully terrifying. The ending managed to be both satisfying and yet something that still nibbles at you days later.
The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson
2.0
Loved the premise, but this book was thin and meandering. The whole build-up is that racist bullying is the reason for this Carrie-knockoff horror show, but it's actually all because of her feelings for a boy. Disappointing.
A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas
1.0
Undoes all the work of the second book. If I could give it zero stars, I would.
I was fine with Maas being a subpar writer. I so appreciated the message of the second book and the way the first and second book worked together, making you root for Feyre and what's-his-name before making you, the reader, confront the insidious nature of abuse: the way it makes everything seem sexy and romantic, even when you see the controlling behavior, the explosive temper, the violence at the edges. Those things are supposed to be what's sexy about romance novels, and that book eviscerated that central tenet and replaced it with sexy, loving, respectful partnership between people who actually got along and liked each other.
This book thought about what had come before it for all of five seconds and was then like, "Nah. You know what's sexy? Big, beefy, angry men who have violent tempers and who like to corner vicious, sniping women and then have angry, controlling sex with them." This book learned nothing! From itself!
**spoilers or whatever, who gives a shit, I swear to god**
On top of that, you have the subplot, which is about Feyre being pregnant with a batchild and being doomed to die in childbirth because of said batchild having pointy edges or something. Even though she will Definitely Die, and so will the child, which means Rhys will too, she's NOT ALLOWED TO SHAPESHIFT, even though it would save her life, because it might "endanger the child." Who is going to die anyway. Abortion is never mentioned. Choice is not even considered. In the end, Feyre willingly goes to her death and the death of her child and husband for some Pro-Life bullshit. And then there's a magical intercession where Nesta makes it all better. But wait! Deus Ex Machina isn't enough! As Nesta gives up her magic powers to fix Feyre's broken vaginal canal, she stops time and digs around in there a little to ALTER FEYRE'S BODY so she can have more babies. Where did all the autonomy and consent go in this series? What the fuck did I just read??
I was fine with Maas being a subpar writer. I so appreciated the message of the second book and the way the first and second book worked together, making you root for Feyre and what's-his-name before making you, the reader, confront the insidious nature of abuse: the way it makes everything seem sexy and romantic, even when you see the controlling behavior, the explosive temper, the violence at the edges. Those things are supposed to be what's sexy about romance novels, and that book eviscerated that central tenet and replaced it with sexy, loving, respectful partnership between people who actually got along and liked each other.
This book thought about what had come before it for all of five seconds and was then like, "Nah. You know what's sexy? Big, beefy, angry men who have violent tempers and who like to corner vicious, sniping women and then have angry, controlling sex with them." This book learned nothing! From itself!
**spoilers or whatever, who gives a shit, I swear to god**
On top of that, you have the subplot, which is about Feyre being pregnant with a batchild and being doomed to die in childbirth because of said batchild having pointy edges or something. Even though she will Definitely Die, and so will the child, which means Rhys will too, she's NOT ALLOWED TO SHAPESHIFT, even though it would save her life, because it might "endanger the child." Who is going to die anyway. Abortion is never mentioned. Choice is not even considered. In the end, Feyre willingly goes to her death and the death of her child and husband for some Pro-Life bullshit. And then there's a magical intercession where Nesta makes it all better. But wait! Deus Ex Machina isn't enough! As Nesta gives up her magic powers to fix Feyre's broken vaginal canal, she stops time and digs around in there a little to ALTER FEYRE'S BODY so she can have more babies. Where did all the autonomy and consent go in this series? What the fuck did I just read??
The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0