caitsidhe's reviews
969 reviews

The Elissas by Samantha Leach

dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

3.75

a good look at the trouble teen industry through the lens of three similarly named girls. Highlights how we treat those who fail to conform. Wish it had gone a little harder in places - it pulled its punches in a lot of ways.

Collected Poems by Mervyn Peake

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.25

lovely, surprising poems

The Beast of Bridde Place by A. L. Waters

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.25

Enjoyable Gothic, sometimes overwritten

The Murmurs by Michael J. Malone

dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

I wouldn't say it's good, but I also couldn't stop reading it, so

The Bequest by Joanna Margaret
Did not finish book. Stopped at 19%.

I don't need a main character to be likeable or relatable, but this woman was unbearable. Also, the book was borderline offensive in its depiction of Scotland. I'm really gonna need Americans to stop writing 'oh those quirky weird brits/scottish/welsh/cornish/irish' stories soon.

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel

dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

4.5

tender, honest, very sad

House of Open Wounds by Adrian Tchaikovsky

adventurous dark emotional funny fast-paced

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

3.75

solid, enjoyable fantasy with decent prose and imaginative setting. I have no idea hpw Tchaikovsky writes so many long books and has them actually be good.

England on Fire: A Visual Journey Through Albion's Psychic Landscape by Stephen Ellcock, Adam Gordon

inspiring reflective fast-paced

3.25

inspiring collection of artworks

Mischief Acts by Zoe Gilbert

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

4.75

More a collection of connected short stories and poems than a novel, I really enjoyed this. It's ambitious and creative. 

The House That Horror Built by Christina Henry

dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

1.0

I enjoy a slow-build atmospheric novel. But this was not that, instead it was just poorly paced. The prose was neither awful nor good, but the dialogue was clunky and unbelievable. The ending was ridiculous and far too fast. And throughout there was this tendency, common in this era of terrible reading comprehension, to lecture the reader about what exactly they are supposed to take away from the book and what the themes of the book are. I hate that.