caitsidhe's reviews
987 reviews

The Silverblood Promise by James Logan

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense slow-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

3.25

fairly predictable but decently written fantasy/murder mystery cross. I will read as many of these crossovers as I find.

The Redemption of Morgan Bright by Chris Panatier

challenging dark emotional sad tense 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

It really grabbed me, but the ending felt... hmm. Unearned. A bit too pat. 

And for a book about how

bad forced birth is and cis men's control of women and afab people's bodies, all the main villains sure are women!

Penny Bloods: Gothic Tales of Dangerous Women by Nicole C. Dittmer

challenging dark slow-paced

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

3.0

Most of these early penny bloods were melodramatic and overwritten, and you'll find that in spades here. Still, it's interesting to see the Gothic tropes about Bad Women take form.

Bird by Bird: Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott

emotional funny informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

3.25

I get why so many people are so obsessed with this book and found it transformative for their writing practice and their lives, and I certainly got some good out of it. But really it doesn't speak to me in a way I love. 

I also kept getting thrown off by the casual ableism.

The Land of Lost Things by John Connolly

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad slow-paced

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

4.25

Beautiful, sad, and fully rooted in the magic and horror of story. Just not quite as good as the first for me.

Stop Looking At My Tiny Town by Evan Doherty, Arcane Bullshit

dark funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.75

funny, inimitable Arcane Bullshit style

The Devourers by Indra Das

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

This is incredible. Filthy, profane, erotic, sad, thoughtful. It reminds me of THE LAST WEREWOLF (https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/7b7bf378-1763-40d3-bd05-ce27032d9fcf), a book I also very much enjoyed - and if you loved that you'll love this, and vice versa.

Ascension by Nicholas Binge
Did not finish book. Stopped at 25%.

writing style not working for me

See What You're Missing: 31 Ways Artists Notice the World – and How You Can Too by Will Gompertz, Will Gompertz

informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

3.0

Enjoyable and inspiring, but given that the cover said 'and how you can too' I would have liked some exercises to train this artistic observation? Still, it was a good book.

Nettles by Adam Scovell

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.25

dreamlike and desperately sad account of the effect of childhood violence with a maybe real, maybe not folk horror element