calamitymeat's reviews
490 reviews

Body Alchemy: Transsexual Portraits by Loren Cameron

emotional inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

I LOVE TRANS MEN!!!!! I DID NOT KNOW JAMES GREEN WAS IN THIS!!! IM READING HIS BOOK RIGHT NOW!!!!

Powers of Darkness: The Lost Version of Dracula by Bram Stoker, Valdimar Asmundsson

informative mysterious slow-paced

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

3.75

The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

Clive Barker's Nightbreed 11 by Marc Andreyko

dark tense fast-paced

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

3.5

Clive Barker's Nightbreed 12 by Marc Andreyko

dark tense fast-paced

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

3.75

Definitely a fitting conclusion to Clive Barker's original book.

I'm happy Peloquin is finally cool with Boone. I'm glad the Nightbreed have somewhere to live.

The movie ends on such a cliffhanger and I'm glad we were given a real conclusion. 

Still wish Lori and Boone had better Nightbreed forms :/

Stoker's Wilde by Steven Hopstaken, Melissa Prusi

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

Overall fine. It's such a. ridiculous premise, you kind of can't help but have fun. I check out a bit near the end tho. Not the books fault, that's more of a me thing. 

Clive Barker's Nightbreed 10 by Marc Andreyko

dark tense fast-paced

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

3.25

Memnoch the Devil by Anne Rice

dark tense medium-paced

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

2.5

I don't know about this one. Admittedly, I was drifting in and out of paying attention because I turned it on while I worked and got through pretty much all of it. 

I think this would work much better as a standalone novel that focuses on Memnoch, but I know Anne Rice just loves putting Lestat in situations. It's an interesting retelling of the fall of Lucifer, but I don't know how much it really ADDS to The Vampire Chronicles. 

I mean, there are some pretty serious events relating to the vampires and the confirmation that God and the Devil exist definitely has huge implications for the vampire world, which aren't exactly answered in this unless I missed something. 

We Both Laughed in Pleasure: The Selected Diaries of Lou Sullivan by Lou Sullivan

emotional reflective medium-paced

5.0

Spent the last 100 or so pages sobbing my eyes out. Lou Sullivan I love you so much. I love trans men. I love being able to read about trans men. 

SOO worth the read I'm genuinely BEGGING any trans person, anyone who loves a trans person, anyone who doesn't UNDERSTAND what it means to be trans or why people transition to read this. It's such a raw and beautiful look into our lives. And so intimate, not even on a sexual level, but on a personal level. They're personal and depressing at times, but also full of joy and love for everyone around him. 

The Nightmare Before Kissmas by Sara Raasch

adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.0

This is my third attempt at trying to find a rom com I genuinely enjoy and this is definitely the best one so far. In all honesty, that's not saying much, but while others have been below tolerable, this one was decently enjoyable. 

My biggest issues in past romance novels is the witty, Whedon-esque protagonists that cross the line from relatable and funny into miserable, snarky assholes. Coal is funny and witty, but never crosses into genuine asshole territory until the plot calls for it. 

I've read other political intrigue romances before with similar-ish premises that just weren't doing it for me because it was either an incredibly poor taste race allegory or reeked of a particularly annoying kind of millennial liberalism. The political plotline is interesting and more high stakes than I would have expected from a romcom. A little ridiculous, but who cares we're having fun. 

The ending was a little anti-climactic

and just ends with Santa having a magical complete 180 change of heart after reflecting for about a minute.

Whatever.