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calamitymeat's reviews
492 reviews
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.
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-climacticand just ends with Santa having a magical complete 180 change of heart after reflecting for about a minute. Whatever.
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
A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I'm going to try to be as nice as I can when I say this because of the subject matter, but this is such a painfully stereotypical depiction of abuse. I feel like I could open a textbook and check off criteria or examples in the exact order they show up in this book.
That doesn't mean it's unrealistic, but it just does not align with my own experience with abuse. And of course it doesn't, no two people are the same there are no such thing as universal experiences, especially when it comes to abuse. I'm not trying to say S.T. Gibson has or hasn't been abused or that no one who wasn't abused can write about it, but it doesn't feel like it comes from an honest place. The three victims are the most perfect examples of victims you could think of. The two women are people pleasers, they never fight back, they're sad all the time. The young boy fights back and is punished by the abuser because of it and the woman takes him into her arms to care for him afterwards. They're not allowed to be flawed, they have to sit and take ituntil they end it once and for all . Again, it's just a textbook abuse narrative with no nuance and perfect victims.
The wives (and Alexei) are nothing more than battered victims with very little emotional complexity. Yes, they still love him, but this only seems to pop back up near the end after he dies. Before that, they hate him and feel bad for themselves. Personally, it's just not the kind of abuse narratives I find interesting. And there's been really interesting abuse narratives based on Dracula! Dracula, Motherfucker by Alex de Campi and Erica Henderson and the movie Renfield were both great!! De Campi writes in the afterword of Dracula, Motherfucker that the wives fascinate him in the same way that Melania Trump fascinates him. In Renfield, he's actively doing Dracula's bidding and luring in victims. These views are both complex views of such similar characters that don't just reduce them to a "perfect victim" narrative.
It was well written, I don't want to make it sound like I didn't like it at all. I liked the idea of a second person point of view. I liked the writing style, and I do like that (some of) the characters were real people outside of their abuse. It wasn't my favourite, but I wouldn't tell anyone to avoid it.
That doesn't mean it's unrealistic, but it just does not align with my own experience with abuse. And of course it doesn't, no two people are the same there are no such thing as universal experiences, especially when it comes to abuse. I'm not trying to say S.T. Gibson has or hasn't been abused or that no one who wasn't abused can write about it, but it doesn't feel like it comes from an honest place. The three victims are the most perfect examples of victims you could think of. The two women are people pleasers, they never fight back, they're sad all the time. The young boy fights back and is punished by the abuser because of it and the woman takes him into her arms to care for him afterwards. They're not allowed to be flawed, they have to sit and take it
The wives (and Alexei) are nothing more than battered victims with very little emotional complexity. Yes, they still love him, but this only seems to pop back up near the end after he dies. Before that, they hate him and feel bad for themselves. Personally, it's just not the kind of abuse narratives I find interesting. And there's been really interesting abuse narratives based on Dracula! Dracula, Motherfucker by Alex de Campi and Erica Henderson and the movie Renfield were both great!! De Campi writes in the afterword of Dracula, Motherfucker that the wives fascinate him in the same way that Melania Trump fascinates him. In Renfield, he's actively doing Dracula's bidding and luring in victims. These views are both complex views of such similar characters that don't just reduce them to a "perfect victim" narrative.
It was well written, I don't want to make it sound like I didn't like it at all. I liked the idea of a second person point of view. I liked the writing style, and I do like that (some of) the characters were real people outside of their abuse. It wasn't my favourite, but I wouldn't tell anyone to avoid it.
Dracula, Motherf**ker! by Alex de Campi
dark
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
4.5
WOWWWWW I have a LOTTT to say about the art so I will really try my hardest to reel it in a bit but holy SHITTTTT the art in this is fucking PHENOMENAL. I've never read any of Erica Henderson's work but this single handedly convinced me that I need to read all of it ASAP. God, the layouts and the colours and the CREATURE DESIGN!!!!!!! Holy SHITTTTT.
The story is also wonderful. Women married to terrible men is a fascinating subject and I'm glad out of all the choices de Campi could have picked, he went with Dracula's wives.
My only actual criticism of this is that it's painfully short. Outside of just wanting more of it, it's INCREDIBLY fast paced (but not to the point where it's a genuine issue) and I do feel like this would definitely benefit from another 30 pages. It's supposed to be giving a voice to the thrown away women in Dracula, but it's too short to do that meaningfully. What does it say about the way we use female characters when we only use them to make our point and they don't exist outside of our commentary? I just want them to be more like real people than dolls used to blatantly state the author's point.
The story is also wonderful. Women married to terrible men is a fascinating subject and I'm glad out of all the choices de Campi could have picked, he went with Dracula's wives.
My only actual criticism of this is that it's painfully short. Outside of just wanting more of it, it's INCREDIBLY fast paced (but not to the point where it's a genuine issue) and I do feel like this would definitely benefit from another 30 pages. It's supposed to be giving a voice to the thrown away women in Dracula, but it's too short to do that meaningfully. What does it say about the way we use female characters when we only use them to make our point and they don't exist outside of our commentary? I just want them to be more like real people than dolls used to blatantly state the author's point.
Vlad III Dracula: The Life and Times of the Historical Dracula by Kurt W. Treptow
dark
informative
fast-paced
3.0
Turned it in mostly for background noise and finished it in one sitting, so I wasn't paying full attention in all honesty, but the parts I was paying attention to were well written and it definitely was an interesting read
Classic BBC Radio Horror: Dracula by Bram Stoker
dark
mysterious
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
2.75
I'm a huge fan of podcasts and audiobooks, so when I say this, it's not because I am just not suited to the medium of audio dramas. It was REALLY hard to understand what was going on at times and unless I missed something it seems like they completely forgot to include the end??
The narrative jumped around a bit, which would be fine if it was done a little bit better. There was one point around episode 2 where I genuinely had no idea what was going on, I THINK someone was being bitten by Dracula?? No idea.
The actors all did a great job and the music and production design was quite good, but I think the narrative just got a little messed up and it overall wasn't great as a Dracula audio drama.
The narrative jumped around a bit, which would be fine if it was done a little bit better. There was one point around episode 2 where I genuinely had no idea what was going on, I THINK someone was being bitten by Dracula?? No idea.
The actors all did a great job and the music and production design was quite good, but I think the narrative just got a little messed up and it overall wasn't great as a Dracula audio drama.
Dracula by Bram Stoker
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
After failing to follow through with Dracula Daily for 2 years, I have FINALLY read Dracula. I had a lot of fun! Not sure who exactly was narrating Van Helsing's part, but he was doing a great job.
This is one of those things where I would KILL to have read back when jt first came out because I would love to have actually gone into this not knowing anything about it. But I also definitely understand why it's as impactful as it is.
This is one of those things where I would KILL to have read back when jt first came out because I would love to have actually gone into this not knowing anything about it. But I also definitely understand why it's as impactful as it is.
Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinberg
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Hard to sit through because it's so vulnerable and heartbreaking, but so worth it once you can get through it. I could only read so much of it as a time because even the happy parts of it would make me burst into tears because I knew it was only a matter of time before everything would come crashing down.
It's fiction, but it's so real. It's the 50s, but it remains painfully relevant even 30 years after it was first published.
It's fiction, but it's so real. It's the 50s, but it remains painfully relevant even 30 years after it was first published.
Monster High: New Scaremester #1 by Jacque Aye
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
A cute new series! The art is a little clunky, mostly the hair looks WAY too big around their scalps, but I like the way the art really seems to balance the original webisodes style and the Shuda's personal style.
Excited to read the rest of the series! :)
Excited to read the rest of the series! :)
The Cursed Library: Unbound by Magdalene Visaggio, Eliot Rahal
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Genuinely a really sweet ending that I was not expecting. I said it in my review for Alpha, but I really want more Jinx and Danni in the future.