catalyst226's reviews
200 reviews

Immortal Dark by Tigest Girma

adventurous dark mysterious medium-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

5.0

This absolutely scratched every itch I had for a good vampire novel. I loved the take on vampire mythos and integration of West African aspects as well. It was quite gorey and violent as well.

The plot jumped around quite a bit before settling into a rhythm and it was hard to tell who the antagonist actually was until about 75% in but that made for a very intriguing read in my opinion.

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas

adventurous emotional medium-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

3.5

The second half of the book did a LOT of work on my enjoyment. Definitely improved writing from the first novel. Looking forward to getting more backstory in the short story collection before picking up the main story in book three.

The Dead Don't Need Reminding: In Search of Fugitives, Mississippi, and Black TV Nerd Shit by Julian Randall

emotional reflective medium-paced

5.0

A thoughtful reflection on a variety of topics both pop culture and deeply personal to the author.

The City in Glass by Nghi Vo

dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

3.0

Because this was a short, self-contained story, there wasn't a ton of depth to any of the smaller characters but I personally found them more interesting than the overarching plot between Vitrene and the angel.

I had to switch to audio after reading five or so chapters because I couldn't get into the story enough to read the physical copy.

Betrayed by Kristin Cast, P.C. Cast

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

3.0

Sixteen-year-old chosen one trope. Why is mentor suddenly having a massive personality shift? Why is this 20-something flirting with a teenager? All of these people lost a good friend, Zoey has BIG main character syndrome.

I'm reading this like a soap opera. Let me have my cynicism and still enjoy this, okay?

Womb City by Tlotlo Tsamaase

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-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

Twist upon twist upon twist. This book started off a bit slow and had a lot of sci-fi elements that had to be spelled out for me to comprehend but it was well worth it and all came up again to fill in the story.

A great commentary of womanhood, motherhood, Blackness, nationality, and overall power. I haven't read something like this in a while and would love to recommend to everyone. Be wary if you're not interested in gore.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Trafficking

Minor: Miscarriage

Paladin's Hope by T. Kingfisher

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

Another great entry in this series. I'm really enjoying the jump to another paladin that we've gotten some references to in the previous novels. This one in particular was great because we'd shifted away from the BBEG from the previous two novels so it felt very fresh. I liked the main couple, I liked the trials, I liked the pacing.

Please for the love of everything, I hope we don't have another paladin that thinks they aren't worthy of love in the next book.

Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

Wow. Just wow.

This was poetically written and gives such a great look at addiction, loss, love, and seeking meaning in life.

Sheine Lende by Darcie Little Badger

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

A great prequel to Elatsoe which I read back in 2023. We follow Shane, the grandmother of our original protagonist, back in the 1970s on a mission to find missing children and a family member.

There are a couple plot points that are very quick in the grand scheme of the novel's story but overall enjoyable!

Only Big Bumbum Matters Tomorrow by Damilare Kuku

emotional lighthearted reflective fast-paced

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

5.0

From the author's dedication to her letter at the end, this was a letter to women and the difficulties they face in terms of beauty, society, and the struggle to love yourself.

I really enjoyed the layered storytelling that spanned mostly the women in our main character's life (with a couple men involved with the family for additional details). You learn about each woman's life and struggles and it culminates in a really powerful interaction at the end of the novel. The story ends fairly open-ended but I don't mind.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Domestic abuse

Moderate: Rape, Abortion