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catsteaandabook's reviews
450 reviews
Behind You Is the Sea by Susan Muaddi Darraj
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.75
The Palace of Eros by Caro De Robertis
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
1.75
I’ll start with what I liked. The prose was pretty good, though Eros’ dialogue did feel awkwardly modern at times, and it was entertaining.
With that said, this book kind of felt like a slap in the face to Greek mythology fans. One of my favorite things about Greek mythology and what draws me to it is the fact that queerness is normalized, and I am not alone in this. Greek mythology is incredibly popular, specifically amongst queer people, for this reason. Caro De Robertis just decided to ignore this.
Psyche says that “Even outside of marriage, two women could not be together, it was unheard of.” This isn’t true. While Ancient Greece was extremely sexist so we don’t have nearly as many accounts of queer women as queer men, they did exist. Obviously there was the famous lesbian poetess Sappho, but also Plato mentioned in his Symposium women who "do not care for men, but have female attachments"
Furthermore, Eros has the ability to change her body so sometimes she’s female, sometimes male, and sometimes in-between, and for some reason Zeus hates this. He says, “She was born female; to defy that is a crime.” And “when she becomes a man, she must be fully male. None of this in-between, blended nonsense.” There are multiple gender/sex-bendy deities in Greek mythology such as Aphroditus and Hermaphroditus and even more stories of witches or gods changing peoples sexes for one reason or another. WHY does anyone care about Eros doing it. Also they act like Eros is the only lesbian goddess when Artemis is literally right there. And if Zeus found Eros and their relationship so appalling, why did he let Psyche become a god? I just feel like if you wanted to include homo/transphobia in your story why choose Ancient Greece and specifically Ancient Greek deities? Normally making a queer retelling comes with the difficulty of the added homophobia but not here, yet it was added anyway and it made the story make less sense.
I don’t regret reading this, but it was disappointing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Transphobia
Minor: Domestic abuse
If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English by Noor Naga
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
TW: rape, domestic violence
If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English follows a wealthy Egyptian-American woman and a poor Egyptian man. She moves to Egypt to be an English teacher and struggles with being seen as merely “American” and not “Egyptian” as she struggles with Arabic and does not conform to much of Egyptian culture. He is a native and struggles with money and a cocaine addiction. He was sexist. She was classist. (Can I make it any more obvious?)
If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English is a masterclass in nuance. At the beginning of the book I thought it was going to be a romance. I quickly realized it is not. Noor/The American is very privileged and this is apparent through her actions. Simultaneously, she is the boy from Shobrakheit’s victim. The boy from Shobrakheit is at times sympathetic. I can empathize with his addiction and money struggles, but at the same time, he is sexist and abusive. His thoughts are very reminiscent of incel rhetoric. He throws objects at Noor and seemingly rapes her. (The way it is written makes it not entirely clear.) Noor recognizes this but still cares for him, and much of the book is her reckoning with this. Also, while their sins are obviously not equatable, the boy from Shobrakheit also reckons with caring for Noor while she does not understand his struggles.
The ending was brilliant and brought my review from 4.5 to 5. Incredibly meta, the third and final part of the book takes place in a writing class where Noor is presenting If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English to the class as her memoir and her classmates are discussing what they liked and disliked and how it could be better. The class spoke some of my own thoughts and helped me parce through them while also bringing up points I hadn’t thought of. It was a creative and very enjoyable ending.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Rape, and Stalking
Assad, or We Burn the Country: How One Family's Lust for Power Destroyed Syria by Sam Dagher
challenging
informative
medium-paced
Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
2.75
Ok so I definitely just picked this up because it has one of the most gorgeous covers I’ve ever seen. Unfortunately, the inside does not match.
The characters all felt like cliches: the rule-breaking princess, the charming prince, the kind king, the evil stepmother, the proud dragon. ONE of these was subverted, but not the rest, and that I think is part of why a lot of the book was rather predictable.
I have a bit of a pet-peeve for stories where someone loses the ability to hear or speak and they don’t learn sign language. In this story, Shiori, the main character, is cursed and can’t speak. Takkan, the love interest, is miraculously able to understand complex thoughts and emotions through just her body language. I think him being the only one to be able to understand her so well was sweet, but I think it would have been cooler and made more sense if Takkan knew sign and taught her and they communicated that way.
Raikama’s ending monologue was so incredibly cringy, I’m sorry. It’s supposed to be a serious and emotional scene but I just kept laughing. It was so cliche and corny. Also, without spoilers, when we learn what we learn about Raikama, her previous actions don’t really make sense. She kinda explained herself in her monologue but it still feels like she did way more than necessary and had less control of her magic than she typically does.
I’m giving this 2.75 stars cause it was still enjoyable despite everything. I liked the characters and romance. This book had potential, it was just sloppily crafted. Will I read book two? Honestly, maybe? Definitely not anytime soon, but maybe at some point.
A Good Happy Girl by Marissa Higgins
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I really enjoyed this book! The character work was excellent. All of the characters were multifaceted and interesting and because of that, their relationships were intriguing to follow. I loved learning about these characters and their motivations and seeing how they would react to others characters’ statements and actions. I look forward to reading more from Marissa Higgins just for her characters.
My main qualm with this book was just that it felt rather flat, like I couldn’t tell you where the climax was. I get that it’s no plot just vibes but I would’ve preferred for a bit more rising and falling action.
With that said, this was an impressive debut. It was a very enjoyable read and I’m excited to see what Marissa Higgins puts out next!
Gay Girl, Good God: The Story of Who I Was, and Who God Has Always Been by Jackie Hill Perry
Did not finish book.
Did not finish book.
See I knew it would be homophobic but I still wanted to read it just for the sake of knowing exactly what she said, but i realized it just isn’t worth my time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia