coldbrewedpages's reviews
121 reviews

Black Ice by Bradford D. Smith II

dark tense fast-paced

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

3.0

Unfu*k Yourself: Get Out of Your Head and into Your Life by Gary John Bishop

reflective medium-paced

3.0

Luster by Raven Leilani

medium-paced

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

4.0

The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love by bell hooks

challenging informative reflective

3.0

Yolk by Mary H.K. Choi

emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

No One Will Come Back For Us by Premee Mohamed

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

4.0

Content Warning: Everything by Akwaeke Emezi

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

5.0

Twisted: The Tangled History of Black Hair Culture by Emma Dabiri

informative reflective slow-paced

4.0

Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor
Did not finish book. Stopped at 34%.

I'm not sure if I'll revisit this book. I might need a break from it and get back to it way later. I'm not really meshing well with the back-and-forth tones where this book can't decide if it's YA or adult, an MC that is somehow both irritating and bland at the same time, and a narrative that doesn't know what it's trying to do so it's just throwing things at a wall with none of it sticking. None of the graphic content is really a problem for me in general, but this isn't written well and I'm finding myself more agitated as I read more. 

The straw that broke the camel's back was incredibly hollow FGM retconning and the persistence of sexual assault being super detailed but for some reason, we can't get the same from consensual sex scenes. I can't explain why, but it bothers me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Xenophobia

Freedom House by KB Brookins

emotional reflective medium-paced

4.5