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coralinejones's reviews
375 reviews
Kindred by Octavia E. Butler
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
My thoughts are conflicted.
I, by no means, hate or dislike this novel. In fact, I would like to purchase my own personal copy for my collection. I acknowledge Octavia E. Butler's brilliance and I fully agree that the idea of this novel is just a shining example of her intelligence. I totally understand why, and how, this became a beloved classic in the first place. Even as hard of a read as this is (not through text, but through content; more on this later) I wouldn't mind reading it again. However, I thought I was going to absolutely love this more than I actually did given it's place in literature's history. It's perhaps my expectation that ruined my read than anything else.
I can't quite put my finger on what I didn't enjoy about Kindred... I was going back and forth between giving this a 4 star or a 3 star rating, and my rating is by no means a hateful 3.75 either.
As stated, this is an easy read. Butler's writing style is very tell not show, which is another reason why I have this at 3 stars but I digress. It's easy to get immersed and pulled into the story being told. It's gruesome, it's hard to get through, it makes you angry, sad, confused, and overall feel alllll the overwhelming emotions whilst Dana goes through these rotten events but it still didn't feel like enough?
I don't know, something about Kindred was way more engaging during the beginning of this novel than in the end. Like the "what if" factor kept me interested. But then... It kind of got uninteresting? I think if I had read this while I was in high school I would've gotten waaaay more out of this.
And to be fair, as a black person who is not shy of the tragedies my ancestors have gone though; someone not ignorant of the bitter realities my people, past and present, have had to go through... I really couldn't stand the constant racism (Hard R racism) back to back. I know that's the point! And I absolutely expected it going into this, but man... Man :/
On page 208 Dana declares, “I wanted so much for it to be over.”
Same girl.
I, by no means, hate or dislike this novel. In fact, I would like to purchase my own personal copy for my collection. I acknowledge Octavia E. Butler's brilliance and I fully agree that the idea of this novel is just a shining example of her intelligence. I totally understand why, and how, this became a beloved classic in the first place. Even as hard of a read as this is (not through text, but through content; more on this later) I wouldn't mind reading it again. However, I thought I was going to absolutely love this more than I actually did given it's place in literature's history. It's perhaps my expectation that ruined my read than anything else.
I can't quite put my finger on what I didn't enjoy about Kindred... I was going back and forth between giving this a 4 star or a 3 star rating, and my rating is by no means a hateful 3.75 either.
As stated, this is an easy read. Butler's writing style is very tell not show, which is another reason why I have this at 3 stars but I digress. It's easy to get immersed and pulled into the story being told. It's gruesome, it's hard to get through, it makes you angry, sad, confused, and overall feel alllll the overwhelming emotions whilst Dana goes through these rotten events but it still didn't feel like enough?
I don't know, something about Kindred was way more engaging during the beginning of this novel than in the end. Like the "what if" factor kept me interested. But then... It kind of got uninteresting? I think if I had read this while I was in high school I would've gotten waaaay more out of this.
And to be fair, as a black person who is not shy of the tragedies my ancestors have gone though; someone not ignorant of the bitter realities my people, past and present, have had to go through... I really couldn't stand the constant racism (Hard R racism) back to back. I know that's the point! And I absolutely expected it going into this, but man... Man :/
On page 208 Dana declares, “I wanted so much for it to be over.”
Same girl.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Slavery
Moderate: Misogyny and Physical abuse
House of Cotton by Monica Brashears
Cons:
I would read what else this author has to offer in the future. I think if she tightens her ideas she can have something exceptional and solid.
3.0
Unfortunately I can only explain my thoughts through a pros / cons list. So alas:
Pros:
Pros:
- Beautiful prose.
- The author has a very poetic writing style that keeps you engaged and wanting more.
- The way she writes about Magnolia's environment keeps you hooked and feeling like you're standing right there with her as the story unfolds. You can literally state the American South on these pages.
- Some scenes are written so well it keeps you turning the page until it ends.
Cons:
- The story felt all over the place. On one of the bad pages, one scene would happen just to unfold into a mess of sporadic thoughts and ideas.
- There's NO horror here. This reads more like a literary novel that deals with grief, racism, and capitalism more than anything else... And while those topics are horrific it didn't translate as a horror novel in any regard. I think this novel suffers from mischaracterization. Had this been properly listed I think my expectations would've been different and thus my rating would be different.
- The entire time the prose and the plot leaves you assuming something horror-esq would happen but it never comes.
- The book is too sexual for my taste. I get the point but the gratuitous sex and rape eventually tired me out and I skipped those scenes.
- Eventually this dragged on towards the end and I couldn't wait for it to end.
I would read what else this author has to offer in the future. I think if she tightens her ideas she can have something exceptional and solid.
The Scarlet Alchemist by Kylie Lee Baker
4.0
wow. very enjoyable. does slightly suffer from typical YA fantasy nonsense but this was overall extremely atmospheric and fun to follow. loved the power system, felt a little off kilter about the romance plot, but it grew on me. would recommend!
The Only One Left by Riley Sager
3.0
I hate when authors pile on twist after twist towards the end of their novel. It feels cheap and makes the entire story convoluted. I liked the first half better than the second. I also didn't like Kit all that much, honestly.
Fun writing, though! Interesting premise!
Fun writing, though! Interesting premise!
Y/N by Esther Yi
Did not finish book. Stopped at 25%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 25%.
I'm not kidding when I say this is the worse piece of literature I have ever come across in my entire life. This is 200+ pages of absolute nonsensical gibberish. I'm extremely disappointed because this is one of the few books I've been overwhelmingly excited to read. I constantly checked the "Libby" app to see if it was listed by any of my libraries; I finally caved and found an EPUB online so I can just dive in. I wish I kept this in my imagination instead.
As an on-off K-Pop fan throughout the entirety of my childhood, I'm VERY familiar with how off K-Pop fans can be. Extremely well-versed in sasaengs and other obsessive fans, especially as K-Pop has gotten more popular over the years; Twitter fans specifically taking this to the extreme being tyrants to "protect" their favorite group. I understand what Yi is going for but this is... Jesus.
Y/N is nothing but a skew of faux intellectual bullshit, which I think is supposed to be some kind of satire? A critique on stan / fandom culture? Y/N is pretentious as HELL and reads as "baby's first creative writing course" where the author put every "big" word she could find between every sentence imaginable to get brownie points from their teacher. And people had a problem with Bunny by Mona Awad??? Pleaseeee.
I love a bizarre book but this is truly over the top and unreadable. Everybody in this book is incredibly unrealistic and ridiculous, the verbiage is annoying... I'm actually infuriated by this
As an on-off K-Pop fan throughout the entirety of my childhood, I'm VERY familiar with how off K-Pop fans can be. Extremely well-versed in sasaengs and other obsessive fans, especially as K-Pop has gotten more popular over the years; Twitter fans specifically taking this to the extreme being tyrants to "protect" their favorite group. I understand what Yi is going for but this is... Jesus.
Y/N is nothing but a skew of faux intellectual bullshit, which I think is supposed to be some kind of satire? A critique on stan / fandom culture? Y/N is pretentious as HELL and reads as "baby's first creative writing course" where the author put every "big" word she could find between every sentence imaginable to get brownie points from their teacher. And people had a problem with Bunny by Mona Awad??? Pleaseeee.
I love a bizarre book but this is truly over the top and unreadable. Everybody in this book is incredibly unrealistic and ridiculous, the verbiage is annoying... I'm actually infuriated by this
Dead Eleven by Jimmy Juliano
5.0
I don't have much to say (How ironic given the nature of this novel, IYKYK). I wish I had more to say because that was completely insane, and I finished this novel in one sitting with butterflies in my stomach trying to piece everything together.
It's in my nature to Nancy Drew the hell out of mysteries before the twist reveals itself, so me figuring it out isn't really a negative here because it was just done so well. Dead Eleven is crazy entertaining, and while I'm not too impressed with the ending and how it all wrapped up, I can't say I didn't thoroughly enjoy this every chapter prior to the last few.
I imagine this book being even better on audio and I'm planning on re-reading it through that medium the second I get a chance. If it means anything, before this story concluded I already noted that I would give it 5 stars and it would enlist in my ever-growing pile of favorites; so congrats to Dead Eleven! You are now one of my elite employees!
It's in my nature to Nancy Drew the hell out of mysteries before the twist reveals itself, so me figuring it out isn't really a negative here because it was just done so well. Dead Eleven is crazy entertaining, and while I'm not too impressed with the ending and how it all wrapped up, I can't say I didn't thoroughly enjoy this every chapter prior to the last few.
I imagine this book being even better on audio and I'm planning on re-reading it through that medium the second I get a chance. If it means anything, before this story concluded I already noted that I would give it 5 stars and it would enlist in my ever-growing pile of favorites; so congrats to Dead Eleven! You are now one of my elite employees!
Hell Followed with Us by Andrew Joseph White
dark
emotional
sad
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
3.75
There's something about religion, body horror, cults, and being trans that just gets me. I did cry while reading this, I did come to understand parts of myself while reading this, but something was still missing for me?
Hm. I don't know. The writing style was just a little clunky, through, very flowery and poetic. Reminded me of the roleplay community that takes place on Tumblr. That is neither a complaint nor a compliment. I absolutely enjoyed every character in this book, including the villains; the representation is an understatement. I don't think I've read a book yet with as many characters that reflect people I actually know and talk to in real life in a long time. They were all well written and made complete sense. Not to mention, Nick being autistic like me?! And it wasn't gimmicky and poking fun at what we go through?! Loved it.
It's just the way the plot unfolded, the smaller details that really fell apart for me, especially as we got closer to the end of the novel. Some of the body horror descriptions got repetitive and tired me out and it was a bit hard to follow everything that was going on (Because A LOT was going on).
But I overall enjoyed this book. Read it in about 3 days on my e-reader. If you enjoy Silent Hill, Resident Evil, zombie media, The Troop by Nick Cutter, and Evil Dead I think this would be a great fit for you.
Hm. I don't know. The writing style was just a little clunky, through, very flowery and poetic. Reminded me of the roleplay community that takes place on Tumblr. That is neither a complaint nor a compliment. I absolutely enjoyed every character in this book, including the villains; the representation is an understatement. I don't think I've read a book yet with as many characters that reflect people I actually know and talk to in real life in a long time. They were all well written and made complete sense. Not to mention, Nick being autistic like me?! And it wasn't gimmicky and poking fun at what we go through?! Loved it.
It's just the way the plot unfolded, the smaller details that really fell apart for me, especially as we got closer to the end of the novel. Some of the body horror descriptions got repetitive and tired me out and it was a bit hard to follow everything that was going on (Because A LOT was going on).
But I overall enjoyed this book. Read it in about 3 days on my e-reader. If you enjoy Silent Hill, Resident Evil, zombie media, The Troop by Nick Cutter, and Evil Dead I think this would be a great fit for you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Vomit, and Religious bigotry
56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard
3.0
Man... This is a very, very low 3 stars. I considered giving this 2 stars but, I don't know, the ending pushing it up higher. I do like a twist or two. However, I didn't care about the second and third twists by the time they happened. It's weird because I did enjoy the book... but more than halfway through I felt like this was peddling along a bit. I didn't like Kira at all, the multi POVs was getting annoying, and the repetitiveness was GRATING. But the three twists, the backstory, the climax, all were so interesting. I just wish we got there a bit quicker.
Music of the Night by Angela J. Ford
fast-paced
2.75
Girl... Okay.
I liked it enough to finish it, I GUESS. There was interesting bits, some intriguing writing going on. But, God, is this contrived and a little corny. The atmosphere was nice, at least.
I liked it enough to finish it, I GUESS. There was interesting bits, some intriguing writing going on. But, God, is this contrived and a little corny. The atmosphere was nice, at least.