craftyever's reviews
125 reviews

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Holy shit I gobbled this up. Kuang has pulled me out of an 8 month alump where I couldnt get out of the book. 

Brilliantly written, June is a beautifully written character and watching her series of bad decisions was like watching a train wreck. I couldn't look away and I wanted so desperatly to get to my next break so I could devour the book. Kuang does a wonderful job poking fun at the industry and also (to an extent) herself within the story in a way that had me chuckling early on. Ive already emphatically suggested the title to my coworkers during the readinf process.

The content warnings are very accurate though each issues is handled masterfully. 

How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix
Did not finish book. Stopped at 72%.

I had to return the audiobook to the next person on the list because I wasn't done with it, but when it circled back around I genuinely couldn't bring myself to care about it anymore.

Herbal Magic: A Handbook of Natural Spells, Charms, and Potions by Aurora Kane
Did not finish book. Stopped at 21%.

There were a lot of little things that bothered me that bother me in other books of this nature. It's a bunch of "love and light" stuff while also backhanding anyone that wants to use magic for a more grey reason. She also referred to masculine and feminine energy in very old fashioned ways that struck me wrong. 

Biggest problem for me was that she didn't include what "darker" properties these items could have because she was trying not to promote use of that kind. However, for beginner witches it's good to know what those other properties are. As a beginner witch I tried to cast a money spell, but because I didn't know the other side of the herbs I used, it back fired and I spent like three months with like a dollar in the bank. 

Hell Followed with Us by Andrew Joseph White

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-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? Yes

4.75

Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense 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? No

3.75

Honestly more of a 3.85 read but the decimals don't go there.

Slow start and a wild back third. Had my brain spinning. 

A little bit anticlimactic, would have loved to have seen them cover the immediate aftermath of the final events which I do acknowledge that probably would have taken out of YA so I'm not gonna harp on that too much. That said, for a YA it was a solid ending. 

Also a few of the subplots were just kinda dropped on us and either not really addressed or not fleshed out super well, and I would have loved to see the book have another 100 pages if it meant those subplots got addressed. 

I would kill for Devon. 

The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass

adventurous dark emotional reflective fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

Oh my god so good I read this in one sitting and I want to reread it already 😭

Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix

adventurous dark tense fast-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? It's complicated

3.75

I was expecting something a little sillier when I picked it up since it was really buying into the IKEA catalog look, but it was still really good and I'm honestly considering buying a copy (I checked mine out from the library). 

Main characters were well written but some of the secondary characters could have used a little more time and care. 

A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers

emotional funny hopeful inspiring relaxing medium-paced

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

4.0

It was a good read, but I don't think it lived up to the hype I'd had built up for it. 
It really hit home hard towards the end and I really like how it addressed the topics it addressed. 

Ex-Yakuza and Stray Kitten Vol. 1 by Riddle Kamimura

funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.0

Ex-Yakuza and Stray Kitten Vol. 2 by Riddle Kamimura

funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.0