deereadstoo's reviews
150 reviews

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Wow. I'm not sure what to say other than wow. I think Akwaeke's special weapon might be crafting full-bodied characters. There's no way you leave their books without your brain split amongst the good, bad, and the ugly of any character they bring to life. That's especially evident in Little Rot.

To be frank, the plot isn't even what's important here. The true meat of this novel is the characters, how their lives interwine, and what that means for their futures. Emezi carefully crafts these characters by starting us off with something as innocent as a break-up and--ironically enough--a sex party and plunging us deep into the belly of the beast with each action that unfolds the true horrors that lay within. A book always sticks with me more when I can go back and fully understand the meaning behind the title and the epigraph. Going back to page 0 after I finished and seeing the quote from Toni Morrison in the epigraph, "I'm just trying to look at something without blinking to see what it is like, or it could have been like, and how that had something to do with the way we live now," packed a different punch. Seeing people for who they are in their fullness might be your salvation or destruction.

I say all this to say that Little Rot was a true character study and a testament to humanity and the truth. How it can only be hidden for so long until it is brought to light for all to reckon with. You peel back layers upon layers of people you've known your whole life only to realize you haven't even scratched the surface. Their core holds secrets they'll never tell and pain that's etched into their bones. So for those that love character-driven books, this might just be your favorite piece of rotten fruit.

Content Warnings

A Woman Is No Man by Etaf Rum

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dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Content Warnings

Release Me by J.L. Seegars

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emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Was it revolutionary? No. Was it cute? Yes.

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Clear by Carys Davies

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hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.5

*PUBLISH DATE APRIL 2, 2024*

This book takes place near the end of the Scottish Clearances, in which John Ferguson, an impoverished minister, eagerly takes a job to evict a man off of a remote island. However, what ends up occurring is much more than he expected.

While a quick and easy read, this book does a nice job of showing how solitude and companionship have an ironic relationship with each other. It gives us varying perspectives from each of the characters and how their relationships develop over time and the meaningful things that happen within. The ending almost feels ambiguous as the reader begins to wonder what is to be made of the relationship. What was said? What was left unsaid? What was clear?

Stay with Me by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Content Warnings

Womb City by Tlotlo Tsamaase

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

Thank you Kensington Books and Erewhon Books for sending me an ARC of this book to review!

"If you hate these toxic roles you're forced into so much, then change it."

Womb City by Tlotlo Tsamaase was a tumultuous journey beyond epic proportions. It began like the slow crawl up a steep, nearly vertical, rollercoaster track. It's not too crazy and doesn't garner much fear. It's almost relaxing. A gentle caress that lulls you to sleep. However, when the car creeps to the top, everything changes. Your heart starts racing, your palms begin to sweat, and your stomach plummets to the floor. You start to wonder why anyone would think this is fun. Then you drop. All the chaos begins to build to a crescendo. That's what this book is. A build-up to a crescendo.

This book was quite boring in the beginning if I'm honest. It was also quite clunky and confusing in its world-building as the author was trying to explain a system/government that would've benefitted greatly from either footnotes or a glossary. I was constantly at a loss trying to understand the body-hopping system, the microchips, how that information and practice is used to keep the society they live in crime-free, etc. It was overwhelming so for the first 30% I was going off of vibes. However, after 30%, the drop happened and we were going full throttle into catastrophe.

Now, this is where the story sends me for a loop and it truly is vibes but make it sci-fi meets body horror meets women's fiction? I felt like there was some inspiration from Beloved by Toni Morrison and Cabin in the Woods (movie). There were so many moving parts in the last 70% that had my head on a swivel. Once we put pedal-to-the-medal, I feel like the overarching message of 'women are at the brunt of a patriarchal society' got lost at points. I could see how the author tried to bring it all together at the end but it felt as though it was plopped into the plot again last minute to re-establish the main point. I think that might've been my biggest disappointment with this book. I hate to say it but I felt like either the patriarchal plot device could've been left out entirely or we could've removed the murder-mystery plot. Even with the clear outline from the synopsis, I don't think the execution of both together was done particularly well. I had a fun time though and that's my overall opinion on rollercoasters.

Content Warnings