discarded_dust_jacket's reviews
267 reviews

Shots and Barbs by Lily Mayne

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2.75

One thing I will say that I really appreciate about this series is that it subverts a lot of the tropes that have become ubiquitous within the monster romance sub-genre. (That was more the case with the first book—which featured a submissive MMC and a soft femdom FMC with vaginismus who wasn’t interested in penetrative sex—but the sentiment is still present here.)

Lily Mayne’s choice to make the Demiurgus biology incompatible with humans, has created a world in which other forms of sexual intimacy get explored besides p in v penetration, which I find really admirable. Monster romance, for all the things we love about it, still falls into a lot of the gender essentialist stereotypes of “big, strong man is dominant and aggressive” and “small, dainty woman is submissive and weak.” Depicting an MMC who enthusiastically enjoys wearing a strap on over a c*ck cage in order to top his partner safely, and doesn’t view it as some threat to his “manhood” is really refreshing.

The only reason I gave this book such a low rating is because of how overwritten it was. The ratio of action/dialogue to interior monologue was wildly disproportionate. The characters’ thoughts would go on these droning tangents that lasted whole pages and weren’t necessary almost 100% of the time.

Authors: if you’ve done an adequate job of establishing your characters and providing situational context, trust that your audience can often infer their thoughts and emotions, without having them spelled out in soporific detail.

Something that I think contributes to the problem is that a lot of these stories don’t include strong supporting characters—people the MCs can work through their problems with in scenes that involve action and dialogue—so what we get instead are long sequences of internal turmoil propelled by self-directed leading questions.

An example would be, say the heroine of a story has romantic feelings for a coworker but doesn’t want to jeopardize their professional relationship. Her interior monologue in this case might sound like: “These feelings are becoming a nuisance. When did I start noticing how well his shirts fit his broad shoulders? Has his mouth always formed that single, adorable dimple when he smirks? It doesn’t matter; nothing can happen between us. But why not? What’s the worst that could come of it? Oh, you know, just the possibility that we could lose our jobs. No big deal. Or things could end badly and then working together would be tense and awkward. Would it really be so bad if we gave it a shot?” and on and on.

Now, in this story, Nuni did have Laki, who he called whenever he was working through something, but for some reason, even after those conversations, the reader would be subjected to additional, redundant interior monologue afterwards. At some point, I just started skimming.
Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors by Sonali Dev

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 26%.
I know that the beginning of P&P is meant to lean into the characters’ flaws, but I found both protagonists to be deeply unlikeable and it made it hard to want to watch them fall in love.

I also thought it was overwritten. For every piece of dialogue or action, it felt like there was a disproportionate amount of internal exposition, which made it feel like a chore to push through.

And lastly, I wasn’t comfortable with this story involving the manipulation or coercion of a terminally ill person into undergoing treatment they are unwilling to, even if it means saving their life. When Trisha remarks to her boss that since her patients didn’t go through medical school like her, they aren’t properly equipped to make decisions about their own treatment, it made me viscerally angry. And maybe her gross opinions about her patients’ bodily autonomy are meant to be something that change as the story progresses—like maybe that’s how she grows as a character—but it still didn’t sit right with me, and I didn’t want to continue.
The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline

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dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Well… I’m sobbing.

I really loved this narrator, but there were some things about the production of the audiobook that could use tweaking. 

Other than that this was phenomenal. Good grief, the found family was top tier. My heart ached for these characters.
Red String Theory by Lauren Kung Jessen

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funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

3.0

This book left the same sort of impression on me as a lot of contemporary romances, which is I close the book and go “that was cute,” and then promptly move on. 

The premise was interesting (although, my physics major husband was quick to ruin the science behind Jack’s NASA mission when I tried to explain it to him), and the characters were charming. There was nothing necessarily wrong with it—in fact I read it really quickly, so something obviously kept me turning the page.

It didn’t inspire the impulse to giggle or kick my feet or anything, which makes me think the problem might’ve been that I didn’t feel much chemistry between the main characters. I don’t know.

But overall, it was fine! Very cute.
Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

Black Liturgies: Prayers, Poems, and Meditations for Staying Human by Cole Arthur Riley

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 17%.
It’s not that I’ve stopped reading it, but my library loan is running out and I think I’d like to own this book so I can read it slowly, one chapter at a time, or when the situation calls for it. 

This doesn’t feel like the type of book you sit and read all at once. This is a book that asks you to really meditate on each section. So I’m going to continue reading it once I purchase my own copy, but just, not at a pace that’s neatly “trackable,” if that makes sense.
Bride by Ali Hazelwood

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emotional funny mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

Well that was an absolute treat. Y’all weren’t kidding. It took me a little bit longer to get into it than I was expecting, but it was like, once it latched on (hehe) it did not let go until the end. I devoured this.

I could not get over how funny Misery was. Her witty retorts made me shake with laughter, and that’s actually really uncommon for me when it comes to book characters.

Obviously, the relationship between her and Lowe (not just the slow-building sexual tension, but their overall friendship/emotional connection) felt really natural and well-paced.

I also just really appreciated the way this book interacted with the whole “mates” element. It subverted a lot of the usual tropes by playing down the biological imperatives. There was more of a focus on choice and less on hindbrain and impulses.
Lipstick & Camera Clicks by D.J. Murphy

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

3.75

First of all, I have to say this really impressed me for being a debut. I honestly thought—occasional typo aside—the writing was solid and displayed real confidence. 

There was a good blend of action, dialogue, and interiority (I think newer authors can fall into the trap of spending pages upon pages inside a character’s head and that pulls me out of the story every time).

The characters were interesting and easy to become emotionally invested in. The conflict had me stressed OUT far more than I was expecting to be. And honestly, the story in general just felt a lot more high-stakes than your typical cartoon cover romcom, and  I found that really worked for me.

My only complaints were that towards the end, I got a bit lost as to the finer details of the plot. I felt like I needed a visual aid to keep track of the underlying motivations behind all the different characters’ actions. 

Also there were a couple throwaway lines that read as trans-exclusionary (“I notice the bulge in his pants and my eyes stretch wide. … “Put that thing away.” I attempt to move past him, but he blocks me, holding either side of the door frame. “I’m a man. What’d you expect?”) and ableist (someone’s toxic and violent behavior is described as “demented”). Neither felt malicious, but I still noticed them.

All in all, this book was a pleasant surprise. I picked it up because the cover is lovely, but I knew nothing about the author, which is always a gamble. I’m glad I did though. D.J. Murphy is officially on my radar! Can’t wait for a sequel.
Laziness Does Not Exist by Devon Price

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 61%.
It’s not that I didn’t like this; I really appreciated all the sentiments expressed in the book.

It kind of lost me when it started to feel especially repetitive (a lot of the chapters often repeated information from previous sections over and over), but I finally decided I wasn’t enjoying it anymore when it shifted from exploring the structural issues that exist within capitalism and contribute to our overwork/fear of “laziness” into mitigation that focuses on personal action. It started to feel like they were saying “yes we acknowledge the problem is capitalism, but the solution is to shift your perspective! Focus on savoring the moment! Restrict your screen time!” 

Granted, considering I gave up at 61%, there’s a chance it could’ve shifted to structural solutions, but I didn’t want to force myself to keep going.
In the Care of Magic: a queer cozy monster erotica by Robin Jo Margaret

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lighthearted relaxing fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? Yes

3.5

Queer. Cozy. Monster. Erotica.

Those four words alone sold me on this. It was just the sort of simple but enjoyable story I was in the mood for right now.

I especially appreciated the aromantic rep, the fat rep, and the use of neopronouns.