edrickashay's reviews
77 reviews

The Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan

adventurous funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing slow-paced

4.0

You have to go into this knowing you’re not going to read it in one sitting - perfect for nature lovers or anyone looking for a smidge of curiosity and discovery in their lives, for reading on commutes or during short breaks, this playful book feels like holding a piece of humanity in your hand. It is cozy and heartwarming. 

This book is about slow discovery, a hobby that is for no reason other than the joy of the activity - there is no rush to monetize or master. It is about how not-so-far-away we are from nature as humans. It is about engaging your inner child, and having a safe space to question, explore, not be “perfect” or “right.” Would recommend to anyone who sometimes needs a bit of that in their lives. 

Paradise Rot by Jenny Hval

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

2.0

If you like your books weird and empty-headed with no real plot, you’ll like this better than me. If you’ve got an obsession with urine, you’ll like this book way better than me. 

I’m getting quite tired of “evocative” and surreal language being used to describe books with little to no plot. This book is a short fever dream that felt like a waste of time. If there were any deeper metaphors or meanings, this book executed them so poorly or they got lost in translation and went straight over my head. I think other books do the weird, surreal thing better while actually saying something. 

The Wisdom of Your Dreams: Using Dreams to Tap Into Your Unconscious and Transform Your Life by Jeremy Taylor

adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious reflective slow-paced

4.0

This book changed how I interact with my dreams. As a vivid and active dreamer my whole life and someone who’s always wanted “prophetic” dreams, this book has enlightened me about how much my dreams are really trying to tell me. Give yourself time to read this dense book full of applicable information, and be wary of difficult content in the recurring dream chapter, this dream will teach you how to interact and learn from your dreams in a really fulfilling way. 

I definitely skipped some chapters and skimmed some, but nonfiction books aren’t necessarily meant to be read cover to cover. Minus one star for being so dense at the beginning I could barely get through it. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

The Water Cure by Sophie Mackintosh

dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

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

2.5

An interesting concept for a dystopian book, but unfortunately lacks answers to questions leaving an unsatisfying end. I wanted this to say more about female rage and/or desire, especially as someone who was in a way raised to hate men. I’ve had to undo that teaching in myself, while coming to terms with my own boundaries, beliefs, rage, and love. This book feels more like watching girls at various ages get emotional and physically abused, and leaving them uneducated in any way except violence, with little to no character growth or arc. You have no idea what time period it is, and get no answers about the “mainland,” the other women, or even about the father-figure. It tells a flat dystopian-ish story rather than making a comment or critique about sexism, feminism, or what it feels like to be a woman in this world. I just wanted more from this. 

The writing style kept me turning page after page, leading me to finish it in basically a day, but again - the lack of answers and explanation regarding world building leaves the ending unsatisfying. The author clearly has talent for writing surreal or sublime styles, but it didn’t have enough of the concrete in this story. It isn’t too graphic, though I suggest looking up trigger warnings.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Incest, Miscarriage, Self harm, Sexism, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success: A Practical Guide to the Fulfillment of Your Dreams by Deepak Chopra

hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-paced

4.0

A quick easy read that was a good re-introduction to my spiritual practice that resonated with me. It leans eastern philosophy. Full of lovely reminders and affirmations, this book provides actual steps to begin a journey of self-discovery or get back to living intentionally.

This is a book you should read when you are focused and ready to actually receive the information. I read this while at work a few times and felt I wasn't getting the most of it.

The Wood at Midwinter by Susanna Clarke

lighthearted mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

2.0

Has all the elements of a true fairy tale but I agree with others, this was so short it was over before it ever began. I also feel like there was a lot of religious context that was lost since I'm not Christian. Would've stayed at the library and not even checked it out if I knew how short it was.

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious medium-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

4.0

This book is objectively better than the first, and I think it really shines in how relationships are build between the characters and the growth of Feyre. This is found family and building confidence and it’s lovely. Overall a great read in terms of entertainment. 

There are a few scenes that I was like “really, you’re doing that now?” And a couple times where Rhys are blue, not violet.  I stumbled over a few sentences. The world building is still easy I would say, but not the most flushed out if it isn’t Velaris. 

The Drowned Woods by Emily Lloyd-Jones

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Found family, rich fantasy, a cheeky heist plot, and beautiful storytelling with a slow build to utterly intense stakes, Emily has bestowed upon us another five star read with stunning writing and world building that immerses you into pure magic. No notes. 

There’s fae. There’s magic. There’s thieves. There’s fantasy fighting rings. Unruly and bristly characters with endearing sides. And a corgi. Absolutely no notes!

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

adventurous dark hopeful lighthearted mysterious 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? Yes

3.5

I’ve decided this book is a great introduction to fantasy for adult readers - and a decent introduction to the realm of faeries. Fast-paced though a little repetitive, with better writing and less smut than booktube made it sound like (that’s a good thing), this book was an enjoyable read. 

I loved the inclusion of dark and horrifying fae with hints of gore and horror that were appropriate and not for shock value, and Feyre being appropriately affected by everything she’s endured. Along with good pacing and magic, easy world building, romance, a bad-boy, and a little mystery for the reader to figure out, this book is a good time. Perfect for a weekend trip or to read between heavy and dense reads. 

Will be reading the second! 

My qualms include the repetitiveness that occasionally sounded like just trying to get word count higher (like, feyre just thought that thought two seconds ago, she doesn’t need to think it again), and the lack of connection between Feyre and Tamlin. She felt to have better dynamics, vulnerability, and connection between Lucien and Rhysand than Tamlin. I can also maybe appreciate taking typical fae-lore and changing it (these faeries can lie?) but as someone very interested in faery I did wish the world-building and mischief of faeries with their weird rules was included a little more. It also bothered me (as someone who went to art school) how the art was described; it didn’t show any true knowledge or appreciation of art - which yeah, maybe Feyre wouldn’t know…but yeah. Just a little bothersome. 

Nothing to awful to make this a DNF or a lower rating. 

youthjuice by E.K. Sathue

dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This book will be polarizing and not everyone’s cup of tea. The cool-girl never-a-complete-sentence writing style might turn some off. But, this turns into a “what the fuck am I reading” book in a really surprisingly good way. 

If you liked Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang, I think you’ll like this one too - though YouthJuice is a bit gorier with a mystery of a main character that never seems to be solved. Our MC slowly falls into madness, but I’m not sure that she ever comes out. 

I don’t think book makes as beautiful a commentary on beauty as Natural Beauty did, and it is more of a satire in the way it exaggerates women obsessed with beauty. 

There’s two timelines that never really seemed to click together for me in a beautiful “aha, this is why she’s like this” moment, but both were entertaining nonetheless. 

Still, for some reason I’m inclined to give it 4 stars.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Self harm, and Murder