eduardoandgo's reviews
459 reviews

Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel

4.0

I am quite interested in seeing where this story goes. I enjoyed the format of this novel.

Herc: A Queer Greek Mythology Retelling by Phoenicia Rogerson

4.0

There are quite a number of things I enjoyed about this book: the switch in POVs, the vast amount of characters that each feel full in their relation to Heracles and distinct in their voice, the decision of what/who to include in this story. But despite feeling so warm towards the story, there's something that pulls me back from giving it a higher rating. It's more about what it lacks (can't figure out what this is specifically about) rather than it doing something wrong.

Prosper's Demon by K.J. Parker

3.0

I was not vibing with the protagonist for the first 30%, but then got used to their personality (or maybe they were toned down). The story in itself was fine, short and concise. Would be interested in reading its sequel.

The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager

3.5

Overall, I enjoyed this. 

This is very woman in the window trope but she's looking at the glass house across the lake on her patio with her dead husband's birdwatching binoculars. The first half was kind of annoying me because of how stereotypically woman-in-the-window it was, but around the halfway point I became more engaged with the characters. It's just a bit tiring to me being inundated with an addict thinks she's picking up on crazy things happening to the people around her but she's always using so you never know what's truth and what's being created by her imagination because of her substance of choice and no one is really believing her because of it. I don't think it helps that I keep accidentally choosing thrillers with this trope. (I can't remember if the parody TV show The Woman in the House across the Street from the Girl in the Window was good, because the idea of it stemming from the oversaturization of this type of story would be fun.) 

The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid

3.0

Hm, The first 75% of this book was a bit of a slog for me. I wasn't very interested in the first half of the book, felt repetitive in the dialogue in regard to one character trying to chastise the other by bringing something over and over again. The last quarter was a quicker read. 

Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala

3.0

I was entertained and had a good time reading it. 

Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips

2.5

I don't particularly like the characterization of the gods, they feel so one dimensional and so stereotypical; it's a bit boring. The plot itself isn't too bad, I prefer the first half to the second half (even though the first half took me a lot longer to get through). It felt a bit obvious where it was going, nothing quite special about how they were going to fix the main problem.

It is so funny to me that a movie adaptation was made, premiered, got terrible reviews, and then was never released. (I can kind of see why, based solely on the book).

Game Changer by Rachel Reid

3.5

The sex scenes were hot, I appreciate that and I appreciate when everyone involved is verse. Past that... it's fine, it's classic hockey love story (I've now read two), I don't have any beef with the writing style. I have to get past my dislike for insta-love and

arguments and near breakups being fixed by the power of the immense love they have for each other

but still a good read. I did not imagine Scott to be blonde with blue eyes, I never will (don't care for the combo), and every time it was brought up I jumped a bit.

Stormwielder by Aaron Hodges

1.5

The story isn't that interesting, quite simple actually. The writing style is not for me at all. Hate the romance sub-plot. Not a big fan of the jumping between perspectives in this novel. The characters are too superficial. I will not continue with this series. 

The Idiot by Elif Batuman

2.5

I don't particularly like the protagonist; I feel warm towards her in the way you would about someone who spends time with your friends but you never really connect with for no substantive reason. But she is 19, which is a tumultuous age for a young woman to be, so I forgive her for being so one-boy-crazy. It felt a bit rushed at times, ready to move Selina from one location to another (specifically during the time where they are prepping for a play). There were few portions of the novel where I actually was engaged with the story compared to the parts when I wasn't.