egslcgns's reviews
25 reviews

The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

i was a little skeptical about the time travelling trope at the start because of the rabbit hole it opens, so this book was such a pleasant surprise. i laughed, i cringed, i BLUSHED, i cried!!! all the characters in this book were lovable and a joy to read, Iwan is quite literally the man of our dreams, riding on the MEN WHO COOK supremacy. the chemistry between the main characters are off the charts as well uhggghhh. the writing style is light, and especially, tear-jerkingly tender in the final act. This is also a story about grief, and change, as much as it is about love (which is always a lovely new layer to explore), and the central role aunt analea played in clementine’s growth also made this an equally (if not more) important element of the story. Will own this book soon enough! 💧

Foster by Claire Keegan

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

on family, loss and the childhood fuzziness of knowing and not knowing - reminds me of alice munro’s shorts. Foster is subtle, liminal, the most important bits hidden between the lines. The ending was super.

Elektra by Jennifer Saint

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

ok, i get the hype around the trojan war. i liked cassandra and clytemnestra’s stories enough, and i hope my intense disdain and annoyance for elektra was intended by the author. this book brings an alternate perspective outside the battlefield and into the stories of these women who are often cast aside and even blamed for tragedies that are often caused by men. kind of wished there was more intertwining of cassandra’s story with the atreus women, but I’m also glad to be away from elektra and her bs LOL

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

emotional informative reflective sad 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

5.0

Literary perfection, idk. One of those books that make you *feel* the characters. Their struggles, joys, fears make them vividly real. Race was discussed deeply and I learnt a lot. The themes of passing, performance/acting, lightness and darkness, departure, are multilayered and handled effectively for the reader to understand. It was also refreshing to have great queer characters in the setting of 1950s-1980s America, that doesn't feel tokenistic and was done with much intention. Chef's kiss.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual assault and Domestic abuse

Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers

emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

very hulu tv show-esque… please adapt this! felt like it was a bit slow in the first half. Jean is a great complicated protagonist at the centre of this family drama. Twists were surprising but also well received.

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

emotional mysterious reflective 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

4.0

What does it mean to be a mother?

Would love to revisit this book and it’s discussions on class & motherhood!

Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell

emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.25

The payoff in the second act was what I'd stayed for. Loved the language and style, very vivid. Agnes is also very well written and I liked how grief and how it manifests is explored in the ending.

Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie

emotional sad tense 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

5.0

Wow. Antigone was the first text I studied in high school literature and I was delighted to be reconnected to it so many years later. Kamila Shamsie’s writing style is so elegant, the characters vivid and dense, the reimagined story still as heartbreaking, and it deals with political discussions on religion and politics with the weight it deserves. Would own/pick up again as I couldn’t put this book down.

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

Fast, easy read. The twist was… okay. Slow-paced until the end when Cady figures out what happens

Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa

hopeful lighthearted relaxing slow-paced

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

3.5

Beautiful book cover! This is good for people who enjoyed Before the Coffee Gets Cold. As I recently rediscovered reading the joys of getting through a book was lovely to read about. Characters were okay, just not a big fan of the “nothing would’ve happened if u just said how u feel”, but there is beauty in characters being flawed like that