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elizlizabeth's reviews
178 reviews
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
3.0
I enjoyed the first half of the book but by the end it honestly felt like the plot was there only to justify the smut. Jamie was my favorite character but by the end he had lost all semblance of personality and coherency in favor of whatever the plot or Claire's own arch required. Claire herself was very annoying and unlikable to me, but her actions and personality made sense for the plot so it's not really a critique and more of a lack of affinity on my part.
Gabaldon is a very good writer and I truly enjoyed the historical fantasy part of this. Not sure if I'd read the rest of the series after that infamous dungeon scene tho. Definitely read and heed the warnings on this one.
Gabaldon is a very good writer and I truly enjoyed the historical fantasy part of this. Not sure if I'd read the rest of the series after that infamous dungeon scene tho. Definitely read and heed the warnings on this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Infertility, Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Blood, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Child abuse, Medical trauma, Torture, Rape, Ableism, Animal death, Homophobia, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Abortion, Infidelity, and Xenophobia
The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
I fell in love with the whole cast of characters and I kept laughing out loud on my commutes to the point other passengers must've thought I was losing my mind.
The last 15% however felt very rushed plot wise, a lot of tell don't show with the revelations and false confessions. It made me feel as if we were never meant to solve the mystery on our own for the sake of plot twists. I feel there were more elegant ways to tie off the loose ends and pick up on both previous clues and the overall message of the book (which if I'm seeing it correctly is "the past/old people" vs "the present/young cops" and how there's good and bad things in both).
The last 15% however felt very rushed plot wise, a lot of tell don't show with the revelations and false confessions. It made me feel as if we were never meant to solve the mystery on our own for the sake of plot twists. I feel there were more elegant ways to tie off the loose ends and pick up on both previous clues and the overall message of the book (which if I'm seeing it correctly is "the past/old people" vs "the present/young cops" and how there's good and bad things in both).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Dementia, Murder, and Terminal illness
Brass by Xhenet Aliu
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
Three (four if we count Greta) women who love each other so much but fail to give the other what they really need. Love lost in translation is no less love, and this gets proven beautifuly by the end of the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Pregnancy, and Infidelity
Babel by R.F. Kuang
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
I loved the worldbuilding, the writing and characters of this, and greatly enjoyed the overarching themes. The pacing between the two "halves" of the book, when it's all academia vs after "the incident" felt off, and a bit redundant but otherwise I really liked it.
Great if you're interested in a more anthropological take on dark academia and magic.
Great if you're interested in a more anthropological take on dark academia and magic.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, War, Child abuse, Cultural appropriation, Gun violence, and Xenophobia
I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
emotional
fast-paced
5.0
I really liked how Jennette wrote and narrated it in such a way that made light of otherwise heavy topics while at the same time allowing herself to be vulnerable. I'm glad that she found some healing and closure after all of that, and I like that she managed to establish boundaries that work for her.
It's honestly shocking to know that someone whose work I derived so much entertainment from was having such a horrible time all along but we never know what kinda battles anyone's fighting I guess.
It's honestly shocking to know that someone whose work I derived so much entertainment from was having such a horrible time all along but we never know what kinda battles anyone's fighting I guess.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Addiction, Dysphoria, Child abuse, Gaslighting, and Vomit
Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert
dark
tense
slow-paced
3.0
Kind of a bummer because I enjoyed Dune a lot. This one focuses on bringing some darker aspects to the saga, but the pace is so slow for such a short book that I couldn't be as into it as I was with the first book. I think the ending saved it for me, so I'll continue to read but gah this book could've been an email.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Incest and Adult/minor relationship
Elena sabe by Claudia Piñeiro
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.5
A gripping prose. Since it's first person narrative and a stream-of-consciousness style, you get to only know what Elena knows (badum tss) so it's very good at creating empathy with the character and the situation without ever letting Elena be defined by the illness alone. There's social commentary (or rather a full on thesis) on body autonomy and it's so layered that I didn't quite realize where it was going until the very end when everything falls into place. Truly an Oh moment.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Abortion, Chronic illness, and Medical content
Toil & Trouble: A Know Not Why Halloween (Mis)adventure by Hannah Johnson
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
3.0
This only works if Arthur loves the craft store which I felt that he didn't based off the ending on KNW. Still, I liked how some of the secondary characters got a bit more attention and enjoyed Kristy's arc especially. It was a bit preachy at times, and tried to do that 2000s thing where everyone must be paired off at the end.
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
This book kept surprising me at every turn! I loved the characters and the snappy dialogue. It was a nice balance to the science jargon, which was easy to follow even to someone not from a STEM background.
I did enjoy The Martian a little more, writing style wise because the whole flashbacks with information that will be useful later was a bit clunky after a while. I think it sacrifices style for the sake of plot twists (of which there are plenty) which ultimately makes it 4 stars for me.
I did enjoy The Martian a little more, writing style wise because the whole flashbacks with information that will be useful later was a bit clunky after a while. I think it sacrifices style for the sake of plot twists (of which there are plenty) which ultimately makes it 4 stars for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, and Death
Things We Do in the Dark by Jennifer Hillier
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Not usually a fan of thrillers but this one was pretty well written for the most part. It has very likable, modern characters without feeling like a parody. Whenever it touches tricky subjects it does it with a lot of tact and nuance, but not in-your-face, which I enjoyed a lot. The ending felt a bit rushed and in retrospect some of the plot lines were unnecessary, but aside from that I can totally recommend it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Child abuse, Violence, Blood, Sexual violence, and Pedophilia
Moderate: Addiction, Torture, Chronic illness, Suicide, and Fire/Fire injury