emmagrace's reviews
218 reviews

This Other Eden by Paul Harding

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Stunning writing

The Succubus's Prize by Katee Robert

hopeful fast-paced

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

2.5

Silk & Steel: A Queer Speculative Adventure Anthology by Janine A. Southard

adventurous lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Hard to review an anthology with such a mixed bag of short stories. The ones I enjoyed were:
Margo Lai's Guide to Dueling Unprepared by Alison Tam;
Elinor Jones vs. the Ruritanian Multiverse by Freya Marske;
Little Birds by Cara Patterson;
In the Salt Crypts of Ghiarelle by Jennifer Mace;
and The Parnassian Courante by Claire Bartlett.

The Right to Sex: Feminism in the Twenty-First Century by Amia Srinivasan

informative reflective medium-paced

3.75

The titular essay is the best of them, but I also really enjoyed "On Not Sleeping with Your Students." The first essay, "The Conspiracy Against Men," was by far the weakest because it had nothing new to say. Perhaps someone newer to feminist scholarship would find that essay more interesting, but someone new to feminist scholarship would likely find the later essays too challenging, so I don't really see its place in this book.

Silver Under Nightfall by Rin Chupeco

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

hurts to see someone living your dream

Sword Catcher by Cassandra Clare

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The Mirror Season by Anna-Marie McLemore

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

2.75

so much potential but the plot was so unnecessarily convoluted. a simpler book would have been more impactful

The Sunshine Court by Nora Sakavic

dark emotional 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

3.75

I never know how to rate these books because by all existing standards they're terrible and I love them anyways

The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater

adventurous emotional 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

4.75

definitely the weakest of the series but still so incredible. i want to crawl inside it

From Bad to Cursed by Lana Harper

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.75

it's a bad sign when you finish a book and think "thank god it's over"