erika_winters's reviews
18 reviews

The Dragon's Bride by Katee Robert

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adventurous 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

3.0

This was definitely better than Hunt on Dark Waters (a book by Robert I read earlier this year). It was straightforward and to the point. The characters were given just the right amount of development to keep it interesting, but this book is definitely classic Robert where she simply tells you everything the character is feeling instead of showing that. In that way it’s reflective, but leaves a lot to be desired 
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A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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

I think this is the first time I’ve ever read a historical romance (as far as my memory is concerned), and I loved reading a story centered around a transgender woman named Viola (love the Twelfth Night reference here). Alexis Hall skillfully crafted this book where being trans was not a main source of conflict, but something celebrated and loved. I appreciated all the characters close to Viola, like her sister-in-law Louise, for example, care for Viola and never question her identity. The romance between Viola and Gracewood is beautiful and so well-written; the friends to lovers motif really created a layer of understanding and affection between the two as they grappled with their identities, PTSD, and for Gracewood, a disability that he has to come to come to terms with in a society that he feels will judge him. Viola is not the only character coming to terms with her gendered society; Gracewood is too in all of his personal struggles with drug and alcohol addiction from PTSD from Waterloo, and the harsh upbringing with a callous father who taught him a suffocating model of masculinity that he feels stuffed into. Overall, it is through each other that they find their strengths and discuss their weaknesses, which made this an effective romance, in my opinion! AND all the queer representation really made my heart happy; so, come for the regency romance, stay for the queer joy!
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Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

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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? Yes

2.75

First off, I want to start out by saying that I didn’t hate this book; I just didn’t love it as much I hoped I would. Sophie and Howl remain the same from book to movie as far as their flaws are concerned, and I liked how Studio Ghibli interpreted the text into something of their own. It’s been years since I’ve seen the movie, so it didn’t shape my thoughts around the reading experience, but it was in this reading experience that I found difficulty in liking the book in it’s entirety. Wynne Jones would lose me at times, and I would have to reread certain passages many times over to comprehend what the meaning is. Sometimes this was because of the book’s use of British vernacular (not usually a huge issue for me) or by simply mentioning something that was told to the reader in passing on page 39, for example. I appreciate an author circling back to make sense of what was previously stated, but this can be confusing to remember, and takes away from the text as a whole. Some symbols, like the skull, were obviously going to come up again since they were mentioned so often, but this is when Wynne Jones excelled and made me go, “Aha! That’s where ____ connects into the plot!” Overall, the magic was fun, the characters made me laugh because of their many flaws and quirks, but ultimately was not my favorite fantasy novel of all time.
The Wicked Bargain by Gabe Cole Novoa

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adventurous emotional hopeful reflective fast-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? It's complicated

4.75

I was recommended this book via Instagram by a bookseller I follow, and oh boy was she right that I would love it! It’s a fast-paced pirate book with Latinx characters; something I’ve never read before, but have only seen movies and shows revolving around, especially Our Flag Means Death (OFMD), which is why this recommendation came my way. The history of pirates in the Caribbean mixed with fantasy of magical abilities that Mar (main character) has was both educational, tragic, and enlightening. The only reason why this book didn’t get 5 stars was because it took me some time to get through, but that isn’t a fault of the book since I was listening to this on Libro.fm and it’s hard for me to follow fictional books on audio. The reason why I chose this on audio though is because Vico Ortiz narrates it, and that was one of the most enjoyable experiences since I love their portrayal of Jim on OFMD so very much. The different voices they chose to use throughout the book made it easy to follow which character was speaking, and also created layers in the narrative. Overall, I do think most people would find this book interesting if you love queer pirates finding their way in life and coming to terms with who they are (specifically Mar in the context of their magical abilities). 
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Swimming in the Dark by Tomasz Jedrowski

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dark emotional reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.75

There were so many passages that I highlighted in this book! Jedrowski’s writing is so beautiful; every description is effortless and easy to visualize. The narrator, Ludwik, was so genuine and open about his complicated feelings of being gay in communist Poland, which also happens to be a very Catholic driven culture, so it was difficult for him to see himself as lovable or able to experience happiness as a gay man. Jedrowski choosing to have the narrative style be in second person (Ludwik constantly referring to the reader as “you,” to denote his ex-partner, Janusz, who is the target reader of the text) was something I had never read before, and found unique. This book taught me about communist Poland, something not discussed in the least here in the US, but also made me cry. The reason why it doesn’t have a 5 star rating is because it read slower than I like, but that what mainly from me highlighting so much as I went through. 
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The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-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

I loved this book! It was such a cozy read throughout, and the found family that Linus finds while on social work assignment was so comforting. I loved the connection he had with all of the children (Chauncey the future bellhop is my favorite child), and the adorable romance with Arthur that was slowly boiling away throughout. I read this book in 4-5 days, which is really impressive for me since I am a very slow reader, so I recommend this to anyone who is in a reading slump or would just like a comforting read to get them through the depressing bog of reality.
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Monsters: A Fan's Dilemma by Claire Dederer

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challenging dark emotional funny informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

This was a really insightful book of essays containing cultural critiques while combining Dederer’s personal experiences and views. A major question she tackles throughout the essays (which delve into Roman Polanski, Woody Allen, Pablo Picasso, Doris Lessing, Joni Mitchell, etc.) is: can we still love art created by monstrous people? This is something that Dederer personally grapples with throughout and has a bunch of mixed emotions about; but we all do, really. The only reason this didn’t get a perfect 5 star rating is because I felt like some essays were lacking in some way; I am greedy and wanted more discussion or more details about people I didn’t know about before reading the essays, such as Ana Mendieta, a feminist sculptor and painter, who died tragically from what Dederer believes to be a domestic violence situation. 
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Hunt on Dark Waters by Katee Robert

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

1.5

This book had little to no plot, but was driven solely by the characters having an abhorrent amount of sex throughout. I’m not opposed to sex scenes, however, this book threw plot completely out of the window for the sake of smut. If that’s something you enjoy, then by all means, pick up this book, but it just wasn’t for me.  
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