Scan barcode
essjay's reviews
567 reviews
Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell
Did not finish book. Stopped at 44%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 44%.
I have tried, like, six times to read this fuckin book bc it seems like EVERYONE loves it. I am officially giving up for good. Can't even bring myself to get past the halfway point so I can use it for Bingo.
This Love by Lotte Jeffs
3.75
I almost quit this multiple times at the beginning, but I'm glad I didn't if only bc of the...idk, not necessarily nostalgia, but something akin to it that it made me feel towards the end.
Don't most queer folks have that best friend they talk about starting a family with some day? Yeah. This made me think of her.
Don't most queer folks have that best friend they talk about starting a family with some day? Yeah. This made me think of her.
The Elvenbane by Mercedes Lackey, Andre Norton
3.75
From the ages of 10-17, I lived in a town so small it's listed as a "census designated place." We had a library, but it was literally two small rooms, staffed by volunteers (this was my first "job," actually) and only open for a few hours two days a week. This was not enough for young me, which led both to me getting cards from the closest towns with libraries (30 and 60 minutes away, my mom was glad when I got my license bc it meant I could drive myself to the library whenever I wanted) AND to me re-reading all of the books I owned endlessly.
Enter The Elvenbane.
I don't even know that I thought it was GOOD when I read it, but I bought it bc of that cheesy-ass Boris Vallejo cover (there is not a single fucking dragon in the whole book that looks like this, btw) and then read that MMPB copy to tatters. To TATTERS, I say!
I re-read it bc Mercedes Lackey has said she's finished writing the manuscript for the fourth and final book (following a fuckton of dramz with Andre Norton's estate) and a friend has a project going where she's reading ALL of Lackey's work, so we read together.
I have so many fuckin questions that never would have occurred to me 30 years ago and there are so many little things that bothered me.
AND YET it was somehow still super compelling? I had forgotten most of the back half of the book (which is understandable bc I think that's where it starts to fall apart) and had a hard time not just plowing through the whole thing in order to be able to discuss it coherently.
Really looking forward to getting to the next book before this one drops entirely out of my head.
(Added a ¼ star bc of nostalgia, tbh.)
Enter The Elvenbane.
I don't even know that I thought it was GOOD when I read it, but I bought it bc of that cheesy-ass Boris Vallejo cover (there is not a single fucking dragon in the whole book that looks like this, btw) and then read that MMPB copy to tatters. To TATTERS, I say!
I re-read it bc Mercedes Lackey has said she's finished writing the manuscript for the fourth and final book (following a fuckton of dramz with Andre Norton's estate) and a friend has a project going where she's reading ALL of Lackey's work, so we read together.
I have so many fuckin questions that never would have occurred to me 30 years ago and there are so many little things that bothered me.
AND YET it was somehow still super compelling? I had forgotten most of the back half of the book (which is understandable bc I think that's where it starts to fall apart) and had a hard time not just plowing through the whole thing in order to be able to discuss it coherently.
Really looking forward to getting to the next book before this one drops entirely out of my head.
(Added a ¼ star bc of nostalgia, tbh.)
It Gets Even Better: Stories of Queer Possibility by Isabela Oliveira, Jed Sabin
4.5
As with most things I read aloud to my 14y/o, I let them take the lead with ratings. The following are the stories they rated 5/5 in this collection.
- "Frequently Asked Questions About the Portals at Frank's Late-Night Starlite Drive-In" by Kristen Koopman
- "Midnight Confetti" by D.K. Marlowe
- "Venti Mochaccino, No Whip, Double Shot of Magic" by Aimee Ogden
- "I'll Have You Know" by Charlie Jane Anders
- "The Cafe Under the Hill" by Ziggy Schutz
- "(don't you) love a singer" by TS Porter
- "The After Party" by Ben Francisco
I'm a little disappointed the last one wasn't the closer to this anthology as it would have been perfect there, but I wasn't the editor, so what're you gonna do?
The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
4.75
Genuinely hilarious and so clever, I will never not love this series. Glad to have read it again and am greatly looking forward to re-reading the rest ahead of Dark Reading Matter.
When is the winter of our discontent?
When is the winter of our discontent?
Hot Air: A Novel by Marcy Dermansky
4.25
Marcy Dermansky : Messy-ass GenX Women :: Anna Dorn : Messy-ass Queer Millennials
If you know this going in, or you have read any of her work in the past, you know what to expect.
Which is the following:
• Messy-ass women that are almost entirely unlikable, but make for compelling reading nonetheless.
• An inordinate amount of messy-ass women swimming.
• Terrible decisions made by messy-ass women; you will want to scream at them "the fuck is WRONG with you?!" but you will keep reading in order to hopefully find out the fuck, in fact, is wrong with them.
My oldest read this review as I was writing this. "Oh, so like if Crazy Ex-Girlfriend was a book? No wonder you loved it!" Yes, exactly. That kid gets me.
I've read the majority of Dermansky's oeuvre, and would slot this solidly in the upper middle. It doesn't top Bad Marie for me, but really...what could?
Lots of fun, will be forcing this on people as an excellent poolside read (heh) when it's released in time for warmer weather.
If you know this going in, or you have read any of her work in the past, you know what to expect.
Which is the following:
• Messy-ass women that are almost entirely unlikable, but make for compelling reading nonetheless.
• An inordinate amount of messy-ass women swimming.
• Terrible decisions made by messy-ass women; you will want to scream at them "the fuck is WRONG with you?!" but you will keep reading in order to hopefully find out the fuck, in fact, is wrong with them.
My oldest read this review as I was writing this. "Oh, so like if Crazy Ex-Girlfriend was a book? No wonder you loved it!" Yes, exactly. That kid gets me.
I've read the majority of Dermansky's oeuvre, and would slot this solidly in the upper middle. It doesn't top Bad Marie for me, but really...what could?
Lots of fun, will be forcing this on people as an excellent poolside read (heh) when it's released in time for warmer weather.
A Good Happy Girl by Marissa Higgins
Did not finish book. Stopped at 15%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 15%.
Sometimes I read something without quotation marks and it works so well I don't even notice. Others I am painfully aware of every missing one. This is the latter.
These Fragile Graces, This Fugitive Heart by Izzy Wasserstein
Did not finish book. Stopped at 13%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 13%.
Might try again sometime, but am just not in the mood for a murder mystery rn.
Craft: Stories I Wrote for the Devil by Ananda Lima
4.75
I cackled (“Idle Hands”), I cried (“Hasselblad: Triptych”), I panicked (“Tropicália”), I gagged (“Porcelain”).
I really just enjoyed the hell out of my time with this collection. Bumping up a quarter star bc of how much I loved the framing device.
I really just enjoyed the hell out of my time with this collection. Bumping up a quarter star bc of how much I loved the framing device.