everie's reviews
59 reviews

This Is the End of Something But It's Not the End of You by Adam Gnade

reflective slow-paced

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

1.5

Took me a month to read the tiniest book and that's probably a sign. My eyes kept wanting to skip the sentences. Appears to be going somewhere for about 20 pages, then the rest of the book happens. More of a "and this happened. Isn't that neat? It was the 80s" novel where not much actually happened

Grotesque by Natsuo Kirino

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.75

A gripping brick of a thriller! I love the narrator's awful, awful vibes

(and four narrators of varying reliability to boot!)

, what fun! Very dark though. I think puzzling out the main narrator carried me through the more yikes moments. All the TWs essentially

Kirino's deliberate, incisive prose made this dense book a quick read! Her villains and endings often leave a bit to be desired but the twist was a little fun here

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia

More Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin

adventurous emotional funny hopeful tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Felt like reuniting with old friends :) Adore the friendship between Maryanne and Micheal, and everything about Mona and especially Ana Madrigal, whose poise and charm I aspire to one day attain. Big improvement over the first one, with plenty of laugh out loud and WTF twists thrown in

Unapologetically schmoopy and emotional too--a strength, not a weakness. Maupin seems to care about these fools as much as I do, and it's not hard to see why. Fun!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Transphobia, and Cannibalism

An Episode of Sparrows by Rumer Godden

adventurous lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.0

A cute postwar British novel about trying to make something grow in literal ruins. Tip and Lovejoy are fun protagonists and Olivia makes for a great counterpoint to the other adults. Definitely ends conveniently, but that feels very of the time. 

Vincent also gave me so much stress lmao, though I'd love to eat at his restaurant 

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

emotional funny hopeful informative reflective 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

4.75

Surprised at how much I loved this book.

Sadie and Sam are deeply flawed protags, and that makes them both frustrating and fun to watch. Had to stop reading it before bed because the games industry aspects made me too mad and suddenly I was wide awake at 3 am lol

It would be hell to work with them, but this book really reminded me how beautiful it is to make art, especially shared projects, and made me want to get back to it after a long break. Also the debates on fun vs art vs both were fantastic

Some characters were a little financially and emotionally convenient and I felt sad about a late book plot point but I can't criticize the execution of the scenes. Very well done :(

Also I want to play Ichigo, Counterpart High, and the Shakespearean mystery games so bad!!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mass/school shootings

The Husky & His White Cat Shizun: Erha He Ta De Bai Mao Shizun (Novel) Vol. 2 by Rou Bao Bu Chi Rou

adventurous dark funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

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

3.75

Meanders a bit in the first half, but I do love her sense of humor and characters!

A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin

adventurous slow-paced

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

2.0

A slow start to what I'm sure is a great series. I read this more to be prepared for Tombs of Atuan, and then it took me a million years and I have yet to read Tombs ;_; 

It's just very classic 70s fantasy at this stage. Some glimmers of interesting things like the

elderly castaways who were once scions of a kingdom and their fear of the MC

, and I like the MC's friend and his sister, but it reinds me I don't read classic fantasy much for a reason

The Husky & His White Cat Shizun: Erha He Ta De Bai Mao Shizun (Novel) Vol. 3 by Rou Bao Bu Chi Rou

adventurous challenging dark funny lighthearted mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

More serious than the usual, and probably a sign of things to come. A fun ride!

The Past Is Red by Catherynne M. Valente

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful 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

Feels like if Junie B. Jones was born in the post-apocalypse (HIGHEST PRAISE).

This is my first Valente, and I cannot BELIEVE how much she packs into so few pages. Just when you think it can't go any farther, she drops things like

semi-sentient robot and the entire lost rich jerk population of earth terraforming Mars

on you so naturally. Nothing feels out of place, everything is heart-wrenching, and certainly it's a story for our strange, strange times.

Orlando by Virginia Woolf

adventurous challenging emotional lighthearted mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

3.5

A navel-gazy jaunt through time periods and genders. Reads like a dream (both positive and negative), rapidly runs away for paragraphs at a time as Orlando ponders and takes on different roles and genders. 

Definitely difficult to read, though it is fun how Orlando's unexplained gender changes are of no real interest to any of the characters unless convenient (i.e. keepin those liasons censor-friendly). It might be a while before I read another Woolf but I respect it greatly