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exteenawreads's reviews
351 reviews
The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet by John Green
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
I give the Anthropocene Reviewed 100 out of 5 stars.
John Green has a way of speaking directly to my soul - picking at the smallest seemingly meaningless bits of life and dissecting them into the beautiful wonders that they are. I have been a huge fan since his books basically shaped my consciousness in middle school, and that he continues to dig his little fingers into my brain and massage it all around now that I am an old jaded adult, is truly miraculous.
The Anthropocene Reviewed essentially pokes fun at the need of modern humans to "rate" everything on a 5 star scale, from movies to restaurants to park benches. Each chapter focuses on a single subject, giving often a brief history, some introspection of how it relates to the human experience, and personal connections he has to the subject that has somehow affected his life. The subjects range from Canadian Geese, to sunsets, to the QWERTY keyboard - and in each short chapter, Green manages to provoke a range of feelings from pure joy and wonder to profound grief and loneliness. Each chapter then ends with Green's personal rating of that subject out of 5 stars.
It's hard to explain how and why this collection of essays is so powerful and unique and beautiful. It is like a time capsule of the human condition, how wonderful and tragic it can be, and how we find our place and meaning in it.
It's hard for me to pick a favorite - but I feel a need to shout out the "Googling Strangers" chapter. It starts off a bit silly, with Green explaining how his social anxiety drives him to Google known attendees of a party before he arrives so that he feels he already knows them. It then meanders into the strangeness of social media, and how terrifyingly easy it is to find personal information on people, and how intrusive being a perpetually online personality can be. It then ends with a story from when he worked in a hospital in his early 20s and witnessed the tragedy of a very young child fighting for his life - and how years later, he struggled with whether or not to Google the kids name and see if he lived. I fully sobbed by the end. Just masterful storytelling from a fascinating, thoughtful, incredible person.
Highly highly recommend 🙏🏻
John Green has a way of speaking directly to my soul - picking at the smallest seemingly meaningless bits of life and dissecting them into the beautiful wonders that they are. I have been a huge fan since his books basically shaped my consciousness in middle school, and that he continues to dig his little fingers into my brain and massage it all around now that I am an old jaded adult, is truly miraculous.
The Anthropocene Reviewed essentially pokes fun at the need of modern humans to "rate" everything on a 5 star scale, from movies to restaurants to park benches. Each chapter focuses on a single subject, giving often a brief history, some introspection of how it relates to the human experience, and personal connections he has to the subject that has somehow affected his life. The subjects range from Canadian Geese, to sunsets, to the QWERTY keyboard - and in each short chapter, Green manages to provoke a range of feelings from pure joy and wonder to profound grief and loneliness. Each chapter then ends with Green's personal rating of that subject out of 5 stars.
It's hard to explain how and why this collection of essays is so powerful and unique and beautiful. It is like a time capsule of the human condition, how wonderful and tragic it can be, and how we find our place and meaning in it.
It's hard for me to pick a favorite - but I feel a need to shout out the "Googling Strangers" chapter. It starts off a bit silly, with Green explaining how his social anxiety drives him to Google known attendees of a party before he arrives so that he feels he already knows them. It then meanders into the strangeness of social media, and how terrifyingly easy it is to find personal information on people, and how intrusive being a perpetually online personality can be. It then ends with a story from when he worked in a hospital in his early 20s and witnessed the tragedy of a very young child fighting for his life - and how years later, he struggled with whether or not to Google the kids name and see if he lived. I fully sobbed by the end. Just masterful storytelling from a fascinating, thoughtful, incredible person.
Highly highly recommend 🙏🏻
White Hot by Ilona Andrews
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
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? No
4.0
Despite the very.... interesting cover, this book is
1. Not really that smutty. It is 95% action, money, politics, and urban magic/fantasy with like one or two romance scenes that are pretty vanilla. There are whole ass car chase scenes and shootouts and kidnapping attempts and heists, and it is all high stakes and tense.
2. Like actually pretty good
Second in this series, we continue to follow Nevada who is a private investigator with secret magic powers to tell when people are lying, among other things. She is in a forced partnership with a guy, who has the terrifying magical ability to basic level buildings with his mind, in order to solve a murder being covered up by some important rich magical families. It reads like an episode of SVU or Bones or one of those similar guy/gal detective duos with respectful sexual tension but with magic, and tbh it slapped. I liked it more than the first one, and wasn't planning to read this whole series but now I actually might.
1. Not really that smutty. It is 95% action, money, politics, and urban magic/fantasy with like one or two romance scenes that are pretty vanilla. There are whole ass car chase scenes and shootouts and kidnapping attempts and heists, and it is all high stakes and tense.
2. Like actually pretty good
Second in this series, we continue to follow Nevada who is a private investigator with secret magic powers to tell when people are lying, among other things. She is in a forced partnership with a guy, who has the terrifying magical ability to basic level buildings with his mind, in order to solve a murder being covered up by some important rich magical families. It reads like an episode of SVU or Bones or one of those similar guy/gal detective duos with respectful sexual tension but with magic, and tbh it slapped. I liked it more than the first one, and wasn't planning to read this whole series but now I actually might.
Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
(3-4 ⭐? can't decide) I have two wolves within me: one finger-gunning and saying "Niiice, hot slutty vampires" and the other screaming "The Bechdel Test! Misogyny! Fridging!! Gross obsession with sexualizing underage kids!"
So ya, I dunno.
I think the writing was excellent, the world was immersive and thrilling, and the story compelling. The battle scenes are expertly written and many moments are truly exhilarating. The prose is beautiful and poetic, the characters are memorable and unique. I really enjoyed what was basically a randomly generated DND party of diverse folks, forced together and fighting against all odds on a quest to save the broken world. It seems to heavily take inspiration from other media I love like The Witcher and The Last of Us, though that meant I wasn't too surprised by the direction. It was just so painfully obviously written by a man the feminist in me couldn't help but cringe often. And don't get me wrong, I get that the point of showing all of this violence and hatred of women is to highlight it as toxic and wrong. But the way it's written also glorifies it, and the story isn't about fighting the patriarchy - it's about a man out for revenge and glory, his enemy just happens to also be thinly veiled patriarchy and religious zealotry.
Ex: A vampire obsessed with teenage girls and turning them to be his unwilling slaves, literally pulling his carriage all half naked? = Evil, this is a villain, we don't root for him. But the writing itself directs the reader to see these things moreso as acts of great power and strength, and the simple truth of what a man would do if they were infinite and unkillable. This vampire is described very positively as beautiful, strong, something to be respected and feared. Yes he's a villain, but I'm also not convinced the author doesn't sort of revere men like him or at least see this as the average man's ideal. And the many examples of this throughout are hard to ignore.
Overall I did really like it, I just feel a little icky about it. And I truly could have done without the underage kid sexualizing. And the animal deaths :(
So ya, I dunno.
I think the writing was excellent, the world was immersive and thrilling, and the story compelling. The battle scenes are expertly written and many moments are truly exhilarating. The prose is beautiful and poetic, the characters are memorable and unique. I really enjoyed what was basically a randomly generated DND party of diverse folks, forced together and fighting against all odds on a quest to save the broken world. It seems to heavily take inspiration from other media I love like The Witcher and The Last of Us, though that meant I wasn't too surprised by the direction. It was just so painfully obviously written by a man the feminist in me couldn't help but cringe often. And don't get me wrong, I get that the point of showing all of this violence and hatred of women is to highlight it as toxic and wrong. But the way it's written also glorifies it, and the story isn't about fighting the patriarchy - it's about a man out for revenge and glory, his enemy just happens to also be thinly veiled patriarchy and religious zealotry.
Ex: A vampire obsessed with teenage girls and turning them to be his unwilling slaves, literally pulling his carriage all half naked? = Evil, this is a villain, we don't root for him. But the writing itself directs the reader to see these things moreso as acts of great power and strength, and the simple truth of what a man would do if they were infinite and unkillable. This vampire is described very positively as beautiful, strong, something to be respected and feared. Yes he's a villain, but I'm also not convinced the author doesn't sort of revere men like him or at least see this as the average man's ideal. And the many examples of this throughout are hard to ignore.
Overall I did really like it, I just feel a little icky about it. And I truly could have done without the underage kid sexualizing. And the animal deaths :(
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and War
Game On by Seressia Glass
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
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? No
3.75
A cute, geeky, low-stakes quick and easy read about a video game CEO and a streamer/activist working to make gaming more inclusive. It's very insta-lovey, sort of workplace romance, and the communication is so healthy it's damn near out of a therapy textbook every time they talk.
What I liked:
- I'm always a sucker for nerdy MCs. This definitely seemed to be written by someone who knows and understands the gaming and convention world
- The focus on DEI, specifically women and black women and how they are treated by the gaming community, and the importance of creating spaces where everyone is welcome
- Aron the MMC is an absolute simp for his woman, immediately and strongly
- Sam the FMC is badass, well-spoken, and intelligent throughout the story. She has a few moments where she is quick to anger and defensive, but that's understandable considering her background.
- Representation for those with special needs in gaming. I love these types of initiatives IRL and it's awesome seeing them highlighted here
What I didn't like:
- I will never ever like a Third Act Breakup! And this one also was silly IMO
- There really wasn't much drama...everything was almost too easy? Which felt weird considering the serious subject matter
- Aron seemed to flip a switch and be a different personality in the spice scenes. It was a little jolting.
Overall i'd recommend! I listened to the audiobook and it was a quick comfy listen.
What I liked:
- I'm always a sucker for nerdy MCs. This definitely seemed to be written by someone who knows and understands the gaming and convention world
- The focus on DEI, specifically women and black women and how they are treated by the gaming community, and the importance of creating spaces where everyone is welcome
- Aron the MMC is an absolute simp for his woman, immediately and strongly
- Sam the FMC is badass, well-spoken, and intelligent throughout the story. She has a few moments where she is quick to anger and defensive, but that's understandable considering her background.
- Representation for those with special needs in gaming. I love these types of initiatives IRL and it's awesome seeing them highlighted here
What I didn't like:
- I will never ever like a Third Act Breakup! And this one also was silly IMO
- There really wasn't much drama...everything was almost too easy? Which felt weird considering the serious subject matter
- Aron seemed to flip a switch and be a different personality in the spice scenes. It was a little jolting.
Overall i'd recommend! I listened to the audiobook and it was a quick comfy listen.
Wolfsong by TJ Klune
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
sad
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? It's complicated
5.0
This is my favorite thing I have read so far this year. It's also my first TJ Klune book, and after this I am feral for more. I feel like he'd hate this description, but this felt basically like if Twilight was just about (mostly) gay werewolves, more focused on the fated mates and alpha structures and found family like the Cullen's, and it's just small town simple life meets the extremes of the unknown mixed with teenage angst that just rips your insides apart. And I mean that as a high compliment.
I'm not sure if I was just perfectly in the mood for angsty, wholesome, queer paranormal found-family journey or what, but I was fully obsessed the entire way through. I laughed, I cried, I yearned, I ached, I felt way too many feelings. This is just the kind of story that perfectly tugs on all of my heartstrings and buries itself deep inside my soul. It is written so beautifully, and the characters are all so fascinating in their simplicity. A large cast of characters can sometimes get overwhelming, but each person here is integral and unique and memorable.
There is a bit of a creepiness factor with an age gap romance - they meet as children with a 6 year difference and the story is told over a decade, but there is no romance aspect to the relationship until the youngest is 17- not nearly as creepy as Rennesme but in that vein a little. It is handled...as well as it could be, though. It's hard to explain. It gave me a bit of an ick but the rest of it more than makes up for that.
I just loved these characters and how they cared for each other and supported each other so much. It's the kind of story where I look at fan art now of certain scenes and want to cry. I just really really loved it. And I can't wait to read the rest of the series.
I'm not sure if I was just perfectly in the mood for angsty, wholesome, queer paranormal found-family journey or what, but I was fully obsessed the entire way through. I laughed, I cried, I yearned, I ached, I felt way too many feelings. This is just the kind of story that perfectly tugs on all of my heartstrings and buries itself deep inside my soul. It is written so beautifully, and the characters are all so fascinating in their simplicity. A large cast of characters can sometimes get overwhelming, but each person here is integral and unique and memorable.
There is a bit of a creepiness factor with an age gap romance - they meet as children with a 6 year difference and the story is told over a decade, but there is no romance aspect to the relationship until the youngest is 17- not nearly as creepy as Rennesme but in that vein a little. It is handled...as well as it could be, though. It's hard to explain. It gave me a bit of an ick but the rest of it more than makes up for that.
I just loved these characters and how they cared for each other and supported each other so much. It's the kind of story where I look at fan art now of certain scenes and want to cry. I just really really loved it. And I can't wait to read the rest of the series.
Fangirl Down by Tessa Bailey
funny
lighthearted
fast-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
3.75
Heartless Hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
My feelings on this kept going up and down throughout reading, and I think it just was just too inconsistent in its delivery for a higher rating for me. I think the concepts and magic were really interesting, but some aspects are poorly explained and others are beaten over your head over and over. I wanted to love the FMC Rune, but I don't think enough was done to build her up into the clever badass we were supposed to believe she was - she spends most of the book showing her lack of skill and poor judgement, despite her reputation being extreme enough to be hunted by the upper echelons of authority. I also don't think there was enough buildup of the romance, and I had a hard time rooting for the enemies-to-lovers when there's an inarguably better choice for her waiting on the sidelines. The ending wasn't too surprising to me, I think the clues left made what had to happen to further the plot a bit too obvious. All that said - the world and base concepts I still find compelling, and I'd be willing to read the next book and hope it answers some questions and gives Rune a chance to actually show her power.
The Au Pair Affair by Tessa Bailey
lighthearted
fast-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? Yes
2.5
As is the way with all romcoms in Tessa Bailey's repertoire, this is mostly okay but really just comes down to "Did I like the collection of tropes enough to giggle and blush and kicky feet, or did it give me the ick?". Unfortunately in this case, it gave me the ick. It doesn't help that I generally don't like the stereotypical male athlete type, but my LEAST favorite trope is probably the inappropriate boss/employee romance. Especially when the female employee has a history of sexual violence and trauma, the LAST thing I'd believe is that she'd be okay being groped by her live-in angry male boss. Nah thanks. ✋🏻
Fable for the End of the World by Ava Reid
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
(ARC Review - thank you Netgalley!)
This book has such a compelling concept - it's sapphic dystopian Hunger Games, but the "tribute" - here called "Lambs" - are hunted by Cyberpunk'ed hot assassin girls - the "Angels". I found myself wanting to like it more, but there were some truly weird choices made in the world building that just didn't land in the way I think the author intended. It made it hard to trust the world or take it seriously, and it made a lot of the world seem half-baked conceptually (I'm sorry, but being a taxidermist when you can barely afford to survive makes absolutely no sense. And hunting the last remaining non-mutated animals to "preserve" them?? Is an absolute waste?? Why not ..idk, farm and breed them?).
A lot of this patchy world building made the first half of the book a bit of a struggle - I had to basically edit bits in my head to make the story make sense. Especially the moments that lead to our Lamb and Angel coming together, it was so quick/insta-lovey and the reasoning held together with string. One moment they are literally strangling each other, and the next they are like "well I guess we need to work together". I feel like this was missing a lot of the pressure and strain this kind of partnership deserved.
The last fourth or so of the book, though, nearly redeemed itself for me. The main characters fighting to survive and discovering more secrets to the world finally starts to feel compelling. ...and then the ending happens, which was not at all satisfying or logical. Bummer.
So overall, a cool concept with some entertainment value, but frustratingly falls flat in its world building. I do love Ava Reid's writing, but this isn't her best work.
This book has such a compelling concept - it's sapphic dystopian Hunger Games, but the "tribute" - here called "Lambs" - are hunted by Cyberpunk'ed hot assassin girls - the "Angels". I found myself wanting to like it more, but there were some truly weird choices made in the world building that just didn't land in the way I think the author intended. It made it hard to trust the world or take it seriously, and it made a lot of the world seem half-baked conceptually (I'm sorry, but being a taxidermist when you can barely afford to survive makes absolutely no sense. And hunting the last remaining non-mutated animals to "preserve" them?? Is an absolute waste?? Why not ..idk, farm and breed them?).
A lot of this patchy world building made the first half of the book a bit of a struggle - I had to basically edit bits in my head to make the story make sense. Especially the moments that lead to our Lamb and Angel coming together, it was so quick/insta-lovey and the reasoning held together with string. One moment they are literally strangling each other, and the next they are like "well I guess we need to work together". I feel like this was missing a lot of the pressure and strain this kind of partnership deserved.
The last fourth or so of the book, though, nearly redeemed itself for me. The main characters fighting to survive and discovering more secrets to the world finally starts to feel compelling. ...and then the ending happens, which was not at all satisfying or logical. Bummer.
So overall, a cool concept with some entertainment value, but frustratingly falls flat in its world building. I do love Ava Reid's writing, but this isn't her best work.
The Fake Mate by Lana Ferguson
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
You would never guess from the cutesy colorful cover that this is full-on-Omegaverse-knotty-smut, but it sure is. And it was...fine. if you're into that sorta thing.
The plot otherwise was fun mostly - it's fake dating / grumpy sunshine / fated mates, so wants not to like? - but the tension and drama was very generic and I got a little bored near the end.
Mackenzie and Noah are both doctors in a world shared by humans and shifters, but apparently also don't fully understand/believe the basics of their own Omega x Alpha biology, which I found a lil silly. But regardless, it's a silly stupid easy listen good time.
The plot otherwise was fun mostly - it's fake dating / grumpy sunshine / fated mates, so wants not to like? - but the tension and drama was very generic and I got a little bored near the end.
Mackenzie and Noah are both doctors in a world shared by humans and shifters, but apparently also don't fully understand/believe the basics of their own Omega x Alpha biology, which I found a lil silly. But regardless, it's a silly stupid easy listen good time.