fortunavhs's reviews
73 reviews

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

challenging reflective tense slow-paced

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

5.0

Selected Poems by Carol Clark, Charles Baudelaire

dark sad

5.0

Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh

emotional reflective sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

When The Stars Alight by Camilla Andrew

adventurous inspiring tense fast-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

5.0

I feel like this book came to me at just the right time - it got me out of a reading slump and rekindled my love for fantasy, so recommend it to anyone in need of the same.
Above all my favourite aspect of the book were the horror-esque elements, which pay of perfectly at the ending.

The Sundial by Shirley Jackson

dark funny tense medium-paced

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

4.75

Wild Kingdom: Bringing Back Britain's Wildlife by Stephen Moss

hopeful informative sad fast-paced

4.5

Felt so wonderfully informative as someone who’s a beginner to the subject matter.

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante

emotional reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.5

This book made me feel sad in a way I can’t quite put my finger on. The prose itself was spectacular.

Future Days: Krautrock and the Building of Modern Germany by David Stubbs

informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

Just a joy to read when Stubbs’ love not only for the music but of creative as a whole shines through. The last few pages just fill me with so much optimism.

No One Is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood

funny lighthearted sad 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? It's complicated

4.5

I definitely didn’t fall in love with this book straight away - the first half feels like merely a lot of observation without much of substance to say, but the second half recontextualises it in a really satisfying way. 

I want to defend this book against claims it won’t age well - why can it not just be a snapshot of mid-to-late 2010s millennial social media culture? Was that not Lockwood’s intention, after all, and it’s painfully accurate.