grey_jayne's reviews
747 reviews

The Tea Dragon Festival by K. O'Neill

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adventurous hopeful lighthearted relaxing 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? N/A

5.0

These Tea Dragon books are queernorm perfection and genuinely very sweet. Suitable for any age, this story is quietly powerful. It's cozy but there's also a bloody dragon battle and the character manage feeling of loss. 

This series is quite remarkable and Festival is even better than the original. You deserve to experience this world.
The Tea Dragon Society by K. O'Neill

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adventurous hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious relaxing 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? N/A

5.0

Just because The Tea Dragon Society is mostly gentle doesn't mean that it refrained from going hardcore for a moment when needed. This is cozy perfection without being unnecessarily sweet. Authentic and honest, it's rather beautiful. Let this book steep like tea and it may be wonderfully satisfying for you too.
Perdido Street Station by China Miéville

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5.0

A Snake Falls To Earth by Darcie Little Badger

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 12%.
I don't do well with alternating parallel main character narratives where it takes forever for them to meet up, and unfortunately couldn't get around it. No problems with Little Badger's writing and I'll try again with the Elatsoe sequel.
Maeve Fly by C.J. Leede

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

3.5

I really wanted to love this book but it first directly references American Psycho and Fight Club before riffing on their styles and I found this jarring. Also, this is a book much more about relationships than slashing. It was okay, it was fine, but I wasn't wowed.
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At 30, I Realized I Had No Gender: Life Lessons from a 50-Year-Old After Two Decades of Self-Discovery by Shou Arai

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funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

4.0

This manga memoir is pretty great. The pacing is a little stilted and disjointed so I found it hard to find a reading rhythm but the information and humor is highly appreciated in the discussion of nonbinary, trans and intersex topics. It's a very honest account of how life is different for us and how talking with each other is the best way to learn more at this point.

I read this for the Trans Rights Readthon but didn't finish it until now.
Son of a Trickster by Eden Robinson

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

3.5

Having seen the Trickster show before this, I thought I would learn more from the book. However, the narrative is so mind-numbingly slow and little happens until 75% of the way in. The ultra-dimensional beings and ghosts are fun but this story doesn't focus on them until much later.

No idea if I will pick up the next in the series, but it's not going to be for a while. This may be the first time where I recommend the adaptation over the original.
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Ice Cream Man, Volume 9: Heavy Narration by W. Maxwell Prince

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

4.0

Another solid entry in the Ice Cream Man series. More lore and overarching details that fully flesh out the dangerous darkness that lurks in this story world. I love all the interconnections throughout. This series is bananas and each issue pushes the boundaries of narrative and the comic medium. Never a dull moment.
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Ice Cream Man, Volume 8: Subjects & Objects by Chris O'Halloran, W. Maxwell Prince, Martin Morazzo

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The anthology series that keeps on giving. The artful use of storytelling is amazing and pretty damn consistent.
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Ice Cream Man, Volume 7: Certain Descents by Chris O'Halloran, W. Maxwell Prince

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

4.0

The Ice Cream Man series continues to be weird and wild. I honestly feel like I can't look away while reading, as the horror unfolds in consistently tense ways from story to story. 
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