grey_jayne's reviews
761 reviews

Sister, Maiden, Monster by Lucy A. Snyder

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Sister, Maiden, Monster is wild! Lucy A. Snyder has a disturbingly fucked up bent for visceral body horror. This is definitely the best cosmic horror book in a while and I enjoyed how gay everything was. The imagery, the transformations, there is so much great horror here too. I will warn that the story's pandemic happens after the "coronavirus years" and follows the same procedures we had to, so could be triggering and too soon for some. Definitely check the content warnings.

Since this book is gloriously queer, I was let down by the use of "his or her" and other binary language. This is the second 2023 Nightfire book in a row to do this. We deserve better.
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I Hate Fairyland: Book Two by Skottie Young

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adventurous dark funny 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

4.0

I enjoyed Book 2 a bit more than Book 1. It's a fun journey and I appreciate the filth and satisfaction these story arcs deliver upon. If the concept is interesting to you, the sheer numbers of awesome 2 page spreads in this collection are fantastic.
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How to Talk to Girls At Parties: The Graphic Novel by Gabriel Bá, Neil Gaiman, Fábio Moon

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challenging mysterious slow-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? It's complicated

3.75

This adaptation of Neil Gaiman's story is good but I was expecting it to be great based on my love of Moon and Bá (Daytripper is amazing!).  It was okay, but aside from some trippy moments, I found it kind of boring.

It's still worth checking out but I don't know how much I will remember about this version tomorrow.
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Memetic by James Tynion IV

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dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Memetic is bleak and wild. I don't know how much I enjoyed it but I appreciate the vision. The concept is bananas.
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Bloodline: Daughter of Blade, Volume 1 by Danny Lore

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adventurous dark funny mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

This comic is excellent Buffyesque femme Blade fun. Bri is a wonderful character and I would like to see her in more things.
Pretty Boys Are Poisonous: Poems by Megan Fox

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

Megan Fox holds nothing back in this scathing indictment of the horrors men inflict. It's intense and amazing, full of rapid fire truth and pain. With this and Britney's book, 2023 has been given documents of femme rage from women who were silenced. Powerful stuff.
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Nestlings by Nat Cassidy

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.5

Nestlings is a page turning blast! I've been enjoying Jewish horror films and I'm glad to report that this was a great Jewish horror book. And there's quality disability representation.

The Chapters all have numerical chapters within them, a clear indicator that Stephen King is a strong influence here. Cassidy's writing flows in that vintage King way too without the problematic voice of much of King's work.

It was a lot of fun and many people are calling Nestlings the best horror book of 2023 so definitely check it out.
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Night's Edge by Liz Kerin

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dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense 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

4.5

Night's Edge is really cool, set in a parallel present day where safety from vampires is a daily concern and built into the society. The narrative alternates between 2010 (where vampire events skew the timeline to different than ours) and Now. And this makes the book sci-fi, even though most of the story is as human as you can get, a lesbian coming of age story when Mia was 10 and 23. I'd love a movie, a book sequel, whatever to get more time with Mia, she's such a great character.

I do want to bring up that it's 2023 and naming voices "male" or "female" is so dated. It happens several times and really took me out of it.
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Where Peace Is Lost by Valerie Valdes

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

3.75

I am a Valerie Valdes fan and have to admit that I struggled a bit with this book.  The combo of a slow pace and a character focus over plot really made this not as much my thing as the Captain Innocente books are; I just love my messy and chaotic space stories. I've been obsessed with this cover since forever and it actually did the story a disservice as most of the time, Kel is trying not to be what we see, a badass with wings and epic shielding, and most of that happens in the last quarter. I was expecting a much more action packed book than I got and it took me forever to read.  I finished the book because I wanted to see where it was going and would read another if there was a sequel based on what's been set up. However, if I was pacing this book, more revelations and action would have happened by halfway.  

I sincerely hope others enjoy it more than I did and also Valdes always has at least one character rocking They/Them pronouns and to have Lunna be one of the four main characters is pretty sweet!
The Woman in Me by Britney Spears

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dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

Britney is mother and her audiobook introduction really sets the tone for the memoir.  Michelle Williams is also mother and her narration ensures that Britney's powerful writing, reflections, and truth are delivered authentically. 

I got the audiobook thinking Britney read it all and totally understand why she didn't. Knowing what is healthy for you is self-care. I'm going to plug in tons of content warnings.  Michelle Williams is so convincing that I forgot that she was reading it. This is very much Britney's story, unfiltered and direct, her own. So much respect and love.


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