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happentobeshort's reviews
1214 reviews
Dreadful Company by Vivian Shaw
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-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? No
3.25
If I never have to hear Hampton pronounce croissant as "Kwass-on" it will have been TOO MF SOON. I SWEAR TO GOD. IT WAS DRIVING ME INSANE....................
Whatever. Anyway. Another fun romp, potentially more fun than the last??? Only because I love the film The Lost Boys and how incredibly corny it is, so it stands to reason that I would also enjoy a novel where the baddies are a coven of really shitty asshole vampires who wear too much perfume and body glitter... LMAO. I also really enjoyed the little monsters that kept popping up?? Very cute.
TLDR: Once again, this is just a fun romp not to be taken too seriously because if you do, you will spot 34574398 faults and it's really not that worth it or that deep with a book of this caliber. I want a faceless dog and well monster. I think.
Whatever. Anyway. Another fun romp, potentially more fun than the last??? Only because I love the film The Lost Boys and how incredibly corny it is, so it stands to reason that I would also enjoy a novel where the baddies are a coven of really shitty asshole vampires who wear too much perfume and body glitter... LMAO. I also really enjoyed the little monsters that kept popping up?? Very cute.
TLDR: Once again, this is just a fun romp not to be taken too seriously because if you do, you will spot 34574398 faults and it's really not that worth it or that deep with a book of this caliber. I want a faceless dog and well monster. I think.
Strange Practice by Vivian Shaw
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-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? No
3.0
Picked this one on the recommendation of a friend, and because Shaw had come to SG for the Writers Festival in 2023, so I thought, eh why not put it on for a bit at night while I fall asleep and play various version of Candy Crush games on my phone.. I underestimated how enjoyable it would be and ended up whizzing through it WAY faster than I thought I would! OOPS.
THAT BEING SAID I cannot and WILL NOT let go of the fact that within the first 30mins of the book, Greta, who lives in the UK, used FARENHEIT. ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BRIT PICKING!?!??!?!?!?! Anyway. It's definitely a fun read if you grew up being really into ghosts and vampires and The Addams family. It tickles that Gaiman itch in the back of my brain that is always lurking around. But do not expect something incredibly refined and a perfectly executed urban fantasy novel. It is not that at all. The constant POV changing was really confusing in audio form, so I imagine it's just as weird on paper.
TLDR: I love Fas the demon and he feels like he would be right at home with Lucien in Dream's library with The Endless.
THAT BEING SAID I cannot and WILL NOT let go of the fact that within the first 30mins of the book, Greta, who lives in the UK, used FARENHEIT. ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BRIT PICKING!?!??!?!?!?! Anyway. It's definitely a fun read if you grew up being really into ghosts and vampires and The Addams family. It tickles that Gaiman itch in the back of my brain that is always lurking around. But do not expect something incredibly refined and a perfectly executed urban fantasy novel. It is not that at all. The constant POV changing was really confusing in audio form, so I imagine it's just as weird on paper.
TLDR: I love Fas the demon and he feels like he would be right at home with Lucien in Dream's library with The Endless.
System Collapse by Martha Wells
funny
mysterious
tense
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? It's complicated
4.0
(chanting increases) MURDERBOT MURDERBOT MURDERBOT!!!!!!!!!!! And also ART. I do love ART. ANYWAY. Not as fun as previous volumes only because this one was very dependent on the previous (Network Effect) and if you didn't remember it in super detail, you're screwed. I tried to do a refresher but I guess it wasn't enough. LOL. Oh well. Would've been nice for it to be like half continuation half not but I enjoyed it all the same.
A Stitch in Time by Andrew J. Robinson
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
AN ABSOLUTE MUST FOR ANY AND ALL DS9 FANS!!!!!!!! I never got around to reading the 'text' version of the book I think because I was being too precious with it, and was like, oh if I read it then I won't have something like this in the future waiting for me! Which is dumb. ANYWAY. This was truly a special experience to read via audiobook by THE LIZARD HIMSELF: ROBINSON AS GARAK!!!!!! I do wish there was a bit more fleshing out of references to bits that aired on tv with regards to Garak's history, but what to do. I really enjoyed it all the same. Stellar work of fanfic if I say so myself.
PS: As far as I'm concerned, Garak very much presents himself as a bisexual creature, or at least one where our 'earthly' heteronormative concepts of sexuality do not apply to. That's just my opinioooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooon.
PS: As far as I'm concerned, Garak very much presents himself as a bisexual creature, or at least one where our 'earthly' heteronormative concepts of sexuality do not apply to. That's just my opinioooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooon.
The Facemaker: A Visionary Surgeon's Battle to Mend the Disfigured Soldiers of World War I by Lindsey Fitzharris
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
4.0
This one took me a while to get through. The subject matter was very real and very upsetting but it was also very fascinating to learn all about. I knew that WW1 heralded a lot of innovations in medicine and reconstructive surgery, but I wasn't really aware of some of the finer details. It was really quite an amazing read despite the gory and depressing details, which I think were absolutely necessary anyway.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Medical content, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, and Suicide attempt
Pockets: An Intimate History of How We Keep Things Close by Hannah Carlson
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
5.0
Never really thought much about pockets, more than the "having pockets means you can HOLD THINGS", and how historically women didn't really have the autonomy to just. DO things like that. This book took those factoids and anecdotes and expanded on them by like 23487239487%. Super interesting for anyone that is interested in fashion history, reading beyond the lines when it comes to period dramas, feminism and gender politics. Basically it's super cool and I can't look at pockets the same way again.
Hellboy: A Plague of Wasps by Christopher Golden
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
EEEE DO NOT READ IF FLYING BUGS AND BODY HORROR FREAKS YOU OUT!!!! But also you probably wouldn't bother with Hellboy in general if that were the case.. Love to see Hellboy have a romantic life and not be all gloom and doom.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail and Body horror
Limbo by Dan Watters
4.0
It's been some time since finishing this and I still don't exactly know how I feel about it. It's not bad!! I just got confused. But a good kind of confused. The kind that makes you want to know more and find out what exactly is happening. So ok, this detective right, he has no memory of his past or who he is and is good friends with a voodoo queen who uses mixtapes to talk to spirits. Like actual tapes. This comic is very #80sAesthetic. The blurb uses the phrase "neo-noir" to describe it and I think that is a fairly accurate description.