hwesta's reviews
387 reviews

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I haven't enjoyed the other gothic books I read, but I liked this one. Opal and Arthur are interesting characters, and I enjoyed the variations on the starling house story. Bev and Charlotte were great. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent

Translation State by Ann Leckie

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful mysterious

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

This book is so weird and I love it so much. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood

Moderate: Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, and Confinement

Minor: War, Police brutality, Death of parent, Child death, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Death

Lots of thoughts of dismemberment or mentions of it happening to human-like persons in the past

Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I liked this better the second time/in audiobook even more than the first. I enjoyed slowing down and picking up on more of the subtleties and character moments 

Zeiat is still a hoot and I love Sphene 

All The Hidden Paths by Foz Meadows

emotional hopeful mysterious

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This was fun but more dramatic!-emotion!-bad-things-constantly-happening-to-the-main-characters than my taste. Markel is still a delight. Asrien grew on me a lot, to the point where I was more invested is his arc than Vel and Cae's. 

The Dark Lord's Daughter by Patricia C. Wrede

adventurous lighthearted

3.5

This was a fun read. A bunch of the initial setup played heavily into dark lord tropes, but it went on to mess with them in enjoyable ways. I was disappointed in the ending

because the central tension of if Kayla and her family were retuning to Earth wasn't resolved or meaningfully addressed.

I liked the main cast and want to see what happens to them next! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Cancer, War, Murder, Slavery, and Confinement

Witch King by Martha Wells

adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Mislaid in Parts Half-Known by Seanan McGuire

adventurous informative

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

Delightful! One of my favourite books in the series. I enjoyed getting so much backstory and world building, and it was full of wham lines. 

Bea Wolf by Zach Weinersmith

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

This book was a hoot. I loved the art, the alliteration and rhythm of it. It's a clever conversion from the original, where Grindle ages kids to teens or adults instead of killing them, and the feasts are all candy and cola. 

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow

adventurous dark

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I really enjoyed this. Doors to other worlds is always a fun concept. 

I figured several things out before the narrator, but I most cases it was plausible that she didn't because the world doesn't normally work on story logic. 

I was pretty frustrated with January for making an obviously terrible decision

to send a letter to Locke

partway through but I suppose she is young and can make poorly thought through decisions 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Abandonment, Confinement, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Classism, Grief, Sexism, and Racism

Minor: Pregnancy

Untethered Sky by Fonda Lee

adventurous emotional reflective sad

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Animal death, Child death, Death, and Blood

Moderate: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Death of parent

Minor: Miscarriage and Vomit