Take a photo of a barcode or cover
illtakethenightshiftx's reviews
194 reviews
Everything the Darkness Eats by Eric LaRocca
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Eric LaRocca is a great short story author and this novel felt like it should’ve been 3-4 separate short stories in the same anthology. Nothing felt cohesive and when the two main narratives came together it was so quick and didn’t make a lot of sense. Also, considering this audiobook was only about 5.5 hours long, it was so wordy!
Honestly, it felt like a draft that needed more work, between the use of language and extremely heavy-handed themes. The story as a whole was underwhelming and I didn’t find myself attached to any of the characters (which is a bad sign!). I’ve only been blown away/completely impressed by one of LaRocca’s short stories and found their other works underwhelming, so I honestly don’t know what I was expecting from this novel.
If you really like LaRocca’s work, you might enjoy this.
I also cannot stress enough, check the content warnings and read other reviews.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture
Moderate: Islamophobia
Minor: Biphobia
Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers
adventurous
emotional
reflective
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? It's complicated
4.0
Lucky Red by Claudia Cravens
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This is everything I wanted Outlawed to be and more!! Westerns aren’t really my thing, but if it’s queer and feminist I AM IN!! The characters felt real and fleshed out, as did the setting of Dodge City. I felt like I could have stepped into the pages and walked down the street. The writing style was absolutely beautiful as well. I loved so much about this book! There were some pacing issues, but overall a really solid read that scratched an itch I didn’t know I had.
Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
challenging
informative
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? Yes
4.5
Should be required reading for everyone, and I mean everyone. It’s heavy and bleak at times, but there’s so much hope, love, and little moments of joy interwoven into the narrative. Incredible characters, narrative structure, and prose. Wow, wow, wow. I’ll be chewing on this novel for a long time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Violence, Murder
Moderate: Racism, Sexual content
Minor: Domestic abuse, Sexual assault
Kiss Her Once For Me by Alison Cochrun
medium-paced
4.0
kicked my feet, cried a lil, suddenly wanted to know when my bookstore meet-cute will happen 🥹
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship
Moderate: Biphobia, Infidelity
One Hundred Shadows by Hwang Jungeun
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!
I didn’t think I was going to finish this, but my kindle said I had 20 minutes left so I figured I’d finish it 🤷♀️
This book was fine. As in, it was a book that I read that had characters who did things and talked about their lives/situations. But there was no really plot, just vibes which isn’t really my speed, but can be effective when done well. There were elements of magical realism that were mentioned in the blurb, but those elements really weren’t explored on a deeper level.
I was totally sold on the blurb, but wasn’t sucked in once the story got underway and there are no quotation marks (!!) which made the story difficult to follow, especially given that there were only a handful of characters. I’m not sure if things were literally lost in translation, but this story really didn’t do it for me. I need to be able to connect to at least one character, but I couldn’t connect with anyone.
Pomegranate by Helen Elaine Lee
emotional
reflective
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? It's complicated
4.5
Pomegranate is a special book. I’ll carry Ranita with me forever.
Full review to come
Full review to come
On Palestine by Ilan Pappé, Noam Chomsky
Did not finish book. Stopped at 40%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 40%.
audio format isn’t working for me. switching to physical once I can get it from the library!!!!
Sunbringer by Hannah Kaner
adventurous
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? It's complicated
4.0
Thank you to NetGalley & Harper Voyager for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review!
Godkiller was one of my favorite books of last year and I was SO EXCITED when I got the approval email from NetGalley for Sunbringer!!!
Sunbringer picks up where the events in Godkiller left off and we follow our ragtag group of heroes in separate narrative chapters as they embark on their respective journeys. I loved getting to interact with individual characters more and the author did an amazing job with the world building. We learn so much more about gods big and small which I found to be fascinating. I love the magic system in this series and how intertwined magic and gods are and how one man is willing to fight a war to bring one back. It gave me major Game of Thrones vibes when a certain faction of the Faith of the Seven is given a ridiculous amount of power.
The middle part of the book was a little too slow for me, but the last 30% FLEW!! There are TWISTS, unlikely alliances, and a great setup for the final book in the trilogy. I physically gasped, jaw dropped, and sat up ramrod straight at one point (no spoilers here but IT’S WILD!!!!)
If you enjoyed Godkiller, you will absolutely enjoy Sunbringer!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, War
Minor: Ableism