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jrayereads's reviews
290 reviews
Spitting Gold by Carmella Lowkis
3.0
I had high hopes for this but ultimately it was just fine. The pacing was frustrating and I struggled to get through the first 90 or so pages. We get a twist around halfway and then we get A LOT of backtracking from a different perspective to fill in the holes of what is going on. That section of the book REALLY needed to be cut down, because even though we were being provided the behind-the-scenes of what was going on, I still felt like we were retreading the same stuff. If that section had been more brief and that time was spent actually developing Sylvie and Charlotte’s relationship, I think that would’ve done wonders for making the story more engaging. Make me care about them!!
Speaking of the ridiculousness of the characters, I truly just did not understand WHY Sylvie needed to be involved WITHOUT being in the loop on the revenge plan. That made no sense to me, and I ended up sort of being on Sylvie’s side, even when it went against the relatively believable and sympathetic couple made up of Florence and Charlotte. We needed so much more time to be spent on developing the relationship between the two sisters that was instead spent on the romance and overexplaining the twist.
Also the “argument” Sylvie had with her husband when he suspected she was cheating on him infuriated me because she did nothing to defend herself? That felt like a moment that encapsulates the issues I have with characterization, which is that I didn’t really understand any of the characters’ motivation for why they did what they did, things just HAPPENED to move the plot along. This made me feel disconnected from most of the main cast.
Still giving it three stars for the atmosphere, the writing, and for surprising me with the twists. Those were strong elements, so I can see why people are rating this highly. I liked how things were slowly revealed over time and that gave the mystery these layers that were fun to delve into before the reveal. Unfortunately, I didn’t connect with the characters or their motivations and that made it kind of a slog to get through. I would definitely check out more from this author in the future, though.
Mirrored Heavens by Rebecca Roanhorse
4.0
This was definitely one of my most, if not THE most, anticipated book of year for me. I absolutely loved the first two books of this trilogy and could not wait to see how it ends.
First, some non-spoiler thoughts.
Overall, I’m happy with the trilogy as a whole. Roanhorse’s writing is stellar and she is VERY good at creating compelling, complex, and sympathetic characters that you root for even when you don’t fully agree with their actions. The complex political and religious forces at play made this whole series incredibly engaging with a lot of moving players and I often wasn’t sure who to be rooting for because I was so connected to characters on all sides. The queer rep was well done and beautifully integrated into the story. I love seeing nonbinary characters treated with respect and the gender dynamics between characters was really well thought out within this society. I’m white, so I won’t speak to how successful the Indigenous rep is, but I did enjoy it a lot.
Okay spoiler time:
As a final book, there were a couple missteps for me. I think the time spent with Balam’s perspective weakened him as a character and made him more of a cartoonishly evil power-hungry run of the mill bad guy when there were opportunities to have much more interesting conflicts within the world that was set up. The second book did a lot to make Naranpa and Serapio foils for one another, since they are both avatars for opposing gods. Naranpa was a small town girl who fought and sacrificed to get to her position as Sun Priest at the beginning of her story. She escaped poverty but also lost the close relationships she had with her family due to her new status. Serapio, on the other hand, was set on a path created by his mother and her co-conspirators. His entire life was dedicated to one purpose - but it wasn’t a path he chose. They both have very different relationships with duty and responsibility and agency when considering their servitude to gods, but also the society and world around them that pushed them into the positions that they are in.
Unfortunately, Naranpa (best girl in the whole world) is WOEFULLY underutilized in this final book. She and Serapio don’t interact at all, I believe. I wish the core conflict of the story had less to do with these scheming, hand rubbing bad guys (keep them, but make them more external forces that put pressure on our main cast) and more on Naranpa and Serapio having to grapple with their own choices and the very interesting dynamic of them not hating each other but being opposed because of their gods. We got a lot of that with Serapio, but Naranpa is arguably the ONLY other character who understands what it’s like to be a vessel for a god and having to wrestle with that that means for her place in power within society (except for Xiala, but her connection with her god doesn’t come until much later). What’s with Naranpa having this dream walking conflict with Balam when he doesn’t really have any other connection to her? What’s with the Darth Vader style parentage reveal that’s supposed to impact Serapio somehow but resulted in an underwhelming fight scene between them? What’s with the ending where we dont even see NARANPA WAKE UP AND RESOLVE HER STORY???? The throughline for interesting conflict was already there WITHOUT Balam and Tulun taking up so much space within the narrative.
Whew, okay. That was a lot of rambling and I hope it made sense. Overall I really love these characters and this world, and this is still one of my favorite series of the year so far. My criticism comes from a place of DEEP love and respect for this story and even though I loved it, I wish a couple things had been different. I will absolutely be closely following Roanhorse from now on and I hope others will give this trilogy a shot as well.
First, some non-spoiler thoughts.
Overall, I’m happy with the trilogy as a whole. Roanhorse’s writing is stellar and she is VERY good at creating compelling, complex, and sympathetic characters that you root for even when you don’t fully agree with their actions. The complex political and religious forces at play made this whole series incredibly engaging with a lot of moving players and I often wasn’t sure who to be rooting for because I was so connected to characters on all sides. The queer rep was well done and beautifully integrated into the story. I love seeing nonbinary characters treated with respect and the gender dynamics between characters was really well thought out within this society. I’m white, so I won’t speak to how successful the Indigenous rep is, but I did enjoy it a lot.
Okay spoiler time:
Unfortunately, Naranpa (best girl in the whole world) is WOEFULLY underutilized in this final book. She and Serapio don’t interact at all, I believe. I wish the core conflict of the story had less to do with these scheming, hand rubbing bad guys (keep them, but make them more external forces that put pressure on our main cast) and more on Naranpa and Serapio having to grapple with their own choices and the very interesting dynamic of them not hating each other but being opposed because of their gods. We got a lot of that with Serapio, but Naranpa is arguably the ONLY other character who understands what it’s like to be a vessel for a god and having to wrestle with that that means for her place in power within society (except for Xiala, but her connection with her god doesn’t come until much later). What’s with Naranpa having this dream walking conflict with Balam when he doesn’t really have any other connection to her? What’s with the Darth Vader style parentage reveal that’s supposed to impact Serapio somehow but resulted in an underwhelming fight scene between them? What’s with the ending where we dont even see NARANPA WAKE UP AND RESOLVE HER STORY???? The throughline for interesting conflict was already there WITHOUT Balam and Tulun taking up so much space within the narrative.
Whew, okay. That was a lot of rambling and I hope it made sense. Overall I really love these characters and this world, and this is still one of my favorite series of the year so far. My criticism comes from a place of DEEP love and respect for this story and even though I loved it, I wish a couple things had been different. I will absolutely be closely following Roanhorse from now on and I hope others will give this trilogy a shot as well.
Nevada by Imogen Binnie
4.0
Adored the audiobook that was narrated by the author. I had NO idea this book was written in 2013 until I completed it and got to the afterword. That makes this story so powerful to me based on the context of when it was released.
The characters were believable and messy and the rambling, conversational writing style was EXACTLY up my alley. The conversations around queerness and trans women's experiences felt very personal instead of trying to speak for the community as a whole. An absolute must read for trans lit.
Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon
Did not finish book. Stopped at 30%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 30%.
I think I could grasp the time jumps and non-linear narrative a bit better reading a physical copy instead of the audiobook. I enjoyed the writing style and the commentary on race and religious fanaticism, but felt disconnected from the plot. I would definitely try it again.
The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling
3.5
My overall thoughts on this one was that it was okay but it had major pacing issues. There were moments with excellent tension but it was mostly bogged down by a repetitive plot. I kept feeling deja vu with character and narrative beats and desperate for things to move forward.
I did really love Starling’s writing style. Even in moments that dragged, I was still impressed by her ability to capture dialogue and keep me engaged with her writing. I would definitely read more by her, especially more sapphic horror.
Love and Rage: The Path of Liberation through Anger by Lama Rod Owens
Did not finish book. Stopped at 37%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 37%.
I was listening to this as an audiobook and it really should be read - there are embodiment exercises that would be easier to follow from a physical book. It had great information, I just need to get a physical copy.