justabookishreader's reviews
158 reviews

A Mirror Mended by Alix E. Harrow

adventurous challenging emotional funny reflective tense fast-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

4.5

I am genuinely in awe of how much Alix E Harrow was able to delve into and pull off in... checks notes 128 pages, again. The concept of the multiverse breaking was exquisite, and the gay yearning was. Painful of course, but well written, and I will always enjoy the modern day contemporary humor that follows Zinnia. I really enjoyed how we were able to explore Eva's backstory without it feeling like info dumping, and still leaving some things to the imagination. I do have one question though, why couldn't Eva and Zinnia have written their story, together, melding them? Either way no gays were buried thankfully and the shock of the red hot iron shoes still being brought out despite Eva having technically escaped her own story with that ending was so fascinating. I understand with how this entry in the duology makes it so there can't be more, but god I would love more...

A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow

adventurous challenging mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.5

God, what on earth is the reading order I'm going in for Alix E Harrow? Also can you please stop making me cry at the end of your books? Idk how I'm gonna survive the October 2023 releasing novel - The Starling House. I listened to The Once and Future Witches, then The Ten Thousand Doors of January, and then read this one just today. At well under 200 pages, this got me choked up and emotional quick, and I cried at the end. I'm no stranger to chronic illness, though I won't die until I'm 40-ish and that's assuming I'm one of the ones to get the worse version of what I have, or I don't have the surgery that was offered (I'll likely be getting that around 22/23 years old though). The discussion and take in - let me reiterate - less than 200 pages, 128 to be exact - was so well executed...I'm so glad this was one of my first reads of 2023. Alix E Harrow knows what the fuck she's doing and I'm gonna need her to finally do some sort of masterclass...

Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Short and sweet, Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield manages to make you feel so much within its range of just under 300 pages. It doesn’t try to hide its deeper themes of grief and loss, while at the same time building up the suspense to the point of intense unease, even on the last page leaving you wondering (though its completely possible for you to have a brief cry first) what really happened under the sea, and the absolute horror at the realization that Julia Armfield has left you to fill in the blanks and lurking in all the reddit and goodreads threads, leaving it lingering in your mind for weeks - if not months, to come.

Babel: An Arcane History by R.F. Kuang

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense slow-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? No

4.5

Anyway, holy fuck this book was a masterpiece. From start to finish. The feelings, the anxiety, everything. I’ll admit it was a bit of a slow start in the first half for me, but once I got to a certain point, I literally could not focus on any other book until I finished it. I don’t know if it was just <i> that  </i> good or if I was just so anxious and had to know how it ended.

Honestly the anxiety was likely caused by the quality of the writing and the story and the storytelling itself. Basically it was pretty much perfection. I loved Letty (I have the illumicrate edition so I have bookmarks of all the characters and was using hers almost the whole time) and I found her arc to be incredibly believable. Sad but believable. She was so complex and the interlude chapters with Ramy and Letty and then the epilogue with Victoire. I just. Dear good lord. That’s all I have, all I really can say.

By now you must realize I’m stalling on getting to why I knocked this gem down a half star. Honestly I don’t even know if this is worth knocking it down so this could be edited after having some time to ruminate. But going into it, I really genuinely thought there might be a Jewish character - and I was hoping it might be Victoire or Letty in the beginning, especially since we got Ramy.

But I thought this merely on the title being Babel, as the Tower of Babel is a Torah story/myth. As a half Jewish (ethnicity/race wise) woman it would have honestly made it quite literally perfect and possibly one of the best books I’ve ever read. I mean it still is but having a Jewish character might have beaten out even Alix E. Harrow for me.

While I understand there are Christians who use the Old Testament with the Tower of Babel, it just would have been so refreshing and a perfect opportunity to have a Jewish character. One last thing as to why it didn’t get a full five stars for me was I wanted so much more with Victoire. Just more time, more of everything with her. Before the actual revolution. But for the most part I think the epilogue satisfied me.

Lastly, here’s my favorite page of the entire book:

She was his rock, his light, the sole presence that kept him going. And he wished, he wished, that was enough for him to hold on to. 

‘Be selfish,’ he whispered. ‘Be brave.’ (526)

The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

yet another achingly gorgeous book about what it means to be human and the mere idea of mortality. idk maybe I'll write a full review soon (likely not going to for every single book now but only higher rated books we'll see)

Sirens & Muses by Antonia Angress

challenging emotional inspiring reflective tense fast-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

oh god the sapphic yearning

also how is a book set in 2011 so .... relevant. it's actually kinda depressing. Could have lived without Preston and Robert's points of view, but I understand why they are there. Otherwise, my god this was a fantastic slow burn and story about people's lives and the difference between life and art.

Belladonna by Adalyn Grace

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

"Hello, Little Bird, care to dance?"

----

Ugh this was a masterpiece in every sense of the word. I was hesitant because for me I've had a hard time loving books lately - and while it took me two months to read (due to college) I loved every second of it!

"He made haste, not because he was unnerved by the body but because he was fearful of Signa with her raven hair and oddly colored eyes, and of the crowd of neighbors who watched from a distance with knowing looks."

The atmosphere of this novel was honestly perfection, I don't think I've read anything with such a well built atmosphere and flowery prose that wasn't too flowery ever (well there might be something I'm reading now, but its a completely different one). I even told the author herself that the book gave me Crimson Peak but without the incest vibes, and it seems I'm not the only one, and that was exactly what I was looking for.

"The term garden, in this case, was used loosely. Over the years the land decorated itself with weeds and wildflowers Magda had often complained about, and that Signa spent hours tending to it as well as she could, without so much as a shovel or shears."

I really enjoyed the mystery, and while I wished it was Charlotte after seeing other people's opinions and making my own second hand connections, I still enjoyed how I kept wondering who it was, never sure if anyone could be trusted - and the Sylas reveal was exquisite and honestly made sense to me at least.

"Signa stopped to inspect the poor creature, which was covered in soil and hungry ants that had every intention of devouring it alive. The insects overtook it, ruthless in their pursuit. Signa couldn't help but sympathize with the creature; it was like her - cast out of its nest and expected to fend for itself. Only it was not as capable as Signa; for it could not cheat death. It would be a mercy for the creature to die swiftly and be put out of its misery."

The quote above was what made me think of Crimson Peak (its on Netflix as of typing this review) and the shots of different insects dying or being eaten by others. Horrifying and chilling to the bone, and I can never stomach watching those entire scenes, but reading it was oddly intriguing for me!

"But then the world slipped in piece by piece. She listened to final breaths and soft words. To the murmurs of love spoken to the dying, and though there was sadness there, there was also warmth for the live that had led them to that moment."

This was such a well written description of grief, and it only got better at the very end when Elijah looses Lillian for good and we get that experience between them and Signa. I was finishing the last sixty pages of this wonderful novel while soaking in a bath, and was straight up sobbing at that part. 


Anyway, I can't believe I have to wait 9 months for Foxglove ahhhhh

Wild is the Witch by Rachel Griffin

reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I've read Rachel Griffin's books in a really odd order - her debut came first, and was a book cover buy. I bought this one as soon as it came out, and then received the advanced reader's copy of Bring Me Your Midnight, and read that, loved it, and then decided to read this one. God I wish I had read this way sooner. I mean come on, "enemies" to lovers forced proximity? Ok, honestly I don't even know if I like those tropes but I definitely loved the execution in this novel. I thought about writing this review on my way from my parents back to my own apartment, and trying to figure out if there's any flaws that stood out to me. At first I landed on how quickly Pike accepted his "fate." But that wasn't true, he rationalized his decision, and they didn't have any other options, and thankfully it ended well. I'm really happy with how this book unfolded, and enjoyed every minute. I cannot wait for whatever she comes out with after Bring Me Your Midnight!

Raising the Horseman by Serena Valentino

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

This was a buddy read with a coworker friend of mine! We both picked this up during a Barnes & Noble select hardbacks 50% off sale a while ago, and were a little hesitant. With both of us being a part of the LGBTQ+ community and being used to being queerbaited we were anxious (well I can't speak for them if they were fully anxious but I know I was anxious in my own way) about that happening in this case. It didn't. And I was pleasantly surprised that the author herself is bi, as the writing felt really really accurate. The emotional abuse from male partners, the breaking of those cycles within families, they were written really really well. 

I loved the foreshadowing/hints when Isadora introduced herself with the last name "Crow" and then in the next Katrina diary entry we see Baltus refer to Ichabod as "Crow" instead of "Crane" which I am very proud of myself for catching onto. I loved how both Regina and Trina were so accepting of what their daughters wanted, truly just wanting to see them be happy, coming to terms with the fact that may mean break in tradition. 

I liked how the main two generations, the "original" and the "modern day" seemed to parallel but that Brom wasn't quite Blake as he recognized what he had done wrong and knew how to fix it and stood up for Katrina regardless in front of Ichabod. Isadora seems to break the cycle that her Uncle started with Katrinas in regards to her relationship with Kat. 

I also have to remark on how I'm so glad this sort of book is out there in the world. This is clearly YA and I think something like this, which explore gaslighting and emotional abuse and manipulation from romantic/intimate partners and trusting your gut feelings in these situations, and how I can see this book saving young girls lives in the future. 

The only reason I knocked it down .25 a star and not quite giving it five stars (though for Goodreads I've rounded it up to those five stars) is because I felt like it was quite obvious that the ghost Kat had been seeing was the original Katrina and I found it odd that it took her so long to catch on. I also honestly would have loved this to be longer, and to have more deeply explore the relationship between the Headless Horseman and Katrina rather than a hurried explanation during the epilogue. Otherwise, this was nearly perfect, and I can see myself reading this every single autumn.

Poster Girl by Veronica Roth

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0