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kghunter's reviews
18 reviews
Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Homophobia, Racial slurs, and Racism
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
Celebrations: Rituals of Peace and Prayer by Maya Angelou
“History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived. And if faced with courage, need not be lived again.”
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
5.0
I truly cannot think of a more talented author/poet than Maya Angelou. This collection of poems is on par with the rest of her work, which is to say—unbelievably beautiful and inspiring—the kind of art that makes you appreciate and honor what it means to be human. To be here on this earth with one another. To yield to the unification with all that came before us, walks alongside us, and follows in our footsteps; inextricably linked in the search for peace.
The lyricism of Angelou’s work is both bold and deliberate, both gentle and alive. Regardless of the conceptual and/or theoretical depths of any which poem, she maintains a steady hold on the childlike wonder and jubilation that marks all of her work with identifying strokes.
Some of my favorite quotes from this collection include:
The lyricism of Angelou’s work is both bold and deliberate, both gentle and alive. Regardless of the conceptual and/or theoretical depths of any which poem, she maintains a steady hold on the childlike wonder and jubilation that marks all of her work with identifying strokes.
Some of my favorite quotes from this collection include:
“History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived. And if faced with courage, need not be lived again.”
“I am not metaphor, I’m not symbol. I’m not a nightmare to vanish with the dawn. I am lasting as hunger, and certain as midnight.”
“In your absence I rehearse you.”
“You must know the difference between seeking after justice, and lusting for revenge.”
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5
House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J. Maas
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.75
House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City) by Sarah J. Maas
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
Sarah J Maas needs serious therapy, and I pray to God she never receives it. I’m like 95% sure I got pregnant from the scene in which the protagonist gets fingered.
All jokes aside whilst I did enjoy the fantasy/world-building and smutty indulgence of this book, I stg I’m gonna start vomiting blood if I read another heterosexual fantasy romance novel in which the man ends up being like hundreds of years old and the girl is 16-mid twenties. I am literally on my hands and knees begging these authors to consider the impact they’re having on young women’s psyche because if I have to see another one of my young, intelligent, beautiful, compassionate friends, who are in the literally trenches fighting for their sanity against men our age who are mostly non-comital nightmares in ugly shoes and ill-fitting clothes with brains that have been shrunken via vape steam to the point that they can only regurgitate instagram and reddit comment discourse, being convinced by grown-ass fantasy novelists in the midst of their exhaustion that there is something even vaguely romantic or reprieving about the 40something year old sewage rat man-boys they’re ending up settling for. I need a BREAK and Mrs.Maas sadly ain’t givin’ it to us.
I did also break and buy the next 2 books, I will admit.
All jokes aside whilst I did enjoy the fantasy/world-building and smutty indulgence of this book, I stg I’m gonna start vomiting blood if I read another heterosexual fantasy romance novel in which the man ends up being like hundreds of years old and the girl is 16-mid twenties. I am literally on my hands and knees begging these authors to consider the impact they’re having on young women’s psyche because if I have to see another one of my young, intelligent, beautiful, compassionate friends, who are in the literally trenches fighting for their sanity against men our age who are mostly non-comital nightmares in ugly shoes and ill-fitting clothes with brains that have been shrunken via vape steam to the point that they can only regurgitate instagram and reddit comment discourse, being convinced by grown-ass fantasy novelists in the midst of their exhaustion that there is something even vaguely romantic or reprieving about the 40something year old sewage rat man-boys they’re ending up settling for. I need a BREAK and Mrs.Maas sadly ain’t givin’ it to us.
I did also break and buy the next 2 books, I will admit.
A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid
If you were to remove all of the sentences in this book that described one of the characters blushing, it would probably be about half its current length. I don’t know if this is just a more common experience of fair skinned people or what but I think a group-read of this in which everyone took a shot every time someone blushes would be a pretty fun way to get absolutely shittered with your friends if they also happen to be into horny fantasy mystery novels that involve a lot of quivering and clenched fists.
Blushing and quivering aside this was a truly enjoyable read. Reid is brilliant at capturing the “dark academia” imagery and I loved how she used such a beautifully painted, fantastical storyline to examine themes of misogyny, victim-shaming, childhood trauma, and isolation, as well as gender-based violence, bigotry, and oppression. As a reader who originally chose to read this book to scratch my annually occurring wintertime dark academia itch, its depth and sincerity came as a pleasant surprise.
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-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? It's complicated
4.0
“[…]the truth was very costly at times. How terrible, to navigate the world without a story to comfort you.”
If you were to remove all of the sentences in this book that described one of the characters blushing, it would probably be about half its current length. I don’t know if this is just a more common experience of fair skinned people or what but I think a group-read of this in which everyone took a shot every time someone blushes would be a pretty fun way to get absolutely shittered with your friends if they also happen to be into horny fantasy mystery novels that involve a lot of quivering and clenched fists.
Blushing and quivering aside this was a truly enjoyable read. Reid is brilliant at capturing the “dark academia” imagery and I loved how she used such a beautifully painted, fantastical storyline to examine themes of misogyny, victim-shaming, childhood trauma, and isolation, as well as gender-based violence, bigotry, and oppression. As a reader who originally chose to read this book to scratch my annually occurring wintertime dark academia itch, its depth and sincerity came as a pleasant surprise.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation
The Tobacco Wives by Adele Myers
emotional
hopeful
informative
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
dark
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Fun quick read, fairly predictable and quite short but enjoyable nonetheless.
I will admit I was a bit let down as I had high hopes upon reading the summary on the back of the book at the library. It’s a great idea for a story and the author shows promise as it’s only her first published book I believe, but her writing as displayed here leave much to be desired to say the least.
I will admit I was a bit let down as I had high hopes upon reading the summary on the back of the book at the library. It’s a great idea for a story and the author shows promise as it’s only her first published book I believe, but her writing as displayed here leave much to be desired to say the least.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, and Murder
Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.0
A fun short read, silly. I grew up liking westerns because I always saw my Papa watching them so it was really nice to see queer characters depicted in a western. That being said, most western cowboys/cowgirls are defined by their rugged, undying loyalty to a certain concept, person, place, etc. and the authors ability to tell a believable western could have seriously benefited from them brushing up on even just the basics of such western tropes and themes.
I mostly found this book hard to take seriously and even someone demeaning as a queer person because it starts with the protagonists life-long childhood love being fuckin’ publicly killed in front of her so she runs off to join the “librarians” and literally immediately falls for/spends the rest of the book pining after a queer, NB librarian as if she hadn’t just run away because her closeted lifelong partner was executed in front of her??? like it’s so unserious it’s laughable which is why it was still just a silly quick read, but I do feel that upon reflection it is a bit dehumanizing to make a book about a queer character who is portrayed as being so frivolous and aimlessly driven by desire that something that big is just breezed past as a casual intro to a short story about her lusting after a traveling butch library cowboy lol
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Tartt’s writing is magnificent, I blew through this book not as much because of the story itself, even though it was great, but more so because of her writing style itself.
Her character development methods are really powerful in their ability to convey the complexity of the human experience. Tartt’s storytelling in this novel provides refreshing observations from a multitude of angles on the impacts and outcomes of both compassion and trauma to a persons psyche, worldview, and ultimately their capacity for connection, intimacy, and introspection.
Lastly, I very much enjoyed the ending. I don’t normally enjoy a book this much and also feel total resolution in its completion but to me the ending felt perfectly executed. I lent it out to a coworker of mine who had previously mentioned he likes art history as soon as I finished it (which is another way of saying I gave it away because one must never lend out books without comfort in the knowledge that it will likely never be returned) because I immediately wanted more people to experience the joy of reading this book!
Her character development methods are really powerful in their ability to convey the complexity of the human experience. Tartt’s storytelling in this novel provides refreshing observations from a multitude of angles on the impacts and outcomes of both compassion and trauma to a persons psyche, worldview, and ultimately their capacity for connection, intimacy, and introspection.
Lastly, I very much enjoyed the ending. I don’t normally enjoy a book this much and also feel total resolution in its completion but to me the ending felt perfectly executed. I lent it out to a coworker of mine who had previously mentioned he likes art history as soon as I finished it (which is another way of saying I gave it away because one must never lend out books without comfort in the knowledge that it will likely never be returned) because I immediately wanted more people to experience the joy of reading this book!