kodi_rae's reviews
274 reviews

The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years by Shubnum Khan

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

3.75

I thought this one was really fun and the mystery kept me going for most of the novel. A little spooky, which I also enjoyed, though I wish there had been more about the djinn and how it came to feel so deeply. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Blood, Death, and Classism

Moderate: Colonisation, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Animal cruelty

Minor: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, and Religious bigotry

Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Fun and unique cast of characters with easy to understand magic. It wrapped up a bit quick, in my opinion, but was still satisfying. I really enjoyed this and would read more if the author writes them!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Gun violence, Violence, and Grief

Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, and Confinement

Pearl by Siân Hughes

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-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

A really interesting little book about loss, grief, and the questions you never really get answers to. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Death of parent

Moderate: Eating disorder, Abandonment, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Child death

Split Tooth by Tanya Tagaq

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Part autobiography, part narrative fiction, part magical realism, etc. with some tough themes about SA, trauma, etc. One of the things that makes “Split Tooth” beautiful is the way Tagaq talks about the environment, animal spirits, the northern lights, etc. and how it ties into the narrative and cultural beliefs and practices. I read in other reviews that if you listen to the audiobook she narrates it herself and incorporates throat singing between each section which I imagine would lend itself to a whole new, raw experience. I think it would be worth revisiting. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Rape, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Body horror, Drug use, Murder, Suicide attempt, Grief, Blood, Violence, and Animal death

Minor: Death, Terminal illness, Self harm, and Domestic abuse

Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May

reflective medium-paced

3.0

What I appreciated most about this book was the concept of wintering and it providing me the space to reflect on what winters I have experienced in my own life. The author clearly speaks from her own perspective and experience, which is good, it’s just a pretty narrow and privileged one in many ways. So while I felt it was helpful/insightful at times, at other times I felt like it was just missing some nuances and depth. 

Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Beautiful, graphic, and unlike anything I’ve read. So interesting and so we’ll done. I loved it. I think Emezi has a knack for writing about the uncomfortable and asking tough questions of their reader. I might like this one slightly more than The Death of Vivek Oji but they are both brilliant.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Transphobia, Self harm, Rape, Toxic relationship, and Sexual assault

Minor: Child abuse, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Eating disorder, Dysphoria, and Body horror

Stone Fruit by Lee Lai

dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

A quiet and sad memoir reflecting on relationships and family. It was beautiful. 

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

I’ve often heard this book summed up as “lesbian space necromancers” and I love how it gets to the point but leaves so much to the imagination. This was a really fun and unique read. The world building is deep and the reader gets dropped right into the action, leaving a lot to be leaned and figured out as you go. Because of that, it took me a bit of time to feel like I really understood what was going on. I read a physical copy of the book which had a list of the houses and all the cast of characters that I referenced constantly and was very helpful. The back had a glossary and also descriptions for how to pronounce some of the names. I *almost* wish I had read it first but I might have still felt a little lost so maybe it wouldn’t have helped much anyway.

I think my one critique is that it moved so fast that the way the relationship between the two main characters fluctuates over time did not feel totally believable to me. But I will still read the other books in the series because it was so interesting and fun. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Chronic illness, Gore, Violence, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Blood, Bullying, Child death, Physical abuse, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Cursing

Lucky Boy by Shanthi Sekaran

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Oof. Sooo many conflicting feelings. This was a tough one but also so good. It challenged my perspective in a lot of different ways and I'm still unsure how I feel about the characters and events overall.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deportation, Grief, Infertility, Violence, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Abandonment, Rape, and Vomit

Minor: Blood

Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

This book was so beautiful and thoughtful. It is accessible, tender, loving and will make you consider your relationship to place and nature. If you're not familiar with Indigenous knowledge systems and ways of being with the land, this book is a must-read. If you have any passion or interest in climate change, this book is a must-read. If you like spending time outdoors, this book is a must-read. Basically, I think everyone and anyone should read this book.