kt2e56's reviews
100 reviews

Acid for the Children: A Memoir by Flea

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emotional slow-paced

3.5

I like that it’s not really a traditional memoir and is more of a set of vignettes but it took me so long to get through it because I guess the subject matter just isn’t as interesting as I thought it would be
Penance by Eliza Clark

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dark emotional funny 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

Holy shit. A truly blistering takedown of the true crime industrial complex with some really great digs at podcasts like My Favorite Murder, Last Podcast on the Left, and All Killer No Filler in addition to books like In Cold Blood. A great examination of the unreliable narrator and who gets to tell their own story when awful crimes like this are committed but also a surprisingly empathetic and honest look at the wide spectrum of girlhood and what happens when children are failed by the people who are supposed to protect them. There really is just so much going on here and I’ll be thinking about this book and some of the more chilling details here for a very long time.
The Perfumist of Paris by Alka Joshi

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective fast-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? Yes

5.0

Easily the best of the trilogy. Really delightful to see a more mature, older Raddha. This was such a gorgeous story about motherhood and identity and just like with the first two books, found family. Some really lovely and warm surprises in here. I love the layers each of the characters had. A big reveal at the end regarding a minor character from the series was particularly satisfying. I really like how lifelike each character felt.
Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 6%.
I’m just really not feeling it
The Secret Keeper of Jaipur by Alka Joshi

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

3.0

Definitely not as good as the first. Liked the return of characters like Malik from the first book but really wasn’t fond of the different points of view per chapter. I think it could have been just from Malik’s POV or just from Lakshmi’s. Nimmi’s POV was completely unnecessary all together and I think the way the two different plots meet felt a little too forced.
The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi

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dark hopeful sad tense fast-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? Yes

4.0

I’m usually not a romance kind of girlie but this was so vibrant and intricate and the characters so complex that I couldn’t help but to love it.
Drood by Dan Simmons

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

3.0

Definitely way too long. I like the overall premise though (even if I know literally nothing about Charles Dickens) and the voice actor is great
My Darling Dreadful Thing by Johanna van Veen

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challenging dark mysterious tense fast-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? Yes

4.5

Excellent! Really creepy and atmospheric with all the traditional trappings of a Gothic horror yet completely original at the same time. Love the character of Agnes in particular.

I think my one complaint would be sometimes the dialogue sounded so old fashioned as to be a bit silly at times (and a bit outdated even for its setting which is the 1950’s). But I suppose that’s part of building up the Gothic atmosphere.
The paying guests by Sarah Waters

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

4.0

A bit of a slow start but impossible to put down once things kick off. Be gay, do crimes <3
The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolaño

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

2.5

An absolute slog to get through at times because quite frankly, every character sounds exactly the same. They all believe in the exact same things and all sound like different versions of presumably the author’s own opinions. Rampant homophobia and even worse misogyny and celebration or defense of violence against women at several key points during the novel (the author couldn’t convincingly write from a female POV if his life depended on it) 

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