labyrinth_witch's reviews
549 reviews

Never Met a Duke Like You by Amalie Howard

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.0

Married to the Viscount by Sabrina Jeffries

emotional fast-paced

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

2.0

This turned out to be my least favorite of the whole series. Lots of psychological abuse and cruelty. And I did not think the male lead redeemed himself. Really did not want the female lead to marry him and definitely felt like her acquiesce to him after what he put her through happened too easily. Sex isn’t that good that it can wipe away that level of hurt. This is Jeffries earlier series (2003 ish). Her more recent series are much better with much more self-assertive female leads. So there is something to be said for the evolution of a writer. 

Outsourcing the Womb: Race, Class, and Gestational Surrogacy in a Global Market by France Winddance Twine

informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

This is a great introductory primer for the gestational surrogacy industry (though a touch more editing wouldn’t go amiss). It’s a very quick overview using a comparative analysis of state (national) regulatory regimes through case studies of the major industry hubs. I wish it had provided a map, because the flow of clientele and wealth in this industry would be a shocking look at global commodity chains and perceptions/meaning of wealth. 

Highly recommend if you think you have fixed opinions on surrogacy, reproduction, or motherhood. You don’t know what you think you know. 

Highly recommend if you know nothing about the surrogacy and commercial reproduction industry. It’s accessibly written and provides a glossary of terms and concepts for easy reference in the back. 

Dance of Seduction by Sabrina Jeffries

emotional hopeful 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

3.0

Not my favorite of the series. There was a little too much “if you REALLY loved me you’d give up everything that is important to you” and “you say you love me, but you love your children more” from the male protagonist, which is just red flags all over the place. He gets over it by the end, but I just don’t find stories attractive where I’m mentally screaming “RUN! DON’T MARRY HIM!” to the female lead because of all the red flags. 

Much Ado About Dukes by Eva Devon

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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

5.0

I really love this “regency women’s rights” romance subgenre. As if that wasn’t wonderful enough, Devon offers an actual complex male character that pauses and reflects about why he’s reacting to his wife in a certain way and then chooses to act differently. He also has a host of emotions he doesn’t know how to process. And the female protagonist didn’t backdown and stood her ground with a clarity and backbone that will take your breath away. For such a small novel, it was packed with so much goodness! Devon has made it to my list of favorite authors! 

Lilith by Nikki Marmery

challenging emotional reflective sad 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

5.0

This book inspires all the feels- I’m not sure if I feel depressed or elated. Definitely for a specific demographic who grew up with intense Christian (or Abrahamic religion) indoctrination and are deconstructing it all. I had gotten as far as understanding Eve as the embodiment of the goddess- but I hadn’t take it through to the stories of Noah, of Jezebel, or of Mary of Magdalene. What I love most about how this book is written is that the absurdity comes through clearly. Absurd that creation was an act of speaking- a puff of breath. The absurdity of the underworld. The absurdity of wanting eternal life, particularly one “not of this world.” Once you see it, you can’t unsee it. If you are still deconstructing, this book will take you to the next length of that journey. 

Matilda Joslyn Gage: She who Holds the Sky by Sally Roesch Wagner

informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

For those of us who have been steeped in the American women’s movement and for those of us who have never even heard mention of it- this book will break your heart. It will break your heart because issues you think are “contemporary” or “modern” have long been resisted- for centuries by brave, intractable women. 

But what breaks my heart in particular is how much I needed her voice only to learn Susan B Anthony tried to erase her from history. The tensions and duplicity is cutting. Gage attached the ideology, Anthony one mechanism. Gage had a strategy to win a war. Anthony a strategy to win a battle. 

And the sadness comes when I think of the world we could have if they had all backed Gage. If they hadn’t been so afraid. The world we live in would be unrecognizably different. 

Read this book- it will forever reorient you to history and to the present. 

The Temp Economy: From Kelly Girls to Permatemps in Postwar America by Erin Hatton

informative reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

Hatton provides an in-depth sociological account of how we came to our current circumstances of precarious work and inability to pay rent despite working full-time. This should be required reading in high school, before you’re targeted by these very companies. 

Most of us have heard the “disappearance of the middle-class” but its causal forces are rarely so clearly explained. Hatton makes a persuasive argument for how the Temp Industry spearheaded an ideological shift from workers as assets to workers as liabilities. When “labor” (workers) became a “good” that could be acquired at the lowest possible price, employment triangulation skyrocketed. Once this triangulation occurs- who is responsible for benefits (if any), who is responsible for worker conditions. 

The temp industry also actively creates markets for their “product” (temporary workers) which depresses wages for everyone else by increasing competition. Since over 90% of employers in the U.S. in all sectors use temp agencies to fill long-term positions or entire departments, we are ALL suffering under this precarity and threat of precarity. We probably know people who have been taken in by these pyramid schemes. 

In the conclusion, Hatton proposes four policy solutions. A new labor movement is emerging. Let’s recognize our common struggle and agitate to protect all workers from misclassification and exploitation. 

A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark

adventurous funny medium-paced

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

5.0

This is an adventurous mystery that has everything- variety of character, strong female lead, feminist themes, alllll the fairytale creatures, imagining Egypt if colonizers had never gained control, funny banter. It definitely keeps you on your toes to figure out the villain. Also, it’s just 100% fun. 

Sisters in Spirit by Sally Roesch Wagner

challenging hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

Everyone needs to read this book. The true origins of democracy are First People, not Greek philosophers. The First Nations are the foundation of the EuroAmerican feminist movement.  So much! This book will shake the foundations of what you thought you understood.