leontyna's reviews
1321 reviews

Paladin's Grace by T. Kingfisher

adventurous fast-paced

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

4.0

I really enjoyed the book. The lack of self-confidence in the characters was a bit overdone but mostly believable. My only complaint would be that some of the plot points remained unexplained, I hope the sequels will solve that though.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Sexual content, and Murder

Minor: Infidelity and Toxic relationship

Przewodnik po zbrodni według grzecznej dziewczynki by Holly Jackson

adventurous challenging fast-paced

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

4.0

I really enjoyed the pacing of the book and the mystery itself. It was really hard to put down the book. The main character made a few stupid decisions but it was still believable, given her age.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Drug abuse, and Grief

Minor: Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Rape, and Alcohol

An American Sunrise: Poems by Joy Harjo
Did not finish book. Stopped at 70%.

I liked one or two poems from the beginning but the rest didn't resonate with me.

Earthlings by Sayaka Murata

dark fast-paced

• Loveable characters? No

4.0

That was darker than I expected but at the same time had a weirdly light tone. I thought Convenience store woman was epitome of weird, I was wrong, this is.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Cannibalism, and Murder

Moderate: Death, Incest, and Suicide attempt

Infections and Inequalities: The Modern Plagues by Paul Farmer

challenging informative reflective slow-paced

4.0

Like most of Paul Farmer's work this book explored current epidemics in a very thought-provoking way. The most memorable message for me was the difference between seeing barriers to care as a result of a different culture versus structural violence. 

While culture in the past was a way to think about the issues with curiosity rather than judgment, currently it is overused as an argument to abandon treatment altogether in some areas, or it is even misquoted as a reason for some epidemics (for example explaining away AIDS as a consequence of voodoo practices - all without sufficient evidence). Using the cultural argument also tends to ignore questions of power and history. It downplays the history of oppression and injustice out of which present realities may have arisen, favouring the simplistic cultural differences explanation instead.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Medical content, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Drug abuse

Ziemia nie do życia : nasza planeta po globalnym ociepleniu by David Wallace-Wells

4.0

Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey

reflective medium-paced

• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

I liked the premise more than the execution, I wish we got more world building.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death and Homophobia

Oona kontra życie by Margarita Montimore

challenging reflective 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

4.0

For the idea alone this book deserves to be read, better yet it's really engaging. The time travel implications are as always weird to figure out but I think the book has enough plot and a message that make it not that important.
I'll definitely think about this one for a long time.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Drug use, Infidelity, Sexual content, and Grief

Minor: Racism and Transphobia

Złe wychowanie Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth
Did not finish book. Stopped at 14%.

Nothing wrong with the book, just a bad timing. I plan to restart it in the future

Antologia nowej poezji polskiej by Roman Honet, Mariusz Czyżowski

reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

It was a great collection, like with any anthology not all poems spoke to me but I liked many of them. And it gave me a good overview of new poets to explore in the future.