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librovermo's reviews
227 reviews
A Certain Hunger by Chelsea G. Summers
Did not finish book. Stopped at 16%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 16%.
I’m not a fan of the writing and there are so many references to things I am completely unfamiliar with. I can skip over a reference here and there, but when there are 4 on one page, I get frustrated.
I have an interest in where the story goes but at 16%, I decided I’d rather just look up spoilers than read the rest.
————
After reading a spoiler-filled review, I feel pretty good about my DNF decision. No regrets!
I have an interest in where the story goes but at 16%, I decided I’d rather just look up spoilers than read the rest.
————
After reading a spoiler-filled review, I feel pretty good about my DNF decision. No regrets!
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
What if the famous underground railroad wasn’t just a series of underground tunnels, but an actual underground railroad, with stations and trains on tracks? Colson Whitehead answers that question in The Underground Railroad.
Cora is a victim of or at least a witness to every possible atrocity committed against her fellow slaves on the Randall plantation where she grew up and it’s absolutely heartbreaking. Colson is not afraid to slap his readers in the face with very real details of America’s terrible history and it’s very hard to read. I was already crying by the end of the first part, which is 8 pages long.
Although it elicited a lot of emotion from me, the writing itself is very matter-of-fact and unemotional, which felt a little jarring at first, but soon came to feel like a nod to how powerless Cora and the other slaves were. Every horrible thing that happened was just a fact of life, and they had to remove themselves from it without dwelling on it or allowing themselves to feel those painful emotions. Even after her escape, Cora often felt powerless, unable to be herself, unable to embrace any of her true emotions. I think the writing reflected that perfectly.
However, there were some jumps in time here and there that were really confusing for me as there was a severe lack of cohesive transition between flashbacks and the now. Sometimes it was a couple weeks ago, sometimes it was right now, sometimes it was suddenly a month later, and I often had no idea which it was until I read quite a bit and figured it out for myself.
I loved Cora and I loved the premise, but the erratic timeline and the incredibly abrupt ending unfortunately hindered my overall enjoyment of the book. The ending is really the thing that messed with me the most. I can’t figure out why it ended so suddenly! 😭
Still, I’d recommend The Underground Railroad to basically everyone ever. It’s an important story that highlights a part of American history that too many people ignore but shouldn’t be forgotten, and it is absolutely worth the read.
3.0
What if the famous underground railroad wasn’t just a series of underground tunnels, but an actual underground railroad, with stations and trains on tracks? Colson Whitehead answers that question in The Underground Railroad.
Cora is a victim of or at least a witness to every possible atrocity committed against her fellow slaves on the Randall plantation where she grew up and it’s absolutely heartbreaking. Colson is not afraid to slap his readers in the face with very real details of America’s terrible history and it’s very hard to read. I was already crying by the end of the first part, which is 8 pages long.
Although it elicited a lot of emotion from me, the writing itself is very matter-of-fact and unemotional, which felt a little jarring at first, but soon came to feel like a nod to how powerless Cora and the other slaves were. Every horrible thing that happened was just a fact of life, and they had to remove themselves from it without dwelling on it or allowing themselves to feel those painful emotions. Even after her escape, Cora often felt powerless, unable to be herself, unable to embrace any of her true emotions. I think the writing reflected that perfectly.
However, there were some jumps in time here and there that were really confusing for me as there was a severe lack of cohesive transition between flashbacks and the now. Sometimes it was a couple weeks ago, sometimes it was right now, sometimes it was suddenly a month later, and I often had no idea which it was until I read quite a bit and figured it out for myself.
I loved Cora and I loved the premise, but the erratic timeline and the incredibly abrupt ending unfortunately hindered my overall enjoyment of the book. The ending is really the thing that messed with me the most. I can’t figure out why it ended so suddenly! 😭
Still, I’d recommend The Underground Railroad to basically everyone ever. It’s an important story that highlights a part of American history that too many people ignore but shouldn’t be forgotten, and it is absolutely worth the read.
My Heart Belongs in an Empty Big Mac Container Buried Beneath the Ocean Floor by Homeless
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
5.0
Years ago, I discovered an author whose books I absolutely loved. I found that his books were considered “bizarro,” but when I explored other books within that genre, they didn’t evoke anything close to the same feelings. Eventually, I gave up because my efforts were all in vain.
But finally, I’ve found a book (or, rather, the book’s author found me) that makes me feel the way that author’s work does. My Heart Belongs in an Empty Big Mac Container Buried Beneath the Ocean Floor is exactly what I was looking for ten years ago: unique, surreal, and strange without being weird just for the sake of weird, but also raw, full of heart, and extremely relatable (except for the part that says chunky peanut butter is the kind only sociopaths enjoy 😭). It made me laugh, it made me cry, and it gave me space to reflect on the darkest and most uncomfortable aspects of mental illness. It also has the best title of all time, which is absolutely not up for debate.
Homeless has a really unique writing style. He often (and by often I mean all the time haha) uses amusing similes, which can keep things light during serious moments, so I found myself laughing at times that would be pretty inappropriate in a real life discussion. Daniel is dealing with serious mental health issues. He’s been stalked by sad-looking blue whales that are the personification of depression since he was a child. His life is a mess. And I had to stop reading a couple times because I was laughing too hard. I loved it.
I will never again drive or walk by a McDonalds without thinking of Daniel and the sad-looking blue whales that plagued him throughout his life. My boyfriend enjoys the occasional Big Mac and I can’t look at their containers without thinking of Daniel’s journey.
Thank you Honeless,, for sending me a copy of your book, and for teaching me to embrace my own sad-looking blue whales.
But finally, I’ve found a book (or, rather, the book’s author found me) that makes me feel the way that author’s work does. My Heart Belongs in an Empty Big Mac Container Buried Beneath the Ocean Floor is exactly what I was looking for ten years ago: unique, surreal, and strange without being weird just for the sake of weird, but also raw, full of heart, and extremely relatable (except for the part that says chunky peanut butter is the kind only sociopaths enjoy 😭). It made me laugh, it made me cry, and it gave me space to reflect on the darkest and most uncomfortable aspects of mental illness. It also has the best title of all time, which is absolutely not up for debate.
Homeless has a really unique writing style. He often (and by often I mean all the time haha) uses amusing similes, which can keep things light during serious moments, so I found myself laughing at times that would be pretty inappropriate in a real life discussion. Daniel is dealing with serious mental health issues. He’s been stalked by sad-looking blue whales that are the personification of depression since he was a child. His life is a mess. And I had to stop reading a couple times because I was laughing too hard. I loved it.
I will never again drive or walk by a McDonalds without thinking of Daniel and the sad-looking blue whales that plagued him throughout his life. My boyfriend enjoys the occasional Big Mac and I can’t look at their containers without thinking of Daniel’s journey.
Thank you Honeless,, for sending me a copy of your book, and for teaching me to embrace my own sad-looking blue whales.
Scythe by Neal Shusterman
When I was about a quarter of the way through Scythe, I was telling my boyfriend about it and he said “If the Thunderhead (the AI that knows all and has solved all of humanity’s problems, thus allowing them to live in a utopia) is all-knowing and capable of so much, why can it solve every problem except over-population? It doesn’t make sense.” And that was it. Before he asked the question, I was perfectly willing to accept that Scythes were necessary, but after? I couldn’t make sense of it. Why couldn’t the Thunderhead solve over-population? It solved world hunger. It solved death! I know that without the Scythes, there wouldn’t have been a book, so I moved on (mostly), but I thought about it every once in a while as I read and I do wish there was a better explanation for their existence.
Anyway… I liked the main characters, though I feel Citra didn’t have as much development as Rowan. They both struggled with being Scythe apprentices, but Rowan dealt with a lot more strife and moral dilemmas. I found his sections more interesting and exciting, and going through all of that with him made me like him more. Side characters were interesting as well, and even the “villains” weren’t necessarily villains depending on who you are and what you believe.
I loved the way the Scythes each had their own method of gleaning people. It made for some interesting thought about how I would glean if I was a Scythe. I found it funny that in a utopia without government, they still ended up with the untouchable Sythes, who made their own rules and felt very much like a corrupt government, furthering the idea that corruption is inescapable.
I wasn’t expecting the book to be as twisty as it was, maybe because it had quite the slow start and didn’t get into twists until pretty late in the book, but they were fun and exciting. I love the way it ended, I think it was perfect and it made me really excited for the next book. I expect Thunderhead (the title of the next book) to be more fast-paced because I think Shusterman had to take some time setting up the series and explaining how the world works with Scythe, which slowed it down a bit. We’ll see!
challenging
dark
slow-paced
3.5
When I was about a quarter of the way through Scythe, I was telling my boyfriend about it and he said “If the Thunderhead (the AI that knows all and has solved all of humanity’s problems, thus allowing them to live in a utopia) is all-knowing and capable of so much, why can it solve every problem except over-population? It doesn’t make sense.” And that was it. Before he asked the question, I was perfectly willing to accept that Scythes were necessary, but after? I couldn’t make sense of it. Why couldn’t the Thunderhead solve over-population? It solved world hunger. It solved death! I know that without the Scythes, there wouldn’t have been a book, so I moved on (mostly), but I thought about it every once in a while as I read and I do wish there was a better explanation for their existence.
Anyway… I liked the main characters, though I feel Citra didn’t have as much development as Rowan. They both struggled with being Scythe apprentices, but Rowan dealt with a lot more strife and moral dilemmas. I found his sections more interesting and exciting, and going through all of that with him made me like him more. Side characters were interesting as well, and even the “villains” weren’t necessarily villains depending on who you are and what you believe.
I loved the way the Scythes each had their own method of gleaning people. It made for some interesting thought about how I would glean if I was a Scythe. I found it funny that in a utopia without government, they still ended up with the untouchable Sythes, who made their own rules and felt very much like a corrupt government, furthering the idea that corruption is inescapable.
I wasn’t expecting the book to be as twisty as it was, maybe because it had quite the slow start and didn’t get into twists until pretty late in the book, but they were fun and exciting. I love the way it ended, I think it was perfect and it made me really excited for the next book. I expect Thunderhead (the title of the next book) to be more fast-paced because I think Shusterman had to take some time setting up the series and explaining how the world works with Scythe, which slowed it down a bit. We’ll see!
A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
I’d like to thank both Netgalley and Tor Books, from whom I received an ARC of A Sorceress Comes to Call. These opinions are my own.
If you’re familiar with the story of The Goose Girl from the Brothers Grimm, you might recognize a name here, or a plot device there, but A Sorceress Comes to Call is very much a story of Kingfisher’s own design and it is absolutely brilliant. It’s intense, dark, and heart-wrenching, and Cordelia, the lonely and naive 14-year-old girl at the center of the story, was so easy to fall in love with.
But Cordelia isn’t the only star of the show. While trying to win the affection of a rich man, Cordelia’s mother, Evangeline, sees one of my favorite characters, Penelope, as competition. Penelope isn’t a traditional beauty, but everyone is mesmerized by her anyway because of her inner-beauty and confidence. It’s a stark contrast to the toxic and narcissistic behavior of Cordelia’s beautiful mother, Evangeline, who despises Penelope. I loved that Evangeline felt threatened by Penelope and witnessing how her fear evolved and twisted.
Towards the end of the book, when everything comes to a head, there’s some action that I found a bit confusing. The description of what was going on wasn’t good enough for me personally. In the end, I understood as much as the characters did, but I was a bit disappointed that I couldn’t get a grasp on what was happening as it happened. It’s fully possible this is because of my inability to picture things, but obviously I can’t be sure.
There are so many plot points I wish I could comment on but I can’t do so without spoiling things! There are some twisty bits and some crazy parts and also there’s this one part where… ahhhh! Just read this book!
If you’re familiar with the story of The Goose Girl from the Brothers Grimm, you might recognize a name here, or a plot device there, but A Sorceress Comes to Call is very much a story of Kingfisher’s own design and it is absolutely brilliant. It’s intense, dark, and heart-wrenching, and Cordelia, the lonely and naive 14-year-old girl at the center of the story, was so easy to fall in love with.
But Cordelia isn’t the only star of the show. While trying to win the affection of a rich man, Cordelia’s mother, Evangeline, sees one of my favorite characters, Penelope, as competition. Penelope isn’t a traditional beauty, but everyone is mesmerized by her anyway because of her inner-beauty and confidence. It’s a stark contrast to the toxic and narcissistic behavior of Cordelia’s beautiful mother, Evangeline, who despises Penelope. I loved that Evangeline felt threatened by Penelope and witnessing how her fear evolved and twisted.
Towards the end of the book, when everything comes to a head, there’s some action that I found a bit confusing. The description of what was going on wasn’t good enough for me personally. In the end, I understood as much as the characters did, but I was a bit disappointed that I couldn’t get a grasp on what was happening as it happened. It’s fully possible this is because of my inability to picture things, but obviously I can’t be sure.
There are so many plot points I wish I could comment on but I can’t do so without spoiling things! There are some twisty bits and some crazy parts and also there’s this one part where… ahhhh! Just read this book!
Quicksand by Iris Johansen
Did not finish book. Stopped at 9%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 9%.
I had to DNF this one because, to be quite frank, it read like it was written for old conservative grandmas. And that’s fine, but I’m not one.
The First Bright Thing by J.R. Dawson
Did not finish book. Stopped at 23%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 23%.
I have absolutely nothing against this book, but I’ve been choosing to read other books instead for almost 2 weeks and it’s time to return it to the library. I think I just didn’t really connect with the story or any of the characters enough to be excited about coming back to it, but I’m not against trying again in the future.
We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer
5.0
I read this book in one sitting because a good horror story is so addictive, I can’t look away. We Used to Live here is absolutely *chef’s kiss,* and one of the scariest books I’ve ever read.
A lot of times, the horror I read kind of eases into the spooky, but Marcus Kliewer got right into it and I felt super uneasy from the jump. Right away, I felt like I was reading something on r/NoSleep in the middle of the night, a feeling that was both nostalgic and disquieting. By the time I reached the middle of the story, I was so full of dread that my stomach actually hurt. I was in physical pain for the entire second half of the book.
I went into We Used to Live Here as blindly as possible and I think it was an excellent choice, so I’m not going to dig too deep in this review. I will say though that I while I haven’t read House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski yet, I have flipped through my copy and I can definitely see why people are drawing comparisons between the two books. As I read this one, I was deeply immersed, solving puzzles, cracking codes, and translating foreign languages. It’s an extra element that can be either embraced or ignored depending on the reader, and it added a lot to my overall enjoyment of the book.
A lot of times, the horror I read kind of eases into the spooky, but Marcus Kliewer got right into it and I felt super uneasy from the jump. Right away, I felt like I was reading something on r/NoSleep in the middle of the night, a feeling that was both nostalgic and disquieting. By the time I reached the middle of the story, I was so full of dread that my stomach actually hurt. I was in physical pain for the entire second half of the book.
I went into We Used to Live Here as blindly as possible and I think it was an excellent choice, so I’m not going to dig too deep in this review. I will say though that I while I haven’t read House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski yet, I have flipped through my copy and I can definitely see why people are drawing comparisons between the two books. As I read this one, I was deeply immersed, solving puzzles, cracking codes, and translating foreign languages. It’s an extra element that can be either embraced or ignored depending on the reader, and it added a lot to my overall enjoyment of the book.