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librovermo's reviews
112 reviews
The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo
I loved Luzia as a main character. I liked that while everyone around her thought she was just a stupid little servant, the reader knows she is so much more. It would have been incredibly dangerous for Luzia to show anyone just how clever she really was in the 1500s. But hiding your true self can be dangerous too, and this quote really smacked me in the face: “I know what it is to lower yourself, to keep your eyes downcast, to seek invisibility. It is a danger to become nothing. You hope no one will look, and so one day when you go to find yourself, only dust remains, ground down to nothing from sheer neglect.” I mean, it absolutely BODIED me. Leigh Bardugo, did you write that for me? I feel called out. Anyway, watching Luzia evolve from a meager scullion to a woman who truly knows what she’s capable of felt really good.
Santángel was another great character and I liked the way his relationships evolved throughout the book and the way Bardugo introduced his backstory. Really, character development as a whole was super on point, even for side characters. Everyone felt important and they all evolved in ways that made perfect sense. I’ve learned that Bardugo is very good at this.
This is such a hard review for me because I like the book so much, I just want to gush about spoilery things. I’ll just say I think the book ended just the way it should have and call it a day.
This was my first Leigh Bardugo book. Her others have been on my TBR for a while, but that list is a mile long. I hope to get to Ninth House soon because I know for sure I’m a fan of hers now!
5.0
The Familiar grabbed me from the first line and was extremely satisfying to read. I wouldn’t say it was fast-paced, maybe more medium, but I was never bored and I never wanted to put the book down. In a lot of the books I read, there’s a lot of buildup to the climax of the story only for the bulk of the action to happen in the last few pages, and I’m often left feeling like it was sort of rushed. But in The Familiar, there was buildup, and then the action started and I was like, “wait, there’s still so much book left!”
I loved Luzia as a main character. I liked that while everyone around her thought she was just a stupid little servant, the reader knows she is so much more. It would have been incredibly dangerous for Luzia to show anyone just how clever she really was in the 1500s. But hiding your true self can be dangerous too, and this quote really smacked me in the face: “I know what it is to lower yourself, to keep your eyes downcast, to seek invisibility. It is a danger to become nothing. You hope no one will look, and so one day when you go to find yourself, only dust remains, ground down to nothing from sheer neglect.” I mean, it absolutely BODIED me. Leigh Bardugo, did you write that for me? I feel called out. Anyway, watching Luzia evolve from a meager scullion to a woman who truly knows what she’s capable of felt really good.
Santángel was another great character and I liked the way his relationships evolved throughout the book and the way Bardugo introduced his backstory. Really, character development as a whole was super on point, even for side characters. Everyone felt important and they all evolved in ways that made perfect sense. I’ve learned that Bardugo is very good at this.
This is such a hard review for me because I like the book so much, I just want to gush about spoilery things. I’ll just say I think the book ended just the way it should have and call it a day.
This was my first Leigh Bardugo book. Her others have been on my TBR for a while, but that list is a mile long. I hope to get to Ninth House soon because I know for sure I’m a fan of hers now!
The Push by Ashley Audrain
4.25
The anger I felt while reading The Push was so intense. The way Blythe’s husband Fox refused to even entertain the idea that she wasn’t imagining things, or exaggerating, or just over-tired, or any other number of excuses was absolutely infuriating. So many people, women especially, know what it feels like to not be believed, and Ashley Audrain captures those feelings so well that even if you don’t know how it feels, you’ll know after you’ve read this book. Something like this should be required reading for people with a history of refusing to seriously listen to their partners.
Not only did Blythe struggle with not being believed, but she struggled with the difficulties of being a mother and the expectations of motherhood placed upon her not only by Fox, his family, and society in general, but by herself as well. It was especially hard to read about the lack of support Blythe received from Fox. He had a specific idea of what he wanted in a wife and mother of his children, and he just didn’t want to see anything that could make her less than perfect. As Blythe says of Fox: “You wanted a perfect mother for your perfect daughter, and there wasn’t room for anything else.” Watching her deal with all the pressure without proper help and understanding was truly heartbreaking and I imagine too relatable for a lot of mothers.
I like the way The Push is written, as if it’s a long letter from Blythe to Fox. Reading it feels like peeking in on something personal and intimate. It’s not my business, but I’m nosy. And I enjoyed the bit of mystery over whether or not Blythe was a reliable narrator (though I am one to believe women…).
This was a great emotional and fast-paced read, one that I didn’t want to put down. I’m glad I finally got around to reading it!
Plastic by Scott Guild
I’ve been excited about Plastic for a long time and checked it out at the library as soon as it was released, but for whatever reason (aka I’m dumb), I didn’t start it right away. In fact, I even had to renew the borrow once before I got to it. I’m kicking myself now because once I started it, I could not stop. I devoured this book and I loved it.
Plastic takes a futuristic, dystopian look at climate change and gun violence through an extremely surreal lens with plenty of dark humor.
This book is extremely unique. The chapters are structured as if they are episodes of a TV show, but it makes sense in the context of the book. The figurines talk in what feels at first like a sort of dumbed-down way. If you’ve ever seen that episode of the American version of The Office where Kevin starts talking strangely and he says “Why waste time say lot word when few word do trick,” it’s very much like that. It’s strange at first, but easy to get used to as it’s really just faster communication. Our way of speaking is even referred to as “old-fashioned dialect,” indicating that this is just the way english has evolved over time.
Sometimes you’re reminded that the figurines are made of plastic in the silliest ways, for example when two of them kissed and “their hard lips graze each other’s, a scratchy sound of plastic brushing plastic,” a line that pulled me back to my childhood, smushing Barbie faces together to make them kiss. Honestly, the fact that they’re plastic and the ways in which they live their plastic lives is a huge reason to read the book because the way Scott Guild translates everything from human body to plastic body is so interesting and fun. But it’s just one of many deep themes to consider. While the world within the book was plastic, it mirrored our own possible future so well that it gives the reader a lot to think about.
There’s also Plastic: The Album, which tells the story of Plastic through song, like a musical. I listened to a couple songs and they’re perfect, so full of emotion. I’m definitely looking forward to the album’s release on May 31.
I thoroughly enjoyed Plastic and I hope Scott Guild has something else in store for us!
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
5.0
I’ve been excited about Plastic for a long time and checked it out at the library as soon as it was released, but for whatever reason (aka I’m dumb), I didn’t start it right away. In fact, I even had to renew the borrow once before I got to it. I’m kicking myself now because once I started it, I could not stop. I devoured this book and I loved it.
Plastic takes a futuristic, dystopian look at climate change and gun violence through an extremely surreal lens with plenty of dark humor.
This book is extremely unique. The chapters are structured as if they are episodes of a TV show, but it makes sense in the context of the book. The figurines talk in what feels at first like a sort of dumbed-down way. If you’ve ever seen that episode of the American version of The Office where Kevin starts talking strangely and he says “Why waste time say lot word when few word do trick,” it’s very much like that. It’s strange at first, but easy to get used to as it’s really just faster communication. Our way of speaking is even referred to as “old-fashioned dialect,” indicating that this is just the way english has evolved over time.
Sometimes you’re reminded that the figurines are made of plastic in the silliest ways, for example when two of them kissed and “their hard lips graze each other’s, a scratchy sound of plastic brushing plastic,” a line that pulled me back to my childhood, smushing Barbie faces together to make them kiss. Honestly, the fact that they’re plastic and the ways in which they live their plastic lives is a huge reason to read the book because the way Scott Guild translates everything from human body to plastic body is so interesting and fun. But it’s just one of many deep themes to consider. While the world within the book was plastic, it mirrored our own possible future so well that it gives the reader a lot to think about.
There’s also Plastic: The Album, which tells the story of Plastic through song, like a musical. I listened to a couple songs and they’re perfect, so full of emotion. I’m definitely looking forward to the album’s release on May 31.
I thoroughly enjoyed Plastic and I hope Scott Guild has something else in store for us!
Nothing but the Rain by Naomi Salman
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
4.0
“Welcome to Aloisville, rainiest town in the rainiest state. Population: we don’t recall.” Laverne has lived here for… well, a while. She knows she moved to Aloisville with her husband before their divorce, and at some point, it started raining, but when? There’s no way to know for sure, because there’s something in the rain water that erases the memories of the people of Aloisville. One drop, and you might lose just a moment, but the more time you spend in the rain, the more you forget until you’re just a husk that starves to death because you don’t remember how to eat. The town’s been blocked off, and the citizens of Aloisville try to plan an escape, but Laverne wants no part of it. She just wants to stay home and stay alive.
I happened upon the audiobook of this novella randomly while looking for something short to listen to last night after I finished a long book. I decided to start it on my nightly walk with my dog, and when I stepped outside, it was raining. I have to say, walking a block in the rain while listening to the journal of a woman who is terrified that the nearly never-ending rainfall outside her house will strip her of her memories was, uh, quite the experience! The narrator, Soneela Nankani, is partially responsible for that, as she really did a great job capturing Laverne’s personality and constantly shifting emotions.
It was interesting to see how the people of Aloisville adapted to the rain and how it affected Laverne mentally. The mystery of the rain was my favorite part of the book and I enjoyed coming up with theories about its origin along with Laverne. Her theories were better than mine, though. Because the story is so short, it’s hard to say more without giving too much away, so I’ll stop here with this: I think the ending was perfect.
I happened upon the audiobook of this novella randomly while looking for something short to listen to last night after I finished a long book. I decided to start it on my nightly walk with my dog, and when I stepped outside, it was raining. I have to say, walking a block in the rain while listening to the journal of a woman who is terrified that the nearly never-ending rainfall outside her house will strip her of her memories was, uh, quite the experience! The narrator, Soneela Nankani, is partially responsible for that, as she really did a great job capturing Laverne’s personality and constantly shifting emotions.
It was interesting to see how the people of Aloisville adapted to the rain and how it affected Laverne mentally. The mystery of the rain was my favorite part of the book and I enjoyed coming up with theories about its origin along with Laverne. Her theories were better than mine, though. Because the story is so short, it’s hard to say more without giving too much away, so I’ll stop here with this: I think the ending was perfect.
Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
4.5
First line: The night it happened, there was a party.
Where Sleeping Girls Lie is a great thriller/mystery. I wouldn’t say I was on the edge of my seat the whole time, as it’s a bit of a slow burn, but I did feel like I was right there with Sade, trying to solve the puzzle. And it really was a puzzle. With most books, I don’t think too hard on the mystery because I know it’s going to be solved eventually. I’ll come up with theories as I read but that’s as far as I go. This book had me entering morse code into a translator and attempting to decipher an anagram. That’s how invested I was, and it was so fun!
I worried that Sade and her friends working to solve a mystery would feel a bit like an episode of Scooby Doo, but I was pleased to find that it did not. It was also as realistic as a story about teenagers trying to solve a crime could be. They didn’t know more than they should, they didn’t solve it ridiculously quickly, and there were even times when they made more emotional than logical decisions. The characters felt very much like actual young adults - their behavior wasn’t super juvenile, but it also wasn’t overly adult in the way that some characters in books other YA media can be.
Something else I really loved is the way that Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé describes her extremely diverse cast of characters. She does it so perfectly that even I had a clear picture of what they all looked like, and I don’t even have the ability to visualize. Not only were their descriptions on point, but their personalities were fantastic. I loved Baz so much. Everyone needs a Baz in their life.
The book starts off with a letter to the reader in which Àbíké-Íyímídé explains that “with Where Sleeping Girls Lie, I write to young girls who feel so much anger, and need desperately for someone or something to tell them that their rage is important, and that the capacity to heal from deep wounds is not at all impossible.” This is such an important message that spoke to the angry young girl I once was (and sometimes still am) in a way that I truly appreciate.
Where Sleeping Girls Lie is a great thriller/mystery. I wouldn’t say I was on the edge of my seat the whole time, as it’s a bit of a slow burn, but I did feel like I was right there with Sade, trying to solve the puzzle. And it really was a puzzle. With most books, I don’t think too hard on the mystery because I know it’s going to be solved eventually. I’ll come up with theories as I read but that’s as far as I go. This book had me entering morse code into a translator and attempting to decipher an anagram. That’s how invested I was, and it was so fun!
I worried that Sade and her friends working to solve a mystery would feel a bit like an episode of Scooby Doo, but I was pleased to find that it did not. It was also as realistic as a story about teenagers trying to solve a crime could be. They didn’t know more than they should, they didn’t solve it ridiculously quickly, and there were even times when they made more emotional than logical decisions. The characters felt very much like actual young adults - their behavior wasn’t super juvenile, but it also wasn’t overly adult in the way that some characters in books other YA media can be.
Something else I really loved is the way that Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé describes her extremely diverse cast of characters. She does it so perfectly that even I had a clear picture of what they all looked like, and I don’t even have the ability to visualize. Not only were their descriptions on point, but their personalities were fantastic. I loved Baz so much. Everyone needs a Baz in their life.
The book starts off with a letter to the reader in which Àbíké-Íyímídé explains that “with Where Sleeping Girls Lie, I write to young girls who feel so much anger, and need desperately for someone or something to tell them that their rage is important, and that the capacity to heal from deep wounds is not at all impossible.” This is such an important message that spoke to the angry young girl I once was (and sometimes still am) in a way that I truly appreciate.
The Pale House Devil by Richard Kadrey
This frightening and fast-paced creature feature is worth it for Ford and Neuland alone. They may be hitmen but they are also good men with good hearts and they’re great friends with excellent banter. I wish they were my uncles.
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25
I knew next to nothing about The Pale House Devil when I borrowed it from the library. It was in the new fiction section and I basically grabbed it at the last minute on my way out the door because I was in the mood for something short and spooky. I can say now that was a good call.
This frightening and fast-paced creature feature is worth it for Ford and Neuland alone. They may be hitmen but they are also good men with good hearts and they’re great friends with excellent banter. I wish they were my uncles.