lighterthaneyre's reviews
169 reviews

City of Nightmares by Rebecca Schaeffer

adventurous dark emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

Extremely fun setting and world building. Some of the themes are a little bluntly presented, but overall this was a very good time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Mental illness, Blood, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Sexual violence

Minor: Slavery, Police brutality, and Trafficking

Beasts and Beauty: Dangerous Tales by Soman Chainani

1.0

Really did not like the tone or voice. It felt smugly self satisfied for taking on the practice of fairy tales. 

The Killing Light by Myke Cole

adventurous dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No

3.0

The trilogy ending landed strangely for me. The themes built up in the previous book took a strange pivot halfway through, so the ending didn't feel quite earned, and the series didn't hit the climax I think it was going for.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Misogyny, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and War

The Queen of Crows by Myke Cole

adventurous dark fast-paced

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

3.25

Less gore and violence in this than the first. There is more reflection of Heloise as a leader, not a young woman. The conflict between (somewhat naive) ideals and harsh realities. I'm honestly not sure how well I think it's been done. I think it will depend on how the last book plays out. 

RE: Heloise's character development

I think her actions towards the end of the book are very at odds with the black and white morality she's been espousing earlier. She cannot both be someone fighting only for freedom and justice, while also burning a man alive for betrayal, and craving vengeance in the form of a man's violent death. She stands by while her dad punches the turn coat into a pulp, and while they are right to be upset by the betrayal, they beat the man past speaking, past consciousness. That is not justice or self defense, that's the wet slap of meat, that's butchery.

RE: the plot

The ending was very out of left field, in my opinion. Not very well foreshadowed or earned. A classic deus ex machina that saps the momentum out of the story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Violence

Deerskin by Robin McKinley

4.5

Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes

3.75

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated

4.0

The Armored Saint by Myke Cole

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Misogyny, and Blood

Minor: Rape

I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

4.5

Jennette does an excellent job as the narrator. The detached tone she sometimes goes into, describing facts and events in practical detail while compartmentalizing, contrasted with the snark directed at those on her card team rang deeply true for me.

This book is formatted into very short chapters, each centered around a gut punch of a memory. The memories unravel into a thoughtful reflection. The contrast to a life as seen by an outsider to a life as lived by that person is sharp, and this memoir wields it like a knife.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Cancer, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent

Moderate: Alcoholism and Sexual violence

TW for sexual violence:

One chapter midway through reveals physical abuse from the mother that I would categorize as sexual abuse. Several chapters talk about early in life sexual relationships that are not technically non-consenting but are certainly coercive. Descriptions are not graphically detailed but explained frankly.

What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

In fairness I haven't read The Fall of the House of Usher so I only picked up on about a third of the references the book was making. But I the ones I did pick up were woven cheekily in- not hidden, not thrown in your face, but with a wink and a nod as we kept talking about weird mushrooms. Completely wonderful.

I know the characters fully believe it's not Maddy speaking at the end, when she's being puppeted. I honestly think it was. And I think it makes the whole story about 50 times more horrible.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, and Chronic illness

Moderate: Death and Murder

The body horror is about 80% animal and about 20% human. The animal is a rabbit.