lizflynn's reviews
778 reviews

Rivals by Katharine McGee

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emotional hopeful lighthearted relaxing
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

Woman, Eating by Claire Kohda

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dark emotional funny sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated

5.0

I LOVED this. It’s sad, slightly unhinged, and just the right amount of creepy. Knowing Lydia’s true nature while the other characters don’t also makes parts of the story absurdly funny, too. 

The exploration of identity through body and food is so well done. Lydia is half vampire and half Japanese half Malaysian. She constantly feels disconnected from a part of herself because she never met her human dad, nor can she connect to food in a meaningful way. Kohda uses the vampire trope as a metaphor for cultural identity and the feeling of not belonging or being “good enough” that I think a lot of people who have mixed cultural backgrounds feel (I know I do). 

CW: disordered eating, descriptions of food, SA in the workplace, light body horror of the vampire variety
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A Lot Like Adiós by Alexis Daria

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 64%.
I just wasn’t feeling this one. The chemistry between our two main characters felt forced, even though they had known each other as kids. And the plot devices to move the story along were so contrived and didn’t make any logical sense. Not my thing. 
The Between by Tananarive Due

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Beasts of a Little Land by Juhea Kim

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emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0

I thought this was a very good debut novel. Writing a narrative that spans decades is no easy feat. This isn’t the best attempt I’ve read, but it’s solid. Sometimes I felt like things got skimmed over, and it was kind of disorienting to revisit a character years later. I felt like we got so much of Lotus and Luna in the beginning, but then they dropped off when I wanted to glimpse more of their stories. 

Overall, this story is beautiful, heartbreaking, and bleak at times- fully reflective of life. There are some gorgeous, gorgeous sentences and paragraphs throughout. I will totally read more of Juhea Kim’s work in the future. 
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Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters

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challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective sad fast-paced
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.5

Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney

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challenging emotional medium-paced
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I love Rooney’s writing. 
When He Was Wicked by Julia Quinn

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adventurous emotional lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.0

Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful tense medium-paced
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

A sci-fi classic 
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Book Lovers by Emily Henry

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

This was cute. Emily Henry’s books have become an escape for me, and they’re always fun to read. I think I liked People We Meet On Vacation a little more, but this is still worth the hype. Definitely read if you’re already a Henry fan or if you love romance!