lizsmartie13's reviews
663 reviews

American Elsewhere by Robert Jackson Bennett

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

FINALLY finished. I originally had this book scheduled for May and kept pushing it, and then it took me over two weeks to read, so my journey with this felt LONG. I think that’s also the nature of Robert Jackson Bennett’s writing— I didn’t realize until about halfway through this that he also wrote the Foundryside series and now everything makes sense. The lore is deep, the schemes are plentiful, and the characters are rich and layered, but the prose is… I don’t even know how to describe it. All I know is that as long as they have taken me and as frustrated as I can get while reading, I have not yet regretted finishing one of his books, because the worlds’ they exist in are so unique and bountiful. This book especially reminded me IMMENSELY of Stephen King, both in theme and style, so if you’re a fan of King’s eldritch-horror books, this may really work for you. It certainly did for me. 
Poison for Breakfast by Lemony Snicket

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adventurous emotional funny informative inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

 Absolutely wonderful. Came together beautifully and made me cry at my desk. 
The Crane Wife by Patrick Ness

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

Gorgeously written by Ness, as usual. The metaphors went a little over my head but the emotions were very real. 
Both Sides Now by Peyton Thomas

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emotional hopeful lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

2.5. Nowhere near as bad as Twitter made it sound, but that’s what happens when everyone dog-piles on out of context screenshots. However, this is still pretty dumb. 
Throwing the competition was impressively stupid, especially when, as Finch tells us, kids of color and queer kids have regularly had to debate against their personhood and none of them had a meltdown about it. 
  I think a lot of people went into this wanting to hate it because of the author’s tumblr infamy, and it’s certainly not the best LGBTQ YA I’ve read, but it’s also nowhere NEAR the worst. Everybody relax 
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The Tragedy of Arthur by Arthur Phillips

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challenging emotional funny informative mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

 Really spectacular. Could have done without the play at the end as it doesn’t add much, but I do think it’s intrinsic to the makeup of the novel (and some of the footnotes are delightful). The end of the introduction had me scratching my head for a second but as I worked my way through the play I think it made more and more sense. I absolutely love AP’s style and this sort of storytelling is EXTREMELY up my alley. 
In My Dreams I Hold a Knife by Ashley Winstead

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dark mysterious tense 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? Yes

3.5

Oh SO fun. I feel like I’ve read a lot of books like this which is maybe why it didn’t “wow” me, but I still had an absolute ball reading it, and some of the themes that came back around in the end were absolutely delicious.
Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler

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dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Besides the glaring period-typical racism, this was an intriguing little noir thriller. I get why Chandler is held in such high regard. ACAB.
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What You Did by Claire McGowan

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emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh

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

4.0

Christ. All right, then. 
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Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell

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emotional hopeful inspiring sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

4.5 rounded down. My god, what a book. When I started it I thought it would take forever, but I flew through it; despite its somewhat dense and flowery prose, it’s intensely readable and extremely touching.