lrmarita's reviews
1116 reviews

Woman, Eating by Claire Kohda

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dark reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Excellent and weird—vampires, food (and longing for food), art, an interior monologue that was super interesting to follow along with. Not for everyone, but one of those books that’s perfect for someone
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The Deep by Rivers Solomon

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challenging dark emotional fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

A singular concept and execution of a novella that’s unlike anything I’ve ever read. The use of the ‘remembering’ as a way to show historical and generational trauma was really, really interesting, and the way it was woven throughout the novella and affected different sections in different ways was really interesting as well. I also appreciated reading the afterward, which explained how the work was developed collectively—a fascinating process that created an excellently-crafted work
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The Burning God by R.F. Kuang

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adventurous challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I mean yes it was great but omg while the ending was a very satisfying conclusion, I also craved
a redemption arc! But I also loved that maybe she got to choose when she knew she’d started losing her grip on reality…like as the  commander, she had to end her life before the phoenix took over? Like maybe the descent in the back 20% wasn’t all her? Idk! It was an interesting way to close it!
. Will be recommending this trilogy widely
Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson

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challenging emotional reflective medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

Couldn’t get enough of it: the prose, the pacing, the plot. I think the emotions that the sections evoke undulate like a wave which I really loved. Really looking forward to whatever Wilkerson writes next!!
The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty

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

3.25

Super weird but written beautifully—I loved following Blandine, and I don’t think it would have worked if we had followed fewer perspectives (multiple points of view!) but really thought the Moses sections could have  been cut without too much impact. So much of it was incredibly sad, but it was fascinating to read the stories out of one apartment complex in a small town. Not a book I’d recommend to everyone (sometimes grotesque, a little experimental, lots of catholic undertones) but I get why it won National Book Award this year.
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The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-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? No

4.25

Slow to start but worth sticking around for
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Lonely Castle in the Mirror by Mizuki Tsujimura

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

Dug the story, really loved the progression (except the denouement, the end was good and the lead up was good but the scene before the end was unnecessarily chaotic I think?), but thought the translation could have been better (a little too literal translation at times I think, where the meaning could have shown through better in colloquial/slang, which honestly is interesting cause this translator also did other works I’ve read and enjoyed but read before I started learning Japanese) the book is very good!! The story is touching, the twists are fun and unexpected, the sci fi components are great.
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Bunny by Mona Awad

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 41%.
It’s too conceptual for me right st this moment, maybe one day I’ll go back to it but my brain is hurting trying to follow the threads
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August Kitko and the Mechas from Space by Alex White

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful medium-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

5.0

Really dug it—humanity at the brink, big space battles, a soundtrack you can almost hear due to White’s writing style, excellent all around! Looking forward to the next installment!
The Book Haters' Book Club by Gretchen Anthony

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  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Not for me