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maiagaia's reviews
88 reviews
If I Never Met You by Mhairi McFarlane
1.5
Not very romantic for a romance book. Every aspect fell flat for me, especially the romance. There are no stakes, no chemistry, and no fun. I wouldn't recommended this at all
From Lukov with Love by Mariana Zapata
slow-paced
3.0
I love a good slow burn. Bonus points for long-term pining. The epilogue was a blah info dump. It would have felt a little less weird to me if it had been in interview form in order to justify the info dumps.
The Summer We Got Free by Mia McKenzie
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
This is really a beautiful book. Unfortunately, I started reading it right as I got into a pretty terrible reading slump, so there was a long gap between starting and finishing. I'm not sure if the looming reading slump is to blame, but the first third of this book didn't resonate with me. I loved the ideas being put forward, and by the halfway mark, I was sold and extremely invested. There are multiple passages that made my heart absolutely ache and others that made me feel so hopeful. There were some clunky sentences that really pulled me out of the story because it was such a departure from the majority of the book. Overall, The Summer We Got Free has a lot of thematic depth, and it would be a great choice for a book club or buddy read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Child death, Infidelity, and Grief
Minor: Rape, Death of parent, and Murder
The Devil of Nanking by Mo Hayder
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
I'm not even sure where to begin with this one other than to say I finished it on March 3rd and have only been able to summon the energy to review it today on April 24th. I never thought this could happen, but this book was so bad that I went into a full reading slump.
The plot is so incredibly contrived. Everything has to happen just so for the plot to work, and the author put no creativity into making the WAY it happens make sense. Coincidence after coincidence falls together to create a paper thin plot that had me alternating between rolling my eyes and laughing out loud.
This is especially unfortunate because the characters are (mostly) interesting and some of the scenes have some incredibly well-written tension.
This book also holds the honor of most transphobic book I've ever read. There is a character who is trans, and that fact is used 100% in an attempt to scare the reader. It is obvious that the author was writing this character and thought "wouldn't it be SO scary if this character was a MAN in a DRESS." It is used as a short hand to make the reader fear and distrust the character.This is compounded by the fact that the character later rapes a man Because why not? It's all especially unfortunate because the character is intimidating and creepy without these two facets because it is nailed home that she has very particular almost supernatural skills. Too bad we never see how she does it! We just know she can!
Another thing I didn't realize until after I had bought the book is that it is dedicated to Iris Chang, the woman who brought the Nanking Massacre out of obscurity with a book in the late 1990s. The protagonist is very clearly inspired by Chang, and something just sits wrong about a white woman writing a white character doing the work that a Chinese American journalist did in real life.
At the end of the day, this book is not worth the paper it was printed on because it is badly written. The cherries on top are the unnecessary transphobia and whatever you would call the protagonist/Chang influence.
The plot is so incredibly contrived. Everything has to happen just so for the plot to work, and the author put no creativity into making the WAY it happens make sense. Coincidence after coincidence falls together to create a paper thin plot that had me alternating between rolling my eyes and laughing out loud.
This is especially unfortunate because the characters are (mostly) interesting and some of the scenes have some incredibly well-written tension.
This book also holds the honor of most transphobic book I've ever read. There is a character who is trans, and that fact is used 100% in an attempt to scare the reader. It is obvious that the author was writing this character and thought "wouldn't it be SO scary if this character was a MAN in a DRESS." It is used as a short hand to make the reader fear and distrust the character.
Another thing I didn't realize until after I had bought the book is that it is dedicated to Iris Chang, the woman who brought the Nanking Massacre out of obscurity with a book in the late 1990s. The protagonist is very clearly inspired by Chang, and something just sits wrong about a white woman writing a white character doing the work that a Chinese American journalist did in real life.
At the end of the day, this book is not worth the paper it was printed on because it is badly written. The cherries on top are the unnecessary transphobia and whatever you would call the protagonist/Chang influence.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Transphobia, Abortion, and Murder
Moderate: Animal death, Rape, and Cannibalism
The Matrimonial Advertisement by Mimi Matthews
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Confinement, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Genocide and Suicidal thoughts
The Queens of Innis Lear by Tessa Gratton
emotional
reflective
sad
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
4.5
Wow wow wow wow wow. From the first page, I knew I was in for a ride. First of all, the writing style here is perfection. The structure of the story is wonderful. The characters are beautifully realized, and I loved every single one for very different reasons. Every POV was interesting and unique, and I honestly wish we could have had a whole series with them.
I don't think enough people are talking about the "love triangle" in this. I don't ship poly relationships generally. It's not my thing, but this book made me desperately wish for a happy ending where all of them could be together because they clearly all loved each other.In the fight between Mars and Ban, every piece of dialogue wrecked me
The thing that dropped this down half a star for me was the final scene. I don't think it made sense for the characters without at least a little bit more explanation or time.
I don't think enough people are talking about the "love triangle" in this. I don't ship poly relationships generally. It's not my thing, but this book made me desperately wish for a happy ending where all of them could be together because they clearly all loved each other.
The thing that dropped this down half a star for me was the final scene. I don't think it made sense for the characters without at least a little bit more explanation or time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Infertility, Miscarriage, and Suicide
Moderate: Death, Dementia, and Death of parent