micareads123's reviews
275 reviews

All Systems Red by Martha Wells

adventurous funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Okay, I love Murderbot. 🥹

A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon

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? Yes

4.25

I enjoyed this one even more than Priory! The explorations of familial bonds and expectations, motherhood and relationships in all their forms was beautiful. 

This is a complex, sweeping fantasy perfect for escaping into for weeks at a time. I loved the way Shannon wove everything together in the end. 

Annie Bot by Sierra Greer

dark reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes

3.75

This is not quite what I expected, but it ended up being a really interesting take on the dynamics of a human-robot romantic relationship. 

At times I felt that this book veered too heavily away from exploring the implications of dateable AI in favour of advocating the impacts of domestic abuse, even on sentient robots. But overall this was a very compelling and interesting read that offers a lot of food for thought about humanity and the impact of AI integration into even the most intimate aspects of our lives.

Plus, the ending was really satisfying. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

The Sword of Kaigen by M.L. Wang

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This book lives up to the hype! It’s a beautiful, well-rounded fantasy with excellent pacing and fantastic characters. It tackles a wide range of complex issues with ease, and the author knows how to tap into the reader’s emotions. 

This book has one of the best chapters I’ve ever read and certainly the best fight scene I’ve ever read. I normally struggle with maintaining my focus through fight scenes, but this one had me on the edge of my seat — it gave me goosebumps. It was so powerful and just brilliantly, beautifully executed. 

I genuinely loved spending 600+ pages in this world and am not ready to leave these characters behind. The book is not entirely without fault, but I loved it and can definitely see myself revisiting it in the future. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Rape, and Suicide

Monstrilio by Gerardo Sámano Córdova

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This is a surprisingly sweet and beautiful book about the grief that drives a mother to create a monster out of her dead son’s lung and a monster that forces us to confront our humanity head on. 

The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin

challenging emotional mysterious reflective 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? Yes

5.0

A fantastic conclusion to a fantastic series! 

Immediately upon finishing this book, I had to flip back through certain chapters and sit for 30 minutes to puzzle things out. Honestly, I’m still puzzling some things out, but I’m not mad about it. 

The book simultaneously provides the backstory needed to tie up all of the loose ends and gives us a conclusion to the running plot that we’ve been following from the first book. It had me looking back at the first two and seeing them in a new light, understanding them better as new information was revealed. 

This incredibly multifaceted series, while thrilling to read, offers a lot of valuable insight into our societal structure and history of colonialism. But the exploration of complex issues doesn’t stop there; it also tackles the parent-child relationship in its many forms, the lasting impact of grief and loss, and the value of unlearning “truths” we’ve been sold for generations. The series also earned my admiration for its unique use of narrative perspective that is masterfully executed. 

Definitely a new favourite series for me and one I can see myself reading again in the future!

Chlorine by Jade Song

4.0

The Book of X by Sarah Rose Etter

5.0

Sarah Rose Etter manages to perfectly capture my brand of depressing and unhinged. And this book is definitely that, but in the best way. 

Born in a body that does not fit within the parameters of the societal expectations of her world, Cassie walks through life feeling isolated at every turn, feeling different, feeling unfulfilled. The author does an excellent job of expressing these emotions and making Cassie a very relatable character. 

I absolutely loved Ripe by Etter and have thought about it almost daily since reading it. This book was no different. I’ll be keeping an eye out for whatever this author has coming up next!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage

Moderate: Pregnancy

Intermezzo by Sally Rooney

dark emotional reflective slow-paced

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

4.5

Actually quite enjoyed this, despite the general consensus seeming to be that this book is less strong than Rooney’s other work. Having only read Normal People by her before this, I can comfortably say I liked this one considerably more. I’m knocking off half a star for the story being admittedly a little longer than needed and for Peter’s POV being a slightly less interesting than Ivan’s.

Overall, I thought this was a beautiful story about the complexities of the many emotions and relationships we encounter in life. It deals with grief and how differently it may present in different people. With the impacts of grief on the relations of the family members left behind. With how our limited perspectives cloud our perceptions of other people’s lives. With how sometimes we need to let go of the idea of what our lives were “supposed” to look like and accept where we are, what makes us happy. 

A lot of the emotions in this book resonated with me, especially those from Ivan’s POV. I was glad to spend a lot of time with these flawed characters while reading the book. 

I can get why this isn’t everyone’s favourite Rooney book, but currently it’s mine, and it’s encouraging me to get to the other books of hers I haven’t yet read sooner than later. 

The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer

emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer is a beautiful little book arguing for the benefits of a gift economy: an economy based on reciprocity, the sharing of abundance, mutual well-being and gratitude. In contrast, she highlights how the colonial, market-based economy that underpins our society is based on scarcity, profit, overconsumption and individualism. It encourages people to work solely for their own benefit, without regard for the benefit of others. And it promotes the hoarding and privatization of natural resources for the wealth and gain of a few. 

This book essentially expands on the author’s thoughts about an idea she introduced in Braiding Sweetgrass. She takes wisdom from plants and the natural world and applies it to our human social structures. And I expected to enjoy this book, of course, but I didn’t expect it to resonate with me as deeply as it did.

The underlying current in this book is the feeling that our society should move from individualistic to group-oriented, an economic unit of “we” rather than “I,” as “all flourishing is mutual.” This is a model that I strongly feel should be — and could be — applied in many areas of our society. The transition away from individualism and convenience and towards community care and mutual well-being is something that I care about very deeply. 

While reading the book, I couldn’t stop myself from comparing the ideas presented to how society is acting in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s one aspect of community care that has become socially acceptable to overlook, but I do not think it is an issue on which we can exempt people from the responsibility of community care. The gifts of getting vaccinated, staying home when sick and wearing a mask when applicable are crucial to mutual well-being, too.

But while Wall Kimmerer argues for the benefits of the gift economy, she acknowledges that it is not feasible for us to transition completely out of our current economic structure, and certainly not overnight. She highlights the importance of fostering a “mosaic of economies” and prioritizing gifting networks and models where possible.  She also provides examples of gifting networks already existing in our society, such as little free libraries, Wikipedia, the buy nothing movement, clothing swaps and more. 

TL;DR: This is a wonderful little book that expands on the idea of the gift economy, a concept from an “old-growth culture” that was introduced to me by Robin Wall Kimmerer in Braiding Sweetgrass. The idea of moving away from our economy driven by individualism and towards a group-based gifting system resonates with me very deeply, and I think this is a must read for anyone hoping to see and be a part of the change we so desperately need at this juncture.