Scan barcode
mitone_winona's reviews
14 reviews
A Cup of Salt Tears by Isabel Yap
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I read this story part of the author's anthology, Never Have I Ever, and this story in particular I thought was calm and soothing to read because of how Yap described it. Half the story takes place in an onsen, and while we the readers are very aware of how Makino feels concerning her husband's health and the high chance of becoming a widow and how his love was essentially her reason for living and being; the reading is calm and we feel what each character feels. The story ends like that of most myths and legends, with a conclusion that tells us enough without saying what has happened and feeling bittersweet for Makino's story.
Also the almost relationship between the Kappa and Makino? My heart brOKKEEEE!!!!!!!
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death, Pregnancy, and Suicide
Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke by Eric LaRocca
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
0.25
I'll be honest; the book at first I thought sounded cool since the sypnosis hardly gave anything away when I first was considering it. And reading it at first I really liked how the author's note and the first 'chapter' really segway's into a crime report of how the two main characters first corresponded and so on. While it can be a bit jarring at first reading in email and text format, it's a nice change at first compared to other books.
However, the book ends up being about two women in a weird pseudo-BDSM 'relationship' as they continuously push the other over the edge and ends up being a trauma gore snuff story. While you may not think it sounds too bad, it IS.
Literally it's gross. Bug and Vomit TW warning in this spoiler below:
The woman who is the 'dom' makes the other get infected with a tape worm over some crap about being alive and deserving eyes and also treating being infected with the parasite as a pregnancy and both calling it their child. The woman infected treats throwing up as morning sickness after she ate raw meat to get infected as instructed by her 'dom'.
Please don't read unless you want to be disgusted and appalled. Also the author is a typical "My mind is a twisted place and I had to control it-" Type of person. Seriously, read the Author's end notes at the end of the story for that type of attitude.
However, the book ends up being about two women in a weird pseudo-BDSM 'relationship' as they continuously push the other over the edge and ends up being a trauma gore snuff story. While you may not think it sounds too bad, it IS.
Literally it's gross. Bug and Vomit TW warning in this spoiler below:
Please don't read unless you want to be disgusted and appalled. Also the author is a typical "My mind is a twisted place and I had to control it-" Type of person. Seriously, read the Author's end notes at the end of the story for that type of attitude.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Gore, Mental illness, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Vomit
The Ones We're Meant to Find by Joan He
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This book absolutely destroyed me in the most welcoming way and I adore it for that. To break it down real quick, this book is about two sisters trying to find one another while trying to understand themselves and observing the world and environment surrounding them in a very self-aware manner.
Both sisters are captivating in their own way. Cee is a charmer, resilient, lively, sweet, and loyal to her sister Kasey. Kasey is observant, cool, mind quick as a whip, determined, and self-aware of the city and the type of people and lifestyle that are within it.
While they both are very different, you find yourself cheering them on and hoping for the best. Kasey is very much allowed her grief and she expresses it in a way I think a lot of us would criticize her for, yet it's her way to grieve. Joan He does Kasey justice by not having Kasey completely transform into this person whose upbeat, the life of the party, or turn into Cee who she looked up to for being life personified. Kasey remained the same but did grow and understand herself and the world better. She is realistic in her hope, always logical but she is logical about her heart as well in knowing what it really wants.
This book essentially is grim in a way that you realize that Kasey and Cee have had to struggle continuously with their mind and emotions while trying to figure out the situations that they both are in; Kasey with her grief over her sister and tracing her last steps and Cee whose on a abandoned island while trying to keep Kasey alive in her mind and trying to remember more memories of her sister. Outside of the sisters, humanity itself is still struggling with climate change/environmental disasters/Class differences/etc. and still trying to find a solution to saving the environment as well as themselves.
If you want a book that leaves nothing unsolved, futurism that addresses environmental issues, two sisters that very much love one another trying to find each other, mystery, and tension? This book is for you and Joan He does a beautiful job writing the story and the book is truly worth it.
Both sisters are captivating in their own way. Cee is a charmer, resilient, lively, sweet, and loyal to her sister Kasey. Kasey is observant, cool, mind quick as a whip, determined, and self-aware of the city and the type of people and lifestyle that are within it.
While they both are very different, you find yourself cheering them on and hoping for the best. Kasey is very much allowed her grief and she expresses it in a way I think a lot of us would criticize her for, yet it's her way to grieve. Joan He does Kasey justice by not having Kasey completely transform into this person whose upbeat, the life of the party, or turn into Cee who she looked up to for being life personified. Kasey remained the same but did grow and understand herself and the world better. She is realistic in her hope, always logical but she is logical about her heart as well in knowing what it really wants.
This book essentially is grim in a way that you realize that Kasey and Cee have had to struggle continuously with their mind and emotions while trying to figure out the situations that they both are in; Kasey with her grief over her sister and tracing her last steps and Cee whose on a abandoned island while trying to keep Kasey alive in her mind and trying to remember more memories of her sister. Outside of the sisters, humanity itself is still struggling with climate change/environmental disasters/Class differences/etc. and still trying to find a solution to saving the environment as well as themselves.
If you want a book that leaves nothing unsolved, futurism that addresses environmental issues, two sisters that very much love one another trying to find each other, mystery, and tension? This book is for you and Joan He does a beautiful job writing the story and the book is truly worth it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Violence, and Abandonment
Moderate: Death of parent and Terminal illness
Minor: Alcohol and Panic attacks/disorders
The Storm Crow by Kalyn Josephson
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Two thing's I love about this book, the magical crows and the diversity of kingdom's. The character's of the book aren't necessarily bad or frowned upon, but I will admit the author took the quick approach of "YA lead girl who is traumatized falls in love super quick with a nerdy boy who is genuinely nice but has infatuation for the prince she is engaged to that is from the kingdom that destroyed her own and has talked mess on her people and kingdom but dismisses that more and more" which is pretty annoying because it happens quick due to the pace of the book going fast. I would recommend this as a usual YA read for anyone who wants to pass the time but the weird pseudo-romance triangle isn't anything new or unique, just the usual bleh factor from most YA author's.
I will say however, I do adore Thia and her sister's dynamic in the book and how mental illness and PTSD/Trauma is addressed in the book and how Thia acknowledges her mother, the queen, has created a chain reaction of mistakes but is willing to go forward to fixing them.
Overall, a good book with great lore! Just a bad romance sub plot going on that went too fast.
I will say however, I do adore Thia and her sister's dynamic in the book and how mental illness and PTSD/Trauma is addressed in the book and how Thia acknowledges her mother, the queen, has created a chain reaction of mistakes but is willing to go forward to fixing them.
Overall, a good book with great lore! Just a bad romance sub plot going on that went too fast.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Death of parent, Death, and Animal death
Moderate: Grief, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Child abuse