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moonytoast's reviews
240 reviews
An Education in Malice by S.T. Gibson
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Thank you to Netgalley and Redhook Books for providing me with a digital ARC of this book!
Do you like: Dark academia? Lesbians? Vampiric debauchery?
An enticing mixture of the gothic and erotic, An Education in Malice breathes new life—a second life, if you will—into the subgenre of dark academia and the classic vampire tale. Heavily inspired by Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla, the novel explores the carnal nature of vampirism as well as the blooming complexities of desire, devotion, and love.
Set against the backdrop of Saint Perpetua’s College in Massachusetts, An Education in Malice follows two protagonists—Laura and Carmilla—who find themselves thrown together under the wing of their elusive poetry professor, De Lafontaine. While they begin as rivals, they are quickly pulled inexorably into the orbit of De Lafontaine’s world of dark obsession and ancient, bloody secrets.
The writing style begins with a more pragmatic, diaristic tone and transforms into an obsessive interior focus as Laura and Camilla descend into the depths of their audacious desire and devotion to each other. Combined with lush prose, S.T. Gibson crafts a pulse-pounding, atmospheric novel in its setting and characters that pulls you in for it to sink its teeth into you. While it is more immersive vibes than cohesive plot, that doesn’t necessarily make it a bad piece of fiction and I still enjoyed the story.
Perfect for fans of Carmilla and The Secret History, An Education in Malice by S.T. Gibson is brimming with intrigue and insatiable hungers. This book is the incarnation of the vivid imagery of Florence and the Machine’s discography mixed with the unabashed raunchiness of Chappell Roan’s The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Toxic relationship, Death, Murder, and Sexual content
Madness: Race and Insanity in a Jim Crow Asylum by Antonia Hylton
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
4.5
a must read for those interested in psychology, the history of racialized treatment in the pyschology field and its impact on the current relationship of black people to the mental health system, the connection between mental institutions and the carceral system, and the impact of places like crownsville on everyone who moved through that place. EVERY psychology department at PWIs need to have this book on their curriculum for students to read!!!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Sexual assault, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Racism, and Suicide
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Grief, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Confinement, Death, and Death of parent
Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Violence, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Alcohol, Death, and Child abuse
Moderate: Gore, Sexism, Vomit, Body horror, and Cursing
Not Quite a Ghost by Anne Ursu
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness
Moderate: Ableism and Medical trauma
The Witches: Salem, 1692 by Stacy Schiff
informative
slow-paced
3.0
this would have been DNFed so quickly had i not been listening to the audiobook and already familiar with the timeline of events in 1692, because this book has moments where it diverges from the story to discuss some minute detail to the point that it makes it so easy to forget where you are in the history of the Salem Witch Trials… wouldn’t recommend this to anyone who hasn’t had the events of 1692 as a hyperfixation or special interest due to its density of prose and meandering pace (a good alternative: the first season of the Unobscured podcast by the creator of Lore, which has interview excerpts from a multitude of historians as well as the author of this book and is still thorough—though much more approachable)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Wash Day Diaries by Jamila Rowser
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
Medea by Eilish Quin
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Thank you to the team at Atria Books for sending me a physical ARC of this book!
My fellow queer Greek mythology and Frankenstein enjoyers.... DO I HAVE A BOOK FOR YOU!!!!!!
Eilish Quin’s Medea follows the titular character from Greek myth from her childhood on the island of Kolchis, where she begins to learn the art of witchcraft, to the high seas alongside Jason and the Argonauts to the city of Corinth. The book seems to ask: Whose narratives are perceived as monstrous and whose are not? What do the monsters we fear—or hate—most say about us? When monsters can take mythic or mortal form, what do we define as monstrosity? Lush with its writing style and character interiority, Medea is an amazing addition to the growing body of feminist Greek myth retellings.
My fellow queer Greek mythology and Frankenstein enjoyers.... DO I HAVE A BOOK FOR YOU!!!!!!
Eilish Quin’s Medea follows the titular character from Greek myth from her childhood on the island of Kolchis, where she begins to learn the art of witchcraft, to the high seas alongside Jason and the Argonauts to the city of Corinth. The book seems to ask: Whose narratives are perceived as monstrous and whose are not? What do the monsters we fear—or hate—most say about us? When monsters can take mythic or mortal form, what do we define as monstrosity? Lush with its writing style and character interiority, Medea is an amazing addition to the growing body of feminist Greek myth retellings.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Murder, Violence, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Blood, Child death, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Body horror, and Grief
Minor: Sexual violence, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Sexual content, and Vomit
Divine Might: Goddesses in Greek Myth by Natalie Haynes
funny
informative
medium-paced
4.25
Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins Publishers for providing me with a digital ARC of this book!
In a time where retellings and reimaginings of Greek mythology are at the height of their cultural relevance—see the current adaptation of Percy Jackson & the Olympians and the continued success of Hadestown on Broadway—Natalie Haynes never fails to breathe some fresh air and new ideas into the public conversation around these myths. This is true of her previous works and of Divine Might, which delves into the goddesses at the heart of many Greek myths... and some who, despite their lack of narrative importance in such stories as the Titanomachy, still held an almost omnipresent space in ancient Greek culture.
Haynes does not just focus on the past importance of these goddesses to ancient Greeks and Romans, though she does excellently examine their roles throughout various poems and epics and their role in the lives of ancient Greeks. She also looks at the way the modern world and media landscape continues engage with these myths and divine figures, our current ideas and values shaping our own perceptions of these goddesses and their stories. (The chapter about Artemis features a brief but delighted mention about the character of Katniss Everdeen.)
The standout chapters for me are on Hestia, Demeter, and Athene, with an honorable mention of The Furies, but every chapter is well written and infused with Haynes' pension for dry humor, candor, and nuanced love for these myths. I always come out of Haynes' works with new eyes for the iconic stories from Greek mythology.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Violence, Rape, Sexual content, Murder, Sexual violence, and War
Moderate: Confinement, Kidnapping, Death, Grief, and Infidelity