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myrtosfullybooked's reviews
163 reviews
Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Darkly She Goes by Hubert
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Illustrations: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Writing (translation): ⭐️⭐️
A dark, twisted take on the 'imprisoned princess' trope, this story follows a disgraced knight coming across a princess in a tower, harbouring mysterious, deadly powers. This was a very quick read, and I really enjoyed the story and artwork. However, the writing left a lot to be desired and offered exposition in what felt a rushed and sloppy way- or, at least, one that was too direct for my taste. Truly a shame, as the art and drawings were absolutely gorgeous. This may well have been an issue of translation though, so if you're interested in reading this and know French, I would recommend trying in the original language.
Writing (translation): ⭐️⭐️
A dark, twisted take on the 'imprisoned princess' trope, this story follows a disgraced knight coming across a princess in a tower, harbouring mysterious, deadly powers. This was a very quick read, and I really enjoyed the story and artwork. However, the writing left a lot to be desired and offered exposition in what felt a rushed and sloppy way- or, at least, one that was too direct for my taste. Truly a shame, as the art and drawings were absolutely gorgeous. This may well have been an issue of translation though, so if you're interested in reading this and know French, I would recommend trying in the original language.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, War, Violence, Blood, and Child death
Moderate: Sexual content
The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Death, Child death, Gore, Blood, and Murder
Sabrina & Corina: Stories by Kali Fajardo-Anstine
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Sabrina & Corina, Kali Fajardo-Anstine 🌼🥀💧
I've decided to stop giving star reviews to story collections because as we all know, each story will be different and some will hit a chord more than others, but for this book, I couldn't resist.
The stories in this collection deal with painful themes like intergenerational violence, abandonment, and discrimination, but they are written gently, and they flow easily. If anything, the writing felt minimal but, just like the women whose stories it portrayed, hid many deeper layers - not all of them meant to or being fully revealed to the reader. I feel like I learned a lot about the experiences of Indigenous and Latina women in the American West without the book ever becoming didactic or compromising the atmosphere of the story told.
Tomi, Any Further West, and Ghost Sickness were my favourites from the collection. Any Further West, especially, felt like a punch in the stomach, but it was so beautifully well-written. I may not be able to explain it very well, but we see characters lost, self-destructive, desperate, or perpetually in pain, and yet somehow what stayed with me was their strength and their survival. The cycles of violence and pain sometimes seem endless and inescapable, but every now and then a daughter will get away and make it; a grandmother will leave a legacy to be honoured; a cousin will be remembered for more than her beauty even if it's by only one person; a lost girl might be found... Normally, these would have been the type of stories I would have found so grim and depressing, and I was really surprised to find myself not wanting the book to end. It is all the things sad girl literature (or the samples of it I've read at least) is trying to be and fails.
I am so grateful to @bouebooks for putting this book on my radar. I will certainly be reading Woman of Light too.
I've decided to stop giving star reviews to story collections because as we all know, each story will be different and some will hit a chord more than others, but for this book, I couldn't resist.
The stories in this collection deal with painful themes like intergenerational violence, abandonment, and discrimination, but they are written gently, and they flow easily. If anything, the writing felt minimal but, just like the women whose stories it portrayed, hid many deeper layers - not all of them meant to or being fully revealed to the reader. I feel like I learned a lot about the experiences of Indigenous and Latina women in the American West without the book ever becoming didactic or compromising the atmosphere of the story told.
Tomi, Any Further West, and Ghost Sickness were my favourites from the collection. Any Further West, especially, felt like a punch in the stomach, but it was so beautifully well-written. I may not be able to explain it very well, but we see characters lost, self-destructive, desperate, or perpetually in pain, and yet somehow what stayed with me was their strength and their survival. The cycles of violence and pain sometimes seem endless and inescapable, but every now and then a daughter will get away and make it; a grandmother will leave a legacy to be honoured; a cousin will be remembered for more than her beauty even if it's by only one person; a lost girl might be found... Normally, these would have been the type of stories I would have found so grim and depressing, and I was really surprised to find myself not wanting the book to end. It is all the things sad girl literature (or the samples of it I've read at least) is trying to be and fails.
I am so grateful to @bouebooks for putting this book on my radar. I will certainly be reading Woman of Light too.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment, Colonisation, Abortion, Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Racism, and Sexual violence
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
5.0
Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The book was an okay read but I was not blown away. The writing is good, even beautiful at points and the plot is to some extent interesting. Though I'm not a fan of true crime as a genre, I've enjoyed seeing more works reclaiming victims' voices and critiquing the romanticisation of serial killers. Allegedly, this book aimed to do the same by focusing on the narratives of three women associated in different ways with Ansel Packer, a serial killer awaiting execution. This goal, for me, was not really reflected in the actual story. Yes, we read about the three women and they each have a number of chapters focused on them but Ansel always feels like the main character. For me the chapters focusing on him, his thoughts, and his struggles end up overshadowing the female characters in the story. I liked the fact that Kukafka didn’t seek to pass moral judgment on Ansel, who clearly struggled with developmental trauma and a sociopathic lack of empathy; someone who could have had a different life with the appropriate support in place. She didn’t make him outright evil, a reminder that serial killers can look completely ordinary, charming even, as we well know from real-life cases. I will acknowledge that the way Ansel is written serves as a great reminder to stop glorifying or looking for meaning in horrific acts of violence -primarily perpetrated by men. All that said, I did not love the writing in Ansel’s chapters and struggled to remain interested in the storyline. The story is overall character-driven but there is no major character development in case that is what you are after. Also, I read that the author wanted the book to be a statement against the US penal system and the death penalty. I 100% support that agenda. People like Ansel most of the time just need more appropriate support; simply killing instead of rehabilitating them just feels like a weird cheat for any justice system. Yet, I am not sure how (if at all) such a topic can be compatible with the goal of not focusing on Ansel and emphasising the women characters' narratives. I felt that this attempt ended up spreading the book a bit too thin with both aspects ending up weaker for it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Violence
Moderate: Murder, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, and Death of parent