neuroqueer's reviews
271 reviews

All Dogs Have ADHD by Kathy Hoopmann

funny informative lighthearted fast-paced

3.5

Overall: B-

Thoughts: Cute little book for kids about ADHD. Very simple explanations explaining behavior and how it should be looked at/handled. The use of dogs was a good idea (and they were all extremely cute). It includes a list of every type of dogs so kids can learn about breeds too.

Witchblood by Jim Campbell, Lisa Sterle, Matthew Erman, Gab Contreras

adventurous fast-paced

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

3.0

Quick takeaways:

Protagonist(s): “Quirky” witch

Antagonist(s): “Quirky” vampire

Plot: Save the world

Overall: C+

Thoughts:

Plot idea: Hero who doesn’t want to save the world is forced to save the world. Not an unusual plot idea in media.

Plot idea for this book: Quirky witch who is actually super powerful doesn’t want to save the world is forced to save the world from quirky cowboy vampire who wants to be a God. Interesting spin on that but I could not get into it.

The art is nice. The original artist worked on the modern witch tarot deck which is a nice looking deck so I knew what art I was going to see here. There are some really unique character designs here.

I liked the explanation of the origin of vampires and witches.

Off the bat though, I did not like the hero Yonna. I started the book not liking her and ended the book not really changing my opinion.

I’m not sure why though?

Maybe it’s because I disliked that she caused problems and never really owned up to them.

Maybe it’s because she came across as ungrateful.

Maybe it’s because she felt quirky for the sake of feeling quirky? And even then it was not quirky enough.

Maybe it’s because in situations like these, the hero not wanting to be involved usually is justified for some reason. Didn’t feel that way for Yonna. Leads do not have to be goody two-shoes and want to save everyone because of their chaotic good alignment. It’s actually more interesting if there is some hesitance about jumping into perilous situations while being morally ambiguous. I just don’t think it was executed well here.

The other characters looked nice but they weren’t especially interesting. I pretty much forgot most of their names already.

It also didn’t help that the story felt very rushed. I’m guessing the creators only had X amount of issues to get the story done. I think if it was expanded to more than 10ish issues it would have been better.

Overall, I see the potential but I just didn’t gel with it.

The Kid-Friendly ADHD & Autism Cookbook, 3rd edition: The Ultimate Guide to the Most Effective Diets -- What they are - Why they work - How to do them by Pamela Compart, Dana Laake
Did not finish book. Stopped at 5%.

Strike the Zither by Joan He

adventurous tense medium-paced

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

3.75

Quick takeaways:

Protagonist(s): Good

Antagonist(s): Range from subtle and interesting to obvious and plot device

Plot: Three Kingdoms based so intriguing

Writing: Good

Overall: B

Thoughts:

Did anyone else play Dynasty Warriors when they were young?

That’s how I first got exposed to the Three Kingdoms story. I’m a sucker for legends and fighting and I did go down the rabbit hole of learning more about the real life counterparts to these video game characters (I love Zhen Ji in game but she was so screwed over IRL). So, I have a surface knowledge of the Three Kingdoms.

Since this book takes from the Three Kingdoms, at times it is as exciting, action packed and subterfuge-filled as the original story. A lot of the characters are switched from male to female (eg. Zephyr, our lead, represents Zhuge Liang). The world felt like gender didn’t matter which was great. I did like Zephyr. She was worked in realism, not idealism. In regards to other characters, Miasma(representing Cao Cao), Crow(representing Zhou Yu) and Cicada (representing Sun Quan?) were interesting and felt like they did have some layers. Everyone else was fine but not notable. I think weakest character was Ren (representing Liu Bei). It felt like everyone said she was a great leader but I didn’t really see that enough in terms of her actions. It’s possible it is because we don’t spend a lot of time with her. However, if Zephyr’s core goal is to help Ren, I want to see what makes Ren so special.

Sometimes, it felt slow but picked up after a while.

I didn’t get why Crow liked Zephyr so much instantly at first. After finishing and thinking, I realized it was more respect than an instalove thing. He knew of her prowess beforehand and his respect grew as he got to know her. There is some bubbling romance there but not instalove which I’m grateful for.

The biggest change is when we go to stanza 1 to stanza 2 of the book (part 1 to part 2). I don’t want to give away spoilers but it really jumped the shark for me at first. It DOES work in that Zephyr had to balance even more secrets while trying to achieve her goals. However, it took a while for me to accept it. The twist can even been seen as convenient or maybe a deus ex machina for possible upcoming situations. I feel that it also takes away from Zephry and her abilities a bit.

It took me a bit to get into the book but I did like it. I wasn’t wowed but it is good. I will keep an eye out for the sequel.

De døde ser deg by Alexander Løken
Did not finish book. Stopped at 12%.

I was reading this while studying Norwegian but I have to drop Norwegian and I'm rusty. I will go back to this when I go back to my language studies. 

Afrotistic by Kala Allen Omeiza
Did not finish book. Stopped at 56%.

I think this is a good book for young autistic people and I resonated with the lead (I went through similar thoughts and feelings when I was young and undiagnosed). I’m just not interested.

The Gambler by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Did not finish book. Stopped at 38%.

Will switch to the book form of this. 

What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Quick takeaways:

Protagonist(s): Strong

Antagonist(s): Dangerous

Plot: Interesting

Writing: Great

Overall: A

Thoughts:

This book had been on hold for a while on Libby and it was worth the wait.

I’ll admit I was not drawn in immediately. It took a few chapters for it start feeling creepy.

Kingfisher does a great job creating a spine-chilling atmosphere, interesting characters with distinct personalities and an intriguing mystery.

I can easily recommend this book for someone wanting a quick but satisfying horror read.

Miss Butterworth and the Mad Baron by Julia Quinn

funny lighthearted 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? No

3.0

Quick takeaways:

Protagonist(s): Amusing

Antagonist(s): Jackasses

Plot: Crazy

Overall: C

Thoughts:

One fateful night, I wanted to read something short, browsed through Libby and came upon this.

I have never watch Bridgerton and still am not interested. But, I figured this could be one of those related medias that you don’t need to follow the main story to get.

I was right about that but didn’t realize this was going to be bonkers.

This story is like if Charlotte Bronte wrote Jane Eyre while high off her ass and trying to evoke giggles from her equally high sisters. This is just a silly story with a bit of raunchy humor. Miss Butterworth ends up in terrible situations with other wacky characters but does the whole "keep a stiff upper lip" thing.

The artwork took a bit to get used too. At first it looked unappealing but after a while, I got used to and it works with really well presenting the ridiculous story going on.

Maybe if I were a fan of Bridgerton, this would be even more amusing to me but I’m not. No regrets reading it but I could have gone my life without reading it too.

Book Lovers by Emily Henry

emotional medium-paced

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

3.0

Quick takeaways:

Protagonist(s): Typical

Antagonist(s): Easily resolved circumstances

Plot: Typical

Writing: Fine

Overall: C+

Thoughts:
I wanted to try 1) 2022 best of books and 2) other genres outside of my wheelhouse. I landed on this novel. I'm not a romantic person at all but once in a while, I do find a relationship adorable. This wasn't one of them.

On  one hand, the main characters are fleshed out. I can see what the author was going for with their personalities and psychologies.
On the other hand, with all of the characters, I either don't like them (LIBBY) or don't really give a toss about them. 

On one hand, the change from the typical Hallmark city girl falls for country boy cliche is a good idea.
On the other hand, the story still feels generic and predictable.

A big negative to me (and this applies to any book that does this) is when the core problems that are going on can be easily solved if people just talked about it. 

I can see why this book is popular but this just isn't for me. I think you can't go wrong if you are looking for a romance novel but I don't think this will convince a skeptic to jump into the genre.