njstew's reviews
36 reviews

Yellow Notebook: Diaries Volume I 1978–1986 by Helen Garner

4.0

Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

emotional hopeful lighthearted tense fast-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? No

4.5

Ugh just so good
So gooey and horny and lovely. 
The moments between Alex and Henry capture what it’s like to be falling in love. 
Just a very fun, loveable read!

Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

emotional hopeful reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

So hard to fault this book, it just kind of sweeps you up into a cafe full of steaming coffee and caring hearts

Living Dead In Dallas by Charlaine Harris

medium-paced

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

2.0

Only in it for the horny vampires at this stage 

Nox by Anne Carson

dark emotional reflective sad

4.25

A beautiful exploration and reflection on loss and mourning. I see myself returning to this one (which is rare). 
Not to mention the construction of the book is just gorgeous

Dark Emu by Bruce Pascoe

informative slow-paced

3.5

Very informative and interesting read but also so dense and academic (not a bad thing at all, you’ve just got to be really in the mood for it) 

Speak No Evil by Uzodinma Iweala

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

3.75

A beautifully written stream of consciousness that will make you cry your eyes out, and want to scream at the world

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

adventurous funny hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.0

A nice quick read that makes you wish you were a teenager again so you could experience the same kind of love these boys do at their age. The transmasc representation was so lovely (although came on a little too heavy in the opening chapter), and also really nice that it focused on Latinx culture (we love that intersectionality babayyy).
The last few chapters had my heart racing and made me tear up a little (although I admit that that’s not hard).
All round just a really great read :))

Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

adventurous dark funny medium-paced

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

2.0

So terrible that it becomes enjoyable. Extremely problematic and has so many issues, but it has horny vampires so I guess that’s a plus?
I will be reading the rest of the series just to continue shitting on it and making critiques though 

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-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

4.0

Would have been great if there was more explicit gay but I don’t think the ending could have been more queer. I think if that ending happened with a heterosexual couple, it wouldn’t have had the same intensity of yearning and emotion, wouldn’t have had the same effect. 
I enjoyed that their sexuality wasn’t the focus point of the queer story, like many are. It wasn’t a story about coming out, it wasn’t a story about a queer relationship, yet it was still a queer story.