Scan barcode
odunayo_y's reviews
165 reviews
Empire of Silence by Christopher Ruocchio
Did not finish book. Stopped at 31%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 31%.
It was so boring I wasn’t invested and too “Mantasy” for my tastes. Also extremely unoriginal
Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Murder, Gun violence, Racism, Xenophobia, Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Colonisation, and Cultural appropriation
Moderate: Sexism, Misogyny, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
All Systems Red by Martha Wells
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
3.75
It was alright. I’m not really seeing what’s got people so gaga over this series. Maybe the magic will hit in later books?
All the group marriage crap made me roll my eyes. It felt kinda forced. If it was one character that had multiple partners that would’ve been alright. But my disbelief was stretched beyond reason when basically everyone is in five person group marriages. Poly stuff ticks me off & grosses me out, so seeing too much of it (even as a background detail) tanks my enjoyment
Murderbot was an Ace mood™️ and the little bits of cyberpunk adjacent body horror was delightful(sorry 4 being an edgelord it will happen again 🤭)
An enjoyable quick sci fi read
All the group marriage crap made me roll my eyes. It felt kinda forced. If it was one character that had multiple partners that would’ve been alright. But my disbelief was stretched beyond reason when basically everyone is in five person group marriages. Poly stuff ticks me off & grosses me out, so seeing too much of it (even as a background detail) tanks my enjoyment
Murderbot was an Ace mood™️ and the little bits of cyberpunk adjacent body horror was delightful(sorry 4 being an edgelord it will happen again 🤭)
An enjoyable quick sci fi read
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore and Blood
The Dead Take the A Train by Richard Kadrey, Cassandra Khaw
adventurous
dark
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? Yes
3.75
Damn the horror tag was no joke lmao. This was gorier and more body horror than i was expecting. I loved it though(the edgelord in me will never die it seems).
The prose/writing was great! Unless when it wasn’t. I guess this is just what happens when two authors write a book. There were bits that felt disjointed and i felt didn’t really add anything to the overall story nor where they character building either. Also there was the occasional contradiction in characterisation.
But all those i could forgive, what majorly tanked my enjoyment was the romance…it was written kinda badly these women were 30 yet they were acting all blushy and awkward like teens in a badly written fanfic 💀 and i really couldn’t buy that they were that totally 100% head over heels in love with each other. It would technically be instalove if not for the fact that Sarah and Julie had known each other for years prior to the story. I still ride hard for my sapphics and they were cute together but their romance could’ve been written better.
Now enough whinging! The magic oh the Magic it was glorious! Gross and Erdrich and beautiful. Julie was a fvck up but i felt for her like a drowned stinky rat, kinda gross but a little cute too.
I’m still extremely pissed that Tyler didn’t die by the end what a weasly backstabbing bitch man. Imo he had more plot armour than the actual protagonist 😭. I know he’s obviously being set up as the main villain for the next book but damn hate him so much, especially for what what he did to my queens Annabeth & Clarice 😞
Also loved the Barghest twins, big buff funky eldritch abomination werewolf-thing ladies mwah.
All in all pretty darn good book and highly recommend if you can tolerate the gore(it gets really nasty God damn) and won’t be bothered by jarring writing shifts.
Bonus: No Sexual Assault! The worst in terms of sex stuff is a sleazy albeit consensual off page sexual encounter between two adults.
The prose/writing was great! Unless when it wasn’t. I guess this is just what happens when two authors write a book. There were bits that felt disjointed and i felt didn’t really add anything to the overall story nor where they character building either. Also there was the occasional contradiction in characterisation.
But all those i could forgive, what majorly tanked my enjoyment was the romance…it was written kinda badly these women were 30 yet they were acting all blushy and awkward like teens in a badly written fanfic 💀 and i really couldn’t buy that they were that totally 100% head over heels in love with each other. It would technically be instalove if not for the fact that Sarah and Julie had known each other for years prior to the story. I still ride hard for my sapphics and they were cute together but their romance could’ve been written better.
Now enough whinging! The magic oh the Magic it was glorious! Gross and Erdrich and beautiful. Julie was a fvck up but i felt for her like a drowned stinky rat, kinda gross but a little cute too.
I’m still extremely pissed that Tyler didn’t die by the end what a weasly backstabbing bitch man. Imo he had more plot armour than the actual protagonist 😭. I know he’s obviously being set up as the main villain for the next book but damn hate him so much, especially for what what he did to my queens Annabeth & Clarice 😞
Also loved the Barghest twins, big buff funky eldritch abomination werewolf-thing ladies mwah.
All in all pretty darn good book and highly recommend if you can tolerate the gore(it gets really nasty God damn) and won’t be bothered by jarring writing shifts.
Bonus: No Sexual Assault! The worst in terms of sex stuff is a sleazy albeit consensual off page sexual encounter between two adults.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Blood, Body horror, Death, Murder, Vomit, Self harm, Addiction, and Cursing
Moderate: Alcohol, Classism, Domestic abuse, Suicide, Stalking, Physical abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Alcoholism, and Addiction
Minor: Sexual content
The Prospects by KT Hoffman
Did not finish book.
Did not finish book.
I stopped once I learned it was yet another trans man/cis man relationship where the trans guy is the feminised piv bottom for the cis guy. Too dysphoria triggering to be enjoyable for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water by Zen Cho
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
3.75
Short and sweet. An entertaining Wuxia inspired adventure story. I appreciated the casual queer representation. Major kudos for the transmasc-spectrum character to be older and stocky.
The conflict resolution was strange. It was a bit convenient how everything wrapped up but i would not say it was convoluted.
The little bits of worldbuilding were delightful. The Goddess’s Five Fingers was such a cool magic system a shame it only made an appearance towards the end of the book.
One major issue I had was the dialogue. One moment the characters will speak in a period appropriate manner the next it was joss whedon like millennial humor. Not only do I despise millennial cringe speak the tone was just off.
The conflict resolution was strange. It was a bit convenient how everything wrapped up but i would not say it was convoluted.
The little bits of worldbuilding were delightful. The Goddess’s Five Fingers was such a cool magic system a shame it only made an appearance towards the end of the book.
One major issue I had was the dialogue. One moment the characters will speak in a period appropriate manner the next it was joss whedon like millennial humor. Not only do I despise millennial cringe speak the tone was just off.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Cursing, Deadnaming, and Death
Moderate: Colonisation, Gun violence, and Misogyny
Minor: War and Xenophobia
Decorum by Jonathan Hickman
adventurous
medium-paced
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Cursing, Violence, Death, Gore, and Murder
Moderate: Vomit and Religious bigotry