pages_with_panda's reviews
143 reviews

Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology by Shane Hawk, Theodore C. Van Alst Jr.

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dark mysterious tense

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

4.0

Ride or Die by Gail-Agnes Musikavanhu

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adventurous mysterious fast-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? Yes

4.0

So Let Them Burn by Kamilah Cole

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adventurous emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

This was such a fun book!

The characters were interesting, the magic system was unique, but I felt like there wasn't a lot of action.

There was some great rep (racially and sexuality-wise) with Elara being into girls and casual Queer relationships (the queen having two moms for example). I also think Faron's relationship with Reeve was fun to watch develop, especially as their both dedicated to Elara.

It went by very fast, and for the first part I genuinely thought I had started on book 2 or something because what do you mean we missed a whole war!? So listening to the main characters talk about these wars and battles that had already happened was a bit confusing for a second, I wish we could've experienced that with the characters instead of as exposition or flashbacks.

I think I would've liked to see more exposition on the worldbuilding though, some things weren't clear enough for me but maybe it'll clear up in the next book.

The characters were great. Having the alternating POV from Faron and Elara made the story interesting and I really liked both sisters. I liked how (spoiler for the last chapters):

they basically switched at the end too.

Faron really went through some development, and I'm curious to see where her story goes. I did have to remind myself that they're still pretty young kids though, so give them some grace...

We didn't really see a lot of fighting or action until the very end, which was disappointing.

Faron really only used her powers for "kid-stuff" rather than anything substantial, especially when it would've saved the life of someone close to her.

The majority of the book felt dedicated to Characters > Plot, and it did have some romance side-plots for each sister, which is a plus if you're a fan of that.

The twist ending was a bit predictable, but it's a YA book so I didn't expect anything super complicated. Over all really great, can

Content Warnings

Butcher & Blackbird by Brynne Weaver

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adventurous dark funny fast-paced

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

4.0

Surprisingly tame + lighthearted for the amount of horror content? I thought it was going to be a lot darker but it was a surprisingly good romance?

The fact that they only killed other serial killers also helped their case...

The first half was very murdery/dark but then we transitioned into a kitchen/restaurant book and honestly that was a bit jarring...I kind of forget they were murderers with how relatively normal their lives were?

The Big Baddie was also a bit out of left field? It didn't seem plausible at all and was just a bit unexpected and not in a good way so I took off a star for that....
Spoiler Rant on the Antagonist:

What kind of cover a lobotomized servant anyways? And he just spent months washing dishes and at a care home as a cover? Just to get closer to them? I feel like there were better ways of doing this...Esp. when it was Sloan's idea to drive him cross-country to give him a job. Also, I felt like he wasn't hinted at or teased at all? He just showed up and that's it?

Will probably pick up book 2

Content Warnings