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paularize's reviews
338 reviews
Archive 81 by Daniel Powell, Dead Signals
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
5.0
[this is for all seasons of the show] archive81 is like, we will give you the most fucked up if true shit but we will also give you found family and a story about stories and a soundtrack that will make you want to stare directly into the sun
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Violence, Medical trauma, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Vomit
Was man von hier aus sehen kann by Mariana Leky
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, and Grief
Minor: Alcoholism and Animal cruelty
Hello from the Hallowoods by William A. Wellman
Occasional themes of eco-horror and existential dread
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
4.5
Reasons why you should listen to Hello from the Hallowoods:
(or read, link below)
- it features a bunch of queer people in a spooky forest, what could you possibly want more
- overarching plot that slowly unfolds as you get to know the characters
- horror but like, in a comforting and hopeful way (this will make sense, I promise)
- personally i didn't find it very scary the way i would react to other scary media but more in a campfire spooky vibe, identity crisis and occasional existential dread kind of way if that makes sense
- there are A LOT of very lovable characters
- there's a nonbinary frankenstein-ish person called Diggory Graves that falls in love for the first time and not to be dramatic but I would die for them
-post-apocalyptic setting in the near-ish future
- anticapitalist motives
- it made me cry during the first episode because it made me feel so much
- there's a wlw with a baseball bat!
- found family
- the narrator has a nice voice
- sometimes gets weirdly specific and feels like a direct slap in the face
- yearning!
- older queer people
- basically narrated like an audiobook if multiple voices aren't your thing (or you could just read it)
- the monologues at the end feel like staring directly into the sun while slowly ascending to the sky
- even MORE found family
- hello would you like to feel every possible human emotion all at once?
Anyways, you can listen to it wherever you get your podcasts or read the entirety of the transcripts here: https://www.hellofromthehallowoods.com/transcripts
(or read, link below)
- it features a bunch of queer people in a spooky forest, what could you possibly want more
- overarching plot that slowly unfolds as you get to know the characters
- horror but like, in a comforting and hopeful way (this will make sense, I promise)
- personally i didn't find it very scary the way i would react to other scary media but more in a campfire spooky vibe, identity crisis and occasional existential dread kind of way if that makes sense
- there are A LOT of very lovable characters
- there's a nonbinary frankenstein-ish person called Diggory Graves that falls in love for the first time and not to be dramatic but I would die for them
-post-apocalyptic setting in the near-ish future
- anticapitalist motives
- it made me cry during the first episode because it made me feel so much
- there's a wlw with a baseball bat!
- found family
- the narrator has a nice voice
- sometimes gets weirdly specific and feels like a direct slap in the face
- yearning!
- older queer people
- basically narrated like an audiobook if multiple voices aren't your thing (or you could just read it)
- the monologues at the end feel like staring directly into the sun while slowly ascending to the sky
- even MORE found family
- hello would you like to feel every possible human emotion all at once?
Anyways, you can listen to it wherever you get your podcasts or read the entirety of the transcripts here: https://www.hellofromthehallowoods.com/transcripts
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry
Moderate: Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Transphobia, and Murder
Minor: Animal death
I Think I Love You by Auriane Desombre
Did not finish book. Stopped at 19%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 19%.
This was an impulse buy so I should’ve known better and I really wanted to like this but the characters are so incredibly annoying also? Literally Emma’s only reason to hate Sophia is the fact that she’s the only other girl that’s out at their school? What is this
Blue Period, Vol. 1 by Tsubasa Yamaguchi
inspiring
lighthearted
4.5
Art school: expensive
Blue Period: free
Blue Period: free
Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo
medium-paced
2.25
some thoughts:
- this started out somewhat promising and I was really excited in the beginning when they went to Novyi Zem because it’s a country we don’t know a lot about but then they immediately left again to go back to Ravka AGAIN
- Nikolai is fun! Would’ve loved to see more of him!
- I thought we would spend more time with his Sturmhond persona on the funky pirate (privateer, sorry) ship tbh. I don’t know if that is because I’ve only known him as Sturmhond for the past 4 years or because I am not immune to sea adventures and secret identities but it didn’t happen anyway so. Hm.
- imagine having the whole little palace at your feet and still choosing the former darkling‘s rooms like?? they made you commander if you don’t want to sleep there just say it girl
- speaking of commander, I am so glad the netflix show aged these people up thank god
- speaking of the show, I was pretty bored for huge chunks of this book (what even happened. Did anything happen) but at the same time it has the potential to work a lot better in the show and I am super intrigued what they will make out of it, especially if they take the time to explore some of the themes more deeply like the cult around the sun summoner or Alina‘s inner conflict with power.
- Tamar <3
- whenever Kerch or Ketterdam is mentioned I’m like!! Maybe I should reread six of crows again (I won’t. unless)
- I have nothing to say about Mal, he was just There™
- it’s pretty clear this is mostly a filler book to get to the important plot points in book 3 but I’m just not invested enough in a lot of the side characters to read another little palace training arc
I have to wait a few weeks for the 3rd book which is a blessing because i need a break after this but I genuinely hope it will be more exciting than this
- this started out somewhat promising and I was really excited in the beginning when they went to Novyi Zem because it’s a country we don’t know a lot about but then they immediately left again to go back to Ravka AGAIN
- Nikolai is fun! Would’ve loved to see more of him!
- I thought we would spend more time with his Sturmhond persona on the funky pirate (privateer, sorry) ship tbh. I don’t know if that is because I’ve only known him as Sturmhond for the past 4 years or because I am not immune to sea adventures and secret identities but it didn’t happen anyway so. Hm.
- imagine having the whole little palace at your feet and still choosing the former darkling‘s rooms like?? they made you commander if you don’t want to sleep there just say it girl
- speaking of commander, I am so glad the netflix show aged these people up thank god
- speaking of the show, I was pretty bored for huge chunks of this book (what even happened. Did anything happen) but at the same time it has the potential to work a lot better in the show and I am super intrigued what they will make out of it, especially if they take the time to explore some of the themes more deeply like the cult around the sun summoner or Alina‘s inner conflict with power.
- Tamar <3
- whenever Kerch or Ketterdam is mentioned I’m like!! Maybe I should reread six of crows again (I won’t. unless)
- I have nothing to say about Mal, he was just There™
- it’s pretty clear this is mostly a filler book to get to the important plot points in book 3 but I’m just not invested enough in a lot of the side characters to read another little palace training arc
I have to wait a few weeks for the 3rd book which is a blessing because i need a break after this but I genuinely hope it will be more exciting than this
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Violence
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and War
The Martian by Andy Weir
adventurous
funny
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Cannibalism