pdxpagemaster's reviews
296 reviews

Bull Moon Rising by Ruby Dixon

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

3.75

this was so much more plot than what i typically expect of ruby dixon and i was delighted by it. 

this book really leans into some of it’s campy tropes and doesn’t shy away from cliche, but that’s also what made it charming.

this was a fun and whimsical read, spicy when it needed to be, and set up an interesting concept should she choose to continue the series!

Nature Poem by Tommy Pico

4.0

I love the playfulness that meets with genuine introspection in every moment of this collection. I laughed out loud a few different times as I listened to the author narrate their poems while reading along.

Really interesting approach to a collection of poetry “about” nature - and a twist of what we mean by nature socially.

Jade City by Fonda Lee

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

This reads like a mafia fantasy with layers of familial relationships and power that is very unique and carefully constructed.

Ultimately, this type of fantasy just isn’t for me. I never found the groove to fully immerse myself - but not because I have any complaints about the style or prose or characters.

The world is rich and interesting, but I think because so much was loaded into this book I found myself having trouble emotionally connecting with the characters - which is a key thing for me.

Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey

adventurous challenging slow-paced

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

3.0

This book for me was either very engaging or completely a slog, and there wasn’t a lot of in between.

I think it would have benefitted from being 200-300 pages shorter.

I saw another reviewer say this is Game of Thrones just with more consensual sex and tbh that’s sitting right with me - but I’m having trouble glossing over the fact that she was a child groomed into this religious role? She was bought and the trained for her whole life into this from childhood and there is a religious element to it to keep her in service to the god(s) - but the premise is hard for me to get over.

Then, for being a book that is fixated on “pain as pleasure” and is more than willing to

explain in great detail how it feels to have skin peeled away and knife play for sexual pleasure

- we get very little of the actual romance, even when it’s mostly fade-to-black, and I found myself missing romantic moments: slow burn yearning, inner thoughts, etc. There are relationships, sure, but it feels wrong to consider this a romantic book.

Also the “bury your gays” and “gay women are evil” themes are very strong here.

Ultimately, I just don’t think this was for me. It was fine, and good at times, but I left mostly dissatisfied.

Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall

informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

No matter how much reading or education you believe you have completed about intersectional topics and anti-racism, I think this is a must read.

—
“anyone can be a hypocrite including those who claim to rescue children via adoption. does that mean that everyone who adopts a child with a disability is doing so from a cynical place? absolutely not. 

but there are some very real problems with the way that anti-choice groups will use children as props in their campaigns.

they bolster their arguments by adopting children with disabilities, tell purple prose latent stories about the miraculous love they have found by saving those children, and then vote for the candidates who will remove services for disabled people from their communities.

more concerned with their public messaging than any real change, they undermine the healthcare access that might provide the best chance for an independent, fulfilling life for people with disabilities.”

The Employees by Olga Ravn

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.5

what a wonderfully strange and sad little book.

Lore of the Wilds by Analeigh Sbrana

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

This book grew on me and definitely got
into it’s stride about 51% of the way through.

In the first 30% of the book, I was rationalizing the writing style thinking I was reading a YA book - but was surprised when the FMC started swearing more regularly and checked to see what the audience actually was, leaving me confused at the approach the author took is starting the book.

After the halfway point, the book really finds its rhythm - but some plot points are absolutely rushed through just to reunite some characters and to further the primary backstory of the FMC.

Overall, I loved how the characters grew and gained camaraderie with each other but I am not sure if I’ll continue the series.

North Is the Night by Emily Rath
Did not finish book. Stopped at 51%.

Ultimately, this felt very cheesy. I thought the attempt at a unique cultural fantasy was admirable, but the execution wasnt great.

The Night Ends with Fire by K.X. Song

adventurous challenging emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.25

AAGGHAHHSHSHAHAHHHH

I am so glad to learn this has a sequel because the yell i yelled at the end of this book !!

This retelling of Mulan starts with a story that is memorable, but then twists into its own fantasy and war story covering political intrigue, strategy, commitment to found family, treachery, and grief. I LOVED these characters and boy did they make me hate them too sometimes.

I am so ready for book two WOW.

Going to Meet the Man by James Baldwin

3.75

while masterful in prose and skilled in creating contained stories, i prefer Baldwin’s full books and essays over this collection.