Take a photo of a barcode or cover
poisoned_icecream's reviews
2033 reviews
The Sapling Cage by Margaret Killjoy
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
CW: transphobia, animal death
This is a coming of age fantasy about Lorel, a trans girl who joins with a coven to learn witchcraft. Her friend Lane would rather be a knight so Lorel offers to take her place and does her best to not be discovered by the witches and whelps (that's the word for girls training to become witches). Besides that, there's also the matter of trees going cold and dying which is known as the blight, and a duchess who aspires to be a queen.
One of my favorite things while reading this was the descriptions of how the witches' bodies change after prolonged use of magic. For instance one witch has goat legs and wings, and another grows horns. Another thing I really liked reading about is how some witches use magic to prevent pregnancy. Also I did not expect this book to have a character who's an aroace knight, which was pretty cool. However I did not like it when Lorel calls him celibate because asexuality is not celibacy.
Some of the major themes in this book are individualism, collectivism and anarchy. The parts where Lorel has fun interacting with her friends were enjoyable, although there were times when it felt that they were unnecessarily cruel to her. Even though I didn't like everything about this book, I still believe it is worth checking out and I will definitely read the sequel whenever it's released.
This is a coming of age fantasy about Lorel, a trans girl who joins with a coven to learn witchcraft. Her friend Lane would rather be a knight so Lorel offers to take her place and does her best to not be discovered by the witches and whelps (that's the word for girls training to become witches). Besides that, there's also the matter of trees going cold and dying which is known as the blight, and a duchess who aspires to be a queen.
One of my favorite things while reading this was the descriptions of how the witches' bodies change after prolonged use of magic. For instance one witch has goat legs and wings, and another grows horns. Another thing I really liked reading about is how some witches use magic to prevent pregnancy. Also I did not expect this book to have a character who's an aroace knight, which was pretty cool. However I did not like it when Lorel calls him celibate because asexuality is not celibacy.
Some of the major themes in this book are individualism, collectivism and anarchy. The parts where Lorel has fun interacting with her friends were enjoyable, although there were times when it felt that they were unnecessarily cruel to her. Even though I didn't like everything about this book, I still believe it is worth checking out and I will definitely read the sequel whenever it's released.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Transphobia
Floor Four by A. Lopez Jr.
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
This starts with some stupid teenagers deciding to throw a party in the fourth floor of an abandoned hospital. Several years ago a serial killer known as The Mangler died there and it is believed that he haunts the fourth floor. The party is held on the anniversary of his death. Then the story follows a younger kid named Brandon after his encounter with The Mangler.
This has some scary moments but the characters are so underdeveloped that I didn't really care when some of them died. One character who I thought would be more important ended up dying. The ending was definitely eerie and unsettling and has made me want to read more of this series.
This has some scary moments but the characters are so underdeveloped that I didn't really care when some of them died. One character who I thought would be more important ended up dying. The ending was definitely eerie and unsettling and has made me want to read more of this series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Gore, Murder
Moderate: Suicide attempt
Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells
Murderbot goes on another mission to save some humans and meets a robot named Miki. Maybe it's my autistic and ADHD brain, but I really struggled to get through this. I didn't care about any of the characters besides Murderbot and Miki. The fact that Miki gets destroyed at the end made this unpleasant reading even worse. Hopefully next time I read this I'll enjoy it more.
adventurous
emotional
sad
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? It's complicated
Witches, Princesses, and Women at Arms: Erotic Lesbian Fairy Tales by Sacchi Green
adventurous
I like fairy tales and lesbians so I was excited to read this. Some of the stories are good, and some I consider to be just okay. There are only two I really didn't like, which are Robber Girl by Madeleine Shade because it grossed me out, and SWF Seeks FGM by Allison Wonderland because it has too many puns, and reading it left me feeling infuriated. Next time I read this anthology I will skip those stories. Some of my favorites are Woodwitch by M. Birds, The Prize of the Willow by H.N. Janzen, The Miller's Daughter by Michael M. Jones, and The Sorceress of Solisterre by Lea Daley. Overall this is a decent collection of sapphic reimaginings of fairy tales.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Violence, Lesbophobia, Classism
Darkly: Black History and America's Gothic Soul by Leila Taylor
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
This is an interesting book. Leila Taylor discusses her experiences as a black woman and being in the goth scene, as well as critique of popular culture and how it is relevant to America's racist and past and present. There are multiple typos and misspellings that really irritated me, but this book is still worth checking out.
An Accident of Stars by Foz Meadows
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
fast-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? Yes
I like books where someone gets to enter and explore a different world, and while I don't always like every book with that element, I did like this one. It is about Saffron, a teen girl who gets accidentally transported to Kenan after following Gwen, a woman who's also originally from Earth but has made a life for herself in the other world. Besides Gwen and Saffron, the book also has the perspective of a girl named Zech and a spoiled consort named Viya. Saffron gets involved in politics, and makes friends and enemies. I enjoyed reading how the society is matriarchal and queernormative, and people are able to marry more than one person or not get married at all. The political intrigue stuff bored me but the writing and dialogue kept me interested.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Vomit, Classism
The Home by Judith Sonnet
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- 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? Yes
This book is so good, I almost didn't want to finish it because then I would never again get to read it for the first time. It is about three elderly people, one of whom is a retired fantasy author, another is a grandfather, and the third is a suspiciously wealthy woman. When they were teens, all three of them went through a traumatic incident at a home with a bloody and gruesome history. The entity that resides in the home, known as Mr. Friendlyman, has got to be one of the creepiest and most terrifying creatures I've ever read about in a horror novel. The plot twist was pretty easy for me to figure out but that did not lessen how much I enjoyed this. I really had a great time with this gory and gruesome cosmic horror book, and I'll always be eager to read anything by Judith Sonnet.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Gore, Racism, Death of parent, Murder
Six Rooms by Gemma Amor
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Horror books about haunted houses are one of my favorite kind of books, so I was eager to read this. It definitely lived up to what I expected of it. It is about a group of people who got tickets to explore the chateau of a wealthy man and the Tour Guide. Among the guests are a husband, wife and their teenage son, a man wearing a bow tie, a historian, and a man from Baltimore. They are all so well-written that it felt as I were reading about real people. As they are led through the rooms, the guests touch something despite the rule about not touching anything, and each time they do a specific memory of the grisly crime that occurred in that is revealed. The only time I felt bored while reading this was whenever Ned, a man who works at the chateau, thinks about the woman who left him alone at the altar. I really don't care so much about marriage stuff. Anyway this is a great gothic horror novel and I would recommend to readers who like Shirley Jackson's novel The Haunting of Hill House.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Misogyny, Classism
Minor: Pregnancy
Dragon Queens by Kathleen de Plume
Did not finish book. Stopped at 72%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 72%.
This book is aggressively amatonormative
The Lamb by Lucy Rose
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Margot and her mother Ruth live by the forest. They eat people, all of whom Ruth calls strays when they find their way to their home. Things change when Eden shows up during a snowstorm. The writing in this book is delectable and it had me so captivated. I wanted to find out what happens to and between Margot, Ruth, and Eden, but at the same time I never wanted to stop reading. This reminds me of stories like Hansel and Gretel, Carrie, Motherthing. I am definitely eager to read more by Lucy Rose.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Toxic relationship, Cannibalism
Minor: Pregnancy