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pushingdessy's reviews
428 reviews
Nuestra parte de noche by Mariana Enríquez
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
[MY BOOKSTAGRAM]
I’ve read one of Mariana Enriquez’s anthologies so far (“The dangers of smoking in bed”), and I enjoyed it a lot more on my second read. That is to say, she can be an acquired taste, so I was wary of what a +600 page horror novel from her might be like. Especially since the English translation made it into a bookstragram darling in 2023 - was it worth the hype?
That’s a yes from me. This book has everything. Not only cults, magic, haunted houses, evil assholes, and a complicated father&son relationship, but also a lot of real life issues and history. The Argentinian dictatorship of '76, the plight of indigenous people, slave labour and workers' uprisings, the crisis of the '90s, the education reform, student uprisings and police repression, colonization, the queer scene and the AIDS epidemic. It was incredibly local, while at the same time appealing to an international audience by setting part of the book in Europe and including some British flavour.
The story is split into six parts, set in different years (going back and forth between past and future) and offering different POVs. One thing that bothered me is that the text often ran on without a pause, and combined with the scarcity of chapter divisions and the mix of POVs, it didn’t give you much of a visual break. But maybe that’s by design, as the book is hard to put down anyway; kind of like that story I read once about a mysterious book left on roadside motels that, once you started reading it, you could never stop.
In some ways, the story felt inspired by Stephen King, although, imo, I enjoyed it more than I often do with large swaths of King’s books. Juan, the father and medium of the Order, sought to protect his son at any cost, often becoming abusive and cryptic; Gaspar, the son, both loves and resents him to the end, a relationship that felt reminiscent of Jack and Danny in “The Shining”. Gaspar’s gang of childhood friends, and a shared trauma that haunts them to their adulthood, reminded me of the Losers' Club in “It”. Less inspired by and more of an association, it also reminded me of “Mexican Gothic” in terms of evil British people and their colonizing ways, and of the Upside Down in Stranger Things.
This is a dark, often disgusting, sometimes lighter, considerably deep, touching book that, in its rounded horror still managed to shock me with one particular moment that made me gasp (iykyk 😭), and left me wanting more (but do we want to know more? Maybe not). The summary doesn’t even begin to cover what the story really is about/like, and I wouldn’t necessarily recommend starting with the author’s short stories because I think they’re fundamentally different. If any of what I’ve said piques your interest, go for it! It’s definitely one of the best horror books I will have read this year.
I’ve read one of Mariana Enriquez’s anthologies so far (“The dangers of smoking in bed”), and I enjoyed it a lot more on my second read. That is to say, she can be an acquired taste, so I was wary of what a +600 page horror novel from her might be like. Especially since the English translation made it into a bookstragram darling in 2023 - was it worth the hype?
That’s a yes from me. This book has everything. Not only cults, magic, haunted houses, evil assholes, and a complicated father&son relationship, but also a lot of real life issues and history. The Argentinian dictatorship of '76, the plight of indigenous people, slave labour and workers' uprisings, the crisis of the '90s, the education reform, student uprisings and police repression, colonization, the queer scene and the AIDS epidemic. It was incredibly local, while at the same time appealing to an international audience by setting part of the book in Europe and including some British flavour.
The story is split into six parts, set in different years (going back and forth between past and future) and offering different POVs. One thing that bothered me is that the text often ran on without a pause, and combined with the scarcity of chapter divisions and the mix of POVs, it didn’t give you much of a visual break. But maybe that’s by design, as the book is hard to put down anyway; kind of like that story I read once about a mysterious book left on roadside motels that, once you started reading it, you could never stop.
In some ways, the story felt inspired by Stephen King, although, imo, I enjoyed it more than I often do with large swaths of King’s books. Juan, the father and medium of the Order, sought to protect his son at any cost, often becoming abusive and cryptic; Gaspar, the son, both loves and resents him to the end, a relationship that felt reminiscent of Jack and Danny in “The Shining”. Gaspar’s gang of childhood friends, and a shared trauma that haunts them to their adulthood, reminded me of the Losers' Club in “It”. Less inspired by and more of an association, it also reminded me of “Mexican Gothic” in terms of evil British people and their colonizing ways, and of the Upside Down in Stranger Things.
This is a dark, often disgusting, sometimes lighter, considerably deep, touching book that, in its rounded horror still managed to shock me with one particular moment that made me gasp (iykyk 😭), and left me wanting more (but do we want to know more? Maybe not). The summary doesn’t even begin to cover what the story really is about/like, and I wouldn’t necessarily recommend starting with the author’s short stories because I think they’re fundamentally different. If any of what I’ve said piques your interest, go for it! It’s definitely one of the best horror books I will have read this year.
La novia de Sandro (Rara Avis) by Camila Sosa Villada
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
No soy fan de la poesía en forma de poema en general pero, tal vez por eso, este libro -breve, mezcla de poema y prosa, con un lenguaje hermoso pero cotidiano y sin vueltas, honestamente autobiográfico y queer- me funcionó.
"Entre tanto, los hombres vuelven a su casa sin haberse acariciado con nadie, las mujeres rumean la soledad y las travestis aprendemos a sobrevivir y a infiltrarnos esperando que alguna vez, ustedes bajen las defensas para emputecerlo todo."
"Entre tanto, los hombres vuelven a su casa sin haberse acariciado con nadie, las mujeres rumean la soledad y las travestis aprendemos a sobrevivir y a infiltrarnos esperando que alguna vez, ustedes bajen las defensas para emputecerlo todo."
The End of Bias: What the New Science of Overcoming Bias Teaches Us About Transforming Our Lives, Our Companies, Our World by Jessica Nordell
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Why do we have bias, and how can we reduce its impacts to work towards more egalitarian societies?
Those are the questions that Jessica Nordell sought to answer. This was a rather phenomenal read, packed with research on real world experiments around the world led by people who’d had enough.
We’ve all probably heard about the story of the managers who are given two CVs with the same qualifications, one from Jane and one from John, and they end up picking John every time, or another experiment like it. Nordell offers a plethora of examples of this kind, both from the lab and the real world, mostly focused on gender and race. She also presents a selection of cases she studied in depth where changes had been made to overcome bias.
The book is split into three parts. “How bias works” gets into the science of why all human beings have biases, even if we truly believe ourselves to be unprejudiced, and the impacts that cumulative, daily bias has on historically marginalized demographic groups. “Changing minds” gets into how we can become aware of our bias so we can begin to change it; why diversity trainings might have the opposite effect; and some tested tools to begin rewiring our brains. Finally, “Making it last” goes deeper, insisting that individual or community changes are not enough, and offering some examples of architectural or systemic changes that have been effective in altering the culture itself towards equity and inclusion.
I think everyone can benefit from reading this one, but it's a fundamental read in particular for anyone in any sort of leadership position. While it’s not meant as a guidebook, it’s full of science-based clues and examples we can follow to begin dismantling bias in our own spheres of influence.
Those are the questions that Jessica Nordell sought to answer. This was a rather phenomenal read, packed with research on real world experiments around the world led by people who’d had enough.
We’ve all probably heard about the story of the managers who are given two CVs with the same qualifications, one from Jane and one from John, and they end up picking John every time, or another experiment like it. Nordell offers a plethora of examples of this kind, both from the lab and the real world, mostly focused on gender and race. She also presents a selection of cases she studied in depth where changes had been made to overcome bias.
The book is split into three parts. “How bias works” gets into the science of why all human beings have biases, even if we truly believe ourselves to be unprejudiced, and the impacts that cumulative, daily bias has on historically marginalized demographic groups. “Changing minds” gets into how we can become aware of our bias so we can begin to change it; why diversity trainings might have the opposite effect; and some tested tools to begin rewiring our brains. Finally, “Making it last” goes deeper, insisting that individual or community changes are not enough, and offering some examples of architectural or systemic changes that have been effective in altering the culture itself towards equity and inclusion.
I think everyone can benefit from reading this one, but it's a fundamental read in particular for anyone in any sort of leadership position. While it’s not meant as a guidebook, it’s full of science-based clues and examples we can follow to begin dismantling bias in our own spheres of influence.
Like They Do in the Movies by Nan Campbell
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Thanks to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for approving this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
A thoughtful sapphic celebrity romance with a slow burn and delicious spice.
Frustrated by yet another rejected script and sick of her low-paying job writing celebrity gossip, Fran Underhill decides to try her luck with a PA gig… hoping she’ll be able to dig enough dirt to renegotiate her rates. But she didn’t expect her client to be gorgeous, queerbait teenage crush Chelsea Cartwright, who is just now recovering from a series of betrayals.
I really appreciated that this book was a proper slow burn. One of my biggest romance pet peeves is when we’re halfway through the book and the main characters confess they’ve been in love with each other since the moment they met… and only a few weeks/couple of months have passed. Here, the work relationship spans several months over which we see the characters grow closer as well as their attraction for each other. There’s an even longer period before they actually get together, although with plenty of UST.
I thought Chelsea and Fran were fleshed out nicely, and I enjoyed the way the employer/employee conflict was handled. The falling out between the characters was also believable enough. That said, it was a bit frustrating that Chelsea almost kept toying with Fran when Fran was all in.
Overall, I really enjoyed this one and would recommend it to anyone looking for a sapphic take on the celebrity romance trope!
(Also, did anyone else picture Jessica Chastain as Chelsea?)
A thoughtful sapphic celebrity romance with a slow burn and delicious spice.
Frustrated by yet another rejected script and sick of her low-paying job writing celebrity gossip, Fran Underhill decides to try her luck with a PA gig… hoping she’ll be able to dig enough dirt to renegotiate her rates. But she didn’t expect her client to be gorgeous, queerbait teenage crush Chelsea Cartwright, who is just now recovering from a series of betrayals.
I really appreciated that this book was a proper slow burn. One of my biggest romance pet peeves is when we’re halfway through the book and the main characters confess they’ve been in love with each other since the moment they met… and only a few weeks/couple of months have passed. Here, the work relationship spans several months over which we see the characters grow closer as well as their attraction for each other. There’s an even longer period before they actually get together, although with plenty of UST.
I thought Chelsea and Fran were fleshed out nicely, and I enjoyed the way the employer/employee conflict was handled. The falling out between the characters was also believable enough. That said, it was a bit frustrating that Chelsea almost kept toying with Fran when Fran was all in.
Overall, I really enjoyed this one and would recommend it to anyone looking for a sapphic take on the celebrity romance trope!
(Also, did anyone else picture Jessica Chastain as Chelsea?)
From a Certain Point of View: Return of the Jedi by Mary Kenney, Fran Wilde, Saladin Ahmed, Charlie Jane Anders, Mike Chen, Olivie Blake
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
There’s no question that the “From a Certain Point of View” anthologies were an ambitious project. 40 stories to celebrate the 40th anniversary of each movie is a really cool, fun concept on paper!
In reality, though, you end up with a bit of a bantha-sized book with a potpourri of POVs that begin to blur together after a while. I love the power of short stories, but reading too many of them at once makes it hard for any one to sink in and stand out. This is especially true, at least for me, of those stories from the POV of original characters, or canon characters you care little about. I never thought I would care about Max Rebo’s backstory, and I can’t say that I do now.
So in that sense, the Return of the Jedi edition isn’t much different from the previous installments, but it does suffer in comparison, with stories and concepts that give you a sense of déjà vu.
For example, one of my least favourite stories was “My mouth never closes”, from the POV of the Sarlacc. It’s a slug that wandered through space before settling down on Tatooine, hoping to make friends, except people keep getting into its gullet, which the slug hates because it’s a vegetarian. It’s hard not to compare Charlie Jane Anders' story to that of Catherynne M. Valente in the ESB book, “This is no cave” - which is about a space slug who wandered through space before settling down on the asteroid, hoping to make friends, except people keep getting into its gullet, which the slug hates because it’s a vegetarian. It was funny the first time; now, I was hoping for something different. Sometimes it’s fine if monsters are still monsters.
In any case, if there’s something you won’t be lacking for here is variation. We see creatures from Jabba’s Palace, Imperial officers in the Death Star, rebels in Home One, Ewoks and Stormtroopers on Endor. As a writer, I can imagine this being a fun, exciting creative exercise… but, again, it does get repetitive after a while. How many stories about Ewoks do you really want to read? How many about rebel OCs hoping to make it out alive so they can get back to their sweethearts, and Imperial OCs fighting for power? If your answer is less than two, then this probably won’t be the book for you.
One thing I appreciated is the effort at connecting some of the stories with each other - that can’t have been easy to coordinate. And yet I can’t attribute that effort to anyone but the writers themselves, as once again I’m wondering where the hell were the editors in some of these stories. The most egregious example is Piett’s story, “To the last”, as Dana Schwartz seems to think that either Piett (played by an actor who was in his 40s at the time) was no older than 30 by RotJ, or that the Empire has been ruling for 40 years instead of 24. Maybe this is why you don’t hire writers based on current popularity alone OR you provide a solid editor with knowledge of the franchise you’re writing for.
To me, the most memorable and rich stories always tend to be the ones from the POV of known characters: “From a certain point of view” by Alex Jennings (Obi-Wan), “No contingency” by Fran Wilde (Mon Mothma), “The burden of leadership” by Danny Lore (Lando), “When fire marked the sky” by Emma Mieko Candon (Wedge) and “Then fall, Sidious” by Olivie Blake (Palpatine, particularly creepy) were some of my favourites in this category.
“The ballad of Nanta” by Sarah Kuhn, about the Ewok that dies on screen, was a well-taken low blow. In “The buy-in” by Suzanne Walker (Norra Wexley) and “The Chronicler” by Danielle Paige we see familiar characters, so I enjoyed both. The latter is a concept that, again, was already executed in the ESB iteration (a rebel tasked with historian duty), but it’s one I find compelling.
“Brotherhood” by Mike Chen was good, but I wish the chance to write Anakin’s POV had gone to someone other than the person who already wrote a book about Anakin and Obi-Wan called “Brotherhood” - and if I had a dollar every time the “sun dragon-heart” metaphor was mentioned, I’d probably be able to buy a physical copy of this book.
Out of the three books, the ESB version remains my favourite, and I admit my bias falls on the focus Han and Leia got in particular. I understand the books are not about them, and we did get some glimpses, but given the state of their relationship in RotJ, I was hoping for something similar here.
All in all, this is an interesting collection for sure, with the expected hits and misses and something for everyone to enjoy.
In reality, though, you end up with a bit of a bantha-sized book with a potpourri of POVs that begin to blur together after a while. I love the power of short stories, but reading too many of them at once makes it hard for any one to sink in and stand out. This is especially true, at least for me, of those stories from the POV of original characters, or canon characters you care little about. I never thought I would care about Max Rebo’s backstory, and I can’t say that I do now.
So in that sense, the Return of the Jedi edition isn’t much different from the previous installments, but it does suffer in comparison, with stories and concepts that give you a sense of déjà vu.
For example, one of my least favourite stories was “My mouth never closes”, from the POV of the Sarlacc. It’s a slug that wandered through space before settling down on Tatooine, hoping to make friends, except people keep getting into its gullet, which the slug hates because it’s a vegetarian. It’s hard not to compare Charlie Jane Anders' story to that of Catherynne M. Valente in the ESB book, “This is no cave” - which is about a space slug who wandered through space before settling down on the asteroid, hoping to make friends, except people keep getting into its gullet, which the slug hates because it’s a vegetarian. It was funny the first time; now, I was hoping for something different. Sometimes it’s fine if monsters are still monsters.
In any case, if there’s something you won’t be lacking for here is variation. We see creatures from Jabba’s Palace, Imperial officers in the Death Star, rebels in Home One, Ewoks and Stormtroopers on Endor. As a writer, I can imagine this being a fun, exciting creative exercise… but, again, it does get repetitive after a while. How many stories about Ewoks do you really want to read? How many about rebel OCs hoping to make it out alive so they can get back to their sweethearts, and Imperial OCs fighting for power? If your answer is less than two, then this probably won’t be the book for you.
One thing I appreciated is the effort at connecting some of the stories with each other - that can’t have been easy to coordinate. And yet I can’t attribute that effort to anyone but the writers themselves, as once again I’m wondering where the hell were the editors in some of these stories. The most egregious example is Piett’s story, “To the last”, as Dana Schwartz seems to think that either Piett (played by an actor who was in his 40s at the time) was no older than 30 by RotJ, or that the Empire has been ruling for 40 years instead of 24. Maybe this is why you don’t hire writers based on current popularity alone OR you provide a solid editor with knowledge of the franchise you’re writing for.
To me, the most memorable and rich stories always tend to be the ones from the POV of known characters: “From a certain point of view” by Alex Jennings (Obi-Wan), “No contingency” by Fran Wilde (Mon Mothma), “The burden of leadership” by Danny Lore (Lando), “When fire marked the sky” by Emma Mieko Candon (Wedge) and “Then fall, Sidious” by Olivie Blake (Palpatine, particularly creepy) were some of my favourites in this category.
“The ballad of Nanta” by Sarah Kuhn, about the Ewok that dies on screen, was a well-taken low blow. In “The buy-in” by Suzanne Walker (Norra Wexley) and “The Chronicler” by Danielle Paige we see familiar characters, so I enjoyed both. The latter is a concept that, again, was already executed in the ESB iteration (a rebel tasked with historian duty), but it’s one I find compelling.
“Brotherhood” by Mike Chen was good, but I wish the chance to write Anakin’s POV had gone to someone other than the person who already wrote a book about Anakin and Obi-Wan called “Brotherhood” - and if I had a dollar every time the “sun dragon-heart” metaphor was mentioned, I’d probably be able to buy a physical copy of this book.
Out of the three books, the ESB version remains my favourite, and I admit my bias falls on the focus Han and Leia got in particular. I understand the books are not about them, and we did get some glimpses, but given the state of their relationship in RotJ, I was hoping for something similar here.
All in all, this is an interesting collection for sure, with the expected hits and misses and something for everyone to enjoy.
Before the Awakening by Greg Rucka
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
For those who don’t know me, I’m a sequels hater. When I watched The Force Awakens, I’d only recently watched and become a fan of the rest of the saga so, while not *happy* about the fate of Luke, Leia and Han, I both knew what to expect and hadn’t yet formed strong opinions on the whole. I was willing to wait and hopefully be surprised by a consistent story that provided satisfactory explanations about the choices they’d made, even if I didn’t like those choices…
That didn’t happen.
One thing I did like about TFA was the new trio: Rey, Finn and Poe. I thought, even if the story didn’t go well for the old characters I loved, at least they would pass the torch to a new generation of diverse, compelling heroes - a strong female lead, a Black Jedi, a Latino pilot, all of them breaking stereotypes, having more than a few lines and defying expectations…
That didn’t happen either.
But the seeds were there, and this little YA novel is proof of that. It’s comprised of three short stories, each focusing on one of the characters some time before TFA.
We follow Rey as she makes a big discovery in the Jakku desert, a story that highlights her cunning and her mechanic prowess. Then, we see Finn on the path of becoming a great Stormtrooper, until his compassion gets him in trouble. Finally, Poe defies New Republic orders to follow a hunch, and ends up being recruited into the Resistance. All of these stories hint at what we later see in the movie, what makes these characters tick.
It’s not a super deep read, and parts of it were later retconned by the following movies (for the worse, I may add), but it’s a quick and fun book if you’re at all interested in the backstories of the beating heart of the sequel trilogy. And it’s illustrated by Phil Noto, whose art makes me swoon.
That didn’t happen.
One thing I did like about TFA was the new trio: Rey, Finn and Poe. I thought, even if the story didn’t go well for the old characters I loved, at least they would pass the torch to a new generation of diverse, compelling heroes - a strong female lead, a Black Jedi, a Latino pilot, all of them breaking stereotypes, having more than a few lines and defying expectations…
That didn’t happen either.
But the seeds were there, and this little YA novel is proof of that. It’s comprised of three short stories, each focusing on one of the characters some time before TFA.
We follow Rey as she makes a big discovery in the Jakku desert, a story that highlights her cunning and her mechanic prowess. Then, we see Finn on the path of becoming a great Stormtrooper, until his compassion gets him in trouble. Finally, Poe defies New Republic orders to follow a hunch, and ends up being recruited into the Resistance. All of these stories hint at what we later see in the movie, what makes these characters tick.
It’s not a super deep read, and parts of it were later retconned by the following movies (for the worse, I may add), but it’s a quick and fun book if you’re at all interested in the backstories of the beating heart of the sequel trilogy. And it’s illustrated by Phil Noto, whose art makes me swoon.
Blaming the Victims: Spurious Scholarship and the Palestinian Question by Edward W. Said, Christopher Hitchens
challenging
informative
sad
slow-paced
3.5
❌️ CEASEFIRE NOW ❌️
To further educate myself on Israel’s genocidal war on Palestine, I’m still going through some of the books I downloaded for free through the Verso Books website.
This is a collection of essays and editorials set out to disprove some of the lies fabricated through academic research and supported in the USA to uphold the myths of Israel, and it's split into four parts.
“Part one: The Peters affair” is devoted to contesting Joan Peters' book “From time immemorial”, which maintained that there isn’t such thing as a Palestinian or Palestinian history (!!).
“Part two: Myths old and new” presents findings on alleged broadcasts from Palestinian leaders that urged the people to leave, as well as how the notion of terrorism operates in the USAmerican ideological system and how it’s been weaponised against the Middle East.
“Part three: The ‘Liberal’ Alternative” is a review of Michael Walzer’s “Exodus and Revolution: A Canaanite reading”.
“Part four: Scholarship ancient and modern” offers a profile of Palestinian history and politics, including the role of peasant resistance, and the Zionist negation of the Palestinian Question.
While unquestionably valuable, this wasn’t an easy book to get through. Largely, it’s a conversation with other texts, and so it’s dense with references, facts and figures to challenge long-held lies. While I did learn some new information, this is more of a specialized book aimed at scholars than an intro to the subject - I would recommend “Ten myths about Israel” or “The punishment of Gaza” instead.
To further educate myself on Israel’s genocidal war on Palestine, I’m still going through some of the books I downloaded for free through the Verso Books website.
This is a collection of essays and editorials set out to disprove some of the lies fabricated through academic research and supported in the USA to uphold the myths of Israel, and it's split into four parts.
“Part one: The Peters affair” is devoted to contesting Joan Peters' book “From time immemorial”, which maintained that there isn’t such thing as a Palestinian or Palestinian history (!!).
“Part two: Myths old and new” presents findings on alleged broadcasts from Palestinian leaders that urged the people to leave, as well as how the notion of terrorism operates in the USAmerican ideological system and how it’s been weaponised against the Middle East.
“Part three: The ‘Liberal’ Alternative” is a review of Michael Walzer’s “Exodus and Revolution: A Canaanite reading”.
“Part four: Scholarship ancient and modern” offers a profile of Palestinian history and politics, including the role of peasant resistance, and the Zionist negation of the Palestinian Question.
While unquestionably valuable, this wasn’t an easy book to get through. Largely, it’s a conversation with other texts, and so it’s dense with references, facts and figures to challenge long-held lies. While I did learn some new information, this is more of a specialized book aimed at scholars than an intro to the subject - I would recommend “Ten myths about Israel” or “The punishment of Gaza” instead.
This Is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone, Amal El-Mohtar
Did not finish book. Stopped at 52%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 52%.
If you throw a pot of honey at the wall, it might look artsy, but it's not going to make me fall in love.
That's how this book felt. A bunch of honeyed letters that were supposed to make me swoon over this enemies-to-lovers story, except none of it made any sense. These are time-travelling... robots? beings? Transformers? who are fighting a war over... who gets to change history...? for the purposes of... ??? They hate each other and are designed to kill each other because... I don't know? They begin to exchange letters because... reasons? and the letters are not your ol' ink and paper but... bird entrails? carvings on a rabbit's molar? sketches on a blade of grass?
Everything was unnecessarily confusing and underexplained. I could not find any substance under the flowery language wrapping. I could not give a single fuck for the characters or their love story. This is a sapphic love story and they're supposed to be women. But are they? There's no reason why they should have any gender at all. They come from completely different backgrounds yet talk the same, act the same, are able to transmute the same. They call each other increasingly pretentious names related to their designations (Red and Blue).
After seeing this book praised everywhere as this great sapphic love story, I wanted to at least finish hate-reading it, but I just couldn't bring myself to it. In just half of it there was plenty enough to read; not even skimming the text did it seem to go any faster. I only skipped to the last chapter out of curiosity, but nothing could have saved this book from the pit of hollow grandiloquence it dug itself into. Sorry if it makes you think I'm not intellectual enough, but this just ain't it for me.
That's how this book felt. A bunch of honeyed letters that were supposed to make me swoon over this enemies-to-lovers story, except none of it made any sense. These are time-travelling... robots? beings? Transformers? who are fighting a war over... who gets to change history...? for the purposes of... ??? They hate each other and are designed to kill each other because... I don't know? They begin to exchange letters because... reasons? and the letters are not your ol' ink and paper but... bird entrails? carvings on a rabbit's molar? sketches on a blade of grass?
Everything was unnecessarily confusing and underexplained. I could not find any substance under the flowery language wrapping. I could not give a single fuck for the characters or their love story. This is a sapphic love story and they're supposed to be women. But are they? There's no reason why they should have any gender at all. They come from completely different backgrounds yet talk the same, act the same, are able to transmute the same. They call each other increasingly pretentious names related to their designations (Red and Blue).
After seeing this book praised everywhere as this great sapphic love story, I wanted to at least finish hate-reading it, but I just couldn't bring myself to it. In just half of it there was plenty enough to read; not even skimming the text did it seem to go any faster. I only skipped to the last chapter out of curiosity, but nothing could have saved this book from the pit of hollow grandiloquence it dug itself into. Sorry if it makes you think I'm not intellectual enough, but this just ain't it for me.
Full Speed to a Crash Landing by Beth Revis
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
*I received this ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*
Ada Lamarr: scavenger, having recently claimed looter’s rights on a wreckage she wasn’t supposed to know about, finds herself in dire straits after her half-blown up ship left her stranded and almost out of oxygen in space.
Rian White: head of the intergalactic government salvage crew on a super secret mission to retrieve something from the inhabitable planet below… and Ada might be the only one who can help the mission succeed. But what is she hiding? And what is Rian not saying about the mission?
This was such a fun space heist! Ada is a spunky, smart, mysterious protagonist that won’t stop at anything to get what she wants, including flirting to death with Rian, who is competent and collected and matches her wit. The mission is high-stakes and you can feel the tension of everything pending on it. And it kept me guessing to the last page!
The descriptions are so well done, you can picture everything perfectly, and the worldbuilding deals with interesting (if depressing) themes of environmental catastrophe, eco grief and space colonization.
I admit I was confused at the descriptor of a ‘sexy’ heist, lol. Don’t let that sway you either way: it’s a heist, our protagonists flirt, there’s some UST, but nobody is pole dancing!
There were a couple of nods to Star Wars that made me smile (no bras in space is bullshit!!).
This is the first novella from a planned trilogy, so we have more questions than answers by the end... but now I'm really looking forward to the rest! If you enjoy a space romp that feels like a comic book, with familiar sci-fi elements, you might want to check it out.
Ada Lamarr: scavenger, having recently claimed looter’s rights on a wreckage she wasn’t supposed to know about, finds herself in dire straits after her half-blown up ship left her stranded and almost out of oxygen in space.
Rian White: head of the intergalactic government salvage crew on a super secret mission to retrieve something from the inhabitable planet below… and Ada might be the only one who can help the mission succeed. But what is she hiding? And what is Rian not saying about the mission?
This was such a fun space heist! Ada is a spunky, smart, mysterious protagonist that won’t stop at anything to get what she wants, including flirting to death with Rian, who is competent and collected and matches her wit. The mission is high-stakes and you can feel the tension of everything pending on it. And it kept me guessing to the last page!
The descriptions are so well done, you can picture everything perfectly, and the worldbuilding deals with interesting (if depressing) themes of environmental catastrophe, eco grief and space colonization.
I admit I was confused at the descriptor of a ‘sexy’ heist, lol. Don’t let that sway you either way: it’s a heist, our protagonists flirt, there’s some UST, but nobody is pole dancing!
There were a couple of nods to Star Wars that made me smile (no bras in space is bullshit!!).
This is the first novella from a planned trilogy, so we have more questions than answers by the end... but now I'm really looking forward to the rest! If you enjoy a space romp that feels like a comic book, with familiar sci-fi elements, you might want to check it out.
Most Hated by Kara Alloway
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I received this ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Let me preface this by saying that I don’t watch reality TV, I don’t enjoy it, I don’t find it worth my time (unless it’s like, cooking competitions). I picked this book precisely because of that, as I thought it would be an interesting exploration of the genre (which was implied in the blurb). Especially after I found out the author was a former reality TV participant.
Unfortunately, instead of the literary fiction I expected, I just found it to be rather shallow “chick lit”, a term I don’t even like using.
Six women join a “docu-soap” showcasing the lifestyle of the rich and glam. For Dahlia and Sabrina, as well as producer Zoe, this is also a chance at reinvention. These are the three POVs into which the book is split, though only one of them is in the first person. This seems like a random choice, but considering the frustrating misuse or lack of commas as well as sentences that didn’t make much sense to me, I’m once again pointing at editors.
The women get to know each other, their interactions and social events are scripted, and Zoe plays some really ugly tricks to amp up the drama, which include instigating catty fights and straight up roofing their drinks.
While the story deals with misogyny, in particular the treatment of women in the public eye and the media, and internalized sexism that makes women see each other as competition, it did so in the most obvious, cartoonish ways possible. The character of Zoe, for example, is described as “ugly”, someone who isn’t particularly smart, unsociable… even her parents don’t like her! At first she’s positioned as someone who couldn’t care less about all this because she’s so emotionally detached, but then it becomes clear she’s jealous of the other women; her journey ends up being about wanting to be picked by a man. And of course, she’s the bad guy.
This tendency of pointing out how ugly/ridiculous/loser a woman was also happened to apply only to the other characters who were bitches to the end, except for Regan, who was a cool girl as lifted exactly from the Gone Girl monologue, and Lexi, who was mocked for her appearance only at first, until she turned out to be just a harmless gold-digger..
This wasn’t a terrible read per se; it was very light-hearted and might be fun for people who love the drama of reality TV. Just don’t expect any particularly profound thoughts on womanhood, feminism or the televisation of modern life. There was a also a missed opportunity of talking about racism, as all the participants are presumably white. For me, the way Zoe was written was a deal breaker; it just came off as a cry of “ugly, poor women are so jealous of me!!”
Let me preface this by saying that I don’t watch reality TV, I don’t enjoy it, I don’t find it worth my time (unless it’s like, cooking competitions). I picked this book precisely because of that, as I thought it would be an interesting exploration of the genre (which was implied in the blurb). Especially after I found out the author was a former reality TV participant.
Unfortunately, instead of the literary fiction I expected, I just found it to be rather shallow “chick lit”, a term I don’t even like using.
Six women join a “docu-soap” showcasing the lifestyle of the rich and glam. For Dahlia and Sabrina, as well as producer Zoe, this is also a chance at reinvention. These are the three POVs into which the book is split, though only one of them is in the first person. This seems like a random choice, but considering the frustrating misuse or lack of commas as well as sentences that didn’t make much sense to me, I’m once again pointing at editors.
The women get to know each other, their interactions and social events are scripted, and Zoe plays some really ugly tricks to amp up the drama, which include instigating catty fights and straight up roofing their drinks.
While the story deals with misogyny, in particular the treatment of women in the public eye and the media, and internalized sexism that makes women see each other as competition, it did so in the most obvious, cartoonish ways possible. The character of Zoe, for example, is described as “ugly”, someone who isn’t particularly smart, unsociable… even her parents don’t like her! At first she’s positioned as someone who couldn’t care less about all this because she’s so emotionally detached, but then it becomes clear she’s jealous of the other women; her journey ends up being about wanting to be picked by a man. And of course, she’s the bad guy.
This tendency of pointing out how ugly/ridiculous/loser a woman was also happened to apply only to the other characters who were bitches to the end, except for Regan, who was a cool girl as lifted exactly from the Gone Girl monologue, and Lexi, who was mocked for her appearance only at first, until she turned out to be just a harmless gold-digger..
This wasn’t a terrible read per se; it was very light-hearted and might be fun for people who love the drama of reality TV. Just don’t expect any particularly profound thoughts on womanhood, feminism or the televisation of modern life. There was a also a missed opportunity of talking about racism, as all the participants are presumably white. For me, the way Zoe was written was a deal breaker; it just came off as a cry of “ugly, poor women are so jealous of me!!”