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quillnqueer's reviews
417 reviews
The Cautious Traveller's Guide To the Wastelands by Sarah Brooks
adventurous
slow-paced
3.0
This is said to be for fans of Piranesi and The Midnight Library, two books this is truly not alike at all. This is actually a character driven novel about a train travelling across a fae wilderness, and the mystery hidden by the owners of the train company. As they travel, the passengers and crew start to descend into madness and chaos.
Weiwei was the heart of the story, and the strongest character of the multiple POVs. Born on the train, and now part of the crew, she struggles with how she's been raised and the new questions she has when she finds Wilderness creature Elena hiding in the train. I also liked Marya, who is on the train to investigate her father's mysterious death.
The ending of this story is pretty wild, but I was greatful the story finally picked up some speed, as the rest of the story is fairly slow paced. While this uses real world locations, it uses them fairly loosely, similar to Oxford in The Golden Compass. It did get so chaotic it was almost difficult to keep up with, but I did feel it had a fitting ending.
Weiwei was the heart of the story, and the strongest character of the multiple POVs. Born on the train, and now part of the crew, she struggles with how she's been raised and the new questions she has when she finds Wilderness creature Elena hiding in the train. I also liked Marya, who is on the train to investigate her father's mysterious death.
The ending of this story is pretty wild, but I was greatful the story finally picked up some speed, as the rest of the story is fairly slow paced. While this uses real world locations, it uses them fairly loosely, similar to Oxford in The Golden Compass. It did get so chaotic it was almost difficult to keep up with, but I did feel it had a fitting ending.
Every Time You Hear That Song by Jenna Voris
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
5.0
This is such a fun, but emotional, scavenger hunt story told in a dual POV as we follow singer Decklee Cassel on her path to fame and struggles with her Queer identity, and Darren Purchase, who, years later, is on a scavenger hunt to find Decklee's lost songs, and lost lover, after Decklee passes away.
I love a scavenger hunt story and this one is so unique. Combining it with Queer culture and a Bisexual girl struggling to find her way out of her small town made this story so interesting, and I flew through the pages each time I picked it up. Although I usually dislike not being able to work out the clues for myself, I didn't mind with this story, and was happy to follow Darren.
There's so much hurt, and grief tied into this book that pushes it to a five star read for me. Decklee is shown to be a pretty terrible person, and Mickenlee has to decide if to continue being dragged along on Decklee's obsession with fame, or to break ties with her forever. Mickenlee is a strong, memorable character that I really grew attached to.
I love a scavenger hunt story and this one is so unique. Combining it with Queer culture and a Bisexual girl struggling to find her way out of her small town made this story so interesting, and I flew through the pages each time I picked it up. Although I usually dislike not being able to work out the clues for myself, I didn't mind with this story, and was happy to follow Darren.
There's so much hurt, and grief tied into this book that pushes it to a five star read for me. Decklee is shown to be a pretty terrible person, and Mickenlee has to decide if to continue being dragged along on Decklee's obsession with fame, or to break ties with her forever. Mickenlee is a strong, memorable character that I really grew attached to.
Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh
dark
funny
medium-paced
4.0
This is truly one of those books that you get, or you don't, and luckily for me I'm mentally ill. Eileen is an interestingly insane character, with a very unique perspective on life, and a tendency to hyperfocus on people until she moves onto the next one. There's also discussions of her eating disorder, drug taking and child sexual assault, so this is a pretty heavy book.
Throughout the story Eileen will suddenly have thoughts that are so out there my only option was to bark laugh that someone had even written it on paper. She strongly reminded me of Pearl, while she was easy to dismiss as just some small town girl, there were so many layers under the surface and a history of child abuse that made her who she is.
I did think the ending was a little abrupt, and I found myself wishing, after we had been told throughout that she was leaving town, that we could have joined her. I would have loved to hear her thoughts on the next environment she finds herself in, and the experiences she has there. We do have a glimpse of her future from her older self, but it wasn't quite enough.
Throughout the story Eileen will suddenly have thoughts that are so out there my only option was to bark laugh that someone had even written it on paper. She strongly reminded me of Pearl, while she was easy to dismiss as just some small town girl, there were so many layers under the surface and a history of child abuse that made her who she is.
I did think the ending was a little abrupt, and I found myself wishing, after we had been told throughout that she was leaving town, that we could have joined her. I would have loved to hear her thoughts on the next environment she finds herself in, and the experiences she has there. We do have a glimpse of her future from her older self, but it wasn't quite enough.
A Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
If you know me well, seeing this book on my shelves must come as a bit of a shock, because I (almost) never read adult romance. However, I love Schmigadoon. And this story of a woman who finds herself in the romantic town of Eloraton, the setting of her favourite romance series, sounded like such a cute idea.
I found the main character of this story very, very confusing. She never seemed to actively look for clues about if the town was real, or if she'd crashed her car and was suffering from a head injury. She never seemed to question if the man she was falling in love with was a real person. And at the end, she never seemed to experience any emotion about the decision she made.
I found the cast of characters interesting, but lacking much depth, and it would have been nice for the story to choose the path of, you may see them as characters, but here's what's under the surface. The romance felt way too easy and while the ending was pretty solid, I was left wondering what Anders plans for the future were.
I found the main character of this story very, very confusing. She never seemed to actively look for clues about if the town was real, or if she'd crashed her car and was suffering from a head injury. She never seemed to question if the man she was falling in love with was a real person. And at the end, she never seemed to experience any emotion about the decision she made.
I found the cast of characters interesting, but lacking much depth, and it would have been nice for the story to choose the path of, you may see them as characters, but here's what's under the surface. The romance felt way too easy and while the ending was pretty solid, I was left wondering what Anders plans for the future were.
The Letters We Keep by Nisha Sharma
emotional
fast-paced
The blurb made this sound like such a cute romance, tied in with a really emotional story of two teens who disappeared many years ago which should have made this story stronger. But I felt that the story was poorly written, and it almost felt like the author didn't care too much about the lost lovers in the end.
There's an odd, almost juvenile feeling to the writing style of this, the immediate enemies meet cute where they fight over a study room, the way Ravi struggled with his peers felt like high school drama he should have left behind. So I was pretty thrown when we got to the pretty descriptive, open door sex scenes, I'm not gonna lie.
While we did finally get answers between all of Ravi and Jessi's annoying and unnecessary angst, I didn't find them satsfactory, especially as they were wedged into a few rushed last chapters. I didn't cheer them on as a couple, because I found them to be incredibly immature and I couldn't really see them as a couple in the future.
There's an odd, almost juvenile feeling to the writing style of this, the immediate enemies meet cute where they fight over a study room, the way Ravi struggled with his peers felt like high school drama he should have left behind. So I was pretty thrown when we got to the pretty descriptive, open door sex scenes, I'm not gonna lie.
While we did finally get answers between all of Ravi and Jessi's annoying and unnecessary angst, I didn't find them satsfactory, especially as they were wedged into a few rushed last chapters. I didn't cheer them on as a couple, because I found them to be incredibly immature and I couldn't really see them as a couple in the future.
Demon in the Wood Graphic Novel by Leigh Bardugo
dark
informative
fast-paced
3.0
I have absolutely no idea what the point of this book was, but the art is very pretty.
What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
5.0
Featuring an Edgar Allen Poe retelling, mushrooms with neopronouns and Beatrix Potter's fictional aunt, What Moves The Dead was a truly bizarre and truly excellent book for me to start with, in my goal to read as many of T. Kingfisher's books as possible. A short, gothic horror, this packs a lot in a short space without ever feeling rushed.
I love the atmosphere of Gothic Horror, and the Usher's moldering house captured this perfectly. The dying brother and sister Easton returns to after many years are unsettling, and the skulking hares provided some truly horrifying moments. I liked that the American doctor and the mycologist added a lot of expertise as to what might be happening, while also adding some lighter moments too.
There was almost a twisted found family vibe as Easton relayed kans findings to the Usher siblings and the people trying to help them, and they worked together to decipher the secrets surrounding the Usher's slow demise. This all culminated in an ending of pure horror, that I was never quite sure anyone would survive.
I love the atmosphere of Gothic Horror, and the Usher's moldering house captured this perfectly. The dying brother and sister Easton returns to after many years are unsettling, and the skulking hares provided some truly horrifying moments. I liked that the American doctor and the mycologist added a lot of expertise as to what might be happening, while also adding some lighter moments too.
There was almost a twisted found family vibe as Easton relayed kans findings to the Usher siblings and the people trying to help them, and they worked together to decipher the secrets surrounding the Usher's slow demise. This all culminated in an ending of pure horror, that I was never quite sure anyone would survive.
In an Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire
emotional
sad
fast-paced
5.0
The Goblin Market is one of my favourite stories, and I think it says a lot about my love of this series that when I realised this story would be based on it, I wasn't remotely concerned that the author would do it justice. This is likely to be my favourite of the Wayward Children series, an emotional story of childhood friendships that completely broke my heart at the end of the book.
Lundy, at this point in the series, I had largely forgotten and had to re-read sections of the first book to refresh my memory. But after reading, she became my favourite character and I found her being torn between her world and the Goblin Market so interesting, as many other characters saw the world they fell into as solely home.
The concept of Fair Value, making sure what you trade for is truly fair, was so interesting to me, and something that will stick with me. It was the thing that brought Lundy, Moon and Mockery together, the thing that made them lose Mockery, and the thing that tore Lundy and Moon apart over and over. I desperately need Lundy to have a better ending.
Lundy, at this point in the series, I had largely forgotten and had to re-read sections of the first book to refresh my memory. But after reading, she became my favourite character and I found her being torn between her world and the Goblin Market so interesting, as many other characters saw the world they fell into as solely home.
The concept of Fair Value, making sure what you trade for is truly fair, was so interesting to me, and something that will stick with me. It was the thing that brought Lundy, Moon and Mockery together, the thing that made them lose Mockery, and the thing that tore Lundy and Moon apart over and over. I desperately need Lundy to have a better ending.
The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis
adventurous
hopeful
fast-paced
4.0
As a child, my favourite of the Narnia series was Voyage Of The Dawn Treader, but as an adult I think it might just be The Silver Chair. Jill and Eustace make a really good team, the adventure they go on is exciting, and I really enjoyed the mystery of the clues Aslan gave. Puddleglum also added many fun moments and I was sad when they had to leave at the end. Also, seeing Caspian now as an old and dying man was truly devastating.
The Honeys by Ryan La Sala
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
3.0
I'm not a fan of books that open on intense, bloody scenes as I've found they tend to quickly become boring, and that's what happened with this book. After surviving their sister's attack, Miles goes back to the camp that changed her, in the hopes to find answers about the mysterious Honeys, the group of girls Caroline was part of.
The day to day camp scenes were so, so boring. and unforunately, they're a solid 75% of the story. I loved that Miles is genderfluid and there was some exploration of this, though I did dislike that the entire camp seemed to solely use he/him pronouns. The almost-romance with Wyatt was welcome, but I think he was treated terribly throughout the story.
The ending was very odd, it felt like we had one almost ending, which was very visceral, very horrifying, but then we almost hit a lull before another, second ending happened and it did very much feel like this ending was added on to make some of story make more sense. I think You're Not Supposed To Die Tonight was a much better version of this story.
The day to day camp scenes were so, so boring. and unforunately, they're a solid 75% of the story. I loved that Miles is genderfluid and there was some exploration of this, though I did dislike that the entire camp seemed to solely use he/him pronouns. The almost-romance with Wyatt was welcome, but I think he was treated terribly throughout the story.
The ending was very odd, it felt like we had one almost ending, which was very visceral, very horrifying, but then we almost hit a lull before another, second ending happened and it did very much feel like this ending was added on to make some of story make more sense. I think You're Not Supposed To Die Tonight was a much better version of this story.