rainb0wreads's reviews
182 reviews

We Are Okay by Nina LaCour

emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

I am in fact not ok 

A wonderful encapsulation of grief and loneliness. A tangible feeling to the word with shocking events that unfold for Marin as she navigates her new world alone. 

Double points for there being queerness that doesn’t need to be explained. 

Recipe for a Perfect Wife by Karma Brown

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

2.5

Dude…this felt so disappointing. Maybe that’s my fault. I went into this thinking it was a thriller, but I guess I was wrong. I knew exactly what storyline was going to be told from the synopsis and while I’m not upset I was right I thought there was going to be more umph to the story. Alice’s plot line felt like it was being forced into connectivity with Nellie’s even though there was very little in common with them. Not to mention Alice and her husband were so annoying watch interact because they’re clearly having communication errors that Alice seems to deem as making her feel trapped (not to say that’s not valid, because yes he moved y’all to the suburbs without really asking you how you really felt about it but girl cmon you kept 2 VERY MASSIVE SECRETS FROM HIM and you think you’re not the problem?) I don’t know, this book did not go where I thought it would and it felt very anticlimactic by the end. 

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Oh….the outside world is gonna be SICK OF ME 

Animal Farm by George Orwell

challenging funny medium-paced

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

4.25

It’s refreshing to be reminded that satire can be on the nose and still be good. Also, loved the last sentence. Made me feel like I’d been listening to a joke for the last two days and that was the punchline id been waiting for 

In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

5.0

My tummy hurts. My tummy hurts and this book really fucked me up. 

I finished this in less than 24 hours. Not only is this a dark and extremely raw retelling of some horrendous experiences no one should go through, Machado does it with poise, realness, and brilliance. 

This is more than a story of one persons life experience, but a place to reflect on the choices, actions, and experiences of us and those around us to reflect upon. Queer relationships aren’t utopian. I’ll say it again. Lesbian relationships are human. Not utopian. 

 Her writing is beautiful, and I can’t even begin to verbalize how much relief I feel on her telling her story. 

With such an interesting narrative that has Frankensteined its way from its beginning to an end, I can’t recommend picking this up enough. 

Seasonal Fears by Seanan McGuire

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

While I will say the plot and story is engaging from start to finish I didn’t feel all that attached to the characters here. If they lived or died I’m not sure I would have felt any particular way, but I feel like that also comes from the lack of a more emotional depth that this book experienced.

What I liked about the first book were the emotions we got to ruminate on with the characters, but there was just a lot to grasp here in regards to world building and emotion (especially with this much killing in this book) and it didn’t feel that explored, which is disappointing. Not to say this is a bad book! I thought it was extremely interesting and a good read, I just didn’t feel emotionally attached to it. 

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

This book is by no means a literary masterpiece, but I do not care. It was cute. It was gay. I love it 

Twilight Territory by Andrew X. Pham

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring sad tense slow-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

4.5

Initially there was such a massive introduction to characters I wasn’t entirely sure I was going to be able to grasp what was being written. Especially because I listened to this on audio. I also had an issue with the fact that it was a story of her overcoming but I don’t feel like we saw enough of her perspective until the very end. However, the ending was so satisfying and I was rooting for Duyet and her journey the entire time. I think this an extremely heart wrenching yet beautiful story 

Greater Heights by Julie Murphy

emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I would say that this is a very cute story with a good mystery element. Faith’s friends still annoy me. I understand their frustration with her to an extent. I feel like (without spoilers) they don’t react well to her actions and have very little sympathy for what she is going through and her choices 

These Witches Don't Burn by Isabel Sterling

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

God I love lesbian drama 

Add witches to the whole shebang and of course im gonna be even more obsessed

I just really wished Vanessa would actually shut her mouth