randi_jo's reviews
409 reviews

Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire

adventurous dark reflective fast-paced

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

4.25

Short, sweet, was not expecting the murder mystery, but then again I'm allergic to reading blurbs most of the time. It was fun and I'm looking forward to reading more in the series to see how the portal worlds work/the different places they lead.

If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English by Noor Naga

challenging sad medium-paced

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

2.75

I really liked this book. I did! Part 1 and 2, at least. I enjoyed the complex themes of culture shock, identity, nationalism, and the hairline balance someone walks when (essentially) immigrates to a place that is so divorced from their childhood views, but that is meant to be part of their 'culture', that they will let anything happen to them in order to feel a sense of belonging.

What I did not like was Part 3 preemptively trying to shame me for wondering about any of the other aspects of the story.

Like yeah, I get it, those things aren't what the story is about, but they're such self-centric and, really, western 1st world country-centric that many people won't look passed them in their activist stances, but like, come on, at least have a lengthy clap-back about it instead of a fake humblebrag about being fake published. Ugh.

Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy

challenging dark emotional slow-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

3.25

So like, this was one of the most roundabout ways I've ever read to shame (by choice) childless people and just reinforcing the idea that women, no matter what, are caretakers and needed in a family unit to keep it functioning, whether they've given birth or not. Because, well like, fuck men and their parental abilities, you know??

(Because men loving their kids is totally not enough. They need a woman to help with emotional labor or else they ruin everything.)

Anyway, the rest of the book was great. Moody, dark, people obsessed with animal ghosts, and a crazy ass plot twist that had me yelling what the absolute fuck at 1am. I'm still not sure if I liked the ending or not, but I guess ambivalence is better than dislike? lmao

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Sexual assault

Minor: Death of parent

Wordslut: A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language by Amanda Montell

funny informative medium-paced

4.5

Honestly the audiobook version of this was so engaging and fun, that I really cannot imagine consuming this book in any other way. Amanda, please be my friend.

Anyway, I think this was a fantastic curtain pull on what linguistics IS and the application of sociolinguistics to a feminist bend. I enjoyed it so much and learned some fun things. I will, however, never recover from hearing the words "beef curtains" spoken out loud. 🥲

The Unworthy by Agustina Bazterrica

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.75

Man, okay so from the start I suspected a lot of the plot behind the cult, but honestly that wasn't even the focus, so there was no "haha this was supposed to be a surprise!" Instead all the surprises came from the between moments and the past reflections and suffering that characters endured to survive in a collapsed world.

I loved it a lot and it made me cry in parts.

One main TW that I know many people find difficult is:

cat death

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death

Semantic Error, Vol. 1 by Angy, Soori Jeo

funny slow-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? Yes

4.0

I've read this entire story before but I come back to it every once and a while. I just love how different they both are from your typical m/m romances. Book one only contains the enemies to lovers set up and has the end at more amicable terms. It's a slow burn but worth it.

Out On a Limb by Hannah Bonam-Young

lighthearted 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? No

3.5

OK. I am not a super romance girlie, but I came here by request for the disability rep in relationships and soon-to-be-motherhood and I loved this book so much on that front. The insecurities that both Win and Bo brought to the table, just trying to exist in their own spaces and have enough room for one another is amazing and wonderful. It was sweet. Could've done without the terrible ex plotlines but thank god they weren't a huge focus.

I will not yuck some people's yums but eating each other's cum is a warning I would've LOVED haha. My absolute least fave thing in any smut, but it happened on at least 3 separate occasions here. LOL

Otherwise I could've done without the epilogues. There is a reason, I think, most romances don't cover the wedding day -- and that's because almost all weddings are boring except to maybe the people getting married.

Anyway, read this for some amazing romance disability rep bc it was *chef's kiss*.

Once Was Willem by M.R. Carey

adventurous dark inspiring medium-paced

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

4.25

I really liked this. It's basically a story told by the most NPC party member of a heroic party, weaving bits and pieces of the narrative together until it braids into the final confrontation. It was very fun and though some of the characters weren't as rounded as others, there wasn't a single point where I thought I disliked any of them (except the big bad, of course haha).

The horror here is great. There are are a lot of evil and ambiguously evil things here, but it's treated as the terrible things they are, which I appreciate. Not really moralizing, but damn did I feel great that the villagers felt like crap for burning a child at the stake etc etc.

I think my only suggestion is to get this as an ebook or read where you can access the internet since it does apply some middle english/early modern english words and phrases. Not a LOT, per se, and the ones it does use, it reuses often so you don't have to keep looking things up, but it's nice to just poke the screen for the dictionary lol.

Once-Was-Willem is now my favorite pseudo-gelatinous zombie boy.

Bride by Ali Hazelwood

hopeful 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

2.75

So, this was my first Ali Hazelwood book and it's probably going to be my last. I didn't hate it, but I can't say I enjoyed it much, either? I'm not very good at reading books that require me to turn my brain off and enjoy the ride, so to speak.

The start of the book was really interesting: you had the romantic plot, the missing persons subplot, the weird family ties/secrets subplot . . . it felt like it was going places. I was wrong.

There are some things that felt startlingly unfinished:

- The missing person's plot

I mean Misery can't even solve it herself? She's literally kidnapped so everything can be solved without her and then info dumped on us by her UNSURPRISINGLY evil father, like the cliche villain that he is. Like bruh, why did we get a half-assed mystery plot like that.

- The idea of mates and the Vampyre equivalent of?? Like

there were the obvious beginnings of hints that Vampyres also have something like mates. Like if they continuously drink blood from the same person over and over it creates... what? A mating bond? Something like that?? Why was this not expounded upon and why was it not used as a "Hey your blood smells fabulous and everyone smells like hot garbage this must be a fucking sign". BUT NO. It is just forgotten about because fuck me I guess.

- The Loyalists like ok i get they were

used as a red herring in its MOST BASIC FORM. But like bitch please at least explain why we're supposed to be worried about these people to any kind of extent other than 'they're basically terrorists lol'. We don't even SEE any of the bad shit they do. Zero tension.

- Any fucking sentence that ended with "but". Or sentence that was just "But." If I never have to see the word "but" again, I will die happily.

And tangentially can we just address the ridiculousness of Lowe constantly worrying about his knot not.... fitting. Like to the point he'd lie to Misery's face about being mates because she doesn't have the "hardware"???? Considering a newborn's head is like, 14 inches around, and Misery is equipped with a vagina that is comparable in elasticity to a human's, unless his knot is the size of a fucking teapot, I don't understand what the hubbub was about. And even if it WERE (ridiculous), you're telling me that vaginal/anal stretching is NOT a thing? PLEASE.

Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao

adventurous medium-paced

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

4.0

I've seen so many people say they've not read anything quite like this, and in some ways I would agree, but actually it reminds me a lot of translated Japanese middle-grade/young adult fiction (think kiki's delivery service). It has the same prose flow and general vibes. 

Anyway, it was a fun read.

Pros:
 🌂 MCs are super cute together and their flirtations are very subdued and sweet

 🌂 The setting is aMAZING and unique in every possible way. Travelling through puddles, towns that create the night sky each night by flying kites, trains running on raindrops etc. there is a plethora of fun stuff to explore.

Cons:
 🌂  Weird romantic tension with a 3rd wheel who's character is as flat as the paper he folds

 🌂 That ending?? Man what the hell lol. What a rollercoaster, but I still can't decide if I liked it or not.