reubenalbatross's reviews
425 reviews

The Long Call by Ann Cleeves

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

2.75

First of all, the audiobook narrator for this had some SHOCKING accents, especially the one that was meant to be scouse… It really made it hard for me to get immersed in the story. 

There was a LOT of over explaining pretty obvious things in the book, which definitely held the writing back from being great. I noticed this especially when the ‘villains’ monologued, and it really took the impact out of what they were saying. If they’d left some things implied instead of being said outright, the scene would be way more effective. 

This book was also yet another instance of author’s not having any idea of basic outdoor safety, which really grinds my gears. They mention not being able to call 999 at one point because they didn’t have signal, which is WILDLY inaccurate. As long as there is reception for one provider (which there definitely would have been with how close to civilisation they were), you can call 999, even if you don’t have normal signal. In this instance, they look down at their phone to check if there’s signal, then don’t even bother to try ringing! And they’re the cops!!! 

Also, every time I heard the name Gabbie Henry, my brain immediately went to Gabbie Hanna. Not the book’s fault, but truly took me out of the truly every time it was said. 

I can’t really comment on the Downs Syndrome rep, as I don’t have experience of it, but it seemed ok to me? They did say a 41-year-old had the mind of a child, but I think that can actually be true in some cases? They did keep calling one of the characters with Down Syndrome physically ‘unfit’, which I didn’t love, as it seemed somewhat pointed. However, they definitely gave all three Downs characters their own personalities and independence/confidence levels, so were clearly not tarring them all with the same brush.  

All in all, this book was good to waste time with, but not much else. The plot wasn’t very interesting, the reveals didn't shock me, the writing was mediocre, and the god-damned narrator really needs to brush up his scouse accent. 

The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson
Did not finish book. Stopped at 37%.

When I started reading this, I was ready to have a good time. The premise was interesting, and the first 80 or so pages were really intriguing. However, after the story settled, and I got past those first 80 pages, everything started to feel really flat. 

Apart from the main character, the characters were never fleshed out enough to feel real, so I couldn’t connect to them. This also made it doubly bad when we were introduced to a different version of the characters, as I was never quite sure where the differences lay apart from ‘good’ or ‘evil’. 

There are so many characters we’re meant to be terrified of, but as the reader we never see them do anything. We’re just told what they do second hand, so I never felt an impact when the mc was going through apparent emotional torture from their past actions. 

There’s also a huge amount of world building we are never given. In some books this would be fine, but as this one focusses so much on the mechanics of jumping, when essential information isn’t given to us it is so much more obvious. Like how could a full-on emergency bunker be made by the World Zero people on another Earth without anyone ever noticing?? Instead of being given the info we need, there's just pages and pages of detail about completely unnecessary things that don’t impact the story at all. 

The writing style is also very much all about telling, rather than showing. And the writing feels really disjointed in a lot of places – paragraphs, sentences, and sometimes even whole scenes don’t run on from each other, and it reads like chunks of the book were removed. I don’t believe this was the author’s intention, I think it’s just a badly edited book. 

Also, as I read on, the mc became more and more annoying. She makes almost exclusively awful decisions, and I couldn’t find any motivation to root for her. 

All in all, I don’t care enough to continue reading, and especially not enough to have to read my deadname every other page. 

Great premise, mediocre execution. 

Lacuna by N.R. Walker
Did not finish book. Stopped at 4%.

The writing is too poor for me to continue this book. Walker is predominantly a romance author, and this reads like romance writing. I don't mind this kind of clunky/awkward writing in romances, but in fantasy where worldbuilding, description etc. is so important, it doesn't work. 

At first I thought that I was just being dumb when I kept having to read the same sentence over and over. Nope. It's the writing.

Also, I don't love that the author is a woman who seems to write exclusively gay male romances...

My Evil Mother by Margaret Atwood

fast-paced

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

3.75

I enjoyed this creepy little story until the ending. I understood why Atwood wrote it that way, but I didn't like the idea or how it was done. 

The Red Room by Nicci French

dark mysterious tense 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? Yes

4.5

First of all, the audio narration for this was fab! Completely lost myself in it, and for a single narrator Rawson did brilliantly at distinguishing the characters. 

This was a really good Nicci French, I found it very well-rounded. There was an interesting mystery, with some gruesome and nervy scenes, plus a really nice slice of life story. 

I was on edge so much of the time reading it – like when a chapter ended with Kit going to sleep at Will’s house, and I thought she was going to wake up locked in a basement or something. 

The reveals were also really satisfying. I got some bits before Kit did, but others were a complete surprise (though they still made sense in the context of the novel and felt realistic). 

I also really liked Julie and Kit’s friendship. They complemented each other in lovely ways, and pushed each other’s boundaries in a healthy way (for the most part). 

One note to end my review on – if you’re trying to quite smoking, don’t read this book. 

Six Scorched Roses by Carissa Broadbent

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

4.5

There is something about Broadbent’s writing that is just so much better than almost all romantasy I’ve read. She doesn’t fall into bog-standard tropes, and in most cases subverts them in an original or interesting way. If all romantasy was this good I’d be reading it all the time. 

I really liked that Lilith was a 30-year-old woman with her own life (science), not just a little naïve girl who needed saving by a big, strong man. I also really liked that she was sexually experienced before meeting Vale. Their first time wasn’t her first time - it was just two experienced, sex positive adults enjoying one another. 

Had some pretty nice autism rep too. 

Life and Limb: A True Story of Tragedy and Survival by Jamie Andrew

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

Fuck me, Andrew’s story is awe inspiring, and his writing talent is obscene! 

I was in absolute pieces and weeping for most of part one, yet I couldn't put it down. What a talent and what a strong man. I was completely drawn into the story, and felt like I was there with them on that mountain.

The rest of the book is a beautiful and authentic feeling account of Andrew figuring out his new existence, and getting his life back. It’s told so honestly, tenderly, and at times hilariously. 

What an awesome man and fantastic writer. 

Falling Down by Guillermo del Toro, Chuck Hogan

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

1.0

I don’t know what I was expecting with this, but it was shit. Why the fuck would you release single chapters as separate books?? Makes no sense in this day and age or in this format. 

This ‘book’ is so weird that if it didn’t make fun of a covid conspiracy theorist, I’d be certain it was written by a right wing, red pill loser. Or maybe it was… 

The injuries from the crash make absolutely no sense. Only two people die on impact, and only 1 of the reaming 6 have any significant injuries? Nonsensical. 

It has laughable ideas about wolves. Wolves do not attack humans, especially a group of humans, and wolf packs don’t have alphas! That was debunked years go! 

Also “Moving leftward”, “a rightward twist” – what the fuck is that? Who says directions like that? 

Oh, and of course there could never be any women in the team. They couldn’t possibly do whatever machoistic ‘job’ they men are meant to be doing. 

I think the fact that there are so many issues in 30 pages of this shows it’s a pointless pile of crap. 

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

emotional fast-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

4.0

A very solid book. 

Once again, I am amazed by Reid’s ability to create in a few paragraphs what many authors would only manage in a whole book. In just a few sentences, I already knew the essence of each character, or could completely immerse myself in the setting she’d described. She pinpoints such small but very telling details, and weaves them together to create a fully rounded inner world. 

Unfortunately, I did not love one of the main settings of this book – the party. This was especially the case after midnight hit, as the main focus was on the party itself, and there were no longer any flashbacks or compelling backstories included. It was just rich people being twats and snogging, which did start to get a little old. 

However, once the Rivas got down to the beach towards the end, it picked back up and I did enjoy the ending.  

Another Fine Myth by Robert Lynn Asprin

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.5

I’m so happy this series was recommended to me. I love Pratchett’s Discworld, and this book has a lot of the stuff I love in there, but is different enough for it to be enjoyable (not to mention it was written before Discworld?!). 

One of the things I enjoyed the most was Skeeve and Aahz’s dynamic. Skeeve is an apprentice who we can see is clever, sharp, and witty from the writing itself, not just by being told it. Apprentices in so many fantasies tend to be weak and/or verging on stupid at the beginning of books, so it’s nice to see Skeeve fighting back against Aahz right from the start. 

And it was just so funny! Some of the quotes at the beginning of the chapters completely took me OUT. 

Definitely a series I’ll be continuing.