seyoban's reviews
245 reviews

Out by Natsuo Kirino

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri

dark emotional sad 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? It's complicated

4.5

Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder

challenging dark medium-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

2.75

I wanted to like this book so much more than I did!! A weird and interesting concept but it got so repetitive and it really lost me at the end.

I’m not quite sure why the ending involved Nightbitch and Jen living out a capitalist dream when that goes against a big theme of the book.

I wish this had been condensed down by like 100 pages to cut out a lot of the fluff. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

It took me a couple of chapters to adjust to Eleanor and her narration but once I did, I loved her so much. I spent the best part of the book wanting to give her a cuddle. She felt so real and the way trauma and mental health was written about was fantastic. My main gripe is that

the counselling process goes a lot more smoothly and quickly than you’d typically expect for someone living with such trauma and so her recovery felt much more unrealistic than the rest of the book. I get the feeling that this was done to provide a more uplifting tone for the final 20% of the book which to be fair, came as a bit of a relief after the climax. 

I loved that as Eleanor developed as a character, the narration style itself changed - it made me feel so immersed in her thoughts and perspective.

Loved the Jane Eyre references. One of the few books that has ever made me properly laugh out loud. Could have done without some of the ‘not like the other girls’ things that Raymond would say. 

Not always an easy read because of the subject matter, but I’m so glad I got round to reading this!

Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes

adventurous dark emotional 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

4.0

I don’t think this book is appreciated enough for its humour. I literally laughed out loud at some of the conversations and petty arguments between the gods, and the constant mockery of Perseus by the narrator was hilarious. 

I can imagine this being a confusing book for anyone not already familiar with some of the main gods and stories within Greek mythology, it definitely helps to have some background knowledge as Haynes doesn’t do much hand-holding. I really enjoyed it though, and was genuinely moved by the empathetic perspective towards the Graiai and Gorgons. 

The Book of Eve by Meg Clothier

challenging dark reflective 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

2.75

I found myself being very confused during the first half of this book about what was actually going on and I thought it was my reading comprehension but I’m happy to read that others felt the same. The prose felt needlessly complicated at times which makes sense in the first-person narrative of a character who prides herself on her intelligence, but it really felt like a chore to get through at times. There was a point a little later in the book where Beatrice just comes out directly and states

that the book helps women who are under threat

and it was like a lightbulb moment where I finally got a sense of what was going on - I could have done with more of that directness.

I enjoyed the core characters and personalities but again some editing could have helped. There were lots of nuns who were named without much scope for allowing us to get to know them, so some of the names became interchangeable. I enjoyed Beatrice’s character progression and how her story ended. 

Despite the slow and confusing start, the last 100ish pages were so much better and I wish the whole book had the tone/pacing of them. 

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

3.0

I’m happy with how many questions were answered in the final book of the trilogy, though I do wish some of it had been spread through the previous two books to reduce some of the confusion and mystery around magic/orogeny. I didn’t like this one as much as the previous two as I found it a bit slower and I had some petty complaints, namely: Nassun is NOT written like a 10 year old and the whole desert struggle didn’t have to happen when Hoa could have transported people. 

The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin

dark tense medium-paced

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

3.75

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

adventurous challenging tense 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

4.5