skudiklier's reviews
558 reviews

Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots

adventurous dark 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

5.0

Okay wow, this was great. Super engaging and fascinating--I couldn't stop thinking about it. I told my partner all about it, and I can't wait for the sequel. Even with how wild everything is, the characters feel so grounded and complicated. And I'm not one for violence and gore, so I'm really glad I read this as a book rather than seeing it on TV or something, but even that felt worth it in context. I'd definitely recommend this to anyone interested in the premise.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Violence, Murder, and Gore

American Primitive by Mary Oliver

inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

Good god that was incredible. Mary Oliver is truly one of the best poets of all time. I feel so lucky to read her work.

Some notes I took while reading:

i need to reread this one day and take more time with it. i need to read a mary oliver poem every morning while watching the sunrise

nothing fills me with life like mary oliver poetry. with appreciation and wonder and energy and awe. with the motivation to spend my time wisely and to do whatever makes me feel alive

god any time mary oliver says "listen" i sit the FUCK down and listen!!!!! 

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk

dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

I'm not sure what to say about this book. It took me a while to get through. I didn't actively dislike it but I didn't really like it either. I took a lot of notes for my book club, and it had lots of things to discuss, but I also was never super engaged. I don't think I would have DNFed it if I hadn't been reading it for a book club, but I might have.

The plot twist at the end was very predictable but also still interesting. The writing was good and there were definitely things I liked about it. Idk. I just feel mostly neutral about the book I guess. 

A Nobleman's Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel by KJ Charles

adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.75

I loved this, both as its own book and as a sequel!! I wasn't expecting a lot of that but I love where it went. Definitely recommend it to fans of the first book, regardless of if you're more interested in the mystery or the romance, as this has a lot of both.

The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan

4.75

Wow this whole book felt like the end of a book. Wild.

I'm honestly writing this review weeks after finishing it so I don't have a lot to say. I'm glad I reread the series. It held up but I do think it's definitely written for kids. The books are better than the show (or the movie but that's a given). I love the things that make this ending different from the Harry Potter ending (iykyk). I'm looking forward to reading the other spinoffs and such soon. 

Class: A Memoir of Motherhood, Hunger, and Higher Education by Stephanie Land

challenging inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.5

I read this based on Hank Green's recommendation and definitely liked it. It was an interesting perspective and I appreciated being able to hear it. I didn't read Land's first book so finding out at the end that this was a sequel of sorts was interesting. I feel like it holds up 100% as a standalone book. I don't think I'll read her other one but I think this was written well and I was engaged the whole time.

Nick and Charlie by Alice Oseman

emotional funny reflective fast-paced

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

4.75

This was very cute! It's been a bit since I read Heartstopper so I'm a little confused tbh on where this fits into the story, but that didn't hinder my reading or anything. It just made me wonder at how big of a deal this was and the fact that it's not in the comics. But other than that I loved this. (Also commuuunniiiccattee but they're teenagers so they get a pass haha. Oh and double also, as someone who's now married to the first person they ever dated, who they met in high school, who then moved across the world and had to be long distance for a while still as teenagers, this was extra relatable. I love how they're handling it.)

Not the End of the World: How We Can Be the First Generation to Build a Sustainable Planet by Hannah Ritchie

hopeful informative inspiring medium-paced

5.0

I want everyone feeling climate anxiety to read this book. It helped so much. It felt so real in that it didn't shy away from the bad things or minimize the problems, but instead pointed in the direction we should be worrying/thinking about, so we can focus on solutions instead of give into despair. I love this book and the way it was written and I'm going to recommend it any chance I get.

Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan

emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

Not gonna lie this was pretty dumb. I was really trying to give it the benefit of the doubt because Vanessa Zoltan recommended it and her recs have never disappointed me before, but I guess there's a first time for everything.

Leo was just....an asshole? Like, I don't understand why he's a dick in the beginning and then is supposedly great later and no explanation is given for why he's a dick. Like yes he's grieving but it never even seems to imply that he ever apologizes for how he treated Nora in the beginning, or acknowledged that he was treating her badly. Idk. He wasn't terrible the rest of the book but I just couldn't get past how he acted in the beginning. Like. Why would Nora even like him??? They just fall in love so suddenly. 

And then the breakup.........no spoilers but god. Sorry this just felt like a Hallmark movie in all the worst ways (which is funny given she writes Hallmark movies).

I still was engaged with it and wanted to know what happened, which is why I read it so quickly. But idk man. I just didn't like it. I expect more from romance.

The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren
Did not finish book. Stopped at 9%.

I was prepared to accept an explanation for why the guy was being rude to her, but his best man toast completely turned me off. Even if he's not a dick in the way she thinks, he's still a dick in a way I don't want to read about. I looked at some reviews to make sure I wasn't DNFing too early, but yeah. This feels very gross basic straight people culture romance to me and I have zero interest in continuing it, regardless of how good the rest of it might be.