skudiklier's reviews
600 reviews

Women's Hotel by Daniel M. Lavery

funny lighthearted reflective slow-paced

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

4.5

I've been a fan of Daniel Lavery's for years and was really excited about this book! My experience reading it was weird because I put it off for a long time due to other life stuff, and so by the time I started it I was stressed about finishing it in time. I ended up switching to the audiobook really early on mostly due to the time constraint (and the several Netgalley books I needed to read in a short time period lmao). I do think that was a good choice for me because while the book is good and very interesting, I think I would have gotten a little bored with reading it not in audiobook form. I would have struggled to keep up momentum I think. That said, I think the book is really funny, entertaining, and well-written. I love Lavery's voice and style of writing and I'd definitely read another similar book by him.

Thank you to Netgalley and HarperVia for the chance to read and review this ARC.

Show Don't Tell by Curtis Sittenfeld

funny lighthearted reflective 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

5.0

I love Curtis Sittenfeld's writing so much that it's hard to explain. I'm not big on short stories, and usually reading a collection of them is hard for me, because they don't keep me as engaged and the momentum keeps being killed by each one ending as soon as I'm getting into it. But I read this in two sittings and basically couldn't put it down. Sittenfeld just writes in this way that's perfect for my brain, and even when starting a new story and having no idea what it's about, I know it'll take maximum two pages before I'm hooked.

Also, I can't believe I didn't realize there was a follow-up story about Lee Fiora in here!!! As someone who had an unhealthy obsession with Prep as a teenager, it was really exciting to get to see more of that world. I was worried the story might be disappointing or depressing, with all my personal high expectations for it specifically, but I loved it.

I don't even know what else to say. Reading anything by Curtis Sittenfeld makes me want to reread everything else I've read by her. I love the way she writes women who are often morally grey, overly direct, and very observational. I love the way she writes every little interaction in such detail, with all the miniscule ways people signal things to each other. I love how matter-of-factly she writes about sex. I love how she makes everyday things feel as thrilling and important as they are to the people they involve.

I think when I was in high school, Prep was really foundational to the way I learned about the world, and about myself, and about the different ways people could exist and be teenagers (as silly as that might sound). And now, in a way, these short stories are giving me a lot to think about regarding middle age, marriage, parenting--things like that. Not in as intense a way of course, and I know now more what is bad about a lot of the relationships in this book (as opposed to teenage me not realizing some of the ways people treated each other badly in Prep). But still, it's there. I'm glad I got to read this book, both in general, and because it was a really good distraction from the world these last couple days. I definitely want to own a copy once it comes out.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for the chance to read and review this ARC. 

I'll Cry If I Want To: Poems by Raquel Franco

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

This is a beautiful collection that has so much to say on motherhood, love, grief, femininity, and so much more. I loved getting to read it!

I had so many favorite poems, but the line I can't get out of my head is "You can have summer, the season most likely to keep its word."

Thank you to Netgalley and Central Avenue Publishing for the chance to read and review this ARC. 

I Do (I Think): Conversations About Modern Marriage by Allison Raskin

informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

I think this book is a great read for anyone married, considering marriage, or even just curious about marriage as an institution and its place in today's society. It also has a lot of relationship advice that can be helpful regardless of if you ever plan on getting married. I think Allison Raskin is great at balancing evidence and anecdotes to make this book an easy and informative read. I learned a lot that I'm going to think about with regard to my own marriage and I'm glad I could read this. (Also random but I thought it was very fun that this book came out on my second wedding anniversary. Low-key made for me.)

Thank you to Netgalley and Hanover Square Press for the chance to read and review this ARC. 

The Hymn to Dionysus by Natasha Pulley

adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I loved this book so much that I knew I had to wait at least a day before writing my review. Oh my god, this was so good. 

I have a one-line pitch for it that immediately sold my sister so much that I preordered a copy for her birthday even though it doesn't come out until March, but it's a bit spoilery about the ending, so I'll put that at the end. But basically if you love books like Madeline Miller's or Greek mythology in general, and you love queerness and hope while still not feeling like a lighthearted fairy tale, this is the perfect book for you. I was so drawn in to the characters and their world, while also being so stressed the whole time about how it would end. I loved the way it was written, and the themes, and the things you come back to, and the resolution we get for all the questions and mysteries. Genuinely dare I say a perfect book??? Idk. I just know I'm going to be recommending it to everyone I can.

What I told my sister is that it has some Orpheus and Eurydice/Achilles and Patroclus vibes while also having a happier ending. Like, it's not just a HEA type thing, but the ending was much happier than I expected given how these sorts of stories usually go (and given how it wasn't marketed as a romance, at least not by the time I read it). Like, if The Song of Achilles and/or Hadestown broke your heart, this will put it back together again, just a little.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for the chance to read and review this ARC!

Train River Poetry: Spring 2021 by Train River

5.0

What If I Never Get Over You by Paige Toon

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad

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

4.75

I loved Only Love Could Hurt Like This, and was excited to read Paige Toon's next book because of it. In hindsight, I should have known that this book would be distressing, since the other one was so devastating, but somehow I still wasn't ready. 

I devoured this book in about 24 hours. I couldn't do anything but read it. Toon is somehow able to make these concepts and characters feel so real and reasonable, and evade a lot of the more annoying common aspects of romances. Even if I was frustrated with a character, their actions and thought processes felt true to life. I was really rooting for them and I was so stressed even while knowing I'd get an HEA in the end.

Thank you to Netgalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for the chance to read and review this ARC. 

We Could Be Rats by Emily Austin

dark emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

This book was super interesting and engaging. I love Emily Austin's writing style and how her books are so deeply in her characters' heads. I relate so much to the way they think and act even if I don't relate to exactly what they're going through.

This book had twists I didn't expect that kept it fascinating the whole way through. I also am convinced Sigrid is autistic lmao. 

If you like Emily Austin's other books then absolutely read this!!! I think I like the other two better but this was still 100% a five star read for me. I want to read everything she ever writes forever.

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for the chance to read and review this ARC. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Rape

Making Cocoa for Kingsley Amis by Wendy Cope

funny lighthearted reflective fast-paced

4.0

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

adventurous mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0