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slimy's reviews
186 reviews
It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
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? It's complicated
3.75
Cute, light-hearted, and simple. Really wasn't a fan of the MC at first, but she comes around.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Medical content, and Death of parent
Teaching My Mother How to Give Birth by Warsan Shire
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
2.0
House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
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? Yes
4.0
I’ve read everything Sarah J Maas has published (aside from the second in this series) —this is her best book yet. I compare her writing style to that of TOG, and am blown away by how adult and mature this storyline is. I love that this is a mystery, thriller, romance, and political conspiracy book all in one. Her most genuine and loveable characters yet. Everything is so neatly wrapped in the story. Two major plot twists I literally didn’t even see coming.
** does contain sexually explicit scenes — I would not call this YA.
** does contain sexually explicit scenes — I would not call this YA.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Murder, Abandonment, War, and Classism
God Speaks Through Wombs: Poems on God's Unexpected Coming by Drew Jackson
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
Jackson has a fabulous, multifaceted voice and writes from a lot of perspectives in this collection. Really really beautiful. I recommend reading in tandem with the selected scripture listed before the poem.
Fleabag: The Scriptures by Phoebe Waller-Bridge
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
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? Yes
5.0
Transformative. I was captivated by the series, and reading the script only gave more depth and nuance to the characters I already cry over. Seriously.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Eating disorder, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Car accident, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
Nausea by Jean-Paul Sartre
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Yes, it is a pretentious story of a man who thinks he is the only existentialist alive, but it is the very best of French existentialism. This book is written in the form of journal entries from our deeply narcissistic and pathetic main character as he encounters and begins to see truth through spells of “nausea”, which are described kinda like an acid trip. In his writing, Sartrè makes us simultaneously hate and see truth in our main character.
Very depressing and dull in places. There’s like a 5 pages section where the main character just describes the lives of people in portraits he’s currently viewing. A few other sections too that just don’t contribute to the story. But there are also lines and scenes and relationships that speak to the very common core of human existence.
Overall, there aren’t themes of sexism/racism that interact with the story in a overt way, but the main character does use terms that were historically not considered offensive but today would be unacceptable. The development of Anny, the main character’s ex-partner, whom he idolizes and fantasizes for most of the book, is resolved in the end in a way I found quite satisfying. He hasn’t seen her in a while, and when they meet again in the end, she is an entirely different person than he has expected. She has lived a life, hasn’t kept herself the same for him, and doesn’t give in to his ideas about her. Go Anny.
It’s less than 200 pages, but it took me over a month to read. Dense for sure. Not always what you’re in the mood to pick up.
Very depressing and dull in places. There’s like a 5 pages section where the main character just describes the lives of people in portraits he’s currently viewing. A few other sections too that just don’t contribute to the story. But there are also lines and scenes and relationships that speak to the very common core of human existence.
Overall, there aren’t themes of sexism/racism that interact with the story in a overt way, but the main character does use terms that were historically not considered offensive but today would be unacceptable. The development of Anny, the main character’s ex-partner, whom he idolizes and fantasizes for most of the book, is resolved in the end in a way I found quite satisfying. He hasn’t seen her in a while, and when they meet again in the end, she is an entirely different person than he has expected. She has lived a life, hasn’t kept herself the same for him, and doesn’t give in to his ideas about her. Go Anny.
It’s less than 200 pages, but it took me over a month to read. Dense for sure. Not always what you’re in the mood to pick up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual harassment
A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
4.5
We Free the Stars by Hafsah Faizal
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
A slightly disappointing sequel. I enjoyed the further character development, but honestly the plot was so poorly paced it was hard to get through the midsection of the book. The plot is also very confusing… I’m not positive I can tell you exactly why things happen the way they do.
We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
tense
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? It's complicated
4.0
Extremely creative world building, great characters, and an exciting adventure!!
I wish there were more explanations for the aspects of this story surrounding the culture/language early on because the first few chapters are a steep learning curve. But you can infer most of them.
Plot Twists: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
Writing: 3/5 - pretty solid YA
I wish there were more explanations for the aspects of this story surrounding the culture/language early on because the first few chapters are a steep learning curve. But you can infer most of them.
Plot Twists: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
Writing: 3/5 - pretty solid YA
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Truth of the Divine by Lindsay Ellis
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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
A wildly different book in both tone and purpose from the first of this series. Truly they feel like night and day. Raises some of the same types of questions as the first in regards to humanity and our place in the universe. In honesty, I much preferred the first book. This second lacks a lot of the witty humor that made the first approachable while still feeling like a true sci-fi novel. It does however carry the extremely well-researched and thoughtful construction of worlds, both ours (as in America, 2008) and alien.
We get a second perspective in this book with the addition of Kaveh, who begins helping our main character Cora.
Kaveh's perspective is hideous and nauseating. He’s often lusting after Cora in strange and uncomfortable language, fully acknowledging the inappropriate nature of his relationship with her and deciding to continue taking sexual and manipulative advantage of her anyway. He enjoys increasing her dependency on him. He does not take her mental illness seriously, and actually uses it to push for sex. I read one scene in particular as straight up rape. I could not empathize with his character after that point, and am not sure why exactly the choice to make him do that was made. That is really the only glaring issue I had with this book, but it is a huge deal.
We get a second perspective in this book with the addition of Kaveh, who begins helping our main character Cora.
Kaveh's perspective is hideous and nauseating. He’s often lusting after Cora in strange and uncomfortable language, fully acknowledging the inappropriate nature of his relationship with her and deciding to continue taking sexual and manipulative advantage of her anyway. He enjoys increasing her dependency on him. He does not take her mental illness seriously, and actually uses it to push for sex. I read one scene in particular as straight up rape. I could not empathize with his character after that point, and am not sure why exactly the choice to make him do that was made. That is really the only glaring issue I had with this book, but it is a huge deal.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, and Gaslighting