sophiesmallhands's reviews
610 reviews

The Feeling of Falling in Love by Mason Deaver

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted fast-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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Transphobia

Minor: Cursing, Alcohol, Dysphoria, Deadnaming, Homophobia, Sexual content, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

The Dawnhounds by Sascha Stronach

adventurous emotional mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Gun violence, Death, Police brutality, and Body horror

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Classism, Sexual content, Vomit, Sexism, Lesbophobia, Blood, and Misogyny

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Outing, War, Alcohol, Addiction, Forced institutionalization, Drug use, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Pregnancy, and Grief

The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Death, Abortion, Blood, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Transphobia, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual assault, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Gore, Medical content, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Rape, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual violence

Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood

emotional funny lighthearted 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Chronic illness

Minor: Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Death of parent, Medical content, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, and Emotional abuse

The Atlas Complex by Olivie Blake

adventurous emotional mysterious 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Murder, Death, and Gun violence

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Racism, and Violence

Minor: Sexual content, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Alcohol, Child death, Classism, Colonisation, Misogyny, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Barbarian Alien by Ruby Dixon

emotional lighthearted 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Kidnapping

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Violence, Pregnancy, and Toxic relationship

The Crimson Fortress by Akshaya Raman

adventurous emotional mysterious 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Murder, Violence, Blood, and Death of parent

Minor: Classism, Vomit, War, and Emotional abuse

Killing Gravity by Corey J. White

adventurous dark emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Cursing, Blood, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

Moderate: Trafficking, Animal death, and Drug use

Minor: Emotional abuse and Kidnapping

City of Nightmares by Rebecca Schaeffer

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Death of parent, and Blood

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Police brutality, and Trafficking

Minor: Gaslighting, Child death, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, and Vomit

You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective 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

 

I’d heard great things about Akwaeke Emezi’s writing but mainly about their YA novels Pet and the companion novella Bitter. Since I downloaded Libby *angel choir noise* I was disappointed to not find the audiobook version of Pet on there but You Made a Fool came up instead. After briefly scanning the blurb, I decided to jump in. And oh, what a gloriously realised world Akwaeke has made. 

 

The rub is that our artist MC, Feyi, is dipping her toes back into the dating scene after the death of her husband five years prior with the help of Joy, her chaotic, lesbian friend. After a brief but ends-as-friends- situationship with a man called Milan, Feyi begins a let’s-be-friends-first relationship with Nasir, one of Milan’s friends. Nasir, who comes from a VERY well-connected family, presents Feyi an opportunity to be a part of an exhibition of Black Diaspora artists. Fast-forward to Nasir taking Feyi to his gorgeous tropical family home (I’m not a visual reader, but I could SEE this house from Akwaeke’s descriptions!!) and to also meet Nasir’s equal parts rich and reclusive celebrity chef. 

 

It sounds like the start to a very light-hearted tropical holiday romance, right? WRONG. 

 

Nasir’s father, Alim, is like Feyi – a lonely widower – and Feyi experiences an immediate attraction to Alim that she tries to stifle and explain away as it existing because Alim is “unattainable” and, while she is technically not in a romantic relationship with Nasir, would be frowned upon. 

 

I won’t spoil too much, but the story touches very deeply into the ways grief can change your soul and provide a bond between people – both romantic and platonic. The building relationship between Alim and Feyi (who are both bisexual!) is never presented as a titillating trope, but rather as two deeply injured humans navigating their trauma and grief and deciding to choose love as a way to move through life. There’s so much narrative freedom to Feyi – the story focuses so much Feyi allowing herself to be who she needs to be and without compromising her ideals or happiness. 

 

The story gets quite intense around the time Alim’s children find out about this burgeoning romance (I had to turn my audio off at one point on the way home from work because it was stressful to listen to at that time), and the story could easily fall apart with various miscommunications but instead Akwaeke carries us safely to the story’s end. I could wax poetic about this book, but also! Joy being an incredible friend throughout this story? Feyi and Alim both being adults who actively go to therapy? All amazing to see in a contemporary romance novel.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Sexual content

Moderate: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Car accident

Minor: Biphobia, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, and Suicidal thoughts