spinstah's reviews
1257 reviews

Shubeik Lubeik by Deena Mohamed

5.0

This was really great. I enjoyed the stories and the illustrations supported them wonderfully.  

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

funny lighthearted

4.0

This was charming. It took me a while to get into it, but once I was hooked I did not want to put it down. The narrators did a wonderful job. 

Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh

adventurous fast-paced

4.5

This was great. The main character goes on an incredible journey of personal development and

de-programming

, going from almost comically unlikeable at the start to a much more nuanced POV at the end. I also appreciated that the reader goes along with her on this journey, so my opinion of her changed over time as I learned about her world alongside her. That said this book takes on a lot of big topics and can't really explore all of them, for better or worse. If you can deal with some threads that aren't pulled, you'll be fine. 

Lessons for Survival: Mothering Against "The Apocalypse" by Emily Raboteau

slow-paced

3.75

This was slow for me, especially in the essays that are less memoir and more nonfiction. 

The Quiet Tenant by Clémence Michallon

4.0

I think the ending was a little rushed, but I suppose it's not like an

escape from a serial killer is going to be slow once you get to the part where you're actually escaping

. There is one plot element that's a little weird but I think it gives you a little bit of insight into the narrator's state of mind. 

Yellow Jessamine by Caitlin Starling

4.0

This was a novella, and I think needed to be a little bit tighter. There’s something very strange going on and I would have liked to see a little more of that before the ending. 

Unlikely Animals by Annie Hartnett

4.5

There’s maybe a little too much thrown in here, but it’s charming and the small town New England vibes were spot on. 

The Bee Sting by Paul Murray

dark tense slow-paced

4.5

I enjoyed this but it’s definitely not for everyone, even setting aside the length. While it switches POV regularly (with interesting stylistic changes for each character), it’s all very interior, so sometimes there’s not a lot actually happening. There’s also a lot to keep track of in terms of how the timelines line up, frankly there’s one key part I’m still not sure about but I decided the details didn’t really matter. I liked the ending, though given the length there really wasn’t any room to do something different there. 

Blackouts by Justin Torres

slow-paced

4.0

This was slow to start for me, but I think I just needed some time to sink into it. While there is a little bit of a plot to hold this together, it’s mostly vibes. I enjoyed the vibe. 

If you’re planning to read this, know that there  are a lot of photos and other elements of this that would be difficult to read on a kindle. 

In the Quick by Kate Hope Day

4.0

This wasn’t quite what I thought it would be based on the description, but it was still good. It’s set in a universe where space exploration isn’t super new but also isn’t super advanced, which I liked. I wish there was a little more depth to it, that we saw just a little bit more of the protagonist’s relationship to a couple of particular characters.