thebakersbooks's reviews
286 reviews

The Vampire of Kings Street by Asha Greyling

2.0

Would have rated this much higher if there weren't a character with dwarfism who walks with a limp and is named 'Hitch' who is also once referred to as 'the dwarf.' Something ableist happens or is said anytime he's on-page, including the MC literally picking him up to put him on a chair he presumably uses every day. Disabled people aren't helpless! We find ways to adapt our surroundings to our needs. wtf.

The Bone Orchard by Sara A. Mueller

2.0

I can't say I'd ever experienced slow-burn fatphobia in a book before, but now I have! Idk, if I wrote a cool world and innovative magic system with a fairly unique premise, I simply...wouldn't ruin it by having the described-as-curvy (the only curvy woman in a society where everyone else is tall and thin and being that way is fashionable/desireable, as noted in chapter ONE, mind you) MC think about the largeness and abnormality of her body all the time. Do thin people (like the author) think that's how fat people live? I promise, we don't all constantly think about our bodies. We don't all have internalized fatphobia, either. And the punchline was "fat" finally getting used twice as an insult against the MC near the end by a main antagonist, very much with triumph, like the author had just been waiting to do it and had restrained herself the whole book to that point. 

The above might not register if you're a straight-sized person, so make your own call about reading this book. There's lots of well-written shit and you might love it. I just don't think the author had to punch down and worse, I doubt she even realizes she did it. Fellow fat folks, read at your own risk because I clocked that shit from EARLY and was unsurprised to google the author when I was 75% through the book and find out she was skinny.

Mating in Captivity: Reconciling the Erotic and the Domestic by Esther Perel
Did not finish book.

useless for anyone other than a straight cis person, assumes every person/couple has sex as a priority, can't un-recommend highly enough

A Haunting in the Arctic by C.J. Cooke

dark mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Locklands by Robert Jackson Bennett

5.0

Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhhà Lại

emotional reflective fast-paced

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

4.0

The Hysterical Girls of St. Bernadette's by Hanna Alkaf

emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I wanted one more chapter at the end, but otherwise this was very satisfying to read. Would recommend (with a content note for themes relating to CSA and emotional abuse of a child).

The Night of Baba Yaga by Akira Otani

adventurous emotional tense fast-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

4.0

The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas

adventurous mysterious tense slow-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

All the Dead Lie Down by Kyrie McCauley

emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5