Scan barcode
theoddduckling's reviews
53 reviews
Tethered by Elayna R. Gallea
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston
emotional
hopeful
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? No
4.0
Women and Monarchy in Macedonia by Elizabeth Donnelly Carney
challenging
informative
medium-paced
4.0
Mister Magic by Kiersten White
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Mors vincit omnia.
Sixteen-year-old Silas Bell knows there are only two things about him that matters: the girl he looks like on the outside and his violet eyes. His violet eyes mean he can talk to the dead. That the world sees him as a woman means he'll be forced to marry one of the Royal Speakers before his seventeenth birthday.
Even after decades of tutors teaching him to how to walk and talk like every other proper young lady, how not to fidget, not to flap his hands, to sit quietly and endure the noise, the lights, the uncomfortable clothes - things that everyone else seems to handle just fine - Silas knows any marriage he would find himself in would be nothing short of torture.
So, he concocts an escape plan: dress like boy, get an official Speaker's seal and set up a surgery practice far from London. It's risky, if he gets caught, it's a death sentence. But when his escape attempt goes horribly wrong, instead he is diagnosed with a mysterious illness called Veil Sickness and sent to Braxton's Sanitorium and Finishing School.
All is not as it seems at Braxton's. Girls leave and are never heard from again and spirits are breaking through into the real world. Silas must solve the mystery of what's happening before consequences more dire than an unhappy marriage come crashing down.
The Spirits Bares Its Teeth is a biting commentary on patriarchy and the harm it inflicts on women, the insidious nature of both current and Victorian medical practices, and the cruel treatment of trans people, both historically and today. Unflinching and brutal, Andrew Joseph White does not shy away from the gruesome details of life as a trans man in Victorian London, of a woman labeled "crazy", or the barbaric surgery practices of the day.
This book is a fast-paced, dark, gut-wrenching roller coaster ride. It reaches inside, grabs you by the heart and doesn't let go.
Sixteen-year-old Silas Bell knows there are only two things about him that matters: the girl he looks like on the outside and his violet eyes. His violet eyes mean he can talk to the dead. That the world sees him as a woman means he'll be forced to marry one of the Royal Speakers before his seventeenth birthday.
Even after decades of tutors teaching him to how to walk and talk like every other proper young lady, how not to fidget, not to flap his hands, to sit quietly and endure the noise, the lights, the uncomfortable clothes - things that everyone else seems to handle just fine - Silas knows any marriage he would find himself in would be nothing short of torture.
So, he concocts an escape plan: dress like boy, get an official Speaker's seal and set up a surgery practice far from London. It's risky, if he gets caught, it's a death sentence. But when his escape attempt goes horribly wrong, instead he is diagnosed with a mysterious illness called Veil Sickness and sent to Braxton's Sanitorium and Finishing School.
All is not as it seems at Braxton's. Girls leave and are never heard from again and spirits are breaking through into the real world. Silas must solve the mystery of what's happening before consequences more dire than an unhappy marriage come crashing down.
The Spirits Bares Its Teeth is a biting commentary on patriarchy and the harm it inflicts on women, the insidious nature of both current and Victorian medical practices, and the cruel treatment of trans people, both historically and today. Unflinching and brutal, Andrew Joseph White does not shy away from the gruesome details of life as a trans man in Victorian London, of a woman labeled "crazy", or the barbaric surgery practices of the day.
This book is a fast-paced, dark, gut-wrenching roller coaster ride. It reaches inside, grabs you by the heart and doesn't let go.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming, Gore, Misogyny, Transphobia, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Body horror, Physical abuse, and Sexual violence
Minor: Miscarriage and Pregnancy
Mortal Follies by Alexis Hall
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Full of quipy lines, plenty of Shakespearean flourishes, and Regency drama, Mortal Follies tells the story of one young woman’s quest to know herself, find love, and survive the marriage mart.
None of these things go the way Miss Mitchelmore plans and when she finds herself the target of a curse, survival becomes a much more literal problem than she anticipated. But the cynical and mysterious (and mockingly named) Duke of Anadale, Lady Georgiana, steps in the save the day more than once. And this the two women find themselves thrown together on an adventure that will test them both to their limits.
The story, told through the framing device of a mischievous sprite recently exiled from Oberon’s court, starts as a fun period romance romp, but takes a turn for the serious that the narrator’s tone does not reflect. The narrator’s tone remains flippant and wry even as the events get darker and far more serious. This made it difficult to feel as though there were any real stakes for the characters and no real weight to the plot. Event at the end of the book rush to a conclusion that could have benefited from a few more pages to build tension and make the main characters struggle.
All in all, I found the tone of the book mismatched to the events, making for a discordant read.
However, this book begs to be performed. I truly think it would be better served as an audiobook book at least, if not a stage show. The narrator’s voice was funny, cutting and a bit Shakespearean. Performing this as a play would lend a separation between the narrator and the main characters in a way that would serve this story well and make it something spectacular.
None of these things go the way Miss Mitchelmore plans and when she finds herself the target of a curse, survival becomes a much more literal problem than she anticipated. But the cynical and mysterious (and mockingly named) Duke of Anadale, Lady Georgiana, steps in the save the day more than once. And this the two women find themselves thrown together on an adventure that will test them both to their limits.
The story, told through the framing device of a mischievous sprite recently exiled from Oberon’s court, starts as a fun period romance romp, but takes a turn for the serious that the narrator’s tone does not reflect. The narrator’s tone remains flippant and wry even as the events get darker and far more serious. This made it difficult to feel as though there were any real stakes for the characters and no real weight to the plot. Event at the end of the book rush to a conclusion that could have benefited from a few more pages to build tension and make the main characters struggle.
All in all, I found the tone of the book mismatched to the events, making for a discordant read.
However, this book begs to be performed. I truly think it would be better served as an audiobook book at least, if not a stage show. The narrator’s voice was funny, cutting and a bit Shakespearean. Performing this as a play would lend a separation between the narrator and the main characters in a way that would serve this story well and make it something spectacular.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Gaslighting
Moderate: Death and Death of parent
Minor: Slavery
We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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? No
5.0
Being queer in the 1950s isn't easy. Hard-bitten, ink-stained reporter Nick knows this better than most. But when he meets scatterbrained, haphazard, endearingly optimistic Andy, all the walls he's built to keep himself safe start to come down. The problem is, Andy is engaged to a woman, sparkling, sharp-witted Emily.
When Andy's engagement to Emily falls apart, Andy slowly begins wrestle with something he had refused to think about for most of his life: he's attracted to men. And he's attracted to Nick in particular.
As Nick and Andy's relationship evolves, they both must reckon with their pasts and learn to trust each other. Along the way, they discover that family isn't just blood, and that hiding as part of a community is always better than hiding alone.
Cat Sebastian's slice-of-life romance is lighthearted without being flippant of the very real dangers of being queer in the 1950s. Nick and Andy, and all the rest of the characters, are lovable, well-rounded and fit in with the real-life events depicted in the book. We Could Be So Good is a lovely read with plenty of opportunities for a happy cry.
When Andy's engagement to Emily falls apart, Andy slowly begins wrestle with something he had refused to think about for most of his life: he's attracted to men. And he's attracted to Nick in particular.
As Nick and Andy's relationship evolves, they both must reckon with their pasts and learn to trust each other. Along the way, they discover that family isn't just blood, and that hiding as part of a community is always better than hiding alone.
Cat Sebastian's slice-of-life romance is lighthearted without being flippant of the very real dangers of being queer in the 1950s. Nick and Andy, and all the rest of the characters, are lovable, well-rounded and fit in with the real-life events depicted in the book. We Could Be So Good is a lovely read with plenty of opportunities for a happy cry.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Homophobia, Death of parent, and Outing
This Gilded Abyss by Rebecca Thorne
adventurous
dark
emotional
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? No
4.5
As the first installment of a sprawling horror thriller series, This Gilded Abyss is a twisty, nonstop exploration of the deepest, darkest parts of love, duty and loyalty.
When Sergent Nix Marr is requested for special assignment to Kessandra Marie Vendermere Biltean III, princess, political provocateur and soldier extraordinaire, Nix is forced to face both her darkest fear and her stormy history with the other woman.
But this special assignment is more than Nix bargained for. Trapped with Kessandra on a three day voyage, Nix learns that politics can be just as dangerous as a battlefield and that there are some threats that even she cannot overcome by force.
When passengers start turning up dead with gruesome injuries, Nix must decide where her loyalties lie, an increasingly difficult task, as she begins to question whether she trust her reality.
A definite departure from her two cozy fantasy novels, Rebecca Thorne creates a creeping sense of dread and claustrophobia in a BioShock-meets-The-Night-Agent world of glittering decadence and crushing secrets. This Gilded Abyss is a fun read that kept me up late into the night. I can't wait to read the next chapter of this story.
When Sergent Nix Marr is requested for special assignment to Kessandra Marie Vendermere Biltean III, princess, political provocateur and soldier extraordinaire, Nix is forced to face both her darkest fear and her stormy history with the other woman.
But this special assignment is more than Nix bargained for. Trapped with Kessandra on a three day voyage, Nix learns that politics can be just as dangerous as a battlefield and that there are some threats that even she cannot overcome by force.
When passengers start turning up dead with gruesome injuries, Nix must decide where her loyalties lie, an increasingly difficult task, as she begins to question whether she trust her reality.
A definite departure from her two cozy fantasy novels, Rebecca Thorne creates a creeping sense of dread and claustrophobia in a BioShock-meets-The-Night-Agent world of glittering decadence and crushing secrets. This Gilded Abyss is a fun read that kept me up late into the night. I can't wait to read the next chapter of this story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, and Blood