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vagaybond's reviews
446 reviews
Lord of Eternal Night by Ben Alderson
slow-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.25
- hot stuff!!!
- I think this is the first time I've known of the word penis specifically to be used in a smut scene. (value neutral statement.)
- dragged on a bit a lot in the beginning.
- audiobook narrator sounded kind of AI? every sentence felt like it had the same cadence and pitch progression.
- yes there's blood drinking from the butt at one point
- I do feel like the smut felt a bit sudden sorta. like I was almost waiting for it to be a wet dream scene that is woken up from in the beginning.
- not really a lot of dwelling on the emotional aspects of stuff happening in the end. which like, is fine, but it's weird that there wasn't a conversation about what happened to [redacted character].
- was a bit unclear about whether that one character was like.... scalped????? like...
- maybe most of my beefs were because I was listening at nearly 3x speed but I felt like it was necessary to get to the point, and with the narrator
- I think this is the first time I've known of the word penis specifically to be used in a smut scene. (value neutral statement.)
- dragged on a bit a lot in the beginning.
- audiobook narrator sounded kind of AI? every sentence felt like it had the same cadence and pitch progression.
- yes there's blood drinking from the butt at one point
- I do feel like the smut felt a bit sudden sorta. like I was almost waiting for it to be a wet dream scene that is woken up from in the beginning.
- not really a lot of dwelling on the emotional aspects of stuff happening in the end. which like, is fine, but it's weird that there wasn't a conversation about what happened to [redacted character].
- was a bit unclear about whether that one character was like.... scalped????? like...
- maybe most of my beefs were because I was listening at nearly 3x speed but I felt like it was necessary to get to the point, and with the narrator
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Murder
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Eating disorder, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Homophobia, Self harm, Suicide attempt
My Vampire Plus-One by Jenna Levine
funny
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Blood, Stalking
Legend of the White Snake by Sher Lee
adventurous
emotional
sad
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Terminal illness, Blood
Moderate: Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Homophobia, Torture
Sweet Nightmare by Tracy Wolff
so like. a good portion of this book is just a bunch of teenagers dying and being killed in fucked up ways (their nightmares coming true, and then a 'natural' disaster). it's an institution that calls itself a school. the pacing gets real fast once the disasters start happening. please look up the complete trigger warnings for this book because if burning alive or body horror where faces are partially missing or whatever is a bit much for you, beware. there's a few of that kind of thing.
at the same time, I feel like I didn't really get to know the characters that well. like what on earth does Jude even LIKE to do? what does Clementine LIKE about him besides just that he is Jude? they clearly are really into each other and have a lot of grief and some baggage but like bruh what else. what coping mechs does Clementine have? Jude at least retreats.
the characters are pretty 2D but the plot is pretty 4D which made me keep going.
I listened on audiobook at 2.4x speed so YMMV if you read it analog.
tense
- Diverse cast of characters? No
at the same time, I feel like I didn't really get to know the characters that well. like what on earth does Jude even LIKE to do? what does Clementine LIKE about him besides just that he is Jude? they clearly are really into each other and have a lot of grief and some baggage but like bruh what else. what coping mechs does Clementine have? Jude at least retreats.
the characters are pretty 2D but the plot is pretty 4D which made me keep going.
I listened on audiobook at 2.4x speed so YMMV if you read it analog.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Gore, Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Suicide, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Pregnancy
A significant portion of the book is constant death of children (focus is teenagers, but it is implied that children may also be included), by magical disasters with mass fatality. The protagonist among others are forcibly institutionalized at this "school" and stripped of their powers. It is unclear what the school actually teaches. It is also revealed at the end that the protagonist's aunt, who she believed was her mother, was selling violent magical creatures to people who would use them for violent acts, presumably in a war type setting.
Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender
Did not finish book.
Did not finish book.
I just found the characters really unlikeable.
This Delicious Death by Kayla Cottingham
funny
mysterious
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
trans gal love interest! however, I don't think the author knows what hormones do. there's a comment made saying that during the hollowing, Celeste grew some facial hair being without her medication. facial hair *texture* may be hormone-dependant, but it would be her being without a razor that would cause that, not HRT medication specifically. otherwise I find it to be p good rep but I am a different kind of trans than her so YMMV.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Vomit, Cannibalism
Moderate: Gore, Violence, Forced institutionalization
Minor: Deadnaming, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Toxic friendship, Alcohol
How to Age Disgracefully by Clare Pooley
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Really Cute People by Markus Harwood-Jones
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
It was groundbreaking in so many ways and so much what I needed from the book it was. I read this in less than 24 hours.
That said, I think it could have used another editing pass (maybe from someone who hadn't been part of the editing process, because I assume removing scenes makes you forget what's already been said). One of the protagonists is a trans man and is initially found out to be so because Charlie sees his top surgery scars accidentally, then it comes up again later as though it's new information and they never knew he was trans. A smaller version of this occurs with regards to the polyamory disclosure. Buffy mentions Hayden having been in a triad at some point and it doesn't really seem to be a thing that Charlie assumes is even on the table as possible until the climax of the book.
This is probably more of a personal pet peeve than anything but as a polyamorous person who has been in a triad before, I feel weird about how this was kind of seen as a couple pursuing Charlie and Charlie pursuing a couple, rather than three separate relationships within a greater whole. I wouldn't expect this depicted but usually, a couple pursuing someone is considered unethical (unicorn hunting) and there's a conversation about the fact that it's really anomalous for someone to be equally attracted to both parties in a couple in order for a triad to work out. For the most part polyamory tends to involve polycules where people have partners who don't date each other. It's not that there's a better or worse way for things to end up when they're super organic like was intended here, it's just the kind of thing that would give me red flags. That, and specifically the fact that Buffy and Hayden would regularly speak for each other with statements that would didn't even really need character distinction; "we love you too" rather than "I love you too." The characters kind of got melded together when it came to writing the actual relationships. There was acknowledgement of power dynamics and couple's privilege within a triad though, which I really appreciated.
This is all just me being hypercritical, and it's not reflective of how much I loved and enjoyed this book and how seen it made me feel. The "don't let the cops in or the cats out" sign, Just Seeds art, the magazines, etc, I felt so seen. I hope there are more books like it in the future.
Markus Harwood-Jones is also one of my favourite online trans people. Back in 2011 when I was figuring out my gender stuff, I stumbled across a youtube video of his talking about dating people of various genders. I did not know who I was until I got to see this new way of relating to gender.
It's been a long time coming and I'm so glad I lived to see a time where books like this are being published. And carried in my library!
That said, I think it could have used another editing pass (maybe from someone who hadn't been part of the editing process, because I assume removing scenes makes you forget what's already been said). One of the protagonists is a trans man and is initially found out to be so because Charlie sees his top surgery scars accidentally, then it comes up again later as though it's new information and they never knew he was trans. A smaller version of this occurs with regards to the polyamory disclosure. Buffy mentions Hayden having been in a triad at some point and it doesn't really seem to be a thing that Charlie assumes is even on the table as possible until the climax of the book.
This is probably more of a personal pet peeve than anything but as a polyamorous person who has been in a triad before, I feel weird about how this was kind of seen as a couple pursuing Charlie and Charlie pursuing a couple, rather than three separate relationships within a greater whole. I wouldn't expect this depicted but usually, a couple pursuing someone is considered unethical (unicorn hunting) and there's a conversation about the fact that it's really anomalous for someone to be equally attracted to both parties in a couple in order for a triad to work out. For the most part polyamory tends to involve polycules where people have partners who don't date each other. It's not that there's a better or worse way for things to end up when they're super organic like was intended here, it's just the kind of thing that would give me red flags. That, and specifically the fact that Buffy and Hayden would regularly speak for each other with statements that would didn't even really need character distinction; "we love you too" rather than "I love you too." The characters kind of got melded together when it came to writing the actual relationships. There was acknowledgement of power dynamics and couple's privilege within a triad though, which I really appreciated.
This is all just me being hypercritical, and it's not reflective of how much I loved and enjoyed this book and how seen it made me feel. The "don't let the cops in or the cats out" sign, Just Seeds art, the magazines, etc, I felt so seen. I hope there are more books like it in the future.
Markus Harwood-Jones is also one of my favourite online trans people. Back in 2011 when I was figuring out my gender stuff, I stumbled across a youtube video of his talking about dating people of various genders. I did not know who I was until I got to see this new way of relating to gender.
It's been a long time coming and I'm so glad I lived to see a time where books like this are being published. And carried in my library!