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vickycbooks's reviews
854 reviews
Into the Riverlands by Nghi Vo
4.0
It's been a while since I've read the first two books, but this is the first installment that I've read in ebook rather than audiobook format. I'm not sure whether this was the cause or it was the book itself, but this installment feels like it just lacks bite. It was very much travelling cleric, and missed some of the magic and wonder of the other installments. INTO THE RIVERLANDS was, in many ways, about the tiredness of storytelling (potentially because it was written in 2021). Chih and Almost Brilliant were still equally protagonists / narrators, but I do wish there was something more in INTO THE RIVERLANDS that the previous installments had.
Content Warnings
Content Warnings: death by hanging, graphic depiction of dead body, robbers/bandits, minor mentions of misogyny
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
Scarily realistic...
I definitely think YELLOWFACE is one of those books that is unputdownable and horrifyingly believable. But I don't know. In a lot ways, I think it could have been a lot better. And I know it's hard writing books etc., but something in it left me yearning for more. People unfamiliar with the industry will certainly be drawn in by its idiosyncrasies, but to me? Everything was "old news," even if was fictional and not actually news. (I can think of real life Twitter events that even perfectly fitsJune getting a sales boost because right-wing people championed her book as standing up to cancel culture...woof .)
I don't know. YELLOWFACE just didn't really scratch the itch, narrative wise. I don't disagree that what Kuang has written about the industry is realistic, but I also felt like YELLOWFACE could have been better. I felt like it was drowned in so many opinions that it took away from the meat of the story -- not the publishing commentary and meta bits, but the actual story of the terrible things June is doing. I guess I wanted it to be more thriller, more horror, but there was so much publishing drama that it just felt like I was in 2019 again.
I also feel like the actual bits about yellowface, not publishing in general, could have been stronger. I feel like Kuang tries to do something with the complexity of Athena, but ultimately, all of the nuance of the Asian characters introduced is kind of lost, mired in June's racism. The white racist perspective rendered a lot of Kuang's attempts at introducing an Asian perspective confusing and easily misconstrued. I really don't know what she was trying to say with Athena (or maybe not trying to say anything at all???), even though I fully understand the parts about Athena's character that Kuang puts forward. I think it's ultimately just really hard to tackle non-monolithic topics when you're writing from a racist perspective, but I still wish that Kuang did it better. Somehow.
I definitely think YELLOWFACE is one of those books that is unputdownable and horrifyingly believable. But I don't know. In a lot ways, I think it could have been a lot better. And I know it's hard writing books etc., but something in it left me yearning for more. People unfamiliar with the industry will certainly be drawn in by its idiosyncrasies, but to me? Everything was "old news," even if was fictional and not actually news. (I can think of real life Twitter events that even perfectly fits
I don't know. YELLOWFACE just didn't really scratch the itch, narrative wise. I don't disagree that what Kuang has written about the industry is realistic, but I also felt like YELLOWFACE could have been better. I felt like it was drowned in so many opinions that it took away from the meat of the story -- not the publishing commentary and meta bits, but the actual story of the terrible things June is doing. I guess I wanted it to be more thriller, more horror, but there was so much publishing drama that it just felt like I was in 2019 again.
I also feel like the actual bits about yellowface, not publishing in general, could have been stronger. I feel like Kuang tries to do something with the complexity of Athena, but ultimately, all of the nuance of the Asian characters introduced is kind of lost, mired in June's racism. The white racist perspective rendered a lot of Kuang's attempts at introducing an Asian perspective confusing and easily misconstrued. I really don't know what she was trying to say with Athena (or maybe not trying to say anything at all???), even though I fully understand the parts about Athena's character that Kuang puts forward. I think it's ultimately just really hard to tackle non-monolithic topics when you're writing from a racist perspective, but I still wish that Kuang did it better. Somehow.
Content Warnings
Content Warnings: racism, death by choking on food, sexism, hallucinations, mental health issues, thoughts of suicide, mild parental estrangement
The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton
I don't think words can express the disdain I have for this book. Readers may not know this, but Batavia is now called Jakarta, which is a city in Indonesia. The book does not mention this at all. I can understand the lack in content of the story, but the foreword?? Would have been nice if this was literally mentioned ever.
This encapsulates the core issue of this book. It's one giant colonial mess. It's a historical mystery set during the Dutch East India Company's reign in Indonesia (the story is set slightly in Indonesia, but largely on the sea route between Indonesia and Amsterdam), and it has <strong>absolutely no Indonesian characters</strong>. Because it's a book entirely about colonizers, and devises an entire mystery plot around the colonizers.
It paints our hero and heroine (Arrant and Sara - spelling is unconfirmed, I listened on audio) in sympathetic lights, despite them being complicit in the exploitation and exportation of goods from a Dutch colony.
It tries to pull at the kind of mystery of Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie, yet falls desperately short because of its utter lack of critical awareness of the context. THE DEVIL AND THE DARK WATER wants you to be engrossed in the story and forget what you know about history. It wants these colonizers on the ship to be the center of your world, and the only time Indonesian natives are mentioned is whenliterally an entire island of men, women, and children are brutally murdered off-page .
I am baffled. I am very nearly speechless. I do not recommend this book at all.
This encapsulates the core issue of this book. It's one giant colonial mess. It's a historical mystery set during the Dutch East India Company's reign in Indonesia (the story is set slightly in Indonesia, but largely on the sea route between Indonesia and Amsterdam), and it has <strong>absolutely no Indonesian characters</strong>. Because it's a book entirely about colonizers, and devises an entire mystery plot around the colonizers.
It paints our hero and heroine (Arrant and Sara - spelling is unconfirmed, I listened on audio) in sympathetic lights, despite them being complicit in the exploitation and exportation of goods from a Dutch colony.
It tries to pull at the kind of mystery of Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie, yet falls desperately short because of its utter lack of critical awareness of the context. THE DEVIL AND THE DARK WATER wants you to be engrossed in the story and forget what you know about history. It wants these colonizers on the ship to be the center of your world, and the only time Indonesian natives are mentioned is when
I am baffled. I am very nearly speechless. I do not recommend this book at all.
Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert
5.0
Talia Hibbert is such a master of her craft!!! This was exceptional, as all her books are, and as her first (I think?) YA, she still wrote something romantic and comedic, yet well-oriented to a YA audience.
Clearly, her skills in crafting well rounded, relatable romances translates well even for a teenage audience. I don't mean in terms of sexual content or lack thereof, but in the sense that the story feels like it's meant for teens and is very firmly rooted in kind of the high school experience. It doesn't try to make them fake adults in teenage bodies, Celine and Bradley are very much teenagers being silly in their senior year of high school.
Do I think the marketing could have made the YA distinction a little more clear? Yes, definitely. But at least it's not the same exact branding as her other novels (*cough* other romance authors that are writing YA now *cough*). But overall, this was a really great work that I think teens will enjoy, and even as not-so-teen anymore, I also thought it was another great Hibbert novel that was such a nice comfort read.
Clearly, her skills in crafting well rounded, relatable romances translates well even for a teenage audience. I don't mean in terms of sexual content or lack thereof, but in the sense that the story feels like it's meant for teens and is very firmly rooted in kind of the high school experience. It doesn't try to make them fake adults in teenage bodies, Celine and Bradley are very much teenagers being silly in their senior year of high school.
Do I think the marketing could have made the YA distinction a little more clear? Yes, definitely. But at least it's not the same exact branding as her other novels (*cough* other romance authors that are writing YA now *cough*). But overall, this was a really great work that I think teens will enjoy, and even as not-so-teen anymore, I also thought it was another great Hibbert novel that was such a nice comfort read.
Content Warnings
Content Warnings: parental abandonment (shitty dad), parental pressure, Bradley has OCD that is prominent in the novel, bullying, slight mentions of racism
Monstress, Vol. 1: Awakening by Marjorie Liu
Kippa is so baby. Please protect her. I would cry if Kippa died.
I wasn't sold on this in the first couple chapters, but was definitely hooked by chapter 5. It was a lot more gory than I expected or thought was possible for a graphic novel! But the eldritch horror things were very cool.
I wasn't sold on this in the first couple chapters, but was definitely hooked by chapter 5. It was a lot more gory than I expected or thought was possible for a graphic novel! But the eldritch horror things were very cool.
Content Warnings
Content Warnings: blood, gore, cannibalism, slavery, murder, death, eldritch horror living inside you, torture, child murder, threats of rape, dismemberment, parental death, war
Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
CHAIN-GANG ALL-STARS was visceral and compelling in the voyeuristic way that the story itself comments on. The act of reading it felt, in many ways, like watching something you're not supposed to. I think the story made itself very easy and obvious for readers to read. It chose its message and it stuck to its guns the whole way through. It wasn't trying to be coy or subtle, it was instead blaring and violently in your face, which mimicked the "hard action sports" in the novel.
I'm glad to have read it. I thought it was interesting and brutal and terrifying and horrible, but I appreciate what Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah was trying to create. I don't really know what I would rate it, or even if I am qualified to rate it at all. I think the summary represents the story very well (exactly what's on the tin), and if it seems intriguing to you, definitely take a shot.
Read as an audiobook on 2-2.4x speed, courtesy of Libro.fm! I really enjoyed the main narrator Shayna Small, but some of the sound mixing for the secondary narrators, especially when they were doing very low voices, were hard to hear even on max volume. I wish that was managed a little better. Overall, the narration was great!
I'm glad to have read it. I thought it was interesting and brutal and terrifying and horrible, but I appreciate what Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah was trying to create. I don't really know what I would rate it, or even if I am qualified to rate it at all. I think the summary represents the story very well (exactly what's on the tin), and if it seems intriguing to you, definitely take a shot.
Read as an audiobook on 2-2.4x speed, courtesy of Libro.fm! I really enjoyed the main narrator Shayna Small, but some of the sound mixing for the secondary narrators, especially when they were doing very low voices, were hard to hear even on max volume. I wish that was managed a little better. Overall, the narration was great!
Content Warnings
Content Warnings: blood, gore, institutionalized racism, murder and death, corporate greed, arson, rape, dismemberment, torture, slavery, police violence, homophobia
Chlorine by Jade Song
5.0
Wow! CHLORINE was absolutely visceral and one of the best body horror novels I've read in a long time.
Read at 2x speed on Libro.fm! Thanks to their ALC program for providing me with the complimentary copy. The dual narration was fantastic and really contributed to the unreliable narrator aspect of the story.
Read at 2x speed on Libro.fm! Thanks to their ALC program for providing me with the complimentary copy. The dual narration was fantastic and really contributed to the unreliable narrator aspect of the story.
Content Warnings
Content Warnings: blood, gore, eating disorder, sexual assault, blood, body modification via sewing, racism, pregnancy scare, uncomfortable medical procedures, mental health issues, sleazy male adults, family estrangement
How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu
4.5
This was so captivating -- I saw someone talking about the euthanasia rollercoaster on Twitter and this book came up, and it very much intrigued me. And then I realized it was by Sequoia Nagamatsu, whose short story collection I thoroughly enjoyed!
This is very much a plague/pandemic novel, and it's at times saturated with grief and horror. Nagamatsu creates a 30,000 year old plague that starts shapeshifting cells for your organs into cells of different organs. This sweeps across the world, and you see its effects in a series of fourteen or so short stories about different, yet interconnected, characters. From a scientist involved in the discovery and spread to his granddaughter embarking on a space journey away from Earth; from a man who repairs robot companion dogs that preserve loved ones' memories to his great great niece's struggles; from a death hotel manager to his brother's contribution to previously mentioned spaceship, the stories are wide and interconnected. All of the stories are so very human, and Nagamatsu treats his characters with dignity and respect as they traverse a trying reality.
I really enjoyed this set and felt that all the chapters worked very well together. Some will inevitably stick with me more than others, but overall I am very much glad to have read HOW HIGH WE GO IN THE DARK. I'd definitely recommend to anyone who can stomach a plague/pandemic novel that is extremely compassionate and captivating (not particularly graphic in terms of the plague itself, but the depictions of death and grief can be very graphic at times).
This is very much a plague/pandemic novel, and it's at times saturated with grief and horror. Nagamatsu creates a 30,000 year old plague that starts shapeshifting cells for your organs into cells of different organs. This sweeps across the world, and you see its effects in a series of fourteen or so short stories about different, yet interconnected, characters. From a scientist involved in the discovery and spread to his granddaughter embarking on a space journey away from Earth; from a man who repairs robot companion dogs that preserve loved ones' memories to his great great niece's struggles; from a death hotel manager to his brother's contribution to previously mentioned spaceship, the stories are wide and interconnected. All of the stories are so very human, and Nagamatsu treats his characters with dignity and respect as they traverse a trying reality.
I really enjoyed this set and felt that all the chapters worked very well together. Some will inevitably stick with me more than others, but overall I am very much glad to have read HOW HIGH WE GO IN THE DARK. I'd definitely recommend to anyone who can stomach a plague/pandemic novel that is extremely compassionate and captivating (not particularly graphic in terms of the plague itself, but the depictions of death and grief can be very graphic at times).
Content Warnings
Content Warnings: death, grief, mourning, plague/pandemic, floods, climate crisis, family estrangement, euthanasia, corporate greed overtaking the death industry