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vigil's reviews
198 reviews
Your Blood and Bones by J. Patricia Anderson
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-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? It's complicated
2.5
ehhh. ok. the ending of this book saved it from a flat two star rating. i ran into numerous issues, mainly characterization, the romance, and dialogue.
the dialogue and the characterization go hand in hand in some respects, the characters are given little in distinguishing personality traits, which is unhelpfully accompanied by having identical dialogue styles. the boy and the girl especially are from two different backgrounds, but speak in the exact same manner as everyone else in the book.
theromance..... it really just wasn't well built, and fell prey to the most basic cliche YA tropes, though even they are usually employed in books with better build up. it took 20 pages and a near death experience for her to start admiring how hot the boy was, or how she was absolutely certain he would not hurt nor kill her, despite not having much of a reason to believe that. it also destroys the possible intrigue their relationship could hold. because yeah, what does it mean that this guy who saved you has also murdered two people in cold blood, and nearly killed a third. that should give a character pause, but the girl rationalizes this in a paragraph. this is ostensibly an adult novel, i think we spend at least a third of it in a poorly constructed YA fantasy romance.
this is a common issue of novellas, but this book really did not trust it readers to understand its themes or purpose (probably because the plot is largely meandering and more interesting outside of the scope of the protagonists) so it has to directly inform the readers through corny out of place dialogue. i am not against a self righteous monologue on principle, but this book ended up at 74 pages on my phone, and they started to appear on every other one after a certain point.
honestly i truly do not think this is a bad novella, but it definitely needed another round or two with an editor.
the dialogue and the characterization go hand in hand in some respects, the characters are given little in distinguishing personality traits, which is unhelpfully accompanied by having identical dialogue styles. the boy and the girl especially are from two different backgrounds, but speak in the exact same manner as everyone else in the book.
the
this is a common issue of novellas, but this book really did not trust it readers to understand its themes or purpose (probably because the plot is largely meandering and more interesting outside of the scope of the protagonists) so it has to directly inform the readers through corny out of place dialogue. i am not against a self righteous monologue on principle, but this book ended up at 74 pages on my phone, and they started to appear on every other one after a certain point.
honestly i truly do not think this is a bad novella, but it definitely needed another round or two with an editor.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Who's Afraid of Gender? by Judith Butler
Did not finish book. Stopped at 35%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 35%.
had to be returned, but i’ll be picking it back up again for sure.
Disobedience by Daniel Sarah Karasik
Did not finish book. Stopped at 13%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 13%.
i acquired this book as an e-arc from net galley.
i really wanted to love this book, but it i just couldn't do it. the prose was honestly just awful, full of oddly stitched sentences that didn't match with the character's own knowledge and awareness. how does shael have deep knowledge on the working of the carceral system in the narration, but somehow believes all the lie's of the camp when interacting with anyone else?
the dialogue is also honestly not great. it doesn't read like conversation, more like abolitionist 101 tumblr posts. and obviously, if that was the political stance i disagreed with, i wouldn't have requested this book. my issue is that the author simply told you the themes and philosophical musings of the book in every other line of prose or dialogue, rather than allowing for the readers to intuit it themselves from reading the story. given how lackluster the actual development of this novel was, i can only conclude that it was because the author could not trust themself to create a story that would allow for that happen.
i think this author's writing style and focus is simply not suited for fiction. i'm all for political themes, but the purpose of a fiction novel first and foremost is to tell a good story.
i really wanted to love this book, but it i just couldn't do it. the prose was honestly just awful, full of oddly stitched sentences that didn't match with the character's own knowledge and awareness. how does shael have deep knowledge on the working of the carceral system in the narration, but somehow believes all the lie's of the camp when interacting with anyone else?
the dialogue is also honestly not great. it doesn't read like conversation, more like abolitionist 101 tumblr posts. and obviously, if that was the political stance i disagreed with, i wouldn't have requested this book. my issue is that the author simply told you the themes and philosophical musings of the book in every other line of prose or dialogue, rather than allowing for the readers to intuit it themselves from reading the story. given how lackluster the actual development of this novel was, i can only conclude that it was because the author could not trust themself to create a story that would allow for that happen.
i think this author's writing style and focus is simply not suited for fiction. i'm all for political themes, but the purpose of a fiction novel first and foremost is to tell a good story.
Annie Bot by Sierra Greer
3.75
I think this book is really thoughtfully written, and I will definitely be reading more from this author. one of my favorite themes is intimacy, power / control and i think the thesis of this book is asking if it's possible to be truly intimate with someone who has control over you. definitely more of a literary than a sci-fi novel, so i would approach it with that in mind. what you get in the blurb is all the scifi there is. i think enjoyment of the novel really hinges upon keeping that in mind. don't expect in depth details about robotic programming, because that's not what the book is about.
this is such and uncomfortable read, and i wished death on doug every single page i'd say. he completely sucks in a very real almost banal way, and the constant refrain ofhow good a boyfriend / owner he was (used interchangeably.) paralleled how that is often said of abusive men irl.
i'm not giving it 5 stars because of the improper pacing of the novel, especially in regards to the ending. i enjoyed it on a technicality, because i do think it rings as emotionally resonant for annie and the novel, but it happens far too quickly.i did immediately notice the dynamic with cody, and how it immediately contrasts with doug, but they needed more page time to make her going to him at the end to feel believable. i can definitely see that as an ending, but the last they spoke he didn't recognize her as a human or a friend. and if she wanted to lean into that or not, either way it needed more work. all together, i think this book needed arounf 50-75 more pages to round it out a bit more.
and poor delta :( it was an effective narrative choice, but it's still depressing.
this is such and uncomfortable read, and i wished death on doug every single page i'd say. he completely sucks in a very real almost banal way, and the constant refrain of
i'm not giving it 5 stars because of the improper pacing of the novel, especially in regards to the ending. i enjoyed it on a technicality, because i do think it rings as emotionally resonant for annie and the novel, but it happens far too quickly.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Confinement, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Vomit, and Abandonment
Minor: Cancer, Child death, Death, and Death of parent
A Flame in the North by Lilith Saintcrow
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I think the writing style and limited autonomy of the protagonist (due to her status as glorified hostage, misogyny, and the reality as human mortal among inhumans or other immortals) will bug some people, but i found it to be a very intelligent portrayal. often times author's can fall into the trap of making a woman to anachronistically modern, or a helpless waif who has never thought to move against a man or the patriarchy in her life. solveig reads honestly as a woman who works to have her voice and feelings heard, but believably still of her time.
i really do love a travel fantasy story so this book really just hit all the marks for me. I do think there is a small issue of repetitiveness in sol's inner monologue, but i'm not going to detract that from the star rating. mostly because i fully believe it's getting a worse rep than it deserves. don't let the archaic prose style intimidate you, this book is excellent and rather readable once you grow use to the style.
very interested in what comes next for this series. i definitely recommend it for those who enjoy both folklore / mythology inspired fantasy (bear and the nightingale, spinning silver, and possibly circe come to mind) and who enjoy poetic complex prose.
also, sol and arn have a vibe right??? i’m not crazy am i?? but also sol x eol and sol x aeredh have hints through the book… i’m happy with anything so long as arn and sol aren’t pushed aside, romance or not.
i really do love a travel fantasy story so this book really just hit all the marks for me. I do think there is a small issue of repetitiveness in sol's inner monologue, but i'm not going to detract that from the star rating. mostly because i fully believe it's getting a worse rep than it deserves. don't let the archaic prose style intimidate you, this book is excellent and rather readable once you grow use to the style.
very interested in what comes next for this series. i definitely recommend it for those who enjoy both folklore / mythology inspired fantasy (bear and the nightingale, spinning silver, and possibly circe come to mind) and who enjoy poetic complex prose.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Dawn by Octavia E. Butler
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
so intriguing and against all odds, enticing, despite also being deeply horrifying. ms butler loves to make you uncomfortable, and by god does she do it here. i liked how butler really keenly portrayed the bond that occurs between a victim and abuser(s) and how often sexual assault is used as a way to create that tether and was able to sketch out the appeal that can exist in that relationship for a victim against all odds. lilith and nikanji are both very sympathetic yet also ambiguous figures (nikanji, more so, but lilith is beginning to gain on it towards the end) who's attachment to one another is very clear to the reader. the ethics of consent is something i've long been interested in and i'm intrigued by how its explored here, even if i don't necessarily agree with the alien's conclusions.
i'd say my one complaint was thatthis book is rather essentialist. its from 1987 so like, yeah obviously but i would've liked more exploration on it in a world building point of view. the onakali's essentialism didn't quite bother me, it fit with the attitudes the book potrayed them with but i would've liked a deeper explanation into it. what about onakali's who don't fit into the frame work of male-female-ooloi pairings? what in the culture or history led them here. but considering this book was founded off of octavia butler assuming something was wrong with humans in our genetics, i'm not too sure that's the aim of the book.
very dismayed at octavia butler becoming one of those black author's everyone quotes but never reads and posits as a moralizing figure here to teach ignorant white people. she's not one for moralizing and isn't trying to preach an agenda. many of her focuses lie in the frequent eroticism in fraught and distressing topics. this is because octavia butler at her core was a fucking freak.
i'd say my one complaint was that
very dismayed at octavia butler becoming one of those black author's everyone quotes but never reads and posits as a moralizing figure here to teach ignorant white people. she's not one for moralizing and isn't trying to preach an agenda. many of her focuses lie in the frequent eroticism in fraught and distressing topics. this is because octavia butler at her core was a fucking freak.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Genocide, Homophobia, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
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? It's complicated
5.0
delightful!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Binti by Nnedi Okorafor
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
it clearly was trying to do something it really didn’t succeed at. suffers from being a novella for sure. and the prose is a bit bland for my tastes, though the story ideas are interesting. i might read on but not right now.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Genocide, Gore, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Cold-Forged Flame by Marie Brennan
adventurous
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Injury/Injury detail
Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Cursing, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Stalking, and Sexual harassment