violetturtledove's reviews
368 reviews

The Vampyre by John William Polidori

mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

2.5

It's hard to read something like this impartially, knowing that it's the first of what would become a huge glut of vampire stories. It's also a story with a famous backstory, and while reading it I did consider that this was possibly a first draft that was never really revised or developed further.

So basically it's worth a read for the history (and won't take you too long) but it's hard to read without being aware of everything surrounding it 

I probably sound like I'm moaning about the story: it's a good story, and fits a lot into a short length. The introduction, explaining the folklore, and the tone of the ending actually remind me of the style of a creepypasta! Again, not a bad thing.

It's oddly bookended with two 'extracts of letters' which seem to focus on singing Bryon's praises. I wasn't sure if this was a 'letter within the story' or just something else written by the author, but it does give some hints about the circumstances under which the story was written.

Goblin Mode: How to Get Cozy, Embrace Imperfection, and Thrive in the Muck by McKayla Coyle

funny informative inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

4.25

This is a sweet and uplifting book. I was a little dubious about a 'how to' on being a goblin, and self-help books in general, but I was curious and it was a good read. 

It's a great starting point for anyone interested in taking up some 'goblin' past times like crafts, foraging, making your own face masks etc. 

It's perhaps not as chaotic as I would usually expect from goblin literature, but I suppose this is just the basics and the true chaos has to come from within.

The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens

mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

I'm not sure it's fair to review an unfinished manuscript, but it's Dickens and a) he gets plenty of praise and b) he's dead so I don't think he'll mind. 

I found this, unfortunately, a bit of a slow start. The atmosphere is good, going from idyllic to creepy, and most of the characters are lively and interesting but some of the plot points didn't really grab my attention in the first part.

I was able to make a guess of 'whodunnit' before I knew for sure what 'it' was, now at the end I still think he did something but who knows if it was the actual murder. I got quite into this by the end, despite knowing it was going to be cut short. A shame that a lot of questions will never be answered but I suppose it gives academics plenty to debate about.

The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Wow. I don't want to lean into the surgery puns too much in this review, but this was a gut-wrenching read! Not for the faint-hearted, I'd recommend checking out the content warnings if you have any triggers at all, but it is very much worth it (as the author notes, surgery looks a lot like torture).

This is a gothic horror featuring a trans, autistic protagonist who wants to be a surgeon but is unfortunately AFAB in Victorian London, so of course he ends up in a finishing school/hospital. Oh and there's ghosts. 

It's fast paced and gripping, I loved the characters so much, I felt their frustration, recognised myself in some parts, and found a better understanding of others in other parts. All aspects of them are just so well portrayed.

 I'm not 'read a book in a day' fast but I stayed up reading until 2am two nights in a row with this book (i read it on my kobo so it was my bedtime read, in hindsight maybe not the best choice for restful sleep!)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, Abortion, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Gore, Transphobia, Medical content, and Violence

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Bullying, Dysphoria, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Rape, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Panic attacks/disorders, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, and Murder

Attack of the Moon Cows by Rodney Milton

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

If you are looking for something silly, far-out and utterly (or should that be udderly?) ridiculous then this book might be for you! The narrator is a hippy cow who speaks in groovy 60's slang, it also features disco dancing cow-bots, a nutty professor, madcap military types and a hard-as-nails Scottish cleaning lady (my personal favourite). 

A good blend of sci-fi comedy, peace and love, dairy-based puns and satire. It's a fun trip as long as you're not looking for high literature (and if you are you probably shouldn't pick a book with such a silly title!)

The Boy Who Kicked Pigs by Tom Baker

dark funny fast-paced

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

4.5

A very creepy, darkly funny book. It's gruesome, unhinged and gleefully wicked. A schadenfreude fairytale.

The actual pig-kicking was less of a plot point than I expected (pork-based products take the brunt of it). The illustrations are great and there are plenty of them.

Miscellaneous Papers by Charles Dickens

informative lighthearted reflective slow-paced

3.0

I'm really not sure how to review this one! Dickens is one of those writers who feels 'untouchable', clearly he was very clever and knew what his audience at the time wanted. For a modern reader this collection of satirical pieces/angry letters to newspapers feels a bit impenetrable. There is certainly humour, but it's very dry and is probably if you're familiar with the events of the time. It's definitely an interesting snapshot of the daily politics and opinions of Dickens life.

I think a modern annotated edition would be interesting - with each piece accompanied by a chapter on the historical or political topics it concerns. Maybe one exists and one day I will read it but for now I feel like I've at least read an interesting historical document, even if it wasn't the most enjoyable read.

The Reyes Incident by Briana Morgan

challenging dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

2.5

I really wanted to like this book, the premise sounded exactly like my sort of thing but it didn't quite hit the mark for me. 

Some good points: the main plot was good and the pacing was very effective in switching between the present of the police investigation and the incident itself. I kept wanting to know what happened next throughout the book. 

Unfortunately the personal development between the characters all felt a bit rushed, maybe this would have worked better as a longer novel where both the characters and plot had more room to breathe. I also didn't find the monsters scary at all, they were perhaps a little too normalised/humanised.

Apart from that it's all well written, there were some descriptive phrases I thought were brilliant (although the odd one seemed a bit over the top for me).

I had a bit of a theory about where the ending was going to go, it would have made a bit more sense of some of the characters actions. But ultimately I was left disappointed, it was a very open ending with not enough of a resolution for me. Although I suppose, if I was expecting one ending and got another, at least it wasn't predictable?

The Price of Salt by Claire Morgan

emotional reflective slow-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? Yes

3.75

This was quite an intense novel, I found it a bit slow and confusing at times but it ultimately built up to a satisfying ending.

The characters are complex, their actions are infuriating at times but believable. I struggled with some of the dialogue: the characters switch topics suddenly and talk of quite abstract, but meaningful things. I'm sure there is a lot of sub-text that flew right over my head in these bits!

I honestly didn't know where the story was going, which can be good or bad, but out of several possible endings I thought were hinted at, the one we eventually got was good. There was character development and some negative tropes were avoided. 

The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

challenging informative reflective slow-paced

2.5

It's with a sigh of relief that I finish this book. It's quite intense, there are some very interesting ideas in it, but there's so much to get through: mathematics, philosophy, economics, probability, stock trading, history...

I found myself swinging between two modes, thinking 'I'm not clever enough to understand this' and thinking 'this author thinks he's so clever'. There are many generalisations used to demonstrate the various points, including a massive misunderstanding/oversimplification of autism, and this coupled with the smug attitude makes it a bit of a frustrating read.

So yes, there's a good premise at the heart of it and it will make you think, but I personally found it exhausting.