violetturtledove's reviews
381 reviews

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.

Indie by Paul MacLeod

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

It's great to be able to start the new year on a good book and a good review! I was totally drawn in by this book. It's hard to pin it down to a genre, it's got a futuristic-noir feel, some fantasy/cosmic horror elements and some thriller plot points. There's suspicious characters, plots and double dealing, a talking blue dog and a creepy painting... Confused? Good.

What I really enjoyed about this story was the mood and feel of the world, gritty but surreal. Some of the descriptions and dialogue are just slightly off-kilter which makes you feel you are in a world just a bit different to our own. The mood was something like 'a scanner darkly', 'naked lunch' (but much less confusing) and David Bowie's 'Outside' album. But I'm purely going from mood for these comparisons, not plot.

It's probably not for everyone. Some of the descriptions and plot points are a little confusing, but then sometimes the characters thoughts and dialogue seem to state the obvious a little. I thought this balanced out quite well (and the confusing bits were probably deliberate) but I can see how some could find it irritating or inconsistent. There's a still a bit of mystery in the ending, so not for those who like everything to be neatly tied up.

But these are just minor warnings/quibbles, on the whole I thought this book was fantastic and I am very glad I picked up a copy. 

The Dos and Donuts of Love by Adiba Jaigirdar

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

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

3.75

This was such a sweet, light and fluffy book, perfect to round off the year with (and yes the confectionery puns are infectious - although my favourites were the judges names).

This isn't usually the sort of book I'd go for, it was recommended to me, so i can't really compare it to the rest of the genre, but I'm pretty sure it hit all the notes it was meant to. The characters (re)actions were a bit frustrating at times for me (like any romcom, the misunderstandings are where the drama and humour comes from I suppose) but the characters remained loveable, and there was great representation from the fat-and-happy-about-it Bangladeshi protagonist. Unfortunately I now REALLY want some donuts.

The Stupidest Angel (v2.0): A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror by Christopher Moore

dark funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

3.25

I'm honestly not sure if this book is as stupid as the titular angel or brilliantly silly, so it's probably a bit of both. There's nothing very deep about it, the characters leap to convenient conclusions to advance the plot, but I definitely was not bored reading this.. There's plenty of bad taste humour if that's your thing, and a pretty good almost-ending (there's an epilogue chapter which i felt wasn't really needed). 

Tall Tales and Wee Stories by Billy Connolly

funny lighthearted medium-paced

3.75

This was a thoroughly enjoyable read. I know it's pretty much a lot of his stories and jokes from his stand up shows, repackaged in book form, but it says a lot for the material that I still found myself giggling now and then. Some of it seems to have been updated a little, some hasn't, and there's probably a few insights that didn't quite make it into his live sets (i won't claim to have watched everything he's ever done!).

A nice wee book which seems to have added a few more F words than normal into my inner monologue! 

From Here to Eternity: Travelling the World to Find the Good Death by Caitlin Doughty

adventurous funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

5.0

This book is a fascinating look at death practices around the world, all described with a refreshing openness. Caitlin's philosophy of 'death positivity' really resonates with me as something the world needs, and each practice in this book is looked at both in terms of its pros and cons (although none are condemned as 'bad' or 'weird'). There is focus on how ritual helps with the grieving process, the benefits of family interacting with the body, the environmental impact of various funeral options, how technology can develop new options in the future and lots more.

I've come away from this book with some very interesting terms in my search history, a good list of 'further reading' and lots of thinking to do. 

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This book sort of throws you in at the deep end with a very grim set up, I also struggled with the language at first and the diary format made the pacing a bit uncertain.

But I love the characters; there's bad and good in all of them, although the amounts of each vary wildly! Once I got used to the style of speaking I found the descriptions and dialogue touching, funny, well-observed and thoughtful.

The plot and pacing were still a bit meandering at times, but on the whole it's a book I'm glad I read.

Firestorm by Lucy Hounsom

adventurous challenging emotional medium-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? Yes

4.5

It's tricky to review the final part of a trilogy, a lot of what I'd usually say about character, wiring style etc has already been said in my previous reviews and it all seems to come down to how they nail the ending, but an ending is not a book.

I felt truly invested in these characters, and the world was a rich and original place to spend time. I found some of the romance plots a little obvious, i don't know if it's because this is aimed at a younger audience and I'm just too old and jaded! It was heartfelt though, and the other plots about military strategic, complex morals and identity were all very mature and balanced. 

I think my attention span was waning part way through this so I'm not sure if all of the magical and paradox stuff made complete sense, but the ending did and it was very satisfying.