whatsmadsreading's reviews
248 reviews

Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito
Did not finish book. Stopped at 29%.

I picked it up at the library because I saw it recommended in Indie Next. I love an unhinged protagonist. High hopes for a quick, Saturday night one-seating-er.

The 30% that I read was giving me Murder Your Employer vibes.

I like gothic thrillers and I love weird girl fiction, but turns out, I don’t love them together.

I think I would’ve liked this if Winifred either 1. hadn’t been a cheeky protagonist, but a somber Victorian-era narrator (a la Fingersmith), or 2. been a cheeky protagonist in a more modern-era, Moshfegh setting.

Our Polyvagal World: How Safety and Trauma Change Us by Stephen W. Porges, Seth Porges

hopeful informative medium-paced

5.0

The scientific reasons behind “why do I just feel so off - so anxious, so stressed, so sick all the time?”

It’s written incredibly accessibly and changed my brain chemistry. Highly recommend.

Shred Sisters by Betsy Lerner

emotional fast-paced

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

4.5

Having a sister I’m close with and mental illness in the family made this book oddly endearing to me. Plus, if I ever wrote a book, I’d want it to have a cover like this.

The writing is fantastic. Effortlessly smooth. 

I know why it ended on the note that it does, but I wanted to keep reading; I wanted to keep seeing pieces of myself in these girls.

The Days of Abandonment by Elena Ferrante

dark sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

Our girl is fully unhinged and we love that journey for her!

I love Elena Ferrante’s writing; this book did what I wanted All Fours to do. 

I just wasn’t the biggest fan of: 
1. the audiobook (physical probably would’ve been 4 stars for me)
2. the fact that I’ve never been an abandoned woman. I feel like if you could relate, this would hit home.

Remember, check your trigger warnings.

I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Exactly what I was looking for in a well-written, fast-paced palette cleanser.

For a thriller, it’s incredibly deep. I feel like students forced to take philosophy 101 would get as much, if not more, out of this than the classic texts they don’t want to read.

Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh
Did not finish book. Stopped at 26%.

I absolutely love Ottessa Moshfegh’s writing.

But respectfully….wtf is this story? 

It’s the definition of weird girl fiction and arguably too weird, even for me.

Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay by Elena Ferrante

emotional tense slow-paced

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

4.25

There’s so much in this book: female rage, fate vs. choice, generational trauma, adulthood, politics. 

A reductionist review, however, could be summed up as fucking Nino Sarratorre.

While You Were Out: An Intimate Family Portrait of Mental Illness in an Era of Silence by Meg Kissinger
Did not finish book. Stopped at 31%.

Here’s the thing: two of my all-time favorite books are memoirs. I love a memoir.

Maybe I just don’t like childhood memoirs? This read like Educated to me. Maybe I just had too wild of a childhood to think this was anything special? I really wanted to like it, but I just kept finding myself going “…so?”

I’ve heard that people like parts 2 and 3 better and I really tried to power through for them.

The Push by Ashley Audrain

dark mysterious tense 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

3.5

I read this based on a “weird books for weird girls” recommendation and I disagree with that. This felt less The Substance-movie and more Verity. It’s not weird, it’s just melodrama.

It’s somewhere between my low rating of Verity and my high rating of Our Wives Under the Sea. 

The wife is unhinged but only around one repetitive plot point, which gets old. Could not have been a less complex character.

However, it wins points in the fact that it is very much a one-sitting book. I’m a fast reader and I finished it in under three hours,  including a snack break.

The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw

emotional reflective fast-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

4.5

Would not have had this book on my radar, due to the title and cover, but thank god for recommendations!

This was, first of all, a beautiful read on audiobook. The narrator is fantastic and it’s a quick four hours. 

The stories are also beautiful and engaging. They all obviously don’t land the same - you naturally like some more than others - but Eula and LeeLee have my whole heart.

Highly recommend.