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wordrevel's reviews
149 reviews
Dark Night Golden Dawn by Allison Carr Waechter
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
3.0
The world building, plot and strong familial relationships were so well crafted, I wish I could’ve enjoyed Dark Night Golden Dawn a great deal more. There were so many elements that impressed me with the nuance that they were woven into the storytelling.
The list of CWs turned out to be longer than my weekly grocery list though, which I didn’t know when the ebook caught my eye on Libby. Theviolent sex involving biting between Finn and Harlow made me extremely uncomfortable as well. I don’t see how any of that is romantic. Perhaps I would’ve loved it if the “romantic” aspects had been dialled down but maybe that’s the point of romantic fantasy and I was caught off-guard because I don’t read a lot of it.
Then there was a scene towards the end whereHarlow and Fin were sucking blood from each other in the hopes of saving themselves , which again made my stomach churn.
If you are looking for a very diverse cast and want to read romantasy, you’ll likely enjoy this book, should your threshold for graphic scenes be moderate to high. Mine’s comparably on the lower end, so I unfortunately won’t have the mettle to continue the series, regardless of how badly I want to know the resolutions to the conflicts.
The list of CWs turned out to be longer than my weekly grocery list though, which I didn’t know when the ebook caught my eye on Libby. The
Then there was a scene towards the end where
If you are looking for a very diverse cast and want to read romantasy, you’ll likely enjoy this book, should your threshold for graphic scenes be moderate to high. Mine’s comparably on the lower end, so I unfortunately won’t have the mettle to continue the series, regardless of how badly I want to know the resolutions to the conflicts.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Sexual content, Violence, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Kidnapping, Stalking, Blood, Emotional abuse, Body shaming, Gaslighting, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Suicide attempt, Torture, Animal cruelty, Outing, Bullying, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Drug use, Alcohol, and Lesbophobia
Cook, Eat, Repeat by Nigella Lawson
Did not finish book. Stopped at 5%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 5%.
Not an actual DNF. Read section for reference.
Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine
challenging
tense
slow-paced
How do you review a book that sheds light on racism? How do you express that you enjoyed said book without it coming across as taking delight in the suffering someone else experienced? How do you review a book of free verse poetry when free verse means there aren’t really any rules? As I reflected on Citizen: An American Lyric, these were questions I deeply grappled with.
Avocado Anxiety: and Other Stories About Where Your Food Comes From by Louise Gray
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Looking at the content page, I expected each chapter to solely focus on the origins and health of each crop listed but Avocado Anxiety turned out to be so much more! Yes, each chapter focuses on one crop but each one also ties in important topics related to food.
Through interviews, anecdotes and studies this books examines how culture, politics, businesses, globalisation and science impact food production, farming practices, nutrition, the environment, food security and our attitudes towards food. With this approach, there is a laudable balance between breadth and depth. This is further underscored by the various solutions the author puts forth to address the various problems that she raises, such as the carbon footprint of our food choices, our propensity for monoculture, our expectation for perfection, and more.
By the time I was done, I wished I could read more yet was surprised by how densely information-packed this deceivingly small hardcover is with its 288 pages. Needless to say, I highly recommend picking up this book!
Through interviews, anecdotes and studies this books examines how culture, politics, businesses, globalisation and science impact food production, farming practices, nutrition, the environment, food security and our attitudes towards food. With this approach, there is a laudable balance between breadth and depth. This is further underscored by the various solutions the author puts forth to address the various problems that she raises, such as the carbon footprint of our food choices, our propensity for monoculture, our expectation for perfection, and more.
By the time I was done, I wished I could read more yet was surprised by how densely information-packed this deceivingly small hardcover is with its 288 pages. Needless to say, I highly recommend picking up this book!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and Death
There are a couple pages that examine the links between witch hunts and foraging. In describing the history, methods of violence employed against women are outlined, explaining methods of capital punishment enacted in the past.
Genesis by
I'm holding off any rating because it doesn't feel right to add one for a book of the Bible but I wanted to add a note about this edition specifically.
The design is beautiful and you can tell a lot of care has been put into it. The pages alternate between a page of scripture and a blank page with a faint dot grid (dots are smaller and not as dark as in bullet journal notebooks). The dots are perfectly aligned with the text on the reverse page of each sheet, so that any notes taken line up nicely as well.
Pages are definitely thicker than in traditional Bibles, so pens don't bleed through as much. Though I still wrote with a pencil to be sure. There is a lot of space for annotations with additional blank dot grid pages at the back of the book.
The text is set in a single column and there are no footnotes. This is useful for undistracted reading of words from the Bible only, or if you prefer to use other supplementary material with the ESV translation apart from notes printed by Crossway in other editions.
The binding is paperback, not hardcover but the cover is made of slightly thicker card stock. The cover keeps its shape well if you want to carry it around with you in a bag.
The design is beautiful and you can tell a lot of care has been put into it. The pages alternate between a page of scripture and a blank page with a faint dot grid (dots are smaller and not as dark as in bullet journal notebooks). The dots are perfectly aligned with the text on the reverse page of each sheet, so that any notes taken line up nicely as well.
Pages are definitely thicker than in traditional Bibles, so pens don't bleed through as much. Though I still wrote with a pencil to be sure. There is a lot of space for annotations with additional blank dot grid pages at the back of the book.
The text is set in a single column and there are no footnotes. This is useful for undistracted reading of words from the Bible only, or if you prefer to use other supplementary material with the ESV translation apart from notes printed by Crossway in other editions.
The binding is paperback, not hardcover but the cover is made of slightly thicker card stock. The cover keeps its shape well if you want to carry it around with you in a bag.
The Blighted Stars by Megan E. O'Keefe
Did not finish book. Stopped at 16%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 16%.
I lost track of how often I restarted the audiobook—three, four times? Somehow I can't find a hook to help me understand and picture what's going on, who's who, etc. I'll probably need to try the ebook if I want to make any progress beyond this.
This Is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone, Amal El-Mohtar
Did not finish book. Stopped at 21%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 21%.
Struggled to keep characters and the plot introduction straight while listening to the audiobook, even though I listened to the beginning twice. I might read the ebook instead since a few friends recommended this book to me.