bisexualwentworth's reviews
749 reviews

Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler

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

5.0

Oooooooh I liked this one even more than Parable of the Sower. I loved the non-linear narrative and the multiple contrasting points of view. I loved how Lauren Olamina's daughter's experiences and viewpoints complicated the narrative from Olamina's journals.

This book is just as dark as the first one. Many horrifying things happen. It is a true dystopian exploration of a possible future from an author who keenly understood the many horrors at play in the United States. Some of it is so on the nose that it was hard to read. Some, especially the technology stuff, felt unlikely at times, but much more grounded than in almost any other near-future dystopian or sci-fi books I've read. Octavia E. Butler was just that good.

Also, this book has multiple central queer characters, which I never see mentioned when people are discussing it. Don't expect happy queer stories--Butler is as realistic about violent homophobia as she is about all other aspects of this world--but it is very present in ways that felt good and right as well as being harrowing.

Content Warnings

Scott Pilgrim, Volume 4: Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together by Bryan Lee O’Malley

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Finally things are getting gay!

Ramona definitely said seven evil ex-boyfriends in volume one. Was she lying to Scott (which seems like a sensible approach honestly), or was this a retcon on the part of the creator? Or was Ramona just in denial? That also seems likely.

Eldest by Christopher Paolini

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

Ugh.

Eldest is better than Eragon in a lot of ways. It’s also still my least favorite book in the series.

Things I like:

The elves. I love that they fill their days with hobbies that bring them fulfillment because their needs are met through magic. The fact that they are all vegan atheists is super interesting to me (and they are very reasonable vegans who still use wool and honey!). I love that they sing their houses out of the trees. And it was fun being reminded of all the technological advancements the elves have like indoor heating and alarm clocks.
A lot of the philosophy discussions are super interesting. These books are definitely very utilitarian in their philosophy and while I don’t always like the choices of the characters or the narrative, I do feel like they make sense in context.
Nasuada is complicated and not always likable (her approach to Elva is kind of awful, for example), but damn she’s a good leader and an interesting character.
The gender politics of the world are still absolutely wretched, but a lot more women get to be actual characters in this book than in the first one. Queen Islanzadí has always been a favorite of mine, and she still is. There’s a lot more going on with the villagers, especially many of the women. All good things.
The plot is far less derivative than in book one, I think because Paolini actually took the time to think about the ramifications of what he had written and to continue to explore them. That’s how we get Roran’s entire plotline as well as the Elva stuff: the author thinking through the choices he already made and seeing how they impact the characters and the world.
The final twist is easy to see coming as an adult reader, but it still hits! Murtagh you will always be famous.
Finally we are making Eragon question some of his beliefs, from human superstition to racism, and it’s not always done well, but I appreciate the effort.
The scene with Roran and Jeod in Teirm. Yesyesyesyesyes.
Expansions of the dwarves’ religion and clans and the animals of the Beor Mountains.

Things I dislike:

The romance in this book (if you can call it that) is somehow even worse than I remembered. Arya is 100 years old. She repeatedly tells Eragon no. And he continues to pursue her. I hate it. It’s awful. The Saphira stuff makes a lot more sense, but of course Saphira has always been a more compelling character than Eragon with more coherent motivations. Eragon’s stuff with Arya is just so bad. Especially knowing where it ends up in the final book. It is impossible for me to root for any version of this relationship after Eragon’s behavior here.
I think that Roran’s storyline is interesting, and I think that Roran makes a really effective Moses figure. Unfortunately I do not like him at all. He’s incredibly paternalistic. He has very little empathy. He’s basically a cult leader. Again, I think it’s effective, but I just do not like the man.
What in the actual ever-loving fuck was going on with the descriptions of Nasuada’s skin tone in this book? It’s perfectly normal in book one (surprisingly so, honestly) and then suddenly in this one we have Roran asking if her skin is dyed????? Absolutely not.
This is actually one of the most ableist books I’ve ever read, and for no discernible reason either. Why make Eragon disabled just to do a magical cure trope and give him superpowers? It’s cheap and it’s gross. I know that it was the early 2000s and the author was about 20 years old. I don’t care. The repeated messaging in this book that disabled people are weak and useless and need to be cured is so so harmful. And again, for what? There could have been such a rich exploration of disability here. Finding accommodations. Finding ways for Eragon to both be an overpowered chosen one AND a disabled character. But no, we got this instead. It’s awful. Probably my least favorite part of the entire series on this reread.
Eragon is whiny and fantasy racist and weird about women. And then also he’s super smart and talented and ultimately succeeds at basically everything. He’s definitely the weak link here character-wise. Yikes.
I really like the choice to give us some chapters from Roran and Nasuada’s POVs and I think those storylines add a lot. However, the structure is absolutely wretched. The book would have benefitted so much from just alternating between POVs more frequently.
Important to note that about 200 pages of this book are basically just training montage. It is very slow. And then there’s a big battle at the end. Wretched pacing and structure.
Paolini makes a big effort to show that the elves don’t have meaningful social OR biological sex/gender differences and then still continues to emphasize gender in his descriptions of elves and in their social customs. It is exhaustingly cishet man.

Brisingr was my favorite book in the series as a kid, so I’m excited to see how it holds up to a reread as an adult.

Content Warnings

Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett

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

I am finally continuing my Discworld read-through!

I've definitely read this one before, but I did not remember the second half at all. Did I not actually finish it? Did I read it in a haze because I was going through traumatic life events at the time? Unclear.

Anyway, this book is so much better than The Color of Magic and The Light Fantastic that's it's kind of wild. There are still some bumpy bits. Pratchett is still working on fleshing out the world and figuring out exactly what it's for, and the big conflict that shows up in act three is kind of whatever, but this is the book in which Discworld stops being a silly fantasy parody series and starts becoming a rich tapestry of stories and characters and explorations of real-world themes through that signature Terry Pratchett wit.

I kind of wish we got more of Eskarina. She's interesting and then she's barely in any of the other books. Possibly just I Shall Wear Midnight but I could be wrong.

I love the introduction of Granny Weatherwax. She truly is one of the best parts of this world. Everything from her poor spelling to her headology to her moments of unbelievable power. I'm so excited to spend more time with her in other books. I'm glad she's in so many, some of which I haven't read before.

Favorite quotes/moments/misc reactions while reading:

"Front doors in Bad Ass were used only by brides and corpses, and Granny had always avoided becoming either."
"'They're both magic. If you can't learn to ride an elephant, you can at least learn to ride a horse.'
'What's an elephant?'
'A kind of badger,' said Granny. She hadn't maintained forest-credibility for forty years by ever admitting ignorance."
"Their wills clanged like cymbals and the air between them thickened. But Granny had spent a lifetime bending recalcitrant creatures to her bidding and, while Esk was a surprisingly strong opponent, it was obvious that she would give in before the end of the paragraph."
It was just said that Granny's "grasp of geography was slightly worse than her grasp of subatomic physics." Me too.
Absolutely wild talk of a "feminine code" involving lots of eye contact. Esk feels very autistic here. And queer also but separately. (And I absolutely stand by this.)
"Granny, meanwhile, was two streets away. She was also, by the standards of other people, lost. She would not see it like that. She knew where she was, it was just that everywhere else didn't."
Some incredibly unnecessary anti-Romani sentiment comes out of nowhere about a third of the way in. I don't like it.
"Granny had nothing against fortune-telling provided it was done badly by people with no talent for it. It was a different matter if people who ought to know better did it, though. She considered that the future was a frail enough thing at best, and if people looked at it hard they changed it."
Granny says that million-to-once chances "crop up nine times out of ten" and that's so true in fantasy.

Overall I think this book holds up and is a possible introduction to this world for anyone who likes witches and wants to get into the series.

Destiny's Embrace by Beverly Jenkins

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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

4.0

This is a beautifully researched piece of historical fiction with a compelling protagonist and an interesting setting and supporting cast. The romance was very iffy for me. Logan did not have a big regard for consent, and the entire romance happened far too quickly and far too messily for my taste. But overall the book satisfied and I will be reading more Beverly Jenkins FOR SURE.

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So Let Them Burn by Kamilah Cole

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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

3.75

This is the second book I’ve read in a row that was all tell no show with a much stronger concept than execution.

All of the elements are excellent here. This book is exploring some really compelling ideas: what does it mean to be a former chosen one or the sibling of a chosen one? What is good, what is evil, and what is the relationship between religion and morality? How do you rebuild your nation after a revolution? How do you find new relationships with your former colonial oppressors? Should you?

The characters are set up in really compelling ways. The dragons are fun. The world is queernormative and both main characters are queer (one is demisexual, one is a lesbian). The plot is good overall. It was just way too fast and completely lacking in any subtlety whatsoever. I felt extremely spoon-fed the entire time. I also felt like the book was rushing through instead of taking its time with the characters and concepts. I wonder if it was the author’s choice to make this one extremely rushed book instead of two slower, more thoughtful ones.

If there’s a sequel I will read it because I’m invested, but I was definitely slightly disappointed.

Content Warnings

Most Ardently: A Pride & Prejudice Remix by Gabe Cole Novoa

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

3.5

This was fun. I didn't love it, but I did enjoy it.

What I liked:

The base premise—making Elizabeth a gay trans man living a double life and Mr. Darcy a gay cis man who's really awkward around women because he's not attracted to them and doesn't know how to interact with them—was fun and compelling and there was a lot of potential there.
The writing style was fun and fast-paced.
I loved the choice to make Charlotte a lesbian and to have her make similar choices to the original book but for different reasons. She very much feels like the same character, just an explicitly queer version of her, and I really liked that.
Molly houses!
Darcy was fun. Overall I think his characterization worked.
Trans allies Aunt and Uncle Gardiner!
The romance went waaaaaaay too fast but I did enjoy Oliver and Darcy's dynamic and chemistry a lot.
The ending was a bit far-fetched but I don't care because it felt good and possible.

What I didn't like, random changes to Pride and Prejudice edition:

Why are the characters aged down SO MUCH? I get that this is YA, but you can make it a coming-of-age story that is appropriate for and relatable to teen audiences without randomly making parents pressure SEVENTEEN YEAR OLDS into marriage??? And it made Georgiana and Lydia impossible to adapt properly, which in turn made the Wickham plot fall apart. Just generally a bad move.
Why are they in London? I get that that's where more queer community would be, but Oliver only went to those queer spaces about twice, and having him travel somewhere larger and more queer later would have actually been much more impactful.
Charlotte's last name was randomly changed, as was her family situation, and that was frustrating, mostly because it was so unnecessary.

What I didn't like, other:

I liked what we got of Jane but her characterization was inconsistent and there wasn't enough of her (or of Bingley for that matter).
The whole book was far too short. It's trying to tell about twice the story of the original novel in far fewer pages, so no wonder it doesn't quite pull it off. It needed at least another fifty pages.
At first the dialogue was decently period-accurate and the narrative voice was more modern, which I liked, but it eventually devolved into so many anachronisms that I wondered why it was set in the Regency period at all. This was especially annoying because the author clearly did quite a lot of historical research for this book and then just ignored most of it.
I hated the characterization of the Bennet parents. Yes Mr. Bennet would be more immediately accepting, but he definitely wouldn't actually do anything useful. And the Mrs. Bennet of the books is not an evil enforcer of gender roles. She's a silly person who is rightfully anxious about her children's futures and trying (not always well) to do what is best for them while her husband lazes around and makes sarcastic and often misogynistic comments about his family. This book did a disservice to that much more complex and interesting dynamic.

Overall, I think that the concept was strong and the book was fun, but the short length and a lot of unnecessary changes meant that it didn't quite do the job of being a compelling remix/reimagining of Pride and Prejudice. I've read better queer P&P fanfic on AO3, and it's a shame because I think this concept had SO MUCH potential. Truly if Novoa had just made the main characters and Charlotte explicitly queer, changed nothing else about the setting and characters, and then followed the plot through its logical changes throughout, and then tweaked accordingly, this book would have been absolutely stunning. Maybe I'll go write that on AO3 now. That seems like the thing to do.

Content Warnings

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by S.A. Chakraborty

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious 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? Yes

4.75

This book was so much fun. I loved Amina and the supporting cast. I loved the themes of motherhood and faith and finding direction in life. The narrative voice was fun and engaging. I was delighted by the surprise trans character. I felt fully immersed in the world.

The pacing was very silly. The main plot/the thing that’s going to be the driving force of the planned series did not come into play until over halfway through.

There were also definitely some times when I was unsure how the characters had gotten from one scene to another. This is a problem I often have, so it may just be connected to my brain’s way of processing things, or it may be to do with the audiobook narration (which was very engaging and creative and which I recommend for sure). Regardless, I found aspects of the book slightly hard to follow at times, but never for very long.

There is some extremely intense content in this book, but the tone is much lighter than other fantasy books with similar content (The Poppy War comes to mind).

Content Warnings

To Shape a Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose

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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

5.0

This is my new favorite book. it delivered on every possible level. I adored the characters and the worldbuilding and the writing style. I will come back and write a longer review when I can express my love for this book more coherently, but wow.

Content Warnings

Scott Pilgrim (of 6) Vol. 3: Scott Pilgrim and the Infinite Sadness - Color Edition by Nathan Fairbairn, Bryan Lee O’Malley

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Probably my favorite volume so far. I like how complicated the social dynamics have gotten. I like Kim. I'm starting to get invested. But Scott is really reminding me of my worst ex. Loser man who dates cooler, usually younger women? Yup.

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bisexualwentworth's reviews 749 reviews

bisexualwentworth's reviews
749 reviews