bookedbymadeline's reviews
660 reviews
Babel by R.F. Kuang
Did not finish book. Stopped at 23%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 23%.
DNF at 128 pages
I tried both a physical copy and audio but it’s just so boring 😬 Listened on audio for book 1 and beginning of book 2 but then I switched to physical format once my library hold came in. Mostly wanted to switch because I was having a hard time with the footnotes! They kept throwing me off and pulling me out of the story as they’re read wherever the asterisk would fall in the physical book, which is sometimes mid sentence.
My thoughts for what I did read:
The story kinda feels like an info dump and less fantasy focused-almost like I’m being lectured and talked down to like if the footnotes weren’t there I obviously wouldn’t understand the context. Kuang is very present in the story instead of letting the characters think and speak for themselves.
I was excited about Griffin being introduced and found the first chapter of book 2 grabbed my attention but then immediately felt bored again with the minute detailed lectures and footnotes 🙃 It just made the pacing feel off, as we go from intriguing fantasy to in depth chapters on Robin’s courses.
I understand wanting to call attention to the message/exploration on racism and colonialism in academia but she does more telling than showing which I personally don’t enjoy. I’d prefer to be shown what’s happening instead of having it explained to me in such dense, meandering writing. It only makes me feel bored and the long chapters are hard enough to get through at times.
Obviously it explores important themes and issues but I think it could’ve been done better and focused in a narrower scope(?)! The world building of the fantasy mixed with the historical explorations of colonialism/imperialism don’t mesh well-it could have been better if the novel was one or the other genre, not both.
There are so many other books that explore these themes in a better/more impactful manner (in my opinion) and I’d recommend them instead Babel for anyone else who struggled through the text:
1) Children of Blood and Bone series is great if you want to explore similar themes of racism and colonialism in a fantasy world with magic systems! More adventurous, more showing than telling and stays on theme of fantasy (also with better pacing)
2) Ace of Spades also explores themes of racism in an academia-like setting. It’s not fantasy but more thriller based and set at an elite private school rather than university (but still gives off “evil pretentious white people” vibes)
3) Anything from Toni Morrison-her literature always does an amazing job of exploring themes of race and racism with well written characters and more showing than lecturing down at people
I tried both a physical copy and audio but it’s just so boring 😬 Listened on audio for book 1 and beginning of book 2 but then I switched to physical format once my library hold came in. Mostly wanted to switch because I was having a hard time with the footnotes! They kept throwing me off and pulling me out of the story as they’re read wherever the asterisk would fall in the physical book, which is sometimes mid sentence.
My thoughts for what I did read:
The story kinda feels like an info dump and less fantasy focused-almost like I’m being lectured and talked down to like if the footnotes weren’t there I obviously wouldn’t understand the context. Kuang is very present in the story instead of letting the characters think and speak for themselves.
I was excited about Griffin being introduced and found the first chapter of book 2 grabbed my attention but then immediately felt bored again with the minute detailed lectures and footnotes 🙃 It just made the pacing feel off, as we go from intriguing fantasy to in depth chapters on Robin’s courses.
I understand wanting to call attention to the message/exploration on racism and colonialism in academia but she does more telling than showing which I personally don’t enjoy. I’d prefer to be shown what’s happening instead of having it explained to me in such dense, meandering writing. It only makes me feel bored and the long chapters are hard enough to get through at times.
Obviously it explores important themes and issues but I think it could’ve been done better and focused in a narrower scope(?)! The world building of the fantasy mixed with the historical explorations of colonialism/imperialism don’t mesh well-it could have been better if the novel was one or the other genre, not both.
There are so many other books that explore these themes in a better/more impactful manner (in my opinion) and I’d recommend them instead Babel for anyone else who struggled through the text:
1) Children of Blood and Bone series is great if you want to explore similar themes of racism and colonialism in a fantasy world with magic systems! More adventurous, more showing than telling and stays on theme of fantasy (also with better pacing)
2) Ace of Spades also explores themes of racism in an academia-like setting. It’s not fantasy but more thriller based and set at an elite private school rather than university (but still gives off “evil pretentious white people” vibes)
3) Anything from Toni Morrison-her literature always does an amazing job of exploring themes of race and racism with well written characters and more showing than lecturing down at people
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Racism, Colonisation, and Misogyny
Moderate: Death of parent
BFFs: The Radical Potential of Female Friendship by Anahit Behrooz
informative
reflective
fast-paced
4.5
I appreciated the “warnings” at the start, letting readers know about spoilers from media references and the content warnings. The warnings give the exact topic and page number in case readers still want to explore the book but can be aware on which pages to take caution ❤️
The intro felt very much like Barbieland-esque in looking at female friendships and fictionalized worlds where those relationships were valued/centered, which I loved after having seen the Barbie movie! Also Behrooz mentions Christine de Pizan’s “The Book to the City of Ladies” which I know now because of “Cities of Women” by Kathleen B Jones that I read last month!! I was super excited to see a reference I understood (hated Jones’ book but worth it the tiniest bit to now see the reference/source inspo referenced in my non fiction read) 🥰
A quick read about the power of female friendship and the radical intimacy it can offer, as friendships can be some of the most important formative relationships throughout our lives. Some of the language could be difficult and ventured into more academic-leaning language so I wouldn’t say this is an accessible read for a general audience.
Most of the book covers media and literary examples of female friendships, giving us an overview of the stories and unpacking them, rather than explore the topic itself. It’s more surface level which I expected, given its a small 90 page book. But I do wish it would’ve gone slightly deeper as I felt underwhelmed; it lacked a “punch” in its explanations.
It was interesting to read about the impact of capitalism and patriarchy on intimacy in friendships and how it’s devalued compared to romantic relationships. Exploring how heteronormative nuclear families are still valued as the “ultimate life goal.” I’ll definitely be looking for other nonfiction books on the subject, and watching some of the movies referenced! Overall a fascinating, bite-sized read that I’d recommend 💗
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Grief, Racism, Rape, Abortion, Car accident, Sexual violence, and Suicide
Emma: 200th-Anniversary Annotated Edition (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition) by Jane Austen
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
So this was technically my 5th Austen (4th that I finished because I did DNF Mansfield Park). If I only count the 4 I finished so far, Emma is possibly last on my rankings list.
The novel is extremely slow at times, causing me to be bored and at one point I started skimming some of the dialogues.
The novel is extremely slow at times, causing me to be bored and at one point I started skimming some of the dialogues.
There were too many monologues from characters (looking at you Miss Bates) or descriptions that went on unnecessarily (did not need those descriptions on Pork, Woodhouses)! I think the novel could have been cut by about 100 pages and nothing of substance would change. The pacing felt all over the place as the story picked up for me around 60 pages in but then slowed down again-rinse and repeat. The ending felt dragged out and kind of anticlimactic.
I didn’t mind the characters as much as others may have. Emma could be annoying and spoiled but I found her entertaining enough to read about. Miss Bates and Mrs Elton drove me insane, and Frank Churchill is a walking red flag. Mainly continued the book for Mr Knightley, that man carried this book! Mr Woodhouse had some funny (and relatable) lines, “the sooner any party breaks up, the better.” 😂
Overall I’m mostly glad to have read this and checked it off my list of Austen novels. But I can understand why many don’t like classics or Austen if they read Emma (I swear her other books are so much better and less boring). This is one Austen I won’t be rereading though.
I didn’t mind the characters as much as others may have. Emma could be annoying and spoiled but I found her entertaining enough to read about. Miss Bates and Mrs Elton drove me insane, and Frank Churchill is a walking red flag. Mainly continued the book for Mr Knightley, that man carried this book! Mr Woodhouse had some funny (and relatable) lines, “the sooner any party breaks up, the better.” 😂
Overall I’m mostly glad to have read this and checked it off my list of Austen novels. But I can understand why many don’t like classics or Austen if they read Emma (I swear her other books are so much better and less boring). This is one Austen I won’t be rereading though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism and Toxic friendship
The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
medium-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
3.0
This is my second book from Hannah, technically, but the first one that I finished! It had a slow start but around the 60 page mark I got more into the story. It’s an emotional story with a lot of trauma these characters are put through.
Hannah does a good job of describing the atmosphere of the time period, for the most part. The novel taught me more about the Dust Bowl than I ever learned at school! We were taught about the dust storms and how it made living in the region dangerous, but I never learned just how intertwined the Dust Bowl and Great Depression were. It was eye-opening and I want to read more about the subject, especially since this is only the beginning and a lot was left out.
We read the novel through the perspectives of Elsa and her daughter Loreda. I really enjoyed the switching perspectives but they often felt repetitive and didn’t add many new things in each chapter. I didn’t love the characters, they felt a bit flat. I would’ve liked more character development especially from Loreda who blames her mom for literally everything. Elsa I liked a tiny bit more because for me, I read the repetition of her character as just trying to survive day to day for her kids and not having room to do/think about much else.
Themes of the book still felt very relevant to issues we still face today like the treatment of migrant workers and how many people are “othered”, the fight for worker’s rights, the lack of social support, and environmental disasters.
I think another reviewer mentioned the unfortunate lack of historical accuracy surrounding the striking/workers rights events as Hannah created a fictional event to center “Okies” (white migrant farmers) when a very real event took place around the same time involving Mexican migrant workers. The lack of diversity was disappointing, especially as Mexican and Black migrant workers were also central to this time period. It also became an issue as it was very white washed, I understand it’s historical fiction and you can’t fit everything into one book-but at 450 pages and repetitive dialogue, you could at least acknowledge certain aspects.
The talk about the Martinelli’s land (and Texas in general) is talked about in a “manifest destiny” sort of way. Elsa’s grandfather “fought to get this land”…failing to mention the Native Americans it was taken from. In fact, there is never any mention of them, the land just appeared magically apparently. The erasure of certain parts of history and minority groups, in favor of centering on white migrants (while conveniently ignoring their own white privilege) is at best irresponsible and at worst dangerous. Hannah chose to focus on an ugly part of history while conveniently taking out the marginalized communities mainly affected.
And the constant repetitiveness of “bad thing bad thing, but this is America” “ooh bad things are happening. In America” “this isn’t who we are in America.” YES IT IS! The constant pushing of this narrative when it is America and always has been, just not for middle class white people up until the Great Depression, was frustrating and inaccurate. It’s a real white woman moment for Hannah to have her characters constantly saying these things, ignoring history, and comparing themselves to slaves?! You may be getting paid an unlivable wage BUT YOU ARE GETTING PAID AND CAN LEAVE 😬
I was loving this book and feeling like it would be at least 4 stars, right up until this slave comparison/“oh my god how can this happen in America” nonsense. As if America is the pinnacle of freedom and there’s no way anyone could be so mistreated (except for the Native Americans, Black people, Jewish people, poor people, Mexican migrant workers, immigrants, etc etc) 🙃
Bare minimum was for Hannah to have addressed this history that she omitted in her afterword and explain why she did not include it, but instead she used that space to glorify and praise the white pioneers who reaped the benefits of the genocide.
Overall it was an interesting story that held my attention and taught me that I should look at the subject further. But the repetitive writing, lack of character development, and historical erasure was a bit disappointing. I’ll give Hannah’s books one more chance as I enjoyed this one well enough and DNFd one other, (plus I already have two more of her books on my shelves) so maybe lucky number 3 will be better!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Classism, Death, Abandonment, and Grief
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Bullying, and Police brutality
Minor: Child death
Haven by Emma Donoghue
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.5
Only Donoghue can make me intrigued and devouring a character driven, intensely descriptive novel about three monks on an uninhabited island 😅 A fantastic novel that sucked me in- a tale of survival, faith, and religion. It was a slow start but by the third chapter (~35 pages) I was hooked!
I love Donoghue’s ability to tell stories and she’s one of my auto buy authors. Of the 3 books I’ve read so far from her, I’ve loved all of them! Donoghue does a great job of building this historical world, painting vivid imagery of the day to day survival of these monks.
The characters are well written, as we get a glimpse into all 3 of their thoughts, emotions, and motives. They each have their own distinct voices and I loved getting to know them and see them evolve throughout the course of the story!
I love Donoghue’s ability to tell stories and she’s one of my auto buy authors. Of the 3 books I’ve read so far from her, I’ve loved all of them! Donoghue does a great job of building this historical world, painting vivid imagery of the day to day survival of these monks.
The characters are well written, as we get a glimpse into all 3 of their thoughts, emotions, and motives. They each have their own distinct voices and I loved getting to know them and see them evolve throughout the course of the story!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gore, Animal death, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Sexism and Transphobia
Others Were Emeralds by Lang Leav
Did not finish book. Stopped at 37%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 37%.
I’m just really not feeling this book. After setting it aside in favor of other books multiple times and coming back (trying to see if it was the book or just me/my attention span), I’m DNFing. The author does more telling than showing which I never enjoy, give me credit as a reader for being able to understand what’s happening. It’s also slow for my taste, I don’t mind character driven stories but then I need to get inside the characters heads and that’s just not happening. The characters are flat and the pacing is all over the place. We don’t really get to see their motivations and get to know them very well and I’m over 100 pages in, I should feel more connected or have a better idea of the purpose of the story.
Just when it started getting interesting, it got slow and boring again by the next chapter. I really wanted to like this one and learn more about what it was like for POC communities in Australia during the 90s. But I can only try to read a novel for so long before realizing it’s just not for me.
Just when it started getting interesting, it got slow and boring again by the next chapter. I really wanted to like this one and learn more about what it was like for POC communities in Australia during the 90s. But I can only try to read a novel for so long before realizing it’s just not for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Bullying, and Toxic friendship
The Mystery of Yew Tree House by Lesley Thomson
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
Thank you to Netgalley and Aria & Aries for the eARC! So apparently this is part of a series?! It’s one of those detective type novels where the characters are the same but each “case” is different so you can technically read them as standalones. I didn’t know that until another reviewer mentioned it 🙈 It’s not made very clear on Netgalley’s page or here.
Feels very all over the place with details, with some info dumping of character background at the beginning, jumping in and out of the main plot. I kept getting confused, and getting pulled out of the story.
I don’t like the present timeline. I find most of the characters flat and cheesy, the kids were especially annoying. I’m just not a fan of any of the characters, I don’t feel any connections to them. But this could be because I haven’t read the rest of the series. I started skimming the present day chapters because the pacing was all over the place there, with too many overly descriptive sections that I was getting bored often.
There are also so many grammar/continuity mistakes!! At one point a major player, Philip became Peter. And the way information is given is in a roundabout confusing way instead of being straightforward. Too often I ended up rereading paragraphs because I didn’t understand the clues/new info they were discussing.
The dialogue and Stella’s inner thoughts feel cheesy/unnatural at times, especially surrounding her reading an (outdated and absurd) parenting book.
I correctly guessed most of the twists early on but I was slightly surprised by one of the other twists. So the ending felt anti climatic being proven right for the majority of the mystery. Maybe cozy mysteries aren’t my thing. I need tension and suspense, hanging on the edge of my seat with fast pacing! I don’t like the meandering, minute descriptions mixed with a mystery.
Overall it was an interesting enough book that I finished it but I really only finished because I wanted to find out what happened and if I was right 😂 The first half was much better than the second half, as the second half we slowly stay more in the present and don’t look back as much at the 1940s timeline, which I think was the best timeline.
If you enjoy cozy mysteries or detective series, I’d still recommend this book (and maybe the whole series to get more character background/development)!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, War, and Murder
Minor: Domestic abuse and Rape
Lights by Brenna Thummler
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Thank you to Netgalley and Oni Press for the eARC! This was a fantastic end to the trilogy, the story made me laugh and cry.
A great story about grief, healing, friendship, and finding light through the darkness!
I loved diving deeper into Wendell’s life and finding out what happened to him, although it did make me sob 😭 I also enjoyed watching Marjorie grow compared to books 1 and 2! I enjoyed this book slightly more than Delicates, simply because we got more Wendell 👻
The imagery and way Thummler so simply expressed emotions through single images was once again really well done. I’m sad the series is over but thought it was beautifully wrapped up 💗
I’ll definitely be reading more from Thummler and watching for her next book! Thanks to her, I discovered I actually really love graphic novels and am so excited to continue exploring the genre 🥰
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Child death
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Bullying
The Country of Others by Leïla Slimani
Did not finish book. Stopped at 16%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 16%.
Slow start and often boring. The writing style isn’t for me as it’s scattered at times, and drags with the overly descriptive paragraphs. Maybe my expectations were too high with wanting to learn more about the fight for Morocco’s independence and having that plot be more of a background story. This clearly isn’t the book for learning about this period in history.
I was also getting white savior vibes and cliche stereotypes about women, Moroccans, and Romani people/former slaves. Also very French centric/French superiority vibes. It claims to be anti colonial but all the characters (so far) except for the white woman are actually against the Revolution?! So they apparently need a white advocate now and for her to talk down to them. And the language used does not give me “oh yes the author clearly is against the colonization of Morocco” it feels the opposite.
Racist language reproduced a lot with seemingly no commentary to the contrary? An author can show us the racist and colonialist attitudes of the time in different ways, rather than constantly using racial slurs. I just found it jarring and inappropriate at times because it was not relevant to the context of the stories.
Racist language reproduced a lot with seemingly no commentary to the contrary? An author can show us the racist and colonialist attitudes of the time in different ways, rather than constantly using racial slurs. I just found it jarring and inappropriate at times because it was not relevant to the context of the stories.
Multiple perspectives from all kinds of characters making them all feel flat and lacking depth. Just when I begin getting interested and connecting to a character, it moves on to someone else.
This is book 1 of a trilogy and I got book 2 from Netgalley before I knew it was part of a series 🙈 (I do this way too often). And I’ve heard that book 2 is better and you don’t necessarily need to have read book 1 so I’ll still try the next book and hope that I enjoy it better and maybe it’s less white savior-y.
Also one last note on this being part of a trilogy: if this book is supposed to follow Mathilde and her husband, Amine, and book 2 follows their children then why are we getting a POV from their 6 year old daughter now?! Especially so early in the book. Her chapters sound nothing like a 6 year old, and feel too mature in language and perspective.
This is purely based off what I’ve read so far (and that hasn’t been much). I found an amazing review on Goodreads that discusses some of the problematic things in better detail, and made me ultimately decide to DNF. Highly recommend checking it out as the reader is Moroccan and can speak better on the (lack of) representation and cultural nuance in the novel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, and Violence
Moderate: Domestic abuse
Hot Milk by Deborah Levy
Did not finish book. Stopped at 10%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 10%.
I don’t really like the writing style. It lacks depth so I’m not connecting with the characters and it feels very artsy-trying-too-hard-to-be-profound. Some of the dialogue feels weird and out of place, especially the scene with the MC and Dr Gomez. I kept getting bored every couple of pages so I’m finally DNFing, this type of literary fiction just isn’t my taste
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness