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carefulfearanddeaddevotion's reviews
155 reviews
Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Mental illness, and Alcohol
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Death, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, and Kidnapping
Minor: Vomit, Car accident, Murder, and Pregnancy
A River Enchanted by Rebecca Ross
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Death, Infertility, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Antisemitism, Abandonment, and War
Even Though I Knew the End by C.L. Polk
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.75
Banyan Moon by Thao Thai
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
Very well written, good, complex characters.
My one complaint about this book is that, while WE learn the Tran women's secrets, they don't learn each other's secrets or --forgive the cheese--hearts. Sure, Huong and Ann are closer at the end of the story, but it doesn't really feel earned or stable. They (and Huong+Minh) start the story not understanding each other and I don't think they ever do. The things in their past that kept or drove them apart are never really resolved. Something about it just doesn't feel 100% satisfying. I kind of really disliked Ann for most of the book. Very bratty and unforgiving imo. I felt <i>extremely</i>bad for Huong: terrible (to put it lightly) romantic relationships, misunderstood and excluded by her mother and daughter....
Also, what was the point of Crystal mentioning that thing about Fiona crying and Wes storming out of the house? Ann never brought it up to Wes and it never came up again. Just felt really random and pointless
Minh's murder of Vinh and the subsequent coverup by her and Huong also felt really random. You'd think it would affect their relationship more or that we'd get some hint of it before. Huong says "what would Ann think if she knew I was the reason she doesn't have a father" towards the beginning of the book, but that could literally mean anything. In fact, I thought she meant that she drove him away by being "too demanding" (wanting basic respect and love in her relationship), and even after we find out, I don't see even a little bit how it could be her fault. Her and Minh's relationship did not at all seem like that of two people who shared this massive secret. It wasn't relevant at all to their story until it was just plonked in towards the end -- something that, again, was never tied up or in.
My one complaint about this book is that, while WE learn the Tran women's secrets, they don't learn each other's secrets or --forgive the cheese--hearts. Sure, Huong and Ann are closer at the end of the story, but it doesn't really feel earned or stable. They (and Huong+Minh) start the story not understanding each other and I don't think they ever do. The things in their past that kept or drove them apart are never really resolved. Something about it just doesn't feel 100% satisfying. I kind of really disliked Ann for most of the book. Very bratty and unforgiving imo. I felt <i>extremely</i>bad for Huong: terrible (to put it lightly) romantic relationships, misunderstood and excluded by her mother and daughter....
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Violence, Grief, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Death, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and War
Minor: Alcoholism, Bullying, Miscarriage, Racism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Car accident, and Gaslighting
Siren Queen by Nghi Vo
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Once again, beautiful gowns. Lovely prose, lovely (well - demonic, more like. but in a very whimsical, otherworldly way) atmosphere. Reading her books is like being in a dream - or out at sea. It's very hard to find purchase, but you're so distracted by the surroundings you don't really notice, you just feel vaguely unmoored. Where Nghi Vo fails is plot and creating solid characters. They're so ethereal, so wispy, so lovely that when you reach for them, your hand passes right through.
Like with The Chosen and the Beautiful, she dances around a magic system that is neither explained nor explored. This contributes to the ethereal quality of her novels, but it also leads to a lack of depth in both the plot and the characters. Yes, both are intriguing, but she fails to fully satisfy. I finished the book thinking not "oh, what a conclusion" but "ok, when does the story start?" It seems that she tries too hard to cultivate this dreamy vibe, and not hard enough to craft a story. I'm certainly not against thinking and interpreting - I hate when a book overexplains - but she leaves too much up to the reader to guess.
Like with The Chosen and the Beautiful, she dances around a magic system that is neither explained nor explored. This contributes to the ethereal quality of her novels, but it also leads to a lack of depth in both the plot and the characters. Yes, both are intriguing, but she fails to fully satisfy. I finished the book thinking not "oh, what a conclusion" but "ok, when does the story start?" It seems that she tries too hard to cultivate this dreamy vibe, and not hard enough to craft a story. I'm certainly not against thinking and interpreting - I hate when a book overexplains - but she leaves too much up to the reader to guess.
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
In the words of the late great Aretha Franklin, "beautiful gowns."
Lovely lovely writing and atmosphere, but what else was going on? nothing. truly felt like i was a long island socialite lounging about doing jackshit during a hotass 1920s summer...plus vague magic? idk. can't tell if the fact that i read The Great Gatsby nearly a decade ago hurt or helped my enjoyment of this book. i remember loving Fitzgerald's prose, and the same is true of Vo's. I'd pick up any book she wrote simply because her writing is so nice. Plot and and especially world-building? Leaving significantly much to be desired.
Wish the magic system was explored more. I don't really understand how it works or its significance in the world. Not really sure what demoniac is either. She mentions the Manchester Act a couple times, but I wish she went more in-depth into Jordan's identity as a queer and Asian member of high society.
Lovely lovely writing and atmosphere, but what else was going on? nothing. truly felt like i was a long island socialite lounging about doing jackshit during a hotass 1920s summer...plus vague magic? idk. can't tell if the fact that i read The Great Gatsby nearly a decade ago hurt or helped my enjoyment of this book. i remember loving Fitzgerald's prose, and the same is true of Vo's. I'd pick up any book she wrote simply because her writing is so nice. Plot and and especially world-building? Leaving significantly much to be desired.
Wish the magic system was explored more. I don't really understand how it works or its significance in the world. Not really sure what demoniac is either. She mentions the Manchester Act a couple times, but I wish she went more in-depth into Jordan's identity as a queer and Asian member of high society.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Racism, Xenophobia, Vomit, Car accident, Murder, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Grief, and Death of parent
A Sweet Sting of Salt by Rose Sutherland
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
a sapphic folklore retelling set in the past but not based on any specific historical event? a sapphic folklore retelling set in the past, not based on any specific historical event, and reworked in such a way that im not expected to root for a creep protagonist???? Rose Sutherland, if every book you write is like this, I'll be forced to read them all.
I would not have been happy if she'dmade Ida Mae die in childbirth because Jean forgot about her duties by becoming so wrapped up in Múirín (in the acknowledgements she mentions how one of her editors told her not to write - paraphrasing - Jean making a thoughtless unforgiveable mistake, and I have a sneaking suspicion it would have been this one but she didn't, so I really have no complaints plot wise. Well-paced and non-monotonous sentence structure. The characters felt very real and 3D. Love love a prickly ass stubborn ass woman, Jean Langille you ARE that bitch. RIP Honey, you were too sweet for this world <3
Looked up Barquer's Bay only to find that it doesn't exist, but I went on a google maps journey to find Jean's home anyway. Turns out, Sutherland wrote the setting off of memories and feelings and not actual locations. Howeverrrrrr, before I read this in the author's note, I believed that I found the rocks in Mahone Bay that Jean uses to cross the stream, and after reading the author's note, I believe I'm right regardless. 44.45787N, 64.37865W, for anybody who cares. <a href="https://imgur.com/a/D5UobAB">couldn't embed image so here's a link</a>
I would not have been happy if she'd
Looked up Barquer's Bay only to find that it doesn't exist, but I went on a google maps journey to find Jean's home anyway. Turns out, Sutherland wrote the setting off of memories and feelings and not actual locations. Howeverrrrrr, before I read this in the author's note, I believed that I found the rocks in Mahone Bay that Jean uses to cross the stream, and after reading the author's note, I believe I'm right regardless. 44.45787N, 64.37865W, for anybody who cares. <a href="https://imgur.com/a/D5UobAB">couldn't embed image so here's a link</a>
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Violence, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Animal death, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Blood, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Colonisation
The Bone Orchard by Sara A. Mueller
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, and Murder
Moderate: War
In My Dreams I Hold a Knife by Ashley Winstead
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual violence, Car accident, and Death of parent
Minor: Stalking