clairebartholomew549's reviews
671 reviews

dark emotional hopeful informative reflective medium-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

4.0

I have been hearing about this book for months, and it more than delivered. Akbar explores such heavy and difficult topics: making sense of senseless tragedy, feeling like your life has no meaning in the face of state violence and horrible circumstances, existing and surviving in a country that is deeply xenophobic, Islamophobic, and racist, being unable to accept the love of those around you when you can't love yourself (cliche of course, but a universal truth and beautifully articulated here), and the power of art to expose our deepest vulnerabilities. But Akbar's voice is so witty and sharp that you never feel weighed down, and the pace is brisk and flows well. I felt a deep attachment to Cyrus right away, and getting other characters' perspectives added so much color and context to who he was. The interludes also were incredibly impactful: Akbar's poetry about different martyrs is visceral and informative, and the snippets of the US' dismissive response to their "mistaken" shooting down of an Iranian passenger plane are a searing indictment of the US' inability to ever take accountability and its commitment to seeing non-Western countries' inhabitants as other and inhuman. This book is just incredibly well done.

Content Warnings

The Watermark by Sam Mills

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
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

4.0

This book is a wild ride from start to finish. It's a little hard to review without giving away too much, but I'll do my best. Jamie is a journalist who interviews his idol, Augustus Fate. Fate tricks Jamie and traps him - along with another woman, Rachel - in the novel he is currently writing. Jamie and Rachel then careen through various novels, trying to get back to the "real" world and their "real" lives, while all the while Fate (the name is a bit on the nose, but ultimately I think it works) messes with them like they're his playthings.

This book is definitely more plot-focused than character-focused, which I didn't mind but sometimes makes it a bit difficult for me to get into a book. I was really impressed by how Mills attacked different genres - Dickensian England, Soviet-era rural Russia, futuristic America with robots, etc. - and appreciated how questions of who we are and who we would be if our circumstances are different shone through. Jamie and Rachel's push and pull of being put together in various timelines and trying to make sense of their relationship is really interesting (even if Jamie sometimes is a whiny character), and each book's world felt fully realized. This is definitely an eccentric book, but it flies by despite its page count and is wholly engrossing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Melville House Publishing for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review!

Content Warnings

Black Woods, Blue Sky by Eowyn Ivey

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I loved this eerie, emotional, and moving book. The synopsis describes this as a modern retelling of Beauty and the Beast, and the premise is definitely that - Birdie is a single mother living in rural Alaska, and she falls in love with Arthur, a man who lives out in the middle of the vast forest and who the community has misgivings about for various reasons. Birdie and her six-year-old daughter Emaleen move out to Arthur's remote cabin, and things . . . unfold (I really don't want to spoil anything, so I'll leave this vague, lol).

I love a fairytale for sure, and this one was beautifully done. Ivey's descriptions of the Alaskan wilderness are beyond breathtaking, and Birdie and Emaleen are both delightful characters. Emaleen's childlike wonder and imagination really brings the woods to life, and Birdie's strong pull to be free is really resonant and works so well for the story. The "mystery" surrounding Arthur is revealed to the reader relatively early, which personally I kind of like in a book, and Birdie and Emaleen's slow realizations and the facts becoming clear is spooky and creeping and perfect. The writing is gorgeous, and I loved getting other characters' perspectives. I just loved this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing House - Random House for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review!

Content Warnings

The Pale Flesh of Wood: A Novel by Elizabeth A. Tucker

Go to review page

dark emotional reflective sad 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

3.0

I'm not totally sure how to feel about this book. In 1950s Northern California, ten-year-old Lyla--at her father's request--hangs a rope around a huge tree on her grandmother's property. Shortly thereafter, Lyla's father commits suicide using that same rope. The book jumps back and forth in time, going as far back as Lyla's father's childhood and as far forward as almost 30 years after her father's death.

I think this book does an exceptional job of depicting the aftermath of suicide and how each member of Lyla's family blames themselves and each other; seeks answers and explanations; and grieves in unique and non-linear ways. I felt like I really understood Lyla's confusion about her father's death and how complicated it made her relationship with her mother. But this book was very, very slow going for me. It was really hard for me to get into, and the timelines jumping around didn't work for me. Being "in the mind of the tree" was also just odd to me, and I wanted more insight into more of the characters. Overall, this was a bit of a miss for me.

I also thought that the "plot twist" at the end that Lyla's father had fathered a child while at war and that was why he committed suicide was such a copout and really undermined Tucker's thoughtful exploration of suicide in the rest of the book. It felt like Tucker wanted there to be a "reason" Lyla's father committed suicide, and although I'm obviously no expert, that does seem like a facile and flattened conception of suicide.

Thank you to NetGalley and She Writes Press for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review!

Content Warnings

On Screen & Off Again by Caitlin Cross

Go to review page

funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.0

This is the stuff of fanfiction dreams, truly. Wilhemina and Daxon were child stars on an extremely popular TV show, but had a bad breakup when the show ended. Seven years later, Daxon's star is on the rise, while Wil has faded into obscurity. They are reunited on a blockbuster movie, and of course, sparks fly and things get complicated.

I went back and forth on whether to give this book three or four stars, and I landed on four stars because this was a fun, easy read with lots of familiar tropes that were relatively well-executed. I felt the chemistry between Wil and Daxon, but the degree to which I was rooting for them was definitely dampened by the fact that I thought Daxon treated Wil pretty shittily. When he was young, of course, I gave him a bit of a pass (even though I feel like the way he treated her was indicative of how little he actually respected her), but in the present-day timeline, it felt like he was still willing to do anything for his career and he was unwilling to really remedy the rift between them with real accountability. The movie Wil and Daxon are working on is also extremely cheesy, and there was way too much of the script in there for my liking. But this didn't feel like a three-star book to me because it is actually really written, and I loved Wil as a character.

Thank you to NetGalley and 8th Note Press for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review!

Content Warnings

Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson

Go to review page

emotional hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This is a sweeping, gorgeous, emotional story that had me hooked from the very first page. Twenty years ago, Ebony Freeman's older brother was killed in a burglary that was never solved, and a precious family heirloom was broken. Ever since, Ebony's family has been the subject of media attention and scrutiny. In present day, the breakdown of Ebony's high-profile relationship is the catalyst for the unraveling of the Freeman's history and trauma.

Just like her last book Black Cake (which I loved), this book is full of heart and deeply empathetic family dynamics. Wilkerson does an incredible job of depicting how experiencing trauma can make you feel frozen in time, and how triggers can send you back into a dark place that feels impossible to get out of. Wilkerson is candid about the legacy of slavery (and slavery itself) and how even wealthy black families are judged and othered by their white contemporaries, and you feel for every member of the Freeman family. It's hard to review this book without giving any spoilers away, but I'll end by saying that this book moves fast, has incredible scenery and imagery, and is a stunning piece of character work. I highly recommend this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review!

Content Warnings

Out of the Woods by Hannah Bonam-Young

Go to review page

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

I loved this book so much - which isn't a huge surprise since Bonam-Young's Out on a Limb was such a joy for me. Our protagonist Sarah is in her early thirties and has been married to her high school sweetheart since she was 19, but she feels like her life is static and she is not doing anything with herself. She and her husband Caleb go on a weeklong hiking trip called Reignite to mend their communication issues and get themselves out of their rut, and along the way, they figure out what they want and who they want to be.

This book just felt so real and honest. There really aren't enough romance books written about what happens after the happily ever after, let alone a decade into marriage, and I so appreciated how this book delved into who Sarah and Caleb were as a couple but also how much Sarah struggled to figure out who she was period. It also has beautiful insights about what it means to evolve with your partner, and how your relationship might need to look different at different times to support each other. The spice is spicy, the dialogue is snappy and emotionally devastating when it needs to be, and Sarah and Caleb are deeply complicated, flawed, loving characters who you root for. This is a true gem.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random Publishing Group - Ballentine for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review!

Content Warnings

A Season of Light by Julie Iromuanya

Go to review page

dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

3.0

This book has a fascinating premise, but the execution is a bit of a letdown. A Nigerian family has settled in Orlando, but when over two hundred schoolgirls in Nigeria are kidnapped by terrorists, the patriarch of the family, Fidelis, experiences a PTSD resurgence-he fought in the Nigerian Civil War-and locks his 16-year-old daughter, Amara, in her bedroom indefinitely. Fidelis' younger sister, Ugochi, went missing during the civil war and was never found, and Fidelis believes history is repeating itself and he must protect his daughter.

This book has a lot of interesting and impactful things to say about generational trauma, cultural displacement, the insane, illogical, and interlocking systems of misogyny that impact both daughters and sons, and classism and racism and their reverberating effects. The family dynamics feel real and lived-in, and the characters are vivid. But this book just had way too many side-plots going on, and the emotional resolution wasn't there.

Thank you to NetGalley and Algonquin Books/Algonquin Young Readers for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review!

Content Warnings

Husbands & Lovers by Beatriz Williams

Go to review page

dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

I really enjoyed this book, although - as with many books with different timelines - I enjoyed the historical story much more than the present-day story. Hannah's story is absolutely fascinating, to the point that I'd probably read a whole book about her life as a World War II refugee who ends up married to a British diplomat stationed in Cairo. Her narrative had so much to say about making sense of and living with trauma, opening yourself up to hurt after unimaginable tragedies, and the boxes women are put in. The present-day story is interesting when it comes, but I agree with other reviewers that the characters felt a bit shallow and the love story a bit strained. But the scenergy is gorgeous! This was definitely a fun, fast read that had a lot of depth.

I'm a little torn about how the author constructed the "big reveal" that Monk's father raped Mallory. The "revelation" coming so late in the book sort of felt like it was just done for shock value, and it didn't feel like we spent enough time with Mallory's emotions and experiences at all. I was surprised by how casually the information was dropped, especially considering the sensitivity and emotional intelligence with which Williams writes the most harrowing aspects of Hannah's story.

Content Warnings

Three Days in June by Anne Tyler

Go to review page

emotional hopeful reflective slow-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? Yes

4.0

This is an exceptionally well-done slice of life book. We follow Gail through her daughter's wedding weekend as she deals with work issues, her ex-husband who she is on amiable but sometimes awkward terms with, and a myriad of feelings about her identity and her life. Gail is so endearing: she struggles to read people sometimes, but she is so genuinely kind-hearted and witty, and her relationships feel so real and lived-in. The characters are flawed and lovely, and being with them for the literary space of three days was a delight.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for giving me an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review!

Content Warnings

More...

clairebartholomew549's reviews 671 reviews

clairebartholomew549's reviews
671 reviews