coffeeoverapples's reviews
488 reviews

Berserk, Vol. 10 by Kentaro Miura

adventurous dark reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

2.5

Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix

adventurous dark emotional funny lighthearted reflective sad tense 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

3.5

The Handyman Method by Nick Cutter, Andrew F. Sullivan

dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

3.75 rounded up! This plays with the typical cosmic horror/ weird fiction genre's resolution of "what do we do with the big bad evil?" I have read almost all of Nick Cutter's books and this is my first one by Andrew Sullivan. Part of weird fiction is that throughout a good chunk, things just don't make sense. I think of it as a horror mystery as I try to decipher how this evil functions, but I don't expect clear answers. It does get liminal later which I eat up every time. It's a flavor thing. 

I totally get that this could be really divisive. Almost all of the characters are unlikable, which I don't mind at all, as long as what they are doing is not just for shock value. Ultimately I see why our MC was framed the way he was. Could it have served the story better if he was likable and gave readers a human to root for? Yes it could have. But seeing toxic masculinity consistently be emasculated and serve a purpose was nom nom delicious lol It actually made me root for the big bad a bunch of the time which made the ending more satisfying for me. 

Trigger warning for: harm to animals (Turtles are to Nick Cutter what dogs are to Stephen Graham Jones), misogyny, body horror, abuse, neglect, and a bunch of other things.

I would be interested in picking up Sullivan's books in the future.

Our Migrant Souls: A Meditation on Race and the Meanings and Myths of “Latino” by Héctor Tobar

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.25

Destroy All Humans. They Can't Be Regenerated. A Magic: The Gathering Manga, Vol. 1 by Katsura Ise

dark funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

5.0

The Terraformers by Annalee Newitz

challenging dark funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.0

Blood Scion by Deborah Falaye

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

4.5 ⭐️ rounded up. This was so much darker than I was prepared for but honestly, my hat is off to this author for tackling major topics such as colonialism, appropriation, genocide and child labor without holding any punches. Falaye makes sure that teens who will read this will know what is wrong beyond just the horrific fights that happen on page by not minceing words. 

The pace of horrific event after horrific event left me so tired wishing for reprieve for these characters if only for a minute, but that is very much the point. The circumstances are dire and no one gets a moment to breath in the face of genocide. I teared up atleast 3 times, forcing me to put the book down because the on page brutality was heart breaking. The climax left us on a cliff hanger that I need to see resolved. 

The incorporation of yoruba culture and  beliefs as a magic system is soft as of now because our MC is figuring things out as she goes. But it is always present as a guiding force. It reminds us that no matter how much someone attempts to strip away who we are, Culture is so much bigger than that. 

Sloane is a badass female MC who I want to succeed, but my God the cost.... 

😭👏👏💔

Cosmic Crush by Clio Evans

hopeful lighthearted 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

2.75

Was it 🌶? Yes. Was there a plot? Sure. Was it my cup of tea? Not really.  

While I liked the idea of how these characters were set up for being forced to confront their mating under the circumstances, the story fizzled out everywhere but the bedroom after that. Degradation is not my flavor of spicey but I'm still gonna keep going with the series so 🤷‍♀️