editoryalizing's reviews
472 reviews

Where Wolves Don't Die by Anton Treuer

adventurous challenging 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

The Light on Halsey Street by Vanessa Miller

challenging emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

Welp. This is in fact not Halsey Street by Naima Coster….

This is Christian fiction and I am not the target audience. I finished reading because I did want to know what happened with the two main characters, but I also wanted to know if it would  transcend the played out sinners and saints dichotomy, but it didn’t. Bad people are bad and bad things happen to them until they accept Christ as their savior and then they are good. Good people, trust and believe in Jesus and when bad things happen to them it is a test of their faith, but they must not waiver because then that would be bad and they should practice endurance and forgiveness. 

They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera

adventurous emotional reflective sad 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

Tender Beasts by Liselle Sambury

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

Wild as hell. I don't know how to review this book so l'm just gonna tell you how I was feeling.  I was scared. I was creeped out. I was upset. was annoyed. I was frustrated. I was confused. I was hooked. I wanted more, but l also felt like it could've been 70 pages shorter.  I'm definitely going to read more from this author because how in the world did you come up with this? If anybody has read this, let me know because I need to talk.

Such a Bad Influence by Olivia Muenter

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

All them kids that got exploited when YouTube first popped off??? Yeah, they gotta sue their parents for the emotional damage and financial abuse. 

Appropriate amount of red herrings and misdirect for a thriller. The most impactful parts  were of the internal conflict the older sister experiences. I would have liked to see stronger external conflict. The story went and hung out and left field for a while, but then it came back and made sense. Could’ve been about 50 pages shorter and have the same effect. 

Lifetime is gonna eat this one up! Honestly put in one of the Dance Moms girls. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Classism

You, Again by Kate Goldbeck

When Harry Met Sally except for she’s queer and he’s uptight. The characters? I don’t know they both got on my damn nerves. The story, however, was interesting enough to make me keep reading. I would like this as a movie instead because that would mean spending less time with the people but still getting the story. IDK if that sounded mean but I liked it enough to reread in the future. 

The Man I Never Met by Elle Cook

This feels like the flat share and I don’t just mean because it’s British. It’s one of those nothing happens, but everything is happening sorts of story. No spice, a fair amount of longing and yearning but more internal monologue about yearning than actual “I burn for you” type energy. If Connell and Marianne were penpals.

The Wiener Across the Way by Amy Award

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? It's complicated

I just read fat Taylor Swift fanfiction. That might sound quippy, but I am serious. The girl is an international popstar and she starts dating a football player from a famous football family. She has a shitty manager named Skeeter and her fans are called Besties after her last name Best. I could tell you the rest of the story and it wouldn’t be a spoiler if you have had access to the internet in the last four years. I— 

yay for fat girls getting their cheeks clapped though. 

Love & Monsters by Max Walker

challenging dark mysterious 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? No

Gay thriller about a stalker in Atlanta? Unfortunately the title and that description are scarier than the book. Over, promised on the thrill, delivered on the gay.

The Cemetery of Untold Stories by Julia Alvarez

It’s fucking Julia Alvarez. Beautiful prose, made me want to take the oral history of the elders in my family.