fortunavhs's reviews
76 reviews

Any Human Heart by William Boyd

emotional reflective sad fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton

dark reflective tense 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? It's complicated

2.5

I might need to stew with it, but the book’s first two acts and then the final one felt really mismatched, stakes and pacing-wise.

And the ending! It just felt silly to me. I wasn’t attached to anyone in this book so I don’t feel all that upset but I think it was more concerned with shocking us then something that fit with the tone established in the first half of the book.

The Master's Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master's House by Audre Lorde

5.0

Dead Girls Don't Say Sorry by Alex Ritany

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

The Stranger by Albert Camus

dark reflective fast-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

5.0

Hauntology: Ghosts of Futures Past by Merlin Coverley

informative inspiring reflective

5.0

Letter from the Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King Jr.

5.0

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

emotional reflective sad slow-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

5.0

Chess Story by Stefan Zweig

dark tense fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

The Sanguine Sorceress by Camilla Andrew

dark inspiring sad fast-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? No

5.0

 

I was given a copy of The Sanguine Sorceress in exchange for an honest review. 

I signed up to read this novella being sold on the promise of feminine rage and a compelling female lead, and I can say with confidence that it delivered. The Sanguine Sorceress has the advantage of being able to appeal to both fans of When The Stars Alight (especially those, like myself, who were drawn in by the horror-fantasy elements) while standing on its own – I would say this novella would be just as readable to those who have not read anything else by Camilla Andrew. 

Andrew’s signature decadent prose continues here, and is especially well suited to its first-person narration, which was one of my stand-out aspects of the novella. Serafina is a very compelling protagonist in a suffocating patriarchy – there were certain supporting characters who made my skin literally crawl. This is certainly not a comfortable or easy read as a result, but allows the catharsis of the ending to hit that much harder. 

While it stands up by itself, I still got the sense that there is so much more to the world that the novella hasn’t scratched the surface of. The final act introduced a concept I definitely am wanting to learn more about, so hopefully future Essence of the Equinox works will build upon what has been revealed here. 

(Cross-posted from goodreads)