hannaheiserman's reviews
119 reviews

Outlawed, by Anna North

dark emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Infertility, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Blood, Death, Injury/injury detail, Gun violence, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Confinement, Gore, Grief, Violence, and Police brutality

Conversations with Friends, by Sally Rooney

funny hopeful reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.75

Loved the exploration of polyamory. As with Normal People, the protagonist and (main?) love interest were boring and archetypal — but intentionally so, I believe. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Chronic illness, Blood, Infidelity, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Cursing, Mental illness, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Alcohol and Classism

The Pump, by Sydney Hegele

dark funny tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Exceedingly well-written, unique, grotesque, horrifying, and gripping. The best short story collection I’ve ever read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Murder, Death, Injury/injury detail, and Child death

Crier's War, by Nina Varela

adventurous medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/injury detail

Moderate: Blood and War

One of the main characters refers to the “made” (cyborg type) creatures as “leeches”… as someone with a phobia of leeches, this made the reading experience very uncomfortable.

Sistersong, by Lucy Holland

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Blood, Gore, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Pregnancy, Death, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Transphobia, and War

Minor: Deadnaming and Ableism

The Once and Future Witches, by Alix E. Harrow

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring medium-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Child abuse, Death of parent, and Violence

Wide Open, by D.M. Ditson

challenging dark hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Gaslighting, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Sexual content

In the Dream House, by Carmen Maria Machado

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Cursing, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Panic attacks/disorders, Lesbophobia, Infidelity, and Grief

Every Little Scrap and Wonder, by Carla Funk

funny reflective slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death

An entire chapter on animal slaughtering and butchering; chapter on the burial of a family horse. There is also a chapter where the narrator goes into a lake with leeches, which may not trigger anyone else but certainly did for me.

Titus Andronicus, by William Shakespeare

dark tense 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? Yes

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Blood, Body horror, Death, Grief, Injury/injury detail, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, and War