higglebee's reviews
154 reviews

The Happy Ever After Playlist by Abby Jimenez

emotional funny lighthearted reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I'm still not over how disappointed I am in this book. This is the 5th Abby Jimenez book I've read and it's a swing and a miss. The MMC is manipulating her and being dishonest the whole book. He's even given an opportunity to prove he's changed and he squanders it. The FMC is too easily manipulated. She tries to stand her ground, but even her best friends take the MMC's side. This book made me so mad. The ending sorta saves it, but the couple in this book has a lot of issues that are never resolved in the text. Ugh, super disappointed.

My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I have a confession, this book did not make me cry. This book made me enraged. Reading this book as someone the same exact age as our main character, as a woman who is almost 40, I am appalled but not surprised at how accurately the treatment of young Vanessa is described. The voice of Vanessa is dynamic throughout the book which is a testament to how talented the author is. Vanessa's story can be found in every elder millennial woman's experience, at least in part.  I spent the better part of this book just seething. I see too much of myself in Vanessa, but I know I'm not alone in this. Overall, this book is a story about healing. It's a story of how perspective changes gradually over time and how growing up is really hard when you experience trauma as a child. 

The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones

challenging dark 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

4.5

This book made me so uncomfortable in the best way. It's dark as fuck and gory as hell. I loved the writing and how the story is told. The book can best be described as nature getting revenge. The first half of this book I didn't know if I could trust what seemed like reality. The creepiness is unmatched in anything I've read so far this year. This book was absolutely fantastic. It felt like a window into a culture that is very unlike my own. 

The Sound of Storms by Anya Keeler

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

The Sound of Storms is a solid debut novel. The story is original and well executed. The representation in this book is unmatched in my reading experience. The world is queer-normative, sex positive, body positive and the disability representation avoids tokenism. The story is well paced and sucks you in from very early on. The world building and politics are complex and fun to read. The romance is fun and spicy as hell! My only complaint is that apart from the sex scenes this book reads as very YA. The dialogue is fairly immature and the stakes felt pretty high, but the wrap up was a little too clean and easy. Overall I would definitely recommend this book to fantasy readers who love fae and shifters. The spice is written well and very hot. I'm excited to see what Anya Keeler comes up with next!

Barbarian Mine by Ruby Dixon

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

This one took me by surprise and made me cry! I can't believe how much this story affected me. I love the romance between Rukh and Harlow. This one was very emotional. I absolutely loved it.

Barbarian Lover by Ruby Dixon

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful lighthearted tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Kira is a fucking badass. This one was exciting as hell. Ruby Dixon is a smart write and the books seem to get better and better as I listen.

Barbarian Alien by Ruby Dixon

adventurous emotional funny inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.5

Liz is very funny. She is loud and unapologetically herself. I love how she tricks Vectal. I love the romance in this one too. These books are much deeper than I originally thought. I'm impressed by how intricate the story of this alien community is. The overall story of not hoth is entertaining and stakes are fairly high. 

How Y'All Doing?: Misadventures and Mischief from a Life Well Lived by Leslie Jordan

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-paced

4.5

Oh Leslie Jordan, how I miss you so. This memoir took me completely by surprise with just the sheer magnitude of LJ's life experiences. He was truly one of a kind and I love that he led such a rich life and had the love and respect of his family from the start. I how much he talks about his Dad, you can feel the love Leslie had for him. He was a light during a dark time and a gift to his community. This was a great read!

Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This book is intensely beautiful, intensely sad, intensely hard to read. The lens we view Ada through changes throughout this book making it difficult to parse out reality from inner monologue. That it's done so purposely and we'll makes this book truly unique. Ada is a truly sympathetic character whose story is so fraught with trauma, but we are still shown the beauty and strength woven throughout their experience. The voices of Ada's inner beings are clear and propel the narrative in a satisfying way. The audiobook was narrated by the author and it made my reading experience so much richer than if I had been simply reading the text. This is a difficult read, but I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to experience a rich character study of someone who should be unlikable.

Unraveller by Frances Hardinge

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-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

4.25

This book felt very grown up for being intended for children. That said, the writing was gorgeous and lyrical. The storytelling was fantastic. It would be a 5 ⭐ book, but it was entirely too long. There were a couple of side quests that felt superfluous to the narrative as a whole. This story is incredibly original and plotted well. It was complicated and at times it was hard to tell the good guys from the bad making the overall experience of reading this book quite enjoyable!