kimothay's reviews
32 reviews

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.0

This is my first Brandon Taylor read! Short story collections are usually not my favorite because I very much need detailed, direct character development to thoroughly get invested in a story. However, I enjoyed many of the stories in this collection and I’m interested to read more of Taylor’s work. This is definitely a dark read with lots of content/trigger warnings; however, since the main theme of the book is how humans seek connection but resort to violence, it was to be expected. I would have liked to see more character development or addressing of core problems, but overall, I enjoyed the collection. The standout for me was Anne of Cleves.

Potluck: 4/5

Little Beast: 4/5

Flesh: 3.5/5

As Though That Were Love: 3.5/5

Proctoring: 4/5

Filthy Animals: 3/5

Mass: 2.5/5

Anne of Cleves: 4.5/5

Apartment: 3/5

What Made Them Made You: 4/5

Meat: 3/5

Content Warnings

Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

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reflective fast-paced

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

3.25

This book was just okay. All four of these stories had some sweet or meaningful elements, but they were so short that I had a hard time getting invested in the stories. I’m definitely the type of reader that needs a lot of direct character development in order to get invested in a book; so, while I enjoyed most of the stories, I never felt particularly emotionally attached to any characters.

I found the first story to be a bit more trivial in comparison to the other three, and I thought Fumiko was mostly just whiny and dramatic. The second story was good, but again, I had a hard time feeling attached to the characters. If it were longer, I could totally see myself being more emotionally affected as Alzheimer’s/memory problems hit close to home. The third and fourth stories were my favorites, and I would read a full-length book of either of those in a heartbeat! Overall, I enjoyed the stories and loved a lot of the ideas, but I never felt especially attached to the characters and felt they weren’t long enough stories to get me fully engaged.

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious slow-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? Yes

4.0

I was pleasantly surprised by this book! I don’t typically like fantasy or sci-fi, so I was expecting it would be a “meh” for me. It definitely started out very slow as there was a lot of world-building, and I found it difficult to follow for over half the book. Each character has several names which I also had a hard time keeping up with. Though, since I don’t typically read fantasy, I will acknowledge that it would probably have been easier to read if I was familiar with fantastical terms and/or more interested in fantasy to begin with. It took me a while to get engaged and understand what was going on, but by the middle of the third act, I couldn’t put it down. I absolutely loved Gideon’s humor, and the character development between her and Harrow was great. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be reading the rest of the series!

The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer

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challenging dark emotional informative inspiring sad medium-paced