parasolcrafter's reviews
115 reviews

Tin Man, by Sarah Winman

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

its about the fact that they loved at all that makes this book so tragic... that they loved and lost but didnt lose each other and then did lose each other and then found each other again only for ellis to lose both of his loves with such finality...goodbye. im gonna think abt this book for a long time

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Abandonment, Car accident, Chronic illness, Terminal illness, Death, Drug use, Death of parent, and Homophobia

Minor: Sexual content and Cursing

Darwin's Bastards: Astounding Tales from Tomorrow, by Zsuzsi Gartner
Did not finish book.

i forgot i even started this omg....also dont care </3

The Companion, by E.E. Ottoman
Did not finish book. Stopped at 32%.

its so boring. i dont care. if i knew this were erotica i wouldnt have picked it up in the First place 😒

Best of the Wrong Reasons, by Sander Santiago
Did not finish book. Stopped at 26%.

its just so damn BORING

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent

Fist of the Spider Woman: Tales of Fear and Queer Desire, by Amber Dawn

slow-paced

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

0.0

i wish i could give negative reviews. let me give this negative 5 stars!!!!!!!!!
had i known it was going to focus on badly written porn i simply would not have read it. genuinely what the fuck was any of this!!!!! there were maybe 2 stories in here that were bearable. good fucking lord. i wanted queer horror and got none of it; unless, of course, you count the writing as horrific.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Death, Incest, Injury/injury detail, Sexual violence, Blood, Confinement, Animal cruelty, Car accident, Cursing, Drug abuse, Lesbophobia, Violence, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Sexism, Sexual assault, Stalking, Transphobia, Death of parent, Rape, Torture, Drug use, Grief, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Gore, and Sexual content

Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke And Other Misfortunes, by Eric LaRocca

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

the first story out of these three was fine, but the other two were quite boring :/ reading the afterword did make them both a bit clearer, but it doesnt make the stories any more enjoyable. the first one was really well-written and i wanted to know how it would end, but the second story was a little too drawn out, and the third one was just...strange. i also dont know why the third story's main characters husband was described as being racist because he's literally only mentioned. it just feels like a really weird detail about someone we dont ever meet.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, Vomit, Self harm, Body horror, Grief, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Blood, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Cursing, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Violence, Injury/injury detail, Racism, Death, and Gore

A Series of Unfortunate Events #6: The Ersatz Elevator, by Lemony Snicket

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-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

3.75

these books really will have such strange things happening in them. like im sorry but sunny climbing up the elevator shaft by using her teeth to stick into the wall to lift herself is SO wild 😭 shes a BABY...these books are wild

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Murder, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Child abuse, Confinement, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Bullying

Minor: Body shaming

I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki, by Baek Se-hee

emotional hopeful fast-paced

4.0

this book wasnt what i thought it was going to be when i went into it (story-telling wise!) but it was a really interesting & raw look into one persons life and her struggles and how she tries to overcome it with therapy and medication and how it isnt a quick, immediate fix like some people think it is

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Alcohol, Body shaming, Bullying, and Fatphobia

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, and Child abuse

Minor: Homophobia

Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People about Race, by Reni Eddo-Lodge

challenging emotional informative

5.0

i dont really have anything to say about a book like this, honestly. its something you can only learn from, rather than have sort of criticism on.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cultural appropriation, Hate crime, Homophobia, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Violence, Classism, Colonisation, Cursing, Racism, Genocide, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Murder, Misogyny, Sexism, Slavery, Death, and Deportation

The Austere Academy, by Lemony Snicket

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

3.75

every adult is so incompetent and horrible oh my GOD......

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Death of parent, Death, Child death, Grief, Child abuse, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, and Gaslighting