pickledponyo's reviews
13 reviews

Graveyard Shift by M.L. Rio

dark mysterious 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? No

3.5

Nails and Eyes by Kaori Fujino

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.25

i would actually drop kick a child if it put NAIL POLISH IN MY EYE. 
speaking of, i would also drop kick that book keeper. like it’s common sense not to put ur tongue in my eyeball sir so why is it there??

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

dark emotional mysterious reflective slow-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

3.75

only gets 4 stars bc i enjoyed watching richard figure out he’s idolizing complete pretentious cunts who don’t care about him and seeing him move on but still seeing the grip they had on him years later. 
also the ending is the reason for the four stars. it was interesting?? kind of just seemed like henry’s last grasp of control over the situation. kind of a drama queen, not mindful, not demure. should have let charles face some consequences… 
also author used “light their cigarette” as a line way too much, especially between dialogue. like girl i get it they smoke. tempted to go back and count now.
good book tho!

If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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

beautiful language and beautiful, heart wrenching story that, like life, leaves you empty, confused and unsatisfied. the story and oliver have a special place in my heart now. definitely one of my favourites.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.5

my boyfriend found this book and gifted it to me and i honestly didn’t think i would enjoy it. i usually hate romance, only reading it because he had picked it out for me, but i literally couldn’t put it down and it made me really happy at the end of it. beautiful book though the constant switching between 1940s to 1980s got annoying just because i hate when authors do that. it was really lovely though. 

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

adventurous dark emotional sad tense 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

saw this book on the shelves while on vacation and had heard good things but i wasn’t sure i would like it. the store was closing so i ended up buying it on a whim or a panic, not sure. ended up binge reading it at work when i got back and crying on my break. the whole thing broke my heart a little bit.
the way of writing, the language and the characters had me in love and i wish i could keep reading more. it is one of my favourites now.

Neuromancer by William Gibson

adventurous slow-paced

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

2.75

very easy to get lost as his writing is kinda jargon if you don’t understand what he’s talking about as well as he’s not the best at describing what’s happening. several times i couldn’t get as into it or i got lost due to this. it’s pretty good though. character development/personalities aren’t really there though.

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

Hour of the Star by Clarice Lispector

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-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? Yes

4.25

silly narrator who was totally in love w macabéa’s being, change my mind. 

only lost the one star bc my dude kept rambling about how ugly maca was, LIKE CHILL PLEASE FOR TWO SECONDS.

Cyberpunk 2077: No Coincidence by Rafał Kosik

adventurous dark tense slow-paced

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

3.0

a good read for if you want more of the cyberpunk universe because you definitely need to know the universe in order to understand pieces of it. it can get a bit confusing as the author jumps around from different povs without explaining who is who until halfway into the pov. also some pieces that were irrelevant (the weird posts at the beginning of chapters) and then a lot of the pieces of the book explaining tech or cyberspace were odd. it’s a great expansion on the universe though. 
personally i enjoyed the characters as well but the end felt very lack luster and felt very “what was the point?” which may have been the point?? not sure. i enjoyed zor’s character as well as ron.
ALSO the author seemed to have attempted some romance and OMG I’m so sorry but he fits into the “science fiction authors are virgins” category because it was so dry and immediately rushed.. all the romances had no connections and all rushed to awkward sex scenes. just a warning because it gave me second hand embarrassment. 

ps, the word “fucksicle” is used around 5-6 times in this book sooo do with that information what you want

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail