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readingpicnic's reviews
451 reviews
A Guest in the House by E.M. Carroll
4.5
What a wild ending! I’m not sure what happened tbh, but the pace really picked up and the final art spread was beautiful. I could stare forever at that two page spread of those ladies smooching while drowning the bozo. The color pages are so so gorgeous. I love her equally as much as a princess and a creature!!
Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
4.0
God Briar means the world to me. It’s so upsetting that Alix is still paying more attention to Catherine in the end and ignoring/putting her autistic daughter second. This book was so stressful to listen to, but I would get so overjoyed at the narrator’s voice acting for Briar. Alix is a freak! What the heck is wrong with her! I’m still confused about what she wanted her relationship with Emira to turn into since her obsession was bordering on romantic/sexual, but maybe she just got a kick out of Emira being dependent on her? What a freaking weirdo! I think I could have done without the zooming into Emira's future at the end like "here's where she is now!" and that the story could have ended sooner.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism
Moderate: Police brutality and Stalking
Look Back by Tatsuki Fujimoto
4.5
I did watch the movie before reading the manga, and they adapted it so well!! My poor little codependent gay girls :(
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Grief, and Murder
A Bánh Mì for Two by Trinity Nguyen
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Such a sweet romance, but also an emotional journey of Vivi trying to reconnect with her mom’s family in Vietnam. I loved the process of her puzzling things together with Lan to find her family, going off only a photograph and the help of Lan’s connections and food stall community in Sài Gòn. My main issue with the audiobook format is that Vivi’s voice actress read the chapters pretty quickly, while Lan’s voice actress read much more slowly, which made me struggle to find a good speed to listen to this at :’)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Death of parent
Moderate: Terminal illness, Abandonment, and War
Private Rites by Julia Armfield
2.75
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher Flatiron Books for a free digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I'm disappointed to say that I just don't think Julia Armfield's writing is for me. I wanted to like Our Wives Under the Sea, and I didn't really, but I thought I would still give Private Rites a chance. This book was incredibly slow, and I felt like I was slowly sloshing through most of it, hence why it took me over a month to finish it. The world building was admittedly super cool--the water rising higher and higher throughout the novel as the rain almost never stops its endless pouring; the feeling of hopelessness so present in this society where the wealthy are able to climb higher in buildings tall enough to withstand flooding, while the poor experience flooding similar to that scene in Parasite. Compared to the slow pacing of the whole book, the ending was way too fast, events happening so quickly in the final 5-10% of the book that I couldn't even tell what was transpiring. Cults? Sinking? I couldn't tell you. It kind of reminded me of the ending of Night in the Woods, but more confusing. My favorite part of the book by far was the troubled relationship between the sisters as they halfheartedly try to get along with each other, but ultimately just get on each others nerves at every turn, or perhaps don't like each other that much. It reminded me a lot of my brothers and I, and I related heavily to Irene as the sibling who feels stuck in the anger of my childhood, which is how my family will always view me. If you like reading about messy sister dynamics, this is for you.
I'm disappointed to say that I just don't think Julia Armfield's writing is for me. I wanted to like Our Wives Under the Sea, and I didn't really, but I thought I would still give Private Rites a chance. This book was incredibly slow, and I felt like I was slowly sloshing through most of it, hence why it took me over a month to finish it. The world building was admittedly super cool--the water rising higher and higher throughout the novel as the rain almost never stops its endless pouring; the feeling of hopelessness so present in this society where the wealthy are able to climb higher in buildings tall enough to withstand flooding, while the poor experience flooding similar to that scene in Parasite. Compared to the slow pacing of the whole book, the ending was way too fast, events happening so quickly in the final 5-10% of the book that I couldn't even tell what was transpiring. Cults? Sinking? I couldn't tell you. It kind of reminded me of the ending of Night in the Woods, but more confusing. My favorite part of the book by far was the troubled relationship between the sisters as they halfheartedly try to get along with each other, but ultimately just get on each others nerves at every turn, or perhaps don't like each other that much. It reminded me a lot of my brothers and I, and I related heavily to Irene as the sibling who feels stuck in the anger of my childhood, which is how my family will always view me. If you like reading about messy sister dynamics, this is for you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Suicide, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Grief and Death of parent
They Never Learn by Layne Fargo
4.5
Okay I love this genre of woman punishing men for their abuse, in the realm of Sadie and The Female of the Species, but this one being more new adult/adult. I absolutely did not see the twist coming halfway through with Scarlet and Carly being the same person, and I was truly flabbergasted, slack-jawed, distraught even. I knew that dumbass red diary was going to screw things up, but I’m so happy with the ending. They’re adorable <3 The audiobook narration was chilling.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Stalking, Murder, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Biphobia, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, and Fire/Fire injury
Thirsty by Jas Hammonds
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Good grief, these girls know two things that bother Annetta and pull them out in every argument!! The same vibes as “That’s why your DAD died!!!” from PEN15. The ending was a relief, and although I’m sure the author could have ended the story sooner, I’m glad that we got to see some long overdue conversations happen and Blake gain some necessary support systems. Also, excellent audiobook narration.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Racism, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
Moderate: Bullying, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Lesbophobia, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Sadie by Courtney Summers
5.0
Yeah, this holds up as one of my favorite books ever. The voice actors capture the painful emotions of this book so well, and the cutoffs of each POV were perfect and kept me listening long after my commute ended. The audiobook gave the vibes of ominous videogame voice acting like in What Remains of Edith Finch, Life is Strange, or Oxenfree. Sadie is so important to me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse
Minor: Vomit and Suicide attempt
Little Weirds by Jenny Slate
Did not finish book. Stopped at 47%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 47%.
This book felt like a YouTuber writing a poetry book that nobody asked for. I love a weird book, but not this, dare I say, millennial, genre of weird which seems to just be repeating silly words like “gobbledygook” or teasing at bestiality. I was so unamused for the two hours I listened to this audiobook, and I felt finishing it would add nothing to my life but cringe.
Long Time No See by Taylor Blossom
4.0
The plot was a little silly to me with most of Olive’s motivations being driven by an average man, but I did get emotionally invested. This reminded me quite a bit of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and the ethics explored in it, which I loved. I just think the style of this graphic novel is so creative as a Flipnote Hantena lover, and I’m just in awe of the art.