So what we have here is a protagonist, Keiko, who is unable and not interested in following the standard societal rules of living a normal life, finding a good paying job, being in a relationship, eventually getting married and having kids but at the same time is perfectly content being a cog in a convenience store machine, having no interests, friends, hobbies or even personality outside of her work. She sleeps and eats just to be able to do her job satisfactorily. It was not like she had this cute little life, enjoying her simple existence. She had a disquieting, almost dystopian vibe about her. This strange juxtaposition left me a bit confused about what I'm supposed to take from this story. I know most people find the ending to be a happy one, and I feel like the author thought the same, but I found it very eerie!

The blood of the vampire by Florence Marryat

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adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Oh wow, this was nowhere near what I expected it to be. I thought it's going to be something like Carmilla, a female vampire but with the bonus of being written by a woman. The first part of the book is situated at the Belgian hotel resort (the second half is happening in England) and we meet a whole array of distinctive characters along with our main girl Harriet, a rich orphan of creole descent and unusual beauty and lure. But she is not a blood sucking vampire, she is a different kind of human leech surrounded by the worst types of victorian society members, men and women included. Huge TW for fatphobia, racism, eugenics, sexism, you name it, it's here. I audibly gasped or nervously laughed all the time but I was so captivated and amused at the same time!

The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin

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medium-paced

3.75

In this second part, many mysteries are answered, and the world-building is still very skillful. I did like the first book a little bit better. This was sometimes slow, with Essun just being at the same location the whole time, learning stuff the info dump way. The second person part of the narrative still annoys me. We found out what happened to Nassun, where she is and how she got there. I enjoyed her chapters. I'm sure I'll read the last book, but I'm not in a rush.

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

I understand why this book is so beloved. So quick and easy to read, nostalgic and sweet, and somber and tragic. But I dont think it's brilliant. There's a lot about it that irked me while reading. Big stuff like some very toxic behaviors too easily brushed aside and small stuff like what was the purpose of those interview style parts of the story. Thematically it was very coherent but the game vs life parallels and references somehow got repetitive after a while and I would have loved it if it had the courage to go full on meta or even scifi.

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salonniere_anspik's reviews 600 reviews

salonniere_anspik's reviews
600 reviews