sarah984's reviews
625 reviews

Butter by Asako Yuzuki

dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

3.5

An incisive look at gender roles and gendered expectations in Japan, seen through the lens of an ambitious female reporter and how she is affected by interviews with a famous serial killer. There are a lot of interesting characters, and Rika's relationships form the backbone of the book. Her decisions about how she wanted to live her life were more interesting to me than the serial killer drama, which dragged in places.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming and Fatphobia

Moderate: Bullying, Eating disorder, Infertility, Misogyny, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

The Devil by Name by Keith Rosson

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

4.0

I liked a lot of things about this follow up to Fever House, especially the conclusion of Katherine's story and the new character Naomi, but it is a bit more of a straightforward zombie story formula-wise and while I appreciated Dean's character I didn't feel like he had enough to do that wasn't accessory to Katherine.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, and Gore

Moderate: Confinement, Gun violence, Racism, Self harm, Violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Drug use, Genocide, Torture, Excrement, and Vomit

Eve in Overdrive by Faith Gardner

dark tense medium-paced

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

3.0

This one was fine. I liked the premise and the main character, but I wish there had been more focus on the car itself as antagonist instead of the guy since he wasn't really all that interesting.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Misogyny, Kidnapping, and Car accident

Moderate: Suicide and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Rape, Excrement, Medical content, Stalking, and Death of parent

The Family Tree by Sheri S. Tepper

adventurous reflective 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

1.0

Did not like this one at all. Dora is a cop, but goes to work maybe twice in the whole book and does not talk, think, or act like a cop. Nothing about the marriage or breakup feels realistic (which lines up with the plot twist but also girl what are you doing) and the constant misogyny and kind of eco fascist rhetoric from her put me off. The fantasy parts are mostly boring because nothing is described at all to avoid giving away the goofy plot twist.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism and Genocide

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Misogyny, Slavery, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Sexual content, Sexual violence, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Cultural appropriation, and Sexual harassment

Biography of X by Catherine Lacey

challenging emotional slow-paced

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

2.0

I was really excited for this one but I didn't like it at all. The basic premise was intriguing, but the alternate history felt so improbable (and also annoying, the repurposing of the Rachel Cusk quote to be about men made me put the book down) and not that well integrated into the supposed biography format that it was just distracting. Also with all of the stunts X had been pulling for the whole book her

final betrayal

didn't feel big enough.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship and Gaslighting

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Grief, Stalking, and Abandonment

Minor: Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Rape, Excrement, Police brutality, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Murder, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

We Can Only Save Ourselves: A Novel by Alison Wisdom

dark slow-paced

2.0

I didn't like this one at all. The Greek chorus conceit with the moms really felt fake deep and everything seemed to build up to nothing. By the time something really dark and cult like was happening the book ended.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Drug use, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, and Classism

Minor: Homophobia, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Trafficking, Stalking, and Fire/Fire injury

The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez

adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced

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

4.0

I liked this book a lot, but I do wish that I had read it before The Spear Cuts Through Water since that book refined a lot of the interesting touches in this one and took them farther, with more confidence. I liked the characters and the overall plot, but the big time skips made a lot of it feel sort of distant and I found the third section a bit silly.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Physical abuse, Grief, and Colonisation

Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Torture, Medical content, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Ableism, Animal death, Racism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury, and Cultural appropriation

Black Water Sister by Zen Cho

adventurous dark emotional 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

4.0

I really enjoyed this one. Jess's post-university aimlessness and simultaneous love and frustration with her family were relatable, the horror to humour balance was great and I loved the ending. Unfortunately I found the middle of the book a little unfocused and I wish the girlfriend had been a stronger character (she felt a bit like a prop meant to complicate things for Jess and I kept forgetting about her).

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual violence, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Homophobia, Rape, Self harm, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Pregnancy, and Outing

Upstairs at the Beresford by Will Carver

dark slow-paced

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

1.5

Very weird book overall. It is a prequel but references a lot of current events that happened after publication of the previous book. Boring, flat characters bordering on stereotypes. Very preachy unpleasant tone. I don't think I'll bother with the third book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming and Death

Moderate: Cancer, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting

Minor: Ableism, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Confinement, Homophobia, Rape, Slavery, Vomit, Medical content, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Zero Cool by John Lange

adventurous fast-paced

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

2.0

This is a popcorn book for sure. Fast pace, characters flat as cardboard cutouts, wild but nonsensical plot twists. The second star is for the murder weapon, which was at least original.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Racism, Sexual content, Xenophobia, and Car accident