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shereadytoread's reviews
706 reviews
This Cursed House by Del Sandeen
dark
emotional
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
On surface this is a domestic horror about a cursed family trapped by death. Underneath it is an exploration of racial identity, self-loathing, and internalized anti-blackness. It combines the history and legacy of slavery, passing, and intergenerational trauma. It looks at the ideas of family and legacy with our own identities.
This book is light on the scares but high in the dread. It really delves into the psyche of the main character and the family she is working for. I think in some pieces the author could have trusted the reader a bit more to understand what was happening. It felt like everything and even some internal characterization pieces were being stated out loud for the point of explaining to the reader and I think that the writing was strong enough to understand those pieces without them being spelled out.
This was a fantastic debut and I cannot wait to see what this author does next.
Disclosure: I received a gifted ARC and finished copy. No review was required and all opinions are my own.
This book is light on the scares but high in the dread. It really delves into the psyche of the main character and the family she is working for. I think in some pieces the author could have trusted the reader a bit more to understand what was happening. It felt like everything and even some internal characterization pieces were being stated out loud for the point of explaining to the reader and I think that the writing was strong enough to understand those pieces without them being spelled out.
This was a fantastic debut and I cannot wait to see what this author does next.
Disclosure: I received a gifted ARC and finished copy. No review was required and all opinions are my own.
Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes
adventurous
dark
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? Yes
3.5
I liked the bones of this book. A mysterious space horror that follows a sole survivor with a fractured memory (and mind) trying to deal with the death of her team and figure out what happened.
The story itself was interesting. The horror of not knowing what is real or not was well-done along with the horrors of the ship itself. I almost wish we had one connected storyline instead of her explaining the past horrific events and then getting to the mystery.
My biggest issue was the pacing and structure. The first 2/3 of the book is us seeing what happened to the team on the ship in the past as she is telling the story to investigators. The last third is figuring out the mystery of what happened. Too much build up and too little of the payoff. The resolution felt rushed because we spent so much more time explaining what happened.
The story itself was interesting. The horror of not knowing what is real or not was well-done along with the horrors of the ship itself. I almost wish we had one connected storyline instead of her explaining the past horrific events and then getting to the mystery.
My biggest issue was the pacing and structure. The first 2/3 of the book is us seeing what happened to the team on the ship in the past as she is telling the story to investigators. The last third is figuring out the mystery of what happened. Too much build up and too little of the payoff. The resolution felt rushed because we spent so much more time explaining what happened.
Wicked Little Things by Justin Arnold
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I started this book in print but the words seemed super tiny for some reason. Like it made my head hurt tiny. So I switched to the audio and really enjoyed it.
This was a fun dark fantasy adventure that borders on horror. It mixes a mystery, fantasy and crime story together in one. I enjoyed the variety in the characters and abilities and the overlapping plot lines that all tied together in the end.
The coming out storyline played a vital role in all the other plot lines which I loved. It added a lot of character depth and complicated dynamics in what could have been a bit of a linear, straightforward plot.
A few plot twists sprinkled in to keep things interesting.
This was a fun dark fantasy adventure that borders on horror. It mixes a mystery, fantasy and crime story together in one. I enjoyed the variety in the characters and abilities and the overlapping plot lines that all tied together in the end.
The coming out storyline played a vital role in all the other plot lines which I loved. It added a lot of character depth and complicated dynamics in what could have been a bit of a linear, straightforward plot.
A few plot twists sprinkled in to keep things interesting.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Violence, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Transphobia
No Check Out by Taylor Fenner
dark
tense
- 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? No
3.5
This book was a fun ride. Fast-paced, good horror and a fun format of mixing online content, found footage and the story itself. There was descriptive body horror, classic ghost, possession, dark entities and more. I enjoyed the paranormal show plot device and thought it worked well.
However the haunted hotel is its own character and point of view and it moves in different tenses and at some points seems to have knowledge of things that happen outside of the hotel which didn’t make sense. Without that piece I think this would have been nearly a 5 star read!
However the haunted hotel is its own character and point of view and it moves in different tenses and at some points seems to have knowledge of things that happen outside of the hotel which didn’t make sense. Without that piece I think this would have been nearly a 5 star read!
Know Your Newlywed by Hillary Nussbaum, Elena Armas, Heather Taylor
lighthearted
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.25
What I didn’t enjoy about this book, I think someone else may really enjoy. This book is exclusively audio and it has a full cast recording. Every character is played by their own actor and you hear the background noise like cooking in the kitchen and noise on the train.
But because you have all of this, the entire book is dialogue. There are no descriptions and context, you hear exactly what is happening all the time. It was more like listening to a play or podcast than a book. That isn’t what I want out of my reading experience but I think it can be great for other people.
The actual romance was sweet and lighthearted. Two people bonding over their shared love of a nostalgic game show and it’s pretty lighthearted. Fake marriage shenanigans abound! You do have to suspend some disbelief with this one but that’s pretty normal for a rom-com!
Disclosure: I received a free ALC through Libro.fm and Simon and Schuster Audio.
But because you have all of this, the entire book is dialogue. There are no descriptions and context, you hear exactly what is happening all the time. It was more like listening to a play or podcast than a book. That isn’t what I want out of my reading experience but I think it can be great for other people.
The actual romance was sweet and lighthearted. Two people bonding over their shared love of a nostalgic game show and it’s pretty lighthearted. Fake marriage shenanigans abound! You do have to suspend some disbelief with this one but that’s pretty normal for a rom-com!
Disclosure: I received a free ALC through Libro.fm and Simon and Schuster Audio.
The Nightmare Before Kissmas by Sara Raasch
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
This is probably the most subjective view I have ever written because I think this is a pretty well-written romance outside of some of the fantasy worldbuilding holes and under other circumstances it would have been a higher rated read ... but it's not because it didn't make me happy haha.
Honestly, for a lot of this book, it was just a big downer as far as holiday romances go. If this had been sons of two rival companies with no fantasy element, I think I would have loved it a lot more, or even a fantasy/magic element with no holiday involvement.
When I consider the joy of holiday reads and holiday romances specifically, we get the combination of the warm and fuzzies of Christmas with the warm and fuzzies of a romance's HEA. So much of this book is spent framing Christmas as exactly the opposite: commodified, making no real difference in people's lives, not bringing any true joy because it's just one day, not worth investing in etc. It was just a lot of harsh and negative themes to combine with a romantic comedy about a joyful holiday. And that's not to say holiday romance cannot involve tough family dynamics and harsh themes, but all of that was attached to the holiday itself rather than just being a part of the characters.
My other critique was the loose fantasy elements. By framing it as holiday magic, the author creates a magical world/population and a normal world/population, but the rules seemed very hazy and slapped on when it served the story, rather than preestablished lore of the world. If there was less focus on the magic and fantasy, it wouldn't stick out as much when it doesn't line up. There either needed to be much less fantasy or much more, but it tries to work a hard line instead.
Honestly, for a lot of this book, it was just a big downer as far as holiday romances go. If this had been sons of two rival companies with no fantasy element, I think I would have loved it a lot more, or even a fantasy/magic element with no holiday involvement.
When I consider the joy of holiday reads and holiday romances specifically, we get the combination of the warm and fuzzies of Christmas with the warm and fuzzies of a romance's HEA. So much of this book is spent framing Christmas as exactly the opposite: commodified, making no real difference in people's lives, not bringing any true joy because it's just one day, not worth investing in etc. It was just a lot of harsh and negative themes to combine with a romantic comedy about a joyful holiday. And that's not to say holiday romance cannot involve tough family dynamics and harsh themes, but all of that was attached to the holiday itself rather than just being a part of the characters.
My other critique was the loose fantasy elements. By framing it as holiday magic, the author creates a magical world/population and a normal world/population, but the rules seemed very hazy and slapped on when it served the story, rather than preestablished lore of the world. If there was less focus on the magic and fantasy, it wouldn't stick out as much when it doesn't line up. There either needed to be much less fantasy or much more, but it tries to work a hard line instead.
The Stonewall Reader by New York Public Library
informative
reflective
4.75
The history and perspectives in this collection are wonderful. To have firsthand accounts of Stonewell as well as general information of society and queer culture at the time, is an invaluable resource. It also links to other projects of information and history gathering that are accessible.
My single complaint is I wish there was more clear organization to the book. It is split into "Before Stonewall" and "After Stonewall" but further division within these sections would have served the book (and readers) well.
My single complaint is I wish there was more clear organization to the book. It is split into "Before Stonewall" and "After Stonewall" but further division within these sections would have served the book (and readers) well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia, Homophobia, Transphobia, Violence, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Medical content
Minor: Medical content
The Last Haunt by Max Booth III
dark
3.0
Meh. It wasn't great and it wasn't terrible. We lean on a lot of large stereotypes for characterization since the book is so short. I think if this was longer, we could have more interesting characters and less shock value statements just to drive home who is good(?) and bad in the story.
Queer Little Nightmares by David Ly, Daniel Zomparelli
emotional
2.0
I think if you are a fan of ambiguous short stories, you may really enjoy this collection but overall it was not for me. There is a lot of different perspectives on queer identities and I enjoyed the variety in that aspect. Also I didn’t realize that many (maybe all) of the authors were Canadian until multiple stories seemed to be set in Vancouver?
I wanted to love this one a lot more than I did. The poems were pretty good and the prose wasn’t bad, but there was not a single story that really “grabbed” me. I almost DNFd this a few times because it wasn’t really holding my attention and I wasn’t looking forward to continuing, but because it was on the shorter side, I pushed through.
I wanted to love this one a lot more than I did. The poems were pretty good and the prose wasn’t bad, but there was not a single story that really “grabbed” me. I almost DNFd this a few times because it wasn’t really holding my attention and I wasn’t looking forward to continuing, but because it was on the shorter side, I pushed through.
The Surviving Sky by Kritika H. Rao
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
5.0
This was a phenomenal read. A South Asian apocalyptic science fantasy that lends us to floating cities with the remains of humanity. It also had some interesting dark academia elements that I enjoyed. This book excels at deeply complex characters with complicated relationships and internal turmoil related to their morals, loyalty, and conflicting goals.
The book follows two POVs, Iravan and his wife, Ahilya. Personally, Ahilya read as the main character to me. She has a well-rounded world with romantic, platonic and familial relationships as well as ongoing conflict with the systems and institutions of the city. While the POVs are even throughout, Iravan’s POV is primarily dominated by the “mystery” and magic elements of the book, while Ahilya’s POV has more variety.
Any book that is 500+ pages and makes me sit for an entire evening just to finish it, is a 5-star read in my book.
This book was September’s Alliterative Titles selection for the Diversify Your Reading book club. Join us here: https://bookclubs.com/join-a-book-club/club/diversify-your-reading-2
The book follows two POVs, Iravan and his wife, Ahilya. Personally, Ahilya read as the main character to me. She has a well-rounded world with romantic, platonic and familial relationships as well as ongoing conflict with the systems and institutions of the city. While the POVs are even throughout, Iravan’s POV is primarily dominated by the “mystery” and magic elements of the book, while Ahilya’s POV has more variety.
Any book that is 500+ pages and makes me sit for an entire evening just to finish it, is a 5-star read in my book.
This book was September’s Alliterative Titles selection for the Diversify Your Reading book club. Join us here: https://bookclubs.com/join-a-book-club/club/diversify-your-reading-2