takecoverbooks's reviews
201 reviews

The Field by Dave Lapp

funny lighthearted fast-paced

4.0

A Guest in the House by E.M. Carroll

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

McCurdle's Arm: A Fiction by Andrew Forbes

emotional funny sad medium-paced

5.0

I’m not a sports fella, but the way Andrew Forbes writes the baseball games in this book is so engrossing and fun, you could swear you were on the field. This thing has a huge heart, it’s simultaneously hilarious and complicated and emotional. I loved it!

Godfather Death by Sally Nicholls

dark fast-paced

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

5.0

The artwork is 10/10 stunning and the story is bleak as hell. I loved it!

Amygdalatropolis by Edia Connole, B.R. Yeager

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

Experimental horror fiction about a Channer who experiences ego death after an ill-fated attempt at an incestuous maternal relationship. A very good encapsulation of The consequences of staring too long at the abyss. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gore, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Antisemitism, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Murder

The Cure for Drowning by Loghan Paylor

adventurous emotional hopeful 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

4.5

A WWII story that focuses on the small human tragedies of living during the 1930s and 40s. It also addresses the hardships of queer people of the period, but in a way that feels universal, never romanticizing suffering or viewing relationships as the reward at the end of a trial.

Importantly, The Cure for Drowning doesn’t position WWII as the crucible in which the characters (and by extension, Canada) come of age. Instead, the war is simply an ordeal the characters survive. They aren’t benefited or matured by it, the characters that survive get to live. In that way, it’s a very interesting way to spin a narrative about the most overdiscussed and misunderstood war in English letters.

This is a beautifully written story about people often left on the margins of history: the poor, queer, racialized, and ostracized people who fought for a country that didn’t recognize their humanity. Definitely read it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Sexual content, Outing, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Transphobia, and War

Minor: Alcoholism and Violence

Blood in the Machine: The Origins of the Rebellion Against Big Tech by Brian Merchant

challenging hopeful informative sad medium-paced

5.0

An informative and action-packed history of an all-too-misunderstood historical group: the Luddites. I can’t recommend this highly enough, not only as a history, but also as a potential inspiration for future acts of resistance against technological overreach.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Police brutality, and Classism

Moderate: Gun violence, Suicide, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Confinement and Slavery

State execution

Cuckoo by Gretchen Felker-Martin

challenging dark 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

4.5

 Let’s get this out of the way early: Cuckoo’s title, theme, and subject are undeniably well-trodden narrative tropes. Now, with the familiar-sounding dust jacket synopsis appropriately lamp-shaded, I want to sing Gretchen Felker-Martin’s praises. The author has proven she’s no stranger to rekindling the embers of burned-out ideas. Cuckoo is no different.

Without spoiling too much, Cuckoo immediately ups the ante on gay conversion camp narratives. While not denuding the novel of empathy, Felker-Martin refuses to sugarcoat the craven and hateful ideologies, social pressures, internalized hatred, religious zealotry, and other contributing infanticidal factors urging parents to submit their children to the psychological and physical torture of denying fundamental pieces of who they are.

It’s not all dour, though: Cuckoo saves its empathy for the kids comprising its list of protagonists. These young characters are wonderful: flawed, funny, sympathetic, and sketched with efficient depth. Consequently, Felker-Martin makes you dread your genre expectations eventually being met.

Which brings me to my final point: this book kicks ass. It’s well-paced, packed with unspeakable horrors, and poignantly insightful in its observations of the violence humans are only too happy to inflict upon one another. Seriously, just read it.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Just, all of the trigger warnings for this one. It's rough.

Black Pill: How I Witnessed the Darkest Corners of the Internet Come to Life, Poison Society, and Capture American Politics by Elle Reeve

dark emotional informative medium-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Bullying, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Abortion

The Night of Baba Yaga by Akira Otani

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

4.0

A sapphic crime story that’s equal parts revenge thriller and ode to friendship. The characters are great, and the gender play is very entertaining. This is a hell of a good beach read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Cursing, Torture, and Car accident

Minor: Xenophobia, Toxic friendship, and Classism