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vigil's reviews
196 reviews
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
4.0
this is a shockingly enjoying enjoying novel, and one of the few booktube/tok books that’s held up well past it’s heyday.
review to come.
review to come.
Monstress, Vol. 9: The Possessed by Marjorie Liu
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
monstress is always a hit for me. this volume was a marked shift from it’s predecessor (which i do recommend rereading before jumping into this) in terms of plot and narrative drive, but it has definitely put more momentum in plot progression than the past few volumes. i’m glad to see that majorie is delving back into some of the core plotlines and finding ways to finally tie them together with the more…. odd ones? i’m not sure how to begin to describe the zinn of it all but he was perfect as always.
maikatuya forever. however if maika wants to get with the blue fish girl i won’t be mad.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Murder, Colonisation, and War
Jade City by Fonda Lee
Did not finish book. Stopped at 38%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 38%.
had to return to the library. will be picking back up though!
Godkiller by Hannah Kaner
Did not finish book. Stopped at 47%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 47%.
like if you ordered the witcher from temu
A Guest in the House by E.M. Carroll
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
when i last read emily carroll i determined that despite their artistic talent and often interesting premises, they were a mediocre storyteller. i have not been moved from that opinion, but i see minor signs of improvement. they seem fundamentally incapable of sticking the landing, or getting out of their own way when it comes to storytelling. the build up was enjoyable, but once david died it went downhill. the ending alone isn't very interesting once the shock wears off, in comparison to what the story had been building up before not to mention the dubious optics of the possible portrayal of psychosis with abby. some very ableist and cliche tropes at play there.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Suicide and Suicide attempt
The Memory Theater by Karin Tidbeck
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
the adept prose and interesting concepts can distract you from the fact that this book is largely a giant nothingburger. there are moments, saved for when we are well past the 80% where a page or two has an interesting idea, but fails apart either on the next page of nothingness, or on its immediate arrival, due to a complete lack of build up or any foundations.
the characters have no interiority, so it becomes rather bizarre by the end when the book stars pretending that it does. you can imagine how difficult this makes for pulling off a character driven plot line.
you can read this book, or don’t, either way you’ll receive absolutely nothing.
the characters have no interiority, so it becomes rather bizarre by the end when the book stars pretending that it does. you can imagine how difficult this makes for pulling off a character driven plot line.
you can read this book, or don’t, either way you’ll receive absolutely nothing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: War