_lia_reads_'s Reviews (757)

I hesitated getting this book and then actually reading this book for so many reasons, mostly that I had heard about all the various trigger warnings for the book (there are a lot; I'm listing them at the end). But despite that, I'm so glad I picked this book up and I cannot wait for the next one in the series.

Ever heard of all those secret societies at Yale University that are like fraternities but with more secrets? Well, what if the members of those societies were all practicing dark magical arts and influencing the course of the world? Oh, and a lot of these rituals include using human bodies either for sacrifice or as conduits for the magic. That's the basic premise of Ninth House and it's so wild that it works.

Galaxy "Alex" Stern is thrust into this world because of her ability to see ghosts. She is a member of Lethe House, one of the societies that essentially oversees these rituals. She has a dark past that makes her a cynical, troubled character. In the beginning, you will be mildly annoyed with her. But by the end, you will be rooting for her.

The story alternates between the recent past and the present, as Alex is simultaneously trying to figure out if a murder of a townie is connected to any of the societies and to figure out where Darlington, her mentor, has disappeared to. I found both mysteries enthralling, along with the descriptions of the societies and the crazy magic that they are able to access. Even at times when I didn't care as much for Alex herself, these world building details pulled me into the story. And let me just say, Bardugo is a master of world building.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book with all of its ghosts and darkness. This was the first Bardugo book I had read, but I've heard the tone of this one is very different from her YA series. So take that into consideration when reading. But if you like the paranormal, secret societies, and magic (including magical archives that give you books based on what you write in a special notebook!), then this book is for you.

5 stars all the way from me.

TW: Rape; rape of a child; pedophilia; drug use; self-harm; physical abuse; suicide; overdose; gory descriptions

Thanks to Libro.fm for the free ALC.

Ummm, what did I just read?

I knew this was going to be a strange one going into it. There's a ghost and a girl that falls in love with him. Already a weird premise. What I didn't know was just HOW WEIRD this was going to be. I didn't realize that I had a limit on how much ghost sex scenes I could handle, but apparently I do (and the limit is much lower than the actual number of them in this book).

Rachel and Thomas' relationship is incredibly toxic, which I think is the point of this book. And as an exploration of what it means to be in a toxic relationship and how it affects the victim, this was an interesting story. But the way that it unfolded was not for me. Especially since we hear so much from Thomas and I just didn't really care about him? Also I feel bad for Mark...

A really interesting premise here but the execution just did not work for me. I'm sure others will love it and find it clever, but it is not something with a universal appeal. I will say that I appreciated the full cast audio, which really enhanced the POVs from which the story is told.

2 stars

TW: Graphic sex scenes; toxic relationships; death

Thanks to the author with providing me with a free copy of his book!

Billed as A Star is Born meets Gone Girl, She Died Famous is a bingeable psychological thriller. After the singer and actress Kelly Trozzo is found dead, the search for her killer is on. Her boyfriend, Kaleb Reed, is accused of the murders but he maintains his innocence. The story intersperses news clippings, interviews, and flashbacks in amongst Kaleb’s narration, making you second guess everything. Does Kaleb’s best-selling book have anything to do with Kelly’s death? Or is someone else involved?

There are a lot of WTF moments, especially as the book spirals towards the end. It certainly kept me guessing throughout. I am still not 100% what to think about that ending either, and look forward to talking about it with Kyle and #themostfunbuddyread once we have all finished!

TW: heavy drug and alcohol use, including by recovering addicts; murder

Thanks to the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book gave me all of the Jane Eyre vibes. There's a governess with a troubled past, an eccentric man in a spooky house full of secrets, and a gloomy, gothic setting. But the book also diverges from Brontë's classic story in a few notable ways. James has mixed in magic and you are never sure until the end if we are meant to believe in this magic or if it is all in the imagination of the characters. There is also a modern story with a love triangle and a woman trying to sort out her inheritance of both the house and her family's past.

I found this modern-day story line to be the weaker of the two storylines, but the book only works with the two intact. One informs the other, helps us to understand parts of the story that are mysteries to each character. And in this way I appreciated them both. I loved how James kept certain things hidden to the reader as well, so that we could discover them along with the characters. Plus, that ending caught me off guard.

I have a low tolerance for spooky and ghosts, and I'm not ashamed to admit that this book gave me the creeps to the point where I wouldn't read it at night. But it was a fast read because I needed to know what happened to each character. The setting was impeccable and I could imagine myself at Winterbourne.

TW: ghosts/spooky settings; war; miscarriage

Winterson has quite the way with words and that makes this book a powerful read. I found myself noting many quotations from the text as I went.

The story alternates between a semi-biographical account of Mary Shelley writing Frankenstein and a modern-day story of Ry and Victor Stein, relating to the development of AI technology. Winterson has cleverly interwoven the themes of the two stories, demonstrating how what Shelley only imagined with Frankenstein are now becoming possible with AI. Through these characters, she delves into the debate surrounding this technology: how should it be use and by whom; what are the ethics behind it?; can AI help people to live forever?

I appreciated the ways in which gender and sexuality were explored as fluid concepts in both stories. However, the character of Ry made me uncomfortable at times. Ry is transgender and while he is a main character of the modern storyline, I often felt that his presence was merely there as a plot device, as a character through which we could explore another definition of what it means to be human. I imagine that this latter point was Winterson's aim with including him, but it often comes off as a stereotype and a relatively unsympathetic one.

Winterson's writing is meandering and stream-of-consciousness, which will certainly not work for some readers. But I found that it helped her to explore certain points about the creation of life. And ultimately this book is an experiment, much like Frankenstein's monster: she combines seemingly disparate parts of a story––the 19th century literary scene and the 21st scientific one––together into an exploration of human life and how it can be understood.

TW: transphobia; homophobia; sexual assault

I know that many Americans (and maybe others!) read this book in school but I somehow missed that phase. I think we might have read one of Lowry’s other books, maybe Number the Stars, instead.

In the first book, you are presented with a dystopian/utopian world that emphasizes “sameness.” The members of the society do not feel pain, sorrow, or have knowledge of any memories––that is the job of the Receiver of Memory. When Jonas, the protagonist, is selected to become the next Receiver, he begins to learn that things are not always as they seem in his community.

The book is written for young readers, and as a result is fast-paced, not always dwelling on details. As an adult reading the book, I would have liked to spend a little more time in the Community, fleshing out some of the characters and events. However, it does grapple with complicated themes. I’d be curious to know, too, how well younger readers understand the allegory. It is a clever story and I enjoyed the concept that Lowry presented. I look forward to reading the next book in the Quartet!

Thanks to Simon Schuster for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Roxy Letters is a lighthearted book, told in the form of letters from Roxy to her ex-boyfriend Everett. Roxy is going through a rough-path: dead-end job, no love life to speak of, and buried in debt because her wiener dog loves eating her underwear. All she wants is to be loved and be an artist, not too much to ask? What follows is a weird little romp with a cast of super strange characters, who are all more charming and likeable than Roxy herself.

Roxy's POV was a bit hard to relate to at times. She funny, but oh goodness is she annoying too. Roxy and I would probably not be friends, and honestly I'd be ok with that. Her adventures, for lack of a better word, are just as crazy as she is and equally unbelievable. I also don't think I've ever read a book with so much talk about female masturbation. Not a bad thing, just not my cup of tea. The secondary characters, like Annie and Artemis, save the book for me. I think they were both so good for Roxy in their own ways, especially when it came to calling her out on her B.S.

SPOILER: I DID NOT like the plot twist of Artemis being bipolar. I did not like the way that it characterized a person struggling with being bipolar and I think that Roxy could have explored that a bit more with her friend. Yes, she visits her in the mental hospital, but it never felt more than a way to reckon with Artemis and what she means to Roxy.

Overall, The Roxy Letters is a fun, quirky book that definitely has an audience. It was not my favorite read of the year, but certainly an enjoyable one.

TW: suicide attempt (alluded to); alcoholism and drug abuse; characters struggling with sobriety.

I put the book off for so long because I couldn’t believe that the hype was real. How could a book be THAT amazing that everyone rave about it? Finally, after getting from the library twice and then buying it, I picked it up. And it quickly became one of my favorite books that I’ve read so far this year.

The story follows Cyril Avery, from the late 1940s when his mother is exiled from her rural Irish community because she is pregnant with him outside of wedlock through to the 1980s. As a gay man, Cyril navigates through a world that does not accept him, coming to terms with his sexuality and trying to find his place in the world. An engaging cast of characters comes in and out of his life, changing the cause of his life. The story is heartbreaking at times but Boyne also masterfully mixes in darkly humorous moments, breaking up what could be an entirely depressing book. The writing and characters are gorgeous and I can guarantee this will not be the last Boyne book that I read.

In short, I’m now a part of the John Boyne Fan Club. If you haven’t read this book, you need to go get it. Trust me.