casparquarius's Reviews (91)

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

man there is nothing like architectural horror and home-as-horror

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dark
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

of the three stories in this book, the titular Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke is far and away my favorite. the final, You'll Find It's Like That All Over, was also very good. the middle, The Enchantment, was not bad but meandered a bit much for my taste I think, without necessarily using that time to build tension. all in all I definitely enjoyed my first experience with LaRocca's work and look forward to the next thing of theirs I read

I'm poor, physically disabled, and mentally ill, and my particular experience of disordered eating and food insecurity has made it almost impossible for me to cook or put together any food without having a panic attack. this book is the first one I've found that describes recipes on a level I can imagine actually using, which I had previously thought was impossible. as I keep trying to learn how to put food items together in a way that I can manage and also then eat, this book is already a huge support and I am beyond glad that it exists.
dark emotional sad tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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The Stand

Stephen King

DID NOT FINISH: 0%

just not the right time for this book for me I think! I'd like to return to it, I found it interesting and compelling, but I think too much pandemic horror makes my anxiety worse
challenging dark medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

enjoyable but not necessarily anything special. there were some really fun ideas and good turns of phrase but it didn't really hit home as solidly as I wanted it to.

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challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

this book hollowed me out with a melon baller and wow. it took me a long time to read, partially because my focus for reading is spotty but also because it is very intense and emotionally challenging. I loved it every step of the way, but often needed to read it in small doses so that I did not get too overwhelmed with the feelings of it. while I don't like zombies and am typically wary of pandemic horror stories, this one felt fresh and interesting and slightly-too-relatable; the fact that the true horror was in Sophie realizing the extent and limits (and not quite realizing the abuses yet) of her upbringing and community was just icing on the cake. heed the content warnings, but this is an incredible read.

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challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

this book burrowed into my bones and is going to live there for a long time. solomon's writing is incredible, the characterization full, and the characters themselves compelling and real. I saw more of myself in Ezri than is maybe comfortable while also being deeply, positively resonant. 

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dark tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

this book was so extremely up my alley and also just generally very fun. Jack Sparks is a guy that I absolutely would hate to hang out with but was written in such compelling fashion that I almost loved him, and the writing carried the narrative really beautifully in terms of character voices and styles

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