Reviews by cozyfitz496 | The StoryGraph

78 reviews by:

cozyfitz496

The Usual Family Mayhem

HelenKay Dimon

3.5

funny lighthearted mysterious sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Well, I officially think the mystery-romance hybrid is not for me. This book had an awesome premise - lesbian grannies who bake death pies for bad husbands - but the execution was lacking. The pacing felt off (it's really less mystery and more "oops, I've gone and created a conflict of interest and now I have to keep it from imploding on me"). Some of the incidents from the past brought up between the FMC and the love interest didn't seem necessary, borderline creepy - this is fiction, you don't have to make their dynamic historically weird. I think the main issue with the genre-mash up is the way it never seems reasonable for people to talk in detail about murder and then feel in the mood for kissing. But if you liked, say, "The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year" by Ally Carter, you might like this one.

I received a free digital ARC of this title from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Content Warnings

Màgòdiz

Gabe Calderón

4.0

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad 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: No

Content Warnings

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones

James Clear

4.0

informative reflective medium-paced

This is a book I scoffed at until my therapist recommended it (that happens a lot honestly); some really great strategies for positive habit building, especially listing and explaining the necessary factors for keeping up a good habit or quitting a bad one. A lot of it was things I knew (like the strategy of keeping your intended habit visible so it’ll trigger the habit etc) but there were some new ideas, especially habit stacking (combining a new habit with one you already have down to trigger the new habit). Would recommend if you’re struggling to stick to a resolution, just beware of weight talk galore.

Content Warnings

The Bruising of Qilwa

Naseem Jamnia

3.5

dark mysterious sad tense

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

I loved the queernormative world; there's such a diversity of gender and sexuality representation and while a character does struggle with dysphoria, queerphobia isn't the primary theme which is nice to see. There is, however, a lot of violence and dead people and dead animals and blood and xenophobia. So it's not exactly a conflict-free cozy fantasy. The primary focus is on the restricted use of blood magic, which opens the door for a bit of a mystery. I loved the mystery, but wasn't a huge fan of the blood magic device.

Content Warnings

The Verifiers

Jane Pek

4.5

adventurous mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

While I was expecting something a little more lighthearted and cozy, this turned out to be a great read. There’s an amateur detective with an English degree and some small romantic elements like a cozy, but this is very much a Murder Mystery Novel. Claudia is flawed but likable; her struggling with her complicated family dynamics, finding her spot as an adult, finding love (or not), constantly referencing Austen and an obscure series of mystery novels - it’s all very endearing, and none of it overshadows the actual mystery. I thought I saw the ending coming a million times, but as always, the reveal hit me over the head with a big “duh”! It did a great job opening itself to a sequel as well.

Content Warnings

Life Hacks For a Little Alien

Alice Franklin

5.0

dark emotional funny sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

If you've ever felt like everyone in the room is in on a joke you don't understand, you might relate to this book. Told in the second person ("You do this, they laugh at you. Your dad tells you to act normal." etc), it's easy to sink into the unsettling place of the nameless main character. There are laugh-out-loud bits of observational humor, broken up by a lot of heartrending misunderstandings and details about the little alien's family life (which is turbulent at best). This is about neurodivergence, mental health, family, friendship, and finding a place for yourself in a vast universe where everyone else seems to intuitively know where they fit. It seems less like fiction and more like memoir. It's the kind of book that hurts to read but you can't put it down.

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Content Warnings

The Curious Kitten at the Chibineko Kitchen

Yuta Takahashi

4.0

emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Great for fans of Japanese translated fiction like "The Kamogawa Food Detectives", this was a sweet, fast-paced collection of interwoven storylines. Each character has lost someone and is looking for closure, and the magical nature of the remembrance meals at Chibineko Kitchen grants it to them. Like a cozy mystery, each chapter ends with a relevant recipe. Really appreciated this addition, as international dishes can be hard to imagine based on names alone and having a sense of the ingredients and preparation is helpful. There were also good explanations of Japanese mourning, burial, and remembrance traditions, which is helpful in understanding the nature of the Kitchen in the first place. The translation was well done, and - this is always the real question with translated Japanese fiction - YES, there is actually a cat!

I received a digital copy of this title from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Content Warnings

Single Player

Tara Tai

5.0

funny hopeful lighthearted medium-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

Loved this one; light spice, lots of hate-yearning, very slow burn, workplace romance. Great enby she/they rep, I could relate to their dysphoria so much at points. Gaming references galore, and some TTG references too.

Content Warnings

Across a Field of Starlight

Blue Delliquanti

4.0

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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: Complicated

It’s crazy to me how hopeful we managed to be in 2020. Everything was pretty chaotic and there was a lot of tragedy we were all soaking in from behind screens during a time of isolation, but so many of us (cozy sci fi authors especially) really thought we could build back better. Anyway, probably going to be the year of me reading everyone’s aspirational pandemic novel with tears in my eyes !! Escape the present by pretending it’s 2020. Yay /s

Content Warnings

Iona Iverson's Rules for Commuting

Clare Pooley

5.0

emotional funny hopeful medium-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

Clare Pooley's books are great ensemble comedies with diverse casts. Iona was a great FMC, struggling with a middle-age crisis that wasn't a divorce from a man! Actually she's a lesbian. NICE! All of the MCs faced traumas, pretty serious problems, and character flaws that were holding them back; but the support they had for each other was really sweet and the intertwining plots were engaging.

Content Warnings

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