gossamer_lens's Reviews (1.48k)

I cannot enjoy how the narration is unmoored in time and is clearly leading to a character being a trans women... And yet it insists on calling the character what they were assigned at birth. I would understand doing so if the narration was a first person or linearly moored narrative... But since it isn't it just feels disrespectful. 

Looking up the author I had thought perhaps they were trans and so I could trust that the narrative would correct and maybe critic itself... But finding the author is the mother of a trans person who wrote the book while discovering her daughter is trans... I feel like perhaps this book is packed with intense feeling and emotion, but not necessarily the kind of focus and sensitivity I would hope for. I get it's hard for parents to deal with a fundamental shift in how they view their children... But I care more for the feelings of trans people then those around them. So despite this book being emotive and perhaps well written... I don't think it is a book for me. 

I felt very little emotion. I was intrigued by the magic when I figured out half way through there was magic. I was stunned to find this was a Great Gatsby fanfic. 

I could see liking other works of this author. This fell flat for me as I don't inherently enjoy the characters of Great Gatsby and this didn't feel like it offered much other than a new awkward character and some flimsily inserted magic elements. 

I truly hated tying LGBTQ people's sexual freedom to a place connected to the devil. I just felt so... Meh. 

Again, the magic was interesting... So maybe if this authors work didn't lean so heavily on the idea of another person work it could feel fleshed out and emotionally intriguing. 

I genuinely loved this story. I was truly touched by the child characters feeling of needing to hold herself together. The ending was lovely and I felt that the emotional through line was strong and well paced. I also really enjoyed the last chapter switching perspectives so we could enjoy the romantic subplot just a little more. Good stuff!

I've been having a great year with reading... This book is a crowning jewel. The writing is pure poetry. The way the story is told is captivating, hazy and electric. The characters are layered and defined. The world is raw, real and beautiful. The appreciation for music and music references are top tier. The interpersonal relationships are everything I could want. The ending was both unexpected and something my brain was waiting for. I have no bad notes. Just pure enjoyment even as I sat through the last few chapters crying my eyes out at the beauty, pain, and themes were wrapped up in fire prose. 

If you enjoyed this book/review, you may be interested in checking out other books I recommend: 

I was really expecting more from this story considering how much I loved the main story, Kingdom of Beasts. Oh well. It was okay and fun enough. Just not what I hoped for. 

So so dark. Read it right after Cormac McCarthy's The Road... And this felt like such a slap in the face. I actually enjoyed the read more then I enjoyed my read of The Road but I'm rating it less because there were some

sex scenes that just really gave me the ick and one of them didn't serve any point narratively in my opinion and just really threw me off.

... But overall I liked this books and there were some interesting themes being discussed that were aided by the darkness of the subject matter and telling of it. 

Listened to this whole book while on a drive with my husband. Absolutely loved every moment. Savahana Brown reading her own work just drips with cadence, thought, beauty, and pure emotion. I could listen to her words on every drive. I will have to revisit in physical form to savor more at some point. But I loved this work. 

Listened to this whole book while on a drive with my husband. Absolutely loved every moment. Savahana Brown reading her own work just drips with cadence, thought, beauty, and pure emotion. I could listen to her words on every drive. I will have to revisit in physical form to savor more at some point. But I loved this work.