gossamer_lens's Reviews (1.48k)

emotional informative reflective fast-paced

Informative and leans into that with a bit more guesto then the first book did which I appreciate. It also goes into more history then the first did which I appreciated. 
emotional hopeful fast-paced

Solid and insightful. A bit young for my tastes and leaning into the informative a lot. But for what it is it is good and thoughtful.  
challenging emotional hopeful tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Very good. Love the alternative history/world aspect. Unlike some books that feel sorta odd "power fantasy" while feeling like they disparage the plight of people of the time... This book felt sci-fi and abstract enough to be a clear critic of a system and not the real impactes people of our world. The shortness of the work aids the message being given and I would highly recommend this book. 
informative sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I enjoyed this book. It was clearly well researched and I enjoyed the themes surrounding motherhood, sisterhood, being a daughter, etc. It was fascinating to learn about such an interesting culture and to learn more about the impact world wars have had on a place I'm not very familiar with. 
dark hopeful reflective tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

It was dark and slow and very literary. I enjoyed the technical writing of it a lot and found one of the characters quite endearing. It was dark in a sort of blurred and in the periphery way which I quite liked. 

It was a pleasure to read this as a buddy read with my bestie so I could have a companion in exploring this book. I think it's a modern day classic for a reason. I've spent a few weeks now trying to pinpoint the things I loved and the things I hated... And I guess I just cannot express it better than this. In the end the things I liked won over the things that grated and I couldn't place. And I just keep thinking about it so here we are with a higher rating then I could have imagined giving it after initially finishing. 

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

Just charming. I loved the twist and felt very connected to the characters. The ending made me cry a little. It was a perfect ending for the story we were given. I only wish we had gotten a bit more of the main couple getting to interact in various scenes. 
dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

Overall a creepy and interesting short story collection. The below are my ratings for each short story. My rating for the book is the average of these:

3.75 - The Dirty Kid
4.25 - The Inn
2.75 - The Intoxicated Years
4.5 - Adela's Hours
5 - An Invocation of the Big-Eared Runt
3.5 - Spiderweb
4.75 - End of Term
4 - No Flesh Over Our Bones
4.25 - The Neighbot's Courtyard
3.5 - Under the Black Water
2.75 - Green Red Orange 
4.75 - Things We Lost in the Fire

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