Take a photo of a barcode or cover
gxuosi's Reviews (390)
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
this was an absolutely miserable read for me. if i was being petulant i’d give it a 1 star, but i’m also cognizant enough to know that i strongly misunderstood what the genre was. the comedic tone then affected me so negatively the whole first half that my enjoyment simply never recovered. had i gone in with no genre or tone expectations it would have gotten a 3 so that’s what i’ll give it. i wish i could have enjoyed it more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Murder, Alcohol
Minor: Homophobia, Sexism, Transphobia, War
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
"Our beaches are still waiting for the end of a war that’s been going on for so long people have stopped believing it’s real. They build hotels, put up neon signs, but it’s all fake, we’re on a knife-edge, it could all give way any moment. We’re living in limbo. In a winter that never ends."
this book is so deeply cold and haunting. dusapin's grasp on atmospheric setting and juxtaposition of parallel narratives kept me on edge—constantly waiting for something to happen in a place where nothing ever happens. the narrator is dying for validation, to be seen in a real way, and for her circumstances to change all while surrounded by as cast of characters that feel ultimately insincere, plasticine, and desperate for their own sort of validation that the narrator can't give them. and beyond all that is a thrumming awareness of how static life is on a knife's edge waiting for the war-not-war to end. dusapin through the narrator's eyes juggles the seoul experience of ever moving city life against that of the narrator who is actively living through a war "people stopped believing is real." incredibly compelling little book where nothing happening is entirely the point.
this book is so deeply cold and haunting. dusapin's grasp on atmospheric setting and juxtaposition of parallel narratives kept me on edge—constantly waiting for something to happen in a place where nothing ever happens. the narrator is dying for validation, to be seen in a real way, and for her circumstances to change all while surrounded by as cast of characters that feel ultimately insincere, plasticine, and desperate for their own sort of validation that the narrator can't give them. and beyond all that is a thrumming awareness of how static life is on a knife's edge waiting for the war-not-war to end. dusapin through the narrator's eyes juggles the seoul experience of ever moving city life against that of the narrator who is actively living through a war "people stopped believing is real." incredibly compelling little book where nothing happening is entirely the point.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Eating disorder
Moderate: Body horror, Body shaming, Gore, Sexual content, Vomit
Minor: Death, Toxic relationship, Blood, Sexual harassment, War
the animals are all fish but they are killed violently to be prepped for consumption
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
just short novelette with a fair bit of demon orgy and light hearted bureaucracy. really nothing important happens in reference to the murder sprees and mute decrees universe, but i enjoyed seeing edovard in the workplace again
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Violence
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
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:
No
oooooh this series is so fucking wild. this book is like if you threw the whole bowl of pasta at the wall to see if it sticks rather than a single noodle. i love elijah so much. he’s the perfect balance not just for darcy but for the foxily’s at large. the first half of this book was like speedballing while on a rollercoaster and it simmered out in the second half with lots of rushed conflict and resolutions but that also made sense for how elijah sees the world.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Gun violence, Sexual content, Blood, Vomit, Stalking, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Excrement, Kidnapping
Minor: Cancer, Homophobia, Misogyny, Suicide, Torture, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
such a good way to end the series. i was worried how maz would handle the trope of a person so naive they aren't trusted to be an adult while being one of the romantic leads in a way that's not exploitive or infantilizing. but it just worked. love these dumbass lizards.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Vomit, Grief
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Death, Gun violence, Blood, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
god this was so refreshing after how badly i did not fuck with the previous book. i love this universe and these stupid lizard brain boys. soooo many classic romance tropes in this one too
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Vomit, Kidnapping
Minor: Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Grief, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
oh my fucking god. this was SO GOOD what the hell. i fought for my life to get into this one (my fault, not the book's fault) and then that last 20% was exhilarating.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Suicide
Minor: Ableism, Alcoholism, Death, Racism, Sexism, Suicide, Xenophobia, Murder
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
wretched, awful book. agatha christie cannot write short stories as short as these. her characters are regularly cardboard slat stereotypes mixed in a bingo ball cage with a well developed poirot and in a narrative this short, their complete lack of characterization or intrigue is extremely apparent. hastings, who is decently characterized, rarely moves past his disdain and jealousy toward poirot when given so little literary room to breathe. all of these stories jammed back to back with no substance made this an incredibly unpleasant read. no one crime, character cast, or setting was fleshed out enough to give it panache or to allow the reader an attempt to solve the mystery before poirot just tells us what happened. also this was the most racist poirot novel thus far with not only a frequent use of racial slurs, but racial stereotyping and racist rhetoric. point out sign of the times if you wish, but christie refrained from this level of racist drivel in the previous novels.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Death, Gun violence, Sexism, Murder
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
at no fault of the author, this book was not what i expected it to be (my library app listed it as poetry and while pamela sneed is a poet, this was more or less essays). so i got off on the wrong foot with this one and never quite recovered. at the core of everything was a deeply important story about the aids epidemic and the failure on many levels to save people thus creating the fall out that sneed lived and her involvement in that grief. i'm thankful that she shared so much of herself with us.
however, mixed in between this critical dialogue was a discussion on racism, politics, pop culture that never felt fleshed out. she analyzes king kong's racist roots, the hunger games and parable of the sower as today, the impact on african tourism at the hands of the mini-series roots and marvel's the black panther, cbs hit tv series survivor for its lack of surviving, beyoncé as an exploitive business model, princess diana as a beloved face of a colonial empire, planet of the apes as a refusal to "go back where you came from." it felt like an endless take down of pop culture for the sake of naming as many thing as possible. especially so when her essay history is built off summarizing the plots of other books and films and doing little to create a purposeful connective thread.
however, mixed in between this critical dialogue was a discussion on racism, politics, pop culture that never felt fleshed out. she analyzes king kong's racist roots, the hunger games and parable of the sower as today, the impact on african tourism at the hands of the mini-series roots and marvel's the black panther, cbs hit tv series survivor for its lack of surviving, beyoncé as an exploitive business model, princess diana as a beloved face of a colonial empire, planet of the apes as a refusal to "go back where you came from." it felt like an endless take down of pop culture for the sake of naming as many thing as possible. especially so when her essay history is built off summarizing the plots of other books and films and doing little to create a purposeful connective thread.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Grief, Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Genocide, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racism, Suicide, Medical trauma, Abortion
Minor: Addiction, Cancer, Drug use, Gun violence, Incest, Excrement, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
jones's poems are unashamedly honest, an open wound of grief and healing that demands the reader not look away. incredible collection ruminating, whispering, and screaming all at once on race, god, love, and life. it's cohesive, well paced, and peppered with unique poem formats, none of which felt gimmicky for the sake of having done something new—it all felt purposeful. just an extremely poignant and enjoyable read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment
Minor: Death, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual content, Slavery, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Pandemic/Epidemic