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ishouldreadthat
A really lovely and poignant book about two boys' last day alive. From perfect strangers to a unique and shared closeness that can't be replicated, Mateo and Rufus's chemistry is perfection and moving. I really enjoyed this one (but was somehow so taken aback by the ending, ha), and would highly recommend the audiobook.
Another excellent addition to the Murderbot series! Having read these books in publication order, I was a little confused by the plot and what my expectations were, however this looks like it takes place after Exit Strategy and before Network Effect.
This book is basically a sci-fi murder mystery, with Murderbot as our grumpy detective. I really enjoyed a slightly different approach, as Murderbot does not use their ingrained hacking abilities, so this felt very detective-y. I also particularly enjoyed learning more about the ins and outs of Preservation station -- a place that we've been on the periphery of throughout the series.
This book is basically a sci-fi murder mystery, with Murderbot as our grumpy detective. I really enjoyed a slightly different approach, as Murderbot does not use their ingrained hacking abilities, so this felt very detective-y. I also particularly enjoyed learning more about the ins and outs of Preservation station -- a place that we've been on the periphery of throughout the series.
While ACOWAR wraps up the series, I feel like it is easily the weakest book in the series. Despite the fact that this book is all about our characters going to war, at no point does it feel like anyone is in any actual danger. Not a single major or minor character dies (and stays dead) throughout out entire book. The sense of safety left me with a disconnect from the events of the books, and the tension just wasn’t there.
It was a pacy read, but definitely a weak plot!
2.5 out of 5 stars
It was a pacy read, but definitely a weak plot!
2.5 out of 5 stars
I really adored this short, satirical novel! This book is light on plot, but a deep study of a young woman who is comfortable operating outside of society’s standards — even though the people around her are not. It is not specifically stated in the book, but it feels obvious that Keiko is autistic. I really enjoyed seeing the world through her eyes and her reactions to societal pressures, gender norms and expectations.
Poignant but sad, but also enjoyable and fast paced, Convenience Store Woman is unlike anything I’ve read and I will absolutely be seeking out more from this author.
Poignant but sad, but also enjoyable and fast paced, Convenience Store Woman is unlike anything I’ve read and I will absolutely be seeking out more from this author.
I had sky-high expectations for this novel, and while I loved parts of it I ultimately found it a little underwhelming.
Things I loved:
- Alex is a really fun character with such a strong voice. I really enjoyed his perspective, his humour, and his story arc.
- This book has wonderful side characters. June and Nora were wonderful additions to the story and helped flesh out much of the plot, as well as Henry and Alex’s relationship.
- There were many (spoilery) moments in this book that warmed my heart!
Things I didn’t love:
- This book felt about 50-75 pages too long. I really struggled to stay interested in the middle bit.
- Henry should have been a character I LOVED (seriously, he’s got all the right stuff), but he got a little lost amongst the strong personalities. Of course he’s so lovely, but he just didn’t stand out and felt a little flat.
Things I loved:
- Alex is a really fun character with such a strong voice. I really enjoyed his perspective, his humour, and his story arc.
- This book has wonderful side characters. June and Nora were wonderful additions to the story and helped flesh out much of the plot, as well as Henry and Alex’s relationship.
- There were many (spoilery) moments in this book that warmed my heart!
Things I didn’t love:
- This book felt about 50-75 pages too long. I really struggled to stay interested in the middle bit.
- Henry should have been a character I LOVED (seriously, he’s got all the right stuff), but he got a little lost amongst the strong personalities. Of course he’s so lovely, but he just didn’t stand out and felt a little flat.
A retelling of The Great Gatsby from Jordan Baker’s perspective, The Chosen and the Beautiful dives deeper into these well known characters and develops their backstories with a fantastical, opulent backdrop of an alternate 1920s.
I love Vo's writing — her Singing Hills Cycle is absolutely fabulous — and I was dying to know what her take on The Great Gatsby would be like. She does an amazing job of blending Fitzgerald's writing style and the general vibes of the original story with her own writing, creating a lush and gorgeous alternate 1920s with a magical backdrop. I really enjoyed the fact that while the magic does play a role in character backstory and the world building, it's not a magical version of The Great Gatsby. Her writing enhances the original tale beautifully, but doesn't change it.
The Chosen and the Beautiful brings the background characters to life in a really fantastic way. Jordan, my favourite character in the original story, is reimagined as a Vietnamese adoptee and a queer woman. Vo really bring her to life in such a wonderful way through her complex sense of identity and belonging. She also does a great job building up Daisy's character and making her into a complicated woman who is far from Gatsby's image of perfection.
The only part of the book that I found a little bit clunky was forcing some of Fitzgerald's imagery into this story. There's a particular bit at the end that just felt odd and out of place! Of course, The Great Gatsby is famous for its imagery (which is why so many of us were tormented by it in high school English class) so you'd expect to see it in a reimagining of the story, but some bits didn't work as well as others.
I'd recommend you read the original story before picking this up, as The Chosen and the Beautiful assumes you have knowledge of the plot of The Great Gatsby.
I love Vo's writing — her Singing Hills Cycle is absolutely fabulous — and I was dying to know what her take on The Great Gatsby would be like. She does an amazing job of blending Fitzgerald's writing style and the general vibes of the original story with her own writing, creating a lush and gorgeous alternate 1920s with a magical backdrop. I really enjoyed the fact that while the magic does play a role in character backstory and the world building, it's not a magical version of The Great Gatsby. Her writing enhances the original tale beautifully, but doesn't change it.
The Chosen and the Beautiful brings the background characters to life in a really fantastic way. Jordan, my favourite character in the original story, is reimagined as a Vietnamese adoptee and a queer woman. Vo really bring her to life in such a wonderful way through her complex sense of identity and belonging. She also does a great job building up Daisy's character and making her into a complicated woman who is far from Gatsby's image of perfection.
The only part of the book that I found a little bit clunky was forcing some of Fitzgerald's imagery into this story. There's a particular bit at the end that just felt odd and out of place! Of course, The Great Gatsby is famous for its imagery (which is why so many of us were tormented by it in high school English class) so you'd expect to see it in a reimagining of the story, but some bits didn't work as well as others.
I'd recommend you read the original story before picking this up, as The Chosen and the Beautiful assumes you have knowledge of the plot of The Great Gatsby.
TikTok made me do it...and I had a really good time with this one.
As my first foray into *spicy* books, Ice Planet Barbarians was a great shout. It's silly, fun, and a ridiculously quick read. This is what I call a Friday night book -- order a pizza, pour a glass of wine, and read on the sofa for a couple of hours.
Will I be reading the rest of these books? Probably yes. Was I THRILLED to see that there is a CHRISTMAS NOVELLA? Absolutely.
I will say that if you're diving into this expecting entertainment and fun, you'll need to push past the totally unexpected rape scene at the beginning. I don't see a lot of people mention this, but it kind of comes out of left field and can be triggering for some readers. Once you're past the first 20 pages or so (I think), you'll be fine.
3.5 out of 5 stars
CW: rape, kidnapping, captivity, death
As my first foray into *spicy* books, Ice Planet Barbarians was a great shout. It's silly, fun, and a ridiculously quick read. This is what I call a Friday night book -- order a pizza, pour a glass of wine, and read on the sofa for a couple of hours.
Will I be reading the rest of these books? Probably yes. Was I THRILLED to see that there is a CHRISTMAS NOVELLA? Absolutely.
I will say that if you're diving into this expecting entertainment and fun, you'll need to push past the totally unexpected rape scene at the beginning. I don't see a lot of people mention this, but it kind of comes out of left field and can be triggering for some readers. Once you're past the first 20 pages or so (I think), you'll be fine.
3.5 out of 5 stars
CW: rape, kidnapping, captivity, death
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I love Gothic fiction and classics, and have been after this particular edition of Carmilla ever since it came out. A foundational work of horror and LQBTQ literature, I was so excited to read it and I ended up loving it.
Carmilla clocks in at 156 pages, making it quite a short and accessible classic work. Unlike some classic authors who are incredibly long winded — getting paid by the word was a very real thing — Le Fanu manages to construct a short and fast paced story filled with tension and tropey goodness. Carmilla is the book that is filled with a number of well-known vampire tropes (beautiful virginal victim, an isolated castle in an eastern European forest, hypnotic glamour, etc.)
and laid the foundation for books like Dracula. I absolutely loved imagining how terrifying this book must have been for people reading these tropes for the first time.
This book is obviously about vampires, but it really focuses on the relationship between Laura and Carmilla. The sexual tension sizzles on the page, to the point where I'm kind of surprised that this book was published in the 1870s — you don't always think of classic literature as having blatant sapphic tension. This book doesn't read only as a great work of Gothic fiction, but as a seminal work of lesbian literature.
Carmilla is a great read for any horror and Gothic fans, as well as those looking for LGBTQ literature. I'd highly recommend adding this one to your spooky autumn TBR.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
I love Gothic fiction and classics, and have been after this particular edition of Carmilla ever since it came out. A foundational work of horror and LQBTQ literature, I was so excited to read it and I ended up loving it.
Carmilla clocks in at 156 pages, making it quite a short and accessible classic work. Unlike some classic authors who are incredibly long winded — getting paid by the word was a very real thing — Le Fanu manages to construct a short and fast paced story filled with tension and tropey goodness. Carmilla is the book that is filled with a number of well-known vampire tropes (beautiful virginal victim, an isolated castle in an eastern European forest, hypnotic glamour, etc.)
and laid the foundation for books like Dracula. I absolutely loved imagining how terrifying this book must have been for people reading these tropes for the first time.
This book is obviously about vampires, but it really focuses on the relationship between Laura and Carmilla. The sexual tension sizzles on the page, to the point where I'm kind of surprised that this book was published in the 1870s — you don't always think of classic literature as having blatant sapphic tension. This book doesn't read only as a great work of Gothic fiction, but as a seminal work of lesbian literature.
Carmilla is a great read for any horror and Gothic fans, as well as those looking for LGBTQ literature. I'd highly recommend adding this one to your spooky autumn TBR.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
I am a big fan of Grady Hendrix's books, especially after reading The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires, so it is safe to say that The Final Girls Support Group was one of my most anticipated books of the summer. Unfortunately, this one just wasn't for me.
The Final Girls Support Group is a love letter to 80s and 90s slasher flicks. This book has all the gore, the cheese, and over the top plot of films like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Nightmare on Elm Street, Scream, Friday the 13th, and others. In fact, each final girl in the support group is based on one familiar film franchise, but with a twist.
In the book, the final girls' real life stories come first, and the film franchises come later. But what happens to these women who experience very real trauma? Hendrix always infuses his books with social commentary and The Final Girls Support Group is no exception. As Hendrix serves up references to these horror films, he is also eviscerating the sexualised violence against women created for the male gaze, as well as the very real fears that women face. I really loved the intent, but it felt a little clumsy and not very authentic, unlike the messages in his other stories.
In terms of the plot and characters, this book felt more shallow than other Hendrix books I've read. The plot kicks into high gear after little setup, and the breakneck pace doesn't let up. I didn't connect as strongly with the plot as I have with his other books, and I feel like the focus on the plot rather than characters may be a reason. The characters had amazing backstories, but were totally flat. Lynnette, our first person POV character, is a very secretive woman who is running for her life for the majority of the book — this doesn't exactly leave a lot of room for deep introspection. However, I still feel like we could have gotten to know her and the other women in the group. They were pawns to be moved about for the story's sake, much like the film final girls they're based on, and I feel like this could have been a real opportunity to give them so much more.
The Final Girls Support Group is a fast paced horror thriller that I'd recommend to lovers of slasher films and horror movies in general. While it wasn't for me, I'm still eagerly looking forward to his next book.
The Final Girls Support Group is a love letter to 80s and 90s slasher flicks. This book has all the gore, the cheese, and over the top plot of films like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Nightmare on Elm Street, Scream, Friday the 13th, and others. In fact, each final girl in the support group is based on one familiar film franchise, but with a twist.
In the book, the final girls' real life stories come first, and the film franchises come later. But what happens to these women who experience very real trauma? Hendrix always infuses his books with social commentary and The Final Girls Support Group is no exception. As Hendrix serves up references to these horror films, he is also eviscerating the sexualised violence against women created for the male gaze, as well as the very real fears that women face. I really loved the intent, but it felt a little clumsy and not very authentic, unlike the messages in his other stories.
In terms of the plot and characters, this book felt more shallow than other Hendrix books I've read. The plot kicks into high gear after little setup, and the breakneck pace doesn't let up. I didn't connect as strongly with the plot as I have with his other books, and I feel like the focus on the plot rather than characters may be a reason. The characters had amazing backstories, but were totally flat. Lynnette, our first person POV character, is a very secretive woman who is running for her life for the majority of the book — this doesn't exactly leave a lot of room for deep introspection. However, I still feel like we could have gotten to know her and the other women in the group. They were pawns to be moved about for the story's sake, much like the film final girls they're based on, and I feel like this could have been a real opportunity to give them so much more.
The Final Girls Support Group is a fast paced horror thriller that I'd recommend to lovers of slasher films and horror movies in general. While it wasn't for me, I'm still eagerly looking forward to his next book.
Originally posted to I Should Read That
This is a spoiler-free review.
The Calculating Stars seems to be the book that everyone is talking about in the sci-fi world. The winner of the Nebula Award, and probably the winner of many more awards this year, it sounded like the perfect book for me. Lady astronauts, an alternate version of the 1950’s, and smashing the patriarchy with science? Sounds like a brilliant book, right? However, this turned out to be one of the biggest disappointments of the year for me. I'm afraid this will be a very unpopular opinion, as this book is so beloved by the science fiction community.
It has taken me ages to write this review because I’m trying to figure out where The Calculating Stars went wrong for me. I think I’ve identified a few things, many of which will be unpopular opinions, but one of the more obvious ones is that the audiobook narration did the book no favours. I usually love it when authors narrate their own books (hello Emma Newman and Neil Gaiman), however Kowal’s narration did nothing for me. While the book and narration started out strong, Elma’s voice began to feel more and more patronising and condescending by the minute. By the end, I had cranked up the speed to over 2x just so it would be over and done with. I think The Calculating Stars would have benefited from a full cast audiobook, particularly as there are a number of characters of different ethnicities and therefore accents -- my god it was so awkward and actually felt a little icky.
Aside from the audiobook troubles, The Calculating Stars would have really benefited from a wider range of point of view characters. We only get Elma’s point of view -- I’ll talk about her in a minute -- and it felt like there was a lost opportunity for some great additional POV characters. There were so many astonishing women who should have shared the spotlight -- particularly Helen, one of the fellow computers. Elma is good at identifying her privilege and biases, something I liked about the story, however her incredibly bland and boring personality and life simply weren’t compelling enough to carry the story. Kowal does a good job of bringing people of colour into the story, why not use them and their amazing stories to diversify the book? I think that The Calculating Stars would have been a whole lot more effective, interesting, and compelling with these other characters.
I think my biggest issue with the book is Elma herself. She’s the exact kind of character I hate cleverly disguised as the exact kind of character I love -- I feel betrayed. Elma, otherwise known as Captain Perfect with her perfect husband and their perfect relationship, became very one-note and uninteresting to me very quickly. Although I am happy we got a good, supportive marriage in this book, it made for incredibly boring reading. Her husband was fully supportive of her, which is great, but he basically just nodded and smiled any time she did anything. They're so vanilla that I can't even remember his name, which is saying something. You know that couple who wears matching 'love my boyfriend/girlfriend' shirts, are never seen apart, and flood your Facebook feed with photos from their joint account? Throw in some toe sucking and horrifyingly cringe astronaut sexual innuendo and you get Elma and her husband. Gross.
I think what it comes down to is the fact that Elma feels fake -- she’s not a fully-fleshed out character at all, she’s a cardboard cut-out of what we’re meant to think ‘strong’ female characters are. I prefer my characters to be flawed because it makes them compelling and interesting, and Elma is possibly the least flawed character I’ve ever read. She feels so artificial because I can feel the author waving Elma in my face and shouting ‘look at her! She’s a feminist! She’s sassy! She’s sexually active! She struggles with anxiety! Love her!' Even her issues with anxiety -- something I suffer from and really enjoy seeing in books -- felt like a cold, calculating move to make the reader like her more. In fact, it felt so incredibly fake that I couldn't take her seriously when she was having her panic attacks, which were basically just stage fright plus a lot of vomiting -- I keep saying this but it didn't feel real. Ultimately, her mental health issues were a bigger conflict in the book than any of the sexism she was battling because it was so much more present in the book, whereas the sexism seemed to crop up whenever the author remembered that it was supposed to be an issue too. And, Elma’s mental health is the main thing that will keep her out of space -- she desperately tries to keep it a secret. And you know what? I agree that it should have kept her out of space -- thus defeating the entire purpose of the book. Elma York is nothing more than a list of buzzwords thrown together into a character that is whiter and more boring than under cooked rice.
The Calculating Stars was a huge fail for me and I am so upset. I desperately wanted to love this book, and I still love the premise. However, the execution was so poor for me that it actually makes me angry. What should have been an amazing story of kickass women smashing the patriarchy and zipping off to space fell so completely and utterly flat that it was basically impossible to enjoy.
CW: Anxiety
This is a spoiler-free review.
The Calculating Stars seems to be the book that everyone is talking about in the sci-fi world. The winner of the Nebula Award, and probably the winner of many more awards this year, it sounded like the perfect book for me. Lady astronauts, an alternate version of the 1950’s, and smashing the patriarchy with science? Sounds like a brilliant book, right? However, this turned out to be one of the biggest disappointments of the year for me. I'm afraid this will be a very unpopular opinion, as this book is so beloved by the science fiction community.
It has taken me ages to write this review because I’m trying to figure out where The Calculating Stars went wrong for me. I think I’ve identified a few things, many of which will be unpopular opinions, but one of the more obvious ones is that the audiobook narration did the book no favours. I usually love it when authors narrate their own books (hello Emma Newman and Neil Gaiman), however Kowal’s narration did nothing for me. While the book and narration started out strong, Elma’s voice began to feel more and more patronising and condescending by the minute. By the end, I had cranked up the speed to over 2x just so it would be over and done with. I think The Calculating Stars would have benefited from a full cast audiobook, particularly as there are a number of characters of different ethnicities and therefore accents -- my god it was so awkward and actually felt a little icky.
Aside from the audiobook troubles, The Calculating Stars would have really benefited from a wider range of point of view characters. We only get Elma’s point of view -- I’ll talk about her in a minute -- and it felt like there was a lost opportunity for some great additional POV characters. There were so many astonishing women who should have shared the spotlight -- particularly Helen, one of the fellow computers. Elma is good at identifying her privilege and biases, something I liked about the story, however her incredibly bland and boring personality and life simply weren’t compelling enough to carry the story. Kowal does a good job of bringing people of colour into the story, why not use them and their amazing stories to diversify the book? I think that The Calculating Stars would have been a whole lot more effective, interesting, and compelling with these other characters.
I think my biggest issue with the book is Elma herself. She’s the exact kind of character I hate cleverly disguised as the exact kind of character I love -- I feel betrayed. Elma, otherwise known as Captain Perfect with her perfect husband and their perfect relationship, became very one-note and uninteresting to me very quickly. Although I am happy we got a good, supportive marriage in this book, it made for incredibly boring reading. Her husband was fully supportive of her, which is great, but he basically just nodded and smiled any time she did anything. They're so vanilla that I can't even remember his name, which is saying something. You know that couple who wears matching 'love my boyfriend/girlfriend' shirts, are never seen apart, and flood your Facebook feed with photos from their joint account? Throw in some toe sucking and horrifyingly cringe astronaut sexual innuendo and you get Elma and her husband. Gross.
I think what it comes down to is the fact that Elma feels fake -- she’s not a fully-fleshed out character at all, she’s a cardboard cut-out of what we’re meant to think ‘strong’ female characters are. I prefer my characters to be flawed because it makes them compelling and interesting, and Elma is possibly the least flawed character I’ve ever read. She feels so artificial because I can feel the author waving Elma in my face and shouting ‘look at her! She’s a feminist! She’s sassy! She’s sexually active! She struggles with anxiety! Love her!' Even her issues with anxiety -- something I suffer from and really enjoy seeing in books -- felt like a cold, calculating move to make the reader like her more. In fact, it felt so incredibly fake that I couldn't take her seriously when she was having her panic attacks, which were basically just stage fright plus a lot of vomiting -- I keep saying this but it didn't feel real. Ultimately, her mental health issues were a bigger conflict in the book than any of the sexism she was battling because it was so much more present in the book, whereas the sexism seemed to crop up whenever the author remembered that it was supposed to be an issue too. And, Elma’s mental health is the main thing that will keep her out of space -- she desperately tries to keep it a secret. And you know what? I agree that it should have kept her out of space -- thus defeating the entire purpose of the book. Elma York is nothing more than a list of buzzwords thrown together into a character that is whiter and more boring than under cooked rice.
The Calculating Stars was a huge fail for me and I am so upset. I desperately wanted to love this book, and I still love the premise. However, the execution was so poor for me that it actually makes me angry. What should have been an amazing story of kickass women smashing the patriarchy and zipping off to space fell so completely and utterly flat that it was basically impossible to enjoy.
CW: Anxiety