943 reviews by:

katymaryreads

challenging dark emotional funny reflective fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

An interesting read alternating between the story of Mary Shelley and her 'Frankinstein', and a sort of present day. The parallels between Mary's monster and the spectre of AI and preserving the self after death were well handled, as were all the questions of identity and reality.
There was a stereotypical evangelical Black Christian, and some homophobia, transphobia and internalised transphobia that were never really addressed - maybe deliberately? On the whole, I enjoyed this,
challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I think this is a horror book for people like me who don't read horror books. The whole thing is a vision of wandering through the blazingly hot English countryside, and never really knowing what is going on.
There is repetition of motifs, but you never understand why. Even when the protagonists arrive in Almanby ("don't go to Almanby") nothing is clear or explained.
It was very odd, but I loved it.
challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

 This has definite top ten of the year potential: I found it unputdownable. The three surviving Blue sisters are brought together a year after the death of their sister. They all have problems rooted in their childhoods and exacerbated by Nicky’s death. They are warm, believable, flawed and not always likeable characters, and I sympathised with all of them even when I was hating some of the choices they made. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
emotional reflective fast-paced

This was interesting and enlightening, especially regarding the intersection of racism and homophobia. I was especially struck by how accepting the author's family were of their LGBTQIAP+ members.
challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I didn't enjoy this as much as the previous two in the series: there were too many characters I didn't care that much about, and I kept losing track of who was where and who was doing what. Still, it was good to have a resolution to the series, even if I wasn't entirely satisfied with it.
adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I really enjoyed this. I love the whole concept of the pack who can shape shift to wolves at will, not tied to the moon. The only aspect I didn't like was the age difference between the main characters,especially as the younger one was still underage when their relationship began. But the concept, the story, the found family - I loved it all, and can't wait for more.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

i didn't know Storygraph let you rate books zero stars until I read this book. I only finished it because I needed it for a specific challenge, and I hated every minute of it. Ignatius had no redeeming features, and most of the other characters were nearly as bad. It was racist, misogynistic and fat-phobic (or the characters were - but it was never challenged at all). I know it's supposed to be funny, but I didn't find it so. 
challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I really enjoyed this book, particularly the world building, the exploration of Latinx culture, and the trans representation. The characters were believable and human, and mostly sympathetic. I liked that the romance was a side plot and not the main point of the story.
challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Like any anthology, a mixture of some stories I really likes, some that were okay, and some that I didn't enjoy at all. The insight into the culture and beliefs of some of the indigenous people of America was interesting. Overall, cemented my feeling that horror really isn't my thing.
informative medium-paced

Fascinating, but a bit longer than it needed to be - I did lose track at some points.