Reviews by purplepenning | The StoryGraph

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purplepenning

Unstoppable Us, Volume 1: How Humans Took Over the World

Yuval Noah Harari

4.0

informative medium-paced

Content Warnings

Funny Feelings

Tarah DeWitt

4.25

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Content Warnings

So This Is Christmas

Jenny Holiday

2.75

hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Content Warnings

Rust in the Root

Justina Ireland

4.75

adventurous hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

I'm in awe of the intelligence and organized creativity here! It's an alt-history fantasy with mystery and horror elements in service to a story about exploitation, industrialization, strength, community, and social justice. Very cool magical system based on West African and Caribbean traditions, clever magical interpretation of mechanization and industrialization, great use of historical organization and political structures, well-drawn characters that feel true to the time but relevantly contemporary, plus there be dragons!

Content Warnings

The Drowned Woods

Emily Lloyd-Jones

4.0

adventurous dark hopeful tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Content Warnings

Kiss Her Once For Me

Alison Cochrun

3.0

emotional hopeful slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Perfect for fans of Alexandria Bellefleur's Written in the Stars, this is a character-driven holiday romance that has great LGBTQ and mental health representation.

I loved The Charm Offensive, but this one didn't really work for me. The humor, the pacing, the sensory descriptors, the love triangle — none of it really landed for me. But it might be just your thing! Plus, there's a quirky supportive cast and a lovely found family, beautifully angsty and honest character development, realistic livelihood struggles, plenty of sensual descriptions of forearms and half-moon smiles, and the magic of fresh snowfall and bookstore meet cutes. Plenty of people are going to absolutely love this story, and I'm happy for them.

Content Warnings

Eva Evergreen, Semi-Magical Witch

Julie Abe

4.0

adventurous emotional medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

The Christmas Murder Game

Alexandra Benedict

3.0

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

A classic, tense, atmospheric whodunit with a dysfunctional family and a rising body count during a snowed-in, country-mansion inheritance game full of clues, puzzles, and the weight of the past, present, and future. Not entirely my cup of tea (I like my Christmas murder mysteries to have at least a little Christmas warmth and cheer 😆) but a good one for word-puzzlers who like to play along at home.

Content Warnings

Midnight Riot

Ben Aaronovitch

4.0

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Content Warnings

A Merry Little Meet Cute

Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone

4.25

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Body-positive, sex-positive, and about as sweet and steamy as you can get in one holiday rom-com package. ("Package" pun not intended but definitely would've been remarked on in a book that manages to be both very frank and filled with innuendo.)

Content Warnings

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