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simonlorden's Reviews (1.38k)
Felicity returns to her super gothic literature school a year after her girlfriend dies. I feel like the first 70-80% of the book was like, good, but not going to leave a mark - then suddenly Shit Gets Real. Everyone has horrible trauma, Felicity and her mind are absolutely not reliable as a narrator, and just aaaaah!! So Much Happens.
I received a copy from NetGalley, and this is my honest and voluntary review.
A collection of stories ranging from contemporary to historical, futuristic and dystopian (and one Greek Mythology retelling). They all have female main characters, dealing with human emotions, misogyny and expectations placed on women. Several of them have women loving women, including a retelling of Athena and Arachne which makes them lovers. :)
I loved the first story very much, and then the rest were good but none of them quite lived up to that first one. I think the ideas were imaginative, but the execution often felt clumsy. Some of the stories felt almost half-finished and could have been developed further. Things like a child in the late 1800s casually suggesting divorce to her mother took me out of the story sometimes. Etc.
I'm making some assumptions here, but overall this anthology had very Beginner Author vibes. It's imaginative and passionate and excited, and I think the author clearly has talent, so I'm curious to see what she'll come up with in the future.
A collection of stories ranging from contemporary to historical, futuristic and dystopian (and one Greek Mythology retelling). They all have female main characters, dealing with human emotions, misogyny and expectations placed on women. Several of them have women loving women, including a retelling of Athena and Arachne which makes them lovers. :)
I loved the first story very much, and then the rest were good but none of them quite lived up to that first one. I think the ideas were imaginative, but the execution often felt clumsy. Some of the stories felt almost half-finished and could have been developed further. Things like a child in the late 1800s casually suggesting divorce to her mother took me out of the story sometimes. Etc.
I'm making some assumptions here, but overall this anthology had very Beginner Author vibes. It's imaginative and passionate and excited, and I think the author clearly has talent, so I'm curious to see what she'll come up with in the future.
This book has everything. Native American lore! Norse mythology! Fae incest! Chaotic bisexual! A Very Good Boy!
I missed Stefan, and it would have been nice to have an extra scene or two with Mercy and Gary actually talking to each other, but overall it was nice.
I also like the series is getting queerer, but it's still not going to reach Toby Daye levels for me because of all the macho werewolf stuff.
I missed Stefan, and it would have been nice to have an extra scene or two with Mercy and Gary actually talking to each other, but overall it was nice.
I also like the series is getting queerer, but it's still not going to reach Toby Daye levels for me because of all the macho werewolf stuff.
I received a copy from NetGalley, and this is my voluntary and honest review.
A collection of ten stories by African authors, about storytelling and the human condition. These stories are vibrant and many-faced, dealing with emotions, grief, family and expectations. I especially enjoyed all the unfamiliar-to-me foods. The characters feel alive, and there is some beautiful writing inside this anthology.
Several stories are about strict traditions and expectations for women to be baby-makers, which was really difficult to read at times.
That being said, my main problem was that I don't think the foreword accurately represents this anthology at all. According to the foreword, the seven stories in the first part are meant to be "easy to read", "escapism" and make you "laugh and smile". I would say maybe two of the stories made me smile. The others were well-written, but often bittersweet or outright sad. One of them had a homeless person being cut into pieces for organs, which definitely didn't make me laugh. Maybe we have a different sense of humor.
On the other hand, the mention of war and atrocities in the foreword made me expect the topic of war in the second part, but instead the three stories there are about grief, biracial identity and abortion - serious and important topics, but more "mundane" than I would have expected.
So, in short, the stories themselves are wonderful, but I do think the foreword gives you some wrong expectations.
A collection of ten stories by African authors, about storytelling and the human condition. These stories are vibrant and many-faced, dealing with emotions, grief, family and expectations. I especially enjoyed all the unfamiliar-to-me foods. The characters feel alive, and there is some beautiful writing inside this anthology.
Several stories are about strict traditions and expectations for women to be baby-makers, which was really difficult to read at times.
That being said, my main problem was that I don't think the foreword accurately represents this anthology at all. According to the foreword, the seven stories in the first part are meant to be "easy to read", "escapism" and make you "laugh and smile". I would say maybe two of the stories made me smile. The others were well-written, but often bittersweet or outright sad. One of them had a homeless person being cut into pieces for organs, which definitely didn't make me laugh. Maybe we have a different sense of humor.
On the other hand, the mention of war and atrocities in the foreword made me expect the topic of war in the second part, but instead the three stories there are about grief, biracial identity and abortion - serious and important topics, but more "mundane" than I would have expected.
So, in short, the stories themselves are wonderful, but I do think the foreword gives you some wrong expectations.
DNF at 45%
Look, I have no problem with erotica. I read erotica. But I expect something else besides sex, like idk, banter, pining, literally any characterization? I got halfway in this book and there has been nothing but sex after sex, and for me it's just a bit repetitive. The two main characters have 0 personality traits other than being horny.
Look, I have no problem with erotica. I read erotica. But I expect something else besides sex, like idk, banter, pining, literally any characterization? I got halfway in this book and there has been nothing but sex after sex, and for me it's just a bit repetitive. The two main characters have 0 personality traits other than being horny.
The stories were fine, but this fake rivalry between the two teams and the editors "arguing" in front of every story ruined the mood. Holly was usually fine, but Justine overdid it. I don't find it funny to talk shit about half the stories in your anthology, or announce that you only skimread half of them. So that was a bummer tbh.
I received a copy through NetGalley, and this is my honest and voluntary review.
"Consent, just like trust, isn't something you get from someone and have forever."
I like to read LGBTQAI-inclusive books for kids sometimes, because I didn't have any of those given to me when I was a kid. This book deals with the topic of consent, which goes far beyond sexual consent - it can be as simple as not wanting somebody to hug you, which is something kids often don't get a choice about.
I think this book was good at explaining consent and agency in an easy-to-understand way, but you definitely need an adult to go along with the kid, because there were a couple of bigger concepts that weren't really explained. For example, there was a practice part where it just told you to practice "waiting your turn and feeling impatient (delaying gratification, impulse control)". I feel like delaying gratification is a complicated word and concept that should be explained a bit more than just throwing it out in brackets?! But nothing, it's not even part of the glossary at the end. I also expected more practice exercises after that, but there weren't any.
What I really liked is that the book refers to "trusted adults" as opposed to parents, since not everyone has parents, or their parents might not be trusted adults. I do feel like the concept could have been "explained" a bit more and sooner.
The illustrations were very nice, colorful, pleasing to the eye, and most of all they presented a diverse range of people in ability, race and gender. I liked that in the section about pronouns, the appearance of the speaker didn't always match what you would associate with that pronoun - for example, a typically feminine kid was saying he likes to use both he and she pronouns.
"Consent, just like trust, isn't something you get from someone and have forever."
I like to read LGBTQAI-inclusive books for kids sometimes, because I didn't have any of those given to me when I was a kid. This book deals with the topic of consent, which goes far beyond sexual consent - it can be as simple as not wanting somebody to hug you, which is something kids often don't get a choice about.
I think this book was good at explaining consent and agency in an easy-to-understand way, but you definitely need an adult to go along with the kid, because there were a couple of bigger concepts that weren't really explained. For example, there was a practice part where it just told you to practice "waiting your turn and feeling impatient (delaying gratification, impulse control)". I feel like delaying gratification is a complicated word and concept that should be explained a bit more than just throwing it out in brackets?! But nothing, it's not even part of the glossary at the end. I also expected more practice exercises after that, but there weren't any.
What I really liked is that the book refers to "trusted adults" as opposed to parents, since not everyone has parents, or their parents might not be trusted adults. I do feel like the concept could have been "explained" a bit more and sooner.
The illustrations were very nice, colorful, pleasing to the eye, and most of all they presented a diverse range of people in ability, race and gender. I liked that in the section about pronouns, the appearance of the speaker didn't always match what you would associate with that pronoun - for example, a typically feminine kid was saying he likes to use both he and she pronouns.
Love that we're continuing the clever teenage girl sidekick thing. Lilah is the best. I also loved the twist at the end - it's my favorite kind of twist.
Really this should be 5 stars, but I'm feeling emotional about how badly James's family treated him and never bothered to make up for it. I'm disappointed because I liked Martha and then my opinion of her went down in the last few chapters.
Really this should be 5 stars, but I'm feeling emotional about how badly James's family treated him and never bothered to make up for it. I'm disappointed because I liked Martha and then my opinion of her went down in the last few chapters.
Somehow I didn't think I'd like this at the beginning, but it won me over. I loved Leo's blatant flirting and his longing for a normal life, and the side characters (two elderly lesbians with their adopted daughter) were also amazing.
Ok the listen the horror retelling with the hares is great and all, but !!! The gender stuff !!!! Separate pronouns for children and soldiers? Women becoming soldiers so they don't have to be women anymore? Chef's kiss, it's just really fun.