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simonlorden's Reviews (1.38k)
Let me get this out of the way first: I don't know what's up with the quality of Hungarian translations lately, but this is at least the third book I read in Hungarian recently that was literally a struggle to get through. It's like the translator insisted on keeping the English sentence structures, even though they sound completely unnatural in Hungarian. It was so jarring and distracting that I could barely concentrate on the story. Ugh.
Anyway. I didn't count this towards the rating, so the 4 stars are entirely for the book by Helen Hoang, and not the translation.
This was a lovely M/F romance with an autistic woman and a Vietnamese man (#ownvoices for both I believe), with fake dating/practice relationship. I liked the personality and family quirks they both had, the portrayal of autism, and I liked how attentive Michael was.
Fair warning that it's very sex-heavy. I knew there were going to be sex scenes, and they were actually a pretty important part of the story and gave us a lot of info about the characters' personalities, but the amount still caught me off guard. (Especially since reading sex in my native language is still a big noooope, idk how English-speaking people do it.)
Anyway. I didn't count this towards the rating, so the 4 stars are entirely for the book by Helen Hoang, and not the translation.
This was a lovely M/F romance with an autistic woman and a Vietnamese man (#ownvoices for both I believe), with fake dating/practice relationship. I liked the personality and family quirks they both had, the portrayal of autism, and I liked how attentive Michael was.
Fair warning that it's very sex-heavy. I knew there were going to be sex scenes, and they were actually a pretty important part of the story and gave us a lot of info about the characters' personalities, but the amount still caught me off guard. (Especially since reading sex in my native language is still a big noooope, idk how English-speaking people do it.)
I'm sorry, but... what was this? Like, maybe I'm just missing the point but I don't understand why Athénaise suddenly realised she loves her husband after all? I didn't feel like there was a real build-up there. And I had to read a summary to even figure out she was pregnant because I missed that one sentence in the original.
Eh, anyway. I guess I'll find out in class maybe.
Eh, anyway. I guess I'll find out in class maybe.
I received an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
3.5 stars, rounded down
The main character of this book is a straight woman who receives a strange amulet that may or may not influence her entire life. Several of her family members and friends are gay men, and she volunteers for a gay helpline, so the community is important to the story.
This is described both as darkly suspenseful and a lighthearted comedy, which is a pretty weird mix. Personally, I didn't really feel the comedy part - the parts that might have been meant as funny mostly caused me second hand embarrassment. And there were some quite heavy triggers that I didn't expect in a comedy book.
Overall, I have to admit that there were story twists that surprised me, and I liked how the story played out in the end.
major tws: cancer, suicide, child sexual abuse
3.5 stars, rounded down
The main character of this book is a straight woman who receives a strange amulet that may or may not influence her entire life. Several of her family members and friends are gay men, and she volunteers for a gay helpline, so the community is important to the story.
This is described both as darkly suspenseful and a lighthearted comedy, which is a pretty weird mix. Personally, I didn't really feel the comedy part - the parts that might have been meant as funny mostly caused me second hand embarrassment. And there were some quite heavy triggers that I didn't expect in a comedy book.
Overall, I have to admit that there were story twists that surprised me, and I liked how the story played out in the end.
major tws: cancer, suicide, child sexual abuse
I received a copy from the editor in exchange for an honest review.
(It took me almost a year to read this and I am ashamed.)
How to Live on Other Planets: A Handbook for Aspiring Aliens collects over 40 sci-fi stories and poems around the topic of immigration. As with the other anthology I read by this editor (Sunvault), these stories are also diverse, full of queer and nonbinary characters, polyamory, and a variety of non-white immigrant experiences.
I admit that the reason it took me so long to finish this book is that the variety and the number stories is just... way too overwhelming. In almost 400 pages, the pace keeps switching between longer stories and poems of only a few lines, and it was just difficult to adjust back from one to another. I feel like it might have been a good idea to divide this into two volumes.
My top favourite stories are:
Sarah Pinsker: The Low Hum of Her Robot grandma!
Mary Anne Mohanraj: Jump Space A polyamorous triad faces some complications with the addition of a new member.
Zen Cho: The Four Generations of Chang E As the title says, this tells the story of four generations of immigrants and how differently they think about their ancestry.
Alex Dally McFarlane: Found A nonbinary space trader commuting between asteroids to sell spices. I loved this one so much.
Lewis Shiner: Primes Two parallel universes merge together, the population of Earth doubles, and everyone has to deal with their own other selves.
(It took me almost a year to read this and I am ashamed.)
How to Live on Other Planets: A Handbook for Aspiring Aliens collects over 40 sci-fi stories and poems around the topic of immigration. As with the other anthology I read by this editor (Sunvault), these stories are also diverse, full of queer and nonbinary characters, polyamory, and a variety of non-white immigrant experiences.
I admit that the reason it took me so long to finish this book is that the variety and the number stories is just... way too overwhelming. In almost 400 pages, the pace keeps switching between longer stories and poems of only a few lines, and it was just difficult to adjust back from one to another. I feel like it might have been a good idea to divide this into two volumes.
My top favourite stories are:
Sarah Pinsker: The Low Hum of Her Robot grandma!
Mary Anne Mohanraj: Jump Space A polyamorous triad faces some complications with the addition of a new member.
Zen Cho: The Four Generations of Chang E As the title says, this tells the story of four generations of immigrants and how differently they think about their ancestry.
Alex Dally McFarlane: Found A nonbinary space trader commuting between asteroids to sell spices. I loved this one so much.
Lewis Shiner: Primes Two parallel universes merge together, the population of Earth doubles, and everyone has to deal with their own other selves.
As short as this story is, I think it has to be read slowly and with the reader savouring the images. I might re-read it later when I have more time, because I sort of rushed through this time.
My only real complaint is that there was a very casual mention of past rape and just... I don't know. It sounded like being raped is inevitable if you're a young woman? It just took me out of the story.
I loved that this was about an old woman who used to be adventurous in her youth then settled down, and how all that knowledge and all those memories come back when she goes on another quest. I also liked seeing our world through her eyes towards the end.
Bonus points for the cat.
My only real complaint is that there was a very casual mention of past rape and just... I don't know. It sounded like being raped is inevitable if you're a young woman? It just took me out of the story.
I loved that this was about an old woman who used to be adventurous in her youth then settled down, and how all that knowledge and all those memories come back when she goes on another quest. I also liked seeing our world through her eyes towards the end.
Bonus points for the cat.
I read this in bed between 6am and 7am then went back to sleep some more. 8/10, would recommend.
Note: there a couple of ableist comments about "cr-zy OCD behaviour".
Note: there a couple of ableist comments about "cr-zy OCD behaviour".
I received an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Red Dove is the story of a very brave mixed race Lakota girl, written with the help of several Lakota sensitivity readers. It also has some beautiful illustrations.
Red Dove is the story of a very brave mixed race Lakota girl, written with the help of several Lakota sensitivity readers. It also has some beautiful illustrations.
I received an ARC of this through NetGalley.
I’m just messing with you. My sense of humour didn’t die with me.
Sometimes, all you need is a fun, easy-to-digest middle grade adventure. With a snarky ghost.
I was drawn to this book by the cover, and the promise of mystery and ghostly adventures, and it didn’t disappoint. I’m going to be honest, at first I groaned at little details such as the main boy character hating the colour pink, or the stereotypical bully stealing lunch money (seriously, who does that? if anyone kept stealing my actual MONEY every day, my mom would have went in and kicked everyone’s asses from the principal to the bully’s parents. Is this something that actually happens?). However, even my little annoyances were subverted or fixed by the end of the book.
The best part of this book is very obviously the ghost kid, Teddy. I adored his snarkiness, his jokes, and his puns about being a ghost, even if Ollie was often annoyed by them. I also liked that while he appeared as a kid, he was old enough that one of his friends that he met as a child was actually an adult, but they still acted as friends.
Also, there’s a ghost cat, so, you know, automatic extra points.
In short, if you’re looking for a middle grade book for yourself or maybe a kid in your life, I definitely recommend picking up this one.
I’m just messing with you. My sense of humour didn’t die with me.
Sometimes, all you need is a fun, easy-to-digest middle grade adventure. With a snarky ghost.
I was drawn to this book by the cover, and the promise of mystery and ghostly adventures, and it didn’t disappoint. I’m going to be honest, at first I groaned at little details such as the main boy character hating the colour pink, or the stereotypical bully stealing lunch money (seriously, who does that? if anyone kept stealing my actual MONEY every day, my mom would have went in and kicked everyone’s asses from the principal to the bully’s parents. Is this something that actually happens?). However, even my little annoyances were subverted or fixed by the end of the book.
The best part of this book is very obviously the ghost kid, Teddy. I adored his snarkiness, his jokes, and his puns about being a ghost, even if Ollie was often annoyed by them. I also liked that while he appeared as a kid, he was old enough that one of his friends that he met as a child was actually an adult, but they still acted as friends.
Also, there’s a ghost cat, so, you know, automatic extra points.
In short, if you’re looking for a middle grade book for yourself or maybe a kid in your life, I definitely recommend picking up this one.
Random Acts of Kindness is if Stardew Valley was a book. No, really, hear me out.
This little book is basically all about community in a small town, including a Kindness Board, paying it forward, a handsome vet, and a woman who moves here from the big city only to immediately start helping a stranger save his family heirloom.
Just like Stardew Valley, this book is also great if you're just in need of something light.
This little book is basically all about community in a small town, including a Kindness Board, paying it forward, a handsome vet, and a woman who moves here from the big city only to immediately start helping a stranger save his family heirloom.
Just like Stardew Valley, this book is also great if you're just in need of something light.