Take a photo of a barcode or cover
skudiklier's Reviews (647)
reflective
medium-paced
I enjoyed the poems and art in this! It's always fun reading the work of new writers. And it was interesting trying to figure out where I should start since it's folded up in such an unusual way (for me at least).
Content Warnings
Minor: Medical content
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I went into this book knowing nothing, and right from the beginning I couldn't put it down. I read this in a single day--less than twelve hours, during which I had things to do (like, uh, work). I really enjoyed almost everything about this book, and would definitely recommend it, especially for the queer aspects and the way it brings together the past and present in the end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Biphobia, Body shaming, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Grief, Car accident, Lesbophobia, Outing, Alcohol, Sexual harassment
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Abortion, Pregnancy, Classism
Minor: Addiction, Drug use, Incest, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Death of parent, War
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Okay, wow. I didn't read the synopsis for this book beyond the very first lines, because I knew the author was good and I didn't want anything spoiled. Maybe if I'd read that I would have been more prepared for where the story went, but wow it was wild experiencing that with no idea it was going in that direction.
I really enjoyed this book, and I feel like it balanced the feelings of grief and new love so well. I was a bit worried in the beginning I wouldn't be able to handle all of the stuff about her ex-husband's death, but I got through it okay. I think this book is beautiful and messy and I really want to believe in it, honestly. It made me feel so many things.
I'm not sure I'd recommend this to everyone; I feel like I'd want to give a caveat or two if I did. But who knows, maybe I'll think about it. The writing was beautiful of course and there was nothing wrong with it that isn't the case for almost any romance.
Thank you to Atria Books and Netgalley for the chance to read and review this ARC.
I really enjoyed this book, and I feel like it balanced the feelings of grief and new love so well. I was a bit worried in the beginning I wouldn't be able to handle all of the stuff about her ex-husband's death, but I got through it okay. I think this book is beautiful and messy and I really want to believe in it, honestly. It made me feel so many things.
I'm not sure I'd recommend this to everyone; I feel like I'd want to give a caveat or two if I did. But who knows, maybe I'll think about it. The writing was beautiful of course and there was nothing wrong with it that isn't the case for almost any romance.
Thank you to Atria Books and Netgalley for the chance to read and review this ARC.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia, Cursing, Death, Infidelity, Sexual content, Grief, Car accident
Moderate: Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Alcohol
Minor: Ableism, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Incest
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was a reread pretty soon after reading it for the first time, and I still liked it just as much! I cried actually and I don't think I did the first time. The audiobook was really good.
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
This was so beautiful and romantic and sweet! Salem Paige's words are enchanting and this collection made my heart go :')
my favorite line was "we sing to night / with aching moans"
my favorite line was "we sing to night / with aching moans"
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual content
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was beautiful and heartbreaking and so emotionally true. I wondered how it would pull off taking you through a relationship backwards, from messy breakup to romantic meeting, but wow Hazel Hayes did it so well. After finishing it I went back and reread the first chapter just to feel it all over again, and notice all the little things I now had so much more context for. Out of Love is all bittersweet nostalgia and new perspectives, and I loved it so much.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Suicide attempt, Alcohol
Moderate: Alcoholism, Biphobia, Death, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, Xenophobia, Vomit, Grief, Car accident, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment
Minor: Cancer, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Medical content, Abortion, War
adventurous
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I remembered this one way less than the first one, but it was still enjoyable! Tbh I wasn't super sucked in or anything for most of it, but by the end I was. I still plan to finish rereading the series but idk how much of a priority it will be.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Kidnapping
Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Torture, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death, Gun violence
challenging
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Grace Lavery was my favorite professor in college, and I took tons of her classes even though they fulfilled no requirements for my major, just because I really enjoyed her lectures. I think she's brilliant, and I've really liked keeping up with her work online since.
This book was hit-or-miss for me; some sections I loved, some sections left me screaming, but other sections had me feeling bored or confused. A lot of it went over my head and I found it hard to keep interest in some sections.
Overall I'm glad I read the book of course, but I'm a bit disappointed that I don't think I can recommend this to most people in the future. I do still look forward to reading her future work though, and I'm glad so many other people had an easier time with this book.
This book was hit-or-miss for me; some sections I loved, some sections left me screaming, but other sections had me feeling bored or confused. A lot of it went over my head and I found it hard to keep interest in some sections.
Overall I'm glad I read the book of course, but I'm a bit disappointed that I don't think I can recommend this to most people in the future. I do still look forward to reading her future work though, and I'm glad so many other people had an easier time with this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Transphobia
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt
Minor: Pedophilia, Rape, Torture
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
This book was so good! I liked some parts better than others, and it went a lot of directions I wasn't expecting, but overall I found it very interesting and useful. There was a great deal of history, and I loved how it was so situated in the Bay Area.
I'm finding it hard to summarize key takeaways; perhaps this is because I listened to the audiobook and may have in some parts focused on it less than I would have preferred, or maybe this is because of the book itself somehow. But I read this for a book club so I'm excited to talk about it with others so they can refresh my mind on the parts I really want to remember.
My favorite passage was:
When the language of advertising and personal branding enjoins you to “be yourself," what it really means is “be more yourself," where “yourself” is a consistent and recognizable pattern of habits, desires, and drives that can be more easily advertised to and appropriated, like units of capital. In fact, I don’t know what a personal brand is other than a reliable, unchanging pattern of snap judgments: “I like this” and “I don’t like this," with little room for ambiguity or contradiction.
I'm finding it hard to summarize key takeaways; perhaps this is because I listened to the audiobook and may have in some parts focused on it less than I would have preferred, or maybe this is because of the book itself somehow. But I read this for a book club so I'm excited to talk about it with others so they can refresh my mind on the parts I really want to remember.
My favorite passage was:
When the language of advertising and personal branding enjoins you to “be yourself," what it really means is “be more yourself," where “yourself” is a consistent and recognizable pattern of habits, desires, and drives that can be more easily advertised to and appropriated, like units of capital. In fact, I don’t know what a personal brand is other than a reliable, unchanging pattern of snap judgments: “I like this” and “I don’t like this," with little room for ambiguity or contradiction.
informative
reflective
medium-paced
This was really interesting and helpful to read! I've had issues with the traditional five love languages in the past, and how people use them, so I love the idea of having more varied and inclusive love languages that work for all sorts of relationships and people. I would need to do more reflection to know if these languages are actually helpful for me and my relationships, but regardless I appreciate the work the author is doing and think this could be a great resource for a lot of people.
Content Warnings
Minor: Toxic relationship