#book review sort of

[marzipanandminutiae]

A Dowry of Blood disappointed me

- not actually about Dracula’s brides in the sense of “meshing with the novel Dracula;” just a Dracula-and-brides-type relationship

- I was excited to see how Jonathan and the rest of the Crew of Light entered into it. they did not, at all. boo

- less sapphic than it had been billed to me

- like, there is an F/F romance, but it gets less focus than the women’s relationships with the men in their lives (IMO)

- they mostly only show intimacy in the context of threeways with men, and the entire epilogue short story- meant to be the central triad’s happily-ever-after together, I think -has an erotic scene in which both women are ONLY paying attention to the man involved, not to each other at all. which I wouldn’t mind if I felt like their love for each other had gotten decent development and screentime, too, but it just. didn’t

- I write an F/F/M triad in my fanfic, so I’m not opposed to that. but this was very...I don’t know. perfunctory about the sapphism, and detailed in its descriptions of hetero sex and romance? (struck me as odd especially given that the author is a queer woman herself, who presumably therefore knows and has interest in writing women’s attraction to other women)

- which is fine if you don’t mind that, but it kind of soured me on the book, personally

EDIT: this point is hard to articulate, but it kind of felt like it was trying to have its cake and eat it too in terms of more traditional Gothic amorality vs. wholesomenessTM. Like, periodically the text would mention the characters you were supposed to like feeding on innocents, but it never actually happened onscreen (so to speak). And much more attention was paid to the instances where they tried to either avoid killing their prey, or only feed on bad people.

Don’t get me wrong, I do like my Gothic main characters to be sympathetic even if they’re doing horrible things, but this just felt like. I don’t know. An attempt to appeal to 16-year-olds concerned about the moral ramifications of liking vampire characters?

#gothic fiction #book review sort of

[jasper-the-menace]

If I had a dollar for every horror book I read this year (that was also published this year) in which a conservative cult used powers beyond mortal ken to enforce their conservative agenda onto a bunch of queer and neurodivergent children who then turned that power around to decimate the cult at some point in their lives, I would have two dollars, which isn't a lot but it's great that it happened twice.

Anyway, read Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle and Mister Magic by Kiersten White.

#jasper post #review #books #authors #chuck tingle #tingleverse #camp damascus #kiersten white #mister magic #mister magic was also fun because it read as a sort of love letter to the candle cove creepypasta

[nedlittle]

wow dude do you think oscar wilde may have been gay? should we tell the discord? should we inform rupaul?

#the picture of dorian gray #book discourse #sorry to keep beating this dead horse but i tried looking for the review i referenced in that damnèd post but only found more horrors #i appreciate storygraph's lack of hierarchy for review sorting but it really is a bitch when you're trying to find a review for something #extremely popular with over 17k reviews #'why is rupaul here' i blanked on mainstream gay celebs and he was the first i thought of which makes it funnier

[aroaessidhe]

2024 reads / storygraph

Everything Under the Moon

Anthology of queer reimaginings of fairytales by mostly Australian authors

various genres, from contemporary to fantasy and sci-fi, mostly about older teens

mlm, sapphic, trans, nonbinary, demi, bi ace, and aromantic characters, some stories focusing on romance but many on familial relationships and siblings

#Everything Under the Moon #aroaessidhe 2024 reads #aromantic books #queer books #A really nice anthology of queer fairytales! definitely a mix of all sorts of stories. #Some were a bit forgettable (I mean I’m just not a short story person) but I really enjoyed others! I #I picked this up specifically because I heard there was an aromantic story (which I didn’t know much else about) and yeah it hit hard actua #it’s about being okay with loneliness and also centred around artists….so. it did make me cry a bit…. #I liked that a lot of them focused on platonic r/ships - most on sibling actually? I appreciate that there were a couple sapphic aces too #I will say while the illustrations are really high quality (I especially liked the naturey ones) I found a lot of them depicted the chars #as very.....disnefied? idk. thin and generic. lacking 'imperfect' features like freckles even #(when they’re described as having them) With a couple exceptions for sure - but a lot of them were a bit samey #I would have loved some authors notes or a list of the stories because I didn’t recognise which all were inspired by #(though they’re on the endpapers; just not specified which) - I did find this in a GR review tho

[bomberqueen17]

The Witch King

This is not like, a coherent review or anything.

Yesterday I was just like possessed with anxiety nonstop the whole day and everything I did seemed to make it worse and i just like spun my wheels and I got some things done but mostly felt worse and worse and more and more stressed, due partly to external circumstances but largely, i think, to nothing in particular. And finally after dinner I was sitting on the couch comfortably and realized you know what, fuck it, I am not going to "try to write" and wind up refreshing tumblr and chatting on discord all night, not while I'm already fretting and stewing like this, i'm going to be miserable and probably get in a fight or something and i don't want that. Fuck it. So I went to the tab I already had open in my browser, which I'd had open for weeks but the time was never right, and I bought the kindle version of Witch King and read it right there in my browser, the whole way through, did not click away or put it down or move or do anything else, and you know what it was fantastic.

I'd read a preview and been like hm i don't know what this is about and read a couple of amazon reviews that were like this was really confusing, some of which concluded so i didn't like it and some of which concluded so i super liked it, and like, I've been a fan of Martha Wells since she put the Element of Fire up for free chapter by chapter on her Livejournal when the rights reverted to her in like 2006 or so, so I knew what I was going to get and also knew that I would not particularly know exactly what I was going to get until I got it, and I also knew I was going to enjoy the ride, but I hadn't wanted to read it in stolen or exhausted moments lest the "this is confusing" bits prove too much.

In the end I found it not in the slightest bit confusing, it was a very straightforward interspersed flashbacks storytelling technique that i thought suited the story beautifully (not to be spoilery but we join a character in medias res with an action scene and it's him trying to figure out who has betrayed him in a complicated political scenario, and in the process of unspooling this he has to revisit the site of where the complicated political scenario was first set up, some sixty (?) years earlier, so he's retracing his own steps and it's really well done I think, introducing new bits of history right as they're relevant to the current storyline-- and just fantastically done, not at all forced, completely natural and compelling, and no the reader isn't told anything they don't need to know but you do get everthing you need to know, there's no unneccessary coyness at all).

So anyway i loved that, and I hope there's a sequel planned but it stands alone just fine if not, I'm already figuring i'll alternate my rereads and do every other chapter each time, so I can do All The Backstory first, then All The Current Timeline story, and that's such a fun way to eke out many many many rereads of a story that like all of Wells' works I will reread until I have chunks of them memorized (anyone who has read my works surely has found whole undigested bits of hers bobbing around in there because I do this so much; I found the phrase weary past bearing in something of mine the other day and was like oh that's moon when ember first shows up i stole that whole emotion wholesale out of the third raksura book yes i did).

Little side notes: Love the aroace qpr vibes with Kai and Zeide, also sort of enjoy the lowkey genderfuckery that comes with a demon who has his own gender then inhabiting bodies that had different genders. Great magic system too, and I love that we first get introduced to how Kai's pain magic works as a like totally fait accompli chunk of didactic worldbuilding and then in a later chapter we get to see the flashback of him inventing it and understand why it works the way it does, that was also so well-wrapped-up.

Anyway-- Definitely recommend this one but probably it is best if you can do it like I did, in one big binge-read. It took me probably three hours and I was trying hard not to read it too fast.

Yeah. Anyway. People assume I'm a big reader. I was, as a kid. I am not now. This is the first new book I've read since probably the spring sometime. I don't casually read things i only read them if I'm going to add them to my Pantheon of Rereads, and that goes for fic too mostly.

#martha wells #witch king #book recs #kind of a book review #sort of

[itsembarrassing]

sooo I finally got around to read the Renegades trilogy by Marissa Meyer after having it recommended to me as a Miraculous fan

I gotta say, I didn't expect the similarities to be so intense! let's look at Nova for example. not only she reminds me of Maribug physically (black hair, blue eyes), but she fights with her own quirky inventions, which smells awfully like Lucky Charm to me. and Adrian... for starters, his name is a letter away from Adrien, but also, he's sunshine boy who is still grieving the loss of his mother. alas, instead of 1 (one) deadbeat father, he's got 2 (two) loving dads

then again, Nova and Adrian are not Marinette and Adrien. she's not fashionable. he's not insecure. but I liked them just the same

if you're also looking for a good slow burn enemy/friends to lovers, Renegades is definitely up there. the political plot is lackluster, but who cares, it's hella romantic

#miraculous ladybug #renegades #renegades trilogy #book review #of sorts

[heavenlyyshecomes]

agree so much with this review of babel like what i didn't realise about my indifference of the book was how all the characters had a much more modern mindset and vocabulary for a book that is set in the 19th century (not in a progressive modern way but more of a 2020s internet speak modern way) the characters just felt like puppets for what rf kuang wanted to say and whatever she wanted to say was very much influenced by how these dialogues would be dissected and shared online. I've said before that kuang is not subtle and that whole part about letty weaponizing her white womanhood after That twist etc etc felt so heavy handed i could tell she was envisioning all the reviews booktwt was going to write applauding her for that

#ik it feels wrong to say she writes just to cater to her audience when this is obv a passion project and her academic bg shines here but #can't help but wonder how much of those i can't believe this r f kuang pay for my therapy type of reviews influenced tbg #and now this #there's a whole another post here about how much i dislike reviews of those sort where letterboxd is full of unfunny one liners u can't get #through a gr page for a book without people screaming about the plot twists and how much it devastated them without reviewing anything else #anyways i read babel in april and haven't thought about it since so #babel #babel spoilers #r f kuang #book log

[radiostaticcc]

Solitaire

I finished reading Solitaire, and i feel numb now. It's like, Tori was written after me i don't know, it's weird. But also i relate to Micheal a lot and now i just feel numb and a little bit sad because Tori and Micheal are together and i have no one. They have like, this deep friendship throughout the entire book and then they just kiss at the end and for some reason it makes sense, and they're in love in the way i'd want to be in love, and i don't know how to describe it. They're just, best friends, and they also kiss and hold hands, but it's not like, in a romance kind of way, but also sort of? Like, queerplatonic but not completely platonic. Or maybe it is queerplatonic and my view of romance is just messed up and i never know how to tell the difference between platonic and romantic feelings, and i think that's because i don't really see a difference, for me it's all the same and that's exactly how Tori and Micheal's relationship is and i love it so much and i don't know, i don't think i'll ever have this with anyone. And it makes me sad. 

Book is an absolute banger tho, I love Tori’s and Micheal’s neurodivergent coding, and their whole dynamic in general, and i’m happy we get to know more about Tori’s personality and the way she thinks!! ALSO!! Having read Radio Silence first, i got to know how the fire happened!! Which was super cool.

I’ve heard negative stuff about Solitaire so i was a little scared i wouldn’t like it, i’m sorry i doubted you Alice ahhh. As always, they never disappoint!

Additionally, Tori being ace was super well represented, at least in my opinion! Her relation to romance and attraction is like, so mecore it’s painful. 

#alice oseman #solitaire #osemanverse #heartstopper #tori spring #micheal holden #radio silence #book review #sort of #mostly just me rambling #i'm a tori and micheal kinnie now #no i'm not okay

[focsle]

I whine about most movies having a runtime of over 2 hours and yet all my fav books tend to be long dense weird ones where the #1 complaint from people who didn’t like them is ‘nothing really happened’. IDK MAN. MULTITUDES.

I simply think that most movies could stand to have 20 mins shaved off their runtimes.

#i say with my needleslly longass comic where I’m sure ppl are like ‘get to the point’ #I don’t look at reviews of my book often cos that’s Not Really My Business but when people haven’t liked it it’s tended to be because #‘dense and nothing happened’ THAT IS INDEED….the sort of books I enjoy #maybe something about reading feels more like a Process and a journey and with films I tend to participate more passively… #so maybe that’s why I have different degrees of patience with them

[ladymacbethisagirlboss]

The Will Of The Many - James Islington (please read it)

If you like dark academia, high fantasy, political intrigue and just a hint of body horror, this is the book for you!

I know most of you follow me for my mid poetry but I also really like books too ok

Genuinely an incredible book. I'll admit I'm not the biggest fan of Islington's earlier works but this book blew me away and there is virtually no fandom for it which upsets me greatly (I'm partly putting this out there because I crave fanart)

The start is kinda slow, and I'll be honest I was put off by our protagonist at first as he feels like your classic edgy YA character, but the further in I got the more the characterisation and world building intrigued me - I binged the last act in one night (also, on audible the narrator Euan Morton was King George in hamilton idk I though that was cool)

#dark academia #james islington #the will of the many #YA #fantasy #high fantasy #brandon sanderson #joe abercrombie #scott lynch #euan morton #dark fantasy #dark acadamia aesthetic #dark aesthetic #sort of horror #books #book recommendations #book review #please read this book #reading

[the---hermit]

I just came back home from a weekend trip to Bergamo, and I really loved the city. It was small enough to be visitable in two days, the architecture was beautiful, and although it was really hot I had an overall good time! I will be definitely be posting more pictures in the next few days, but I particularly like this one so I wanted to give it its own little post. I am very much tired after two days made up of a lot of walking, and I am still living with zero plans of what I should be doing, but to be fair I do not feel like I have recovered from my burn out yet. Feelings of guilt for not being productive have started making their way to my brain, but I am doing my best to be rational and not give into them. Starting to journal again would definitely be helpful, but I have yet to find the strenght to build the habit back up again.

#i really like how this picture turned out but i don't like posting pics without some sort of entry #this is after all my online journal or smt like that #anyway i have a coupld book reviews coming up in the week and some more travel pics #studyblr #studyinspo #student life #travelling #architecture #italy #painting #painted ceiling #art #travel pic #journaling #mine #personal #the---hermit

[aroaessidhe]

2023 reads / storygraph

Ink Blood Sister Scribe

adult low fantasy

follows two sisters who grew up guarding a collection of magical and dangerous books, keeping them safe from a shadowy organisation

one is on the run across the world, staying one step ahead of the magic that killed her mother, but after deciding to stay longer at the Antarctic research base with her girlfriend quickly discovers that even there is not far enough away from the people tracking her

and the other is at home, the sole protector of the books, desperate to find out their secrets

plus a young man who’s lived his life within the Library used for his talent of writing the books

Latine & Jewish MCs, bi MCs

#Ink Blood Sister Scribe #aroaessidhe 2023 reads #some intersting things in here! i enjoyed but am not obsessed? #I feel like I wanted a bit more out of it #had seen a few rave reviews from mutuals and it didn't quite live up to them #I think it started out very unique but the narrative settled into something a little more - generic isn’t maybe the right word but #like it started out in all these broad directions (maybe literally re: antarctica) #and then just sort of brought things back to the same place solve the plot in the simplest way. #random other dude POV introduced half way though. he grew on me I guess #also: new zealand mentioned meme! #haha #sapphic books #bisexual books

[fictionadventurer]

Grant's memoirs are a weird reading experience. He's a good writer, very likeable, very interested in laying out the facts clearly and clearing up misconceptions. No doubt historians love his precise details. The trouble is that I have no spatial reasoning or knowledge of geography, so I can't follow his descriptions of battle tactics, and military manuevers just aren't that interesting to me. But I can't skip ahead, because in the middle of all these military facts, he will throw in some of the wildest stories you've ever heard, and I don't want to miss any of it.

It'll be like

Grant: Numbers, tactics, place names, battle plans, names of commanders, numbers, place names that are the same as other famous cities in the US so who even knows what state we're in, oh and here are some more numbers.

Me: Zzzzzzzzzz....

Grant: I left my son sleeping in one of the gunboats, and I hoped he'd stay there until we captured Grand Gulf, but when he woke up and found me gone he followed the sound of the guns to the battlefield.

Me: Excuse me, WHAT??

Grant: My twelve-year-old son Frederick came with me to all the battles in the campaign toward Vicksburg.

Me: WHAT???

Grant: He has vivid memories of all the battles because of how young he was.

Me: I'LL BET HE DOES!!!

#history is awesome #presidential talk #i know it's ironic that immediately after lamenting long history books i started into a 1000+ page tome #but the podcast is gonna review it in the grant episode and i kinda wanna see if i can get through it #there's all sorts of interesting stuff scattered among the battle facts #the trouble is you never know when it's gonna show up

[july-19th-club]

any of the mutuals read kushiel's dart? im one chapter in and its not horny yet but ive got my sickos shirt all ready for when it happens

#the reviews are a solid 50/50 mix between 'this is SO horrible and violating and i couldnt do it' and 'this is the GOOD kink fantasy' #so i think i'll enjoy it #i like a) political intrigue b) bisexual people c) the exact sort of dubcon scenes the non-enjoyers wring their hands about in this book #so it sounds like the exact thing to scratch the itch im having #i mean. i enjoyed captive prince. i read it in college before i even had a solid idea of my own kink interests #but it certainly helped me solidify a few of them #q

[eighthdoctor]

Book Review 19/60

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

I'm still not coherent enough post surgery to write a good review but: Kid accidentally joins a classics cult, even more accidentally ends up involved in two (2) murders, everyone involved has a mental breakdown as a result.

More thriller than mystery.

5/5

#described it like this to my mom who paused and said; delicately; is that the sort of thing you're reading now? #me: thrillers?? oh god no. no this is bc it's a sendup of the sort of people who major in classics #which it is. #book review #book recs

[tiger-moran]

I'm currently reading The Horror of Haglin House and I'm really not getting what the 'the narrator's fictional characters constantly talk to her in her head' thing is supposed to add to it, in fact mostly they are actually really detracting from the story

#Ruby especially is really annoying #and going by the reviews this just gets worse #and even more random characters start turning up #for no reason at all #a lot of the reviews of it had this sort of criticism #so I'm not really surprised #but still... seriously what is the point of these characters/this device? #unless something changes drastically for the better #this book is not going to be a keeper #please write more Gower Street Detective or Betty Church books #those are much better than this #The Horror of Haglin House