Reviews

Finna by Nino Cipri

domiwatkins's review

adventurous emotional fast-paced

3.0

jilllythebean's review

emotional funny sad fast-paced

3.25

sea_tea_books's review

adventurous dark mysterious sad

3.0

I went into this armed with only two pieces of information: 
(1) This is a sci-fi short story with a twinge of horror,
(2) and it takes place in an Ikea knockoff.

This was recommended to me in book club. I couldn't decide if it was almost comical or quite creepy. Probably both. 

But the cliffhanger ending was uncalled for, IMO. So I deducted half a star. 

Also,

RIP original

Ursula.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

violetlantern's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

jarrettwdavis's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

cherese's review against another edition

fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

An intriguing premise, but unfortunately, it didn't quite hit the mark for me personally. While the quirky concept of traveling between worlds had potential, its execution fell a bit flat and felt overly gimmicky at times.

The character development and relationships, which should have been the driving force, lacked depth, and there was an over-reliance on sentimental themes and surface-level critiques of capitalism that came across as heavy-handed rather than insightful.

Overall, while Finna may work for some readers, it missed the mark for me. The shallow characterizations, quirky-for-the-sake-of-quirky world-building, and unsubtle messaging prevented me from fully investing in or connecting with the story.

searobin's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I am rating this with my heart, because we all need some wonderfully messy, queer retail workers traipsing through wormholes, which show up in definitely-not-Ikea periodically, on a rescue mission in our lives! 

atang's review

adventurous emotional reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

heatherms's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny inspiring fast-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

4.5

juliana_caterin's review

lighthearted relaxing fast-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

4.0