, there is stage whispering. I can't handle whispers, due to auditory sensory issues. I have to pause every few seconds, and leave it be for several days, and then I forget what happens. It's really bad, whispers.

Skogens systrar - Trilogin by Petrus Dahlin

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

Man känner igen den tonåring som är för gammal för att leka och för ung för att ta sig ställen själv. Det med att vara i övergångsåldern när man tycker det är fjantigt att leka, innan man lärt sig att vuxna kan leka de med, det kan nog de flesta känna igen sig i.

När man inte är van vid skog och mark, så ska man vara försiktig när man beger sig ut. Det gäller även om man är van vid skogar men beger sig ut i en skog som man är obekant med. Även om man tror sig veta, så kan man hur lätt som helst komma vilse, även när man har en markör som en bäck. Man kan tro att man tar sig åt rätt håll, men hamna någon helt annan stans.

Vad får en människa att riskera livet för en främling? Mer än vad jag har, det vet jag. Ett igenkännande, på ett helt oförståeligt sätt, för de av oss som inte erfarit något sånt.

Content Warnings

From Pasta to Pigfoot by Frances Mensah Williams

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.25

First off, I gotta say that Faye

has a bad taste in men.

I already didn't like her boyfriend before he even popped up, but the more he was talking and acting like a dickwad, the more I disliked him. We can all agree on a lot of points that he's a real piece of work, I'm sure. His friend group was also very invasive and icky, and dude did not stand up for his girlfriend at all.

As for Rocky, he was just mildly annoying at first, but I just started getting more and more unnerved by him the more he was in the story. My dislike for him came with the typical "main love insterest gets jealous because the MC is going on a date with another guy even though they're not even dating yet and he's sulking like a petulant child" trope. It's such an annoying trope. The lady ain't yours, dude, you're not dating, you haven't made it clear to her that you're interested in her that way, and she has the right to go out with any guy she'd like without it having anything to do with tou. I get it's a common romance trope but it's a tired one.

Another tired trope is the whole "marriage it a noose, shackle, etc"; it's so charming. I'm not going to marry myself (being aromantic) but you don't need to put down something that's really important to a lot of people.

Then there's the thing where Rocky and Faye just ... continued their date as if nothing happened after running into Rocky's cheating cousin-in-law. Twice. It makes me feel so dirty.

Also, retire the miscommunication and the lack of a desire to talk it out. It's such a big point in romance, but it's so frustrating.

The pushy feeling of

"marriage is absolute endgame" with all the engagements and marriage plans coming in quick successions is not anything I like. Marriage can be nice, sure, I guess, but it's not the end-all-be-all to life.

I did like Faye and Lottie's relationship, though.

Faye isn't a super great person either, I feel. She's a bit invasive as well, and obtuse. Like,

uh, yeah why do you think someone's upset when you keep poking at their sore spots? Also who says that they have to be maid of honour without being given the role, when asked to be a bridesmaid?

As for the audio, there were issues. Sometimes, there are repeats of a sentence, perhaps a miss when editing the audio, but sometimes the words repeated is a rephrasing, as if the manuscript had misses in them, as well. Not great, that. I thought my player had gone weird at first.

Lastly, I want to tell Faye that "No D&D is better than bad D&D." In this case, D&D means boyfriend.

Vargarna i väggen by Neil Gaiman

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dark funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.75

Det finns mycket i väggarna. Råttor, möss, vargar, maror och annat oknytt. Verkar som att det bästa sättet att bli av med dem är att

skrämma skiten ur dem

Dagen då jag bytte pappa mot två guldfiskar by Neil Gaiman

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funny fast-paced

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

3.25

En litten blick i hur underliga barn kan vara när de kommer i bytartaget, och

om att ibland är ändå det man redan har bättre än det man på en nyck kan vilja ha istället. Inte alltid, men ibland.

My Happy Marriage, Vol. 1 by Akumi Agitogi

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adventurous emotional fast-paced

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

4.75

The first paragraph of

introspection snf Miyo's anxiety and low self-esteem is already established. My precious girl. Miyo's birth family is disgusting. Certainly her sister and stepmother for obvious reasonsbut even more so her father, for ignoring everything the women put her through.

It's also interesting to see a bit of an introspection of

Kaya

It was already clear that she treats Miyo so badly because of her mother's example and encouragement and her father's ignoting it all, but it's a bit more to it than "you're my daughter, and you're better than that woman's daughter to Kaya's terrible personality.This shows that the family dynamic is a bit more complicated than it first seems. Kaya is, while perhaps not well aware of it, but knows to an extent that if she fucks up too much, her mother's ire will, though not as badly, turn to her as well.

The bud of

Miyo wanting something, her want to be with Kiyoka more and being scared of losing the tiny sliver of kindness in her life. It's so tragic, but also it's warming to know that she'll have it from him. The way she opens up, bit by bit, as she comes to understand more what she's not had, what she's offered, and that it's unconditional, no matter if she has any skills, Gift, or anything else. Her realising that not everyone will treat her poorly, because then everyone would have to be like her father, her stepmother and sister. That realisation she has is so good for her. The years she's suffered from the abuse from her family isnt' going to get fixed with just a bit of kindness, but she's healing, little by little, and her change from the prologue to the epilogue is sucha proof that she's getting more comfortable with both herself and her situation.

Kouji is a good guy, certainly, but

I've always loathed the whole "only I can protect you"

thing. The fact that he

understands that he needs to ask for help to save Miyo, and doesn't let stupid pride stop him from seeking Kiyoka out, shows growth in him. That he decides to take responsibility for the Saimoris and try to make something better of that family, though they certainly don't deserve it, particularly those adults as Kaya is really still just a child who needs and probably can go through a lot of growth, and that he decides to learn how to properly use his Gift rather than being content with just having it, is also a sign that he's growing as a person.

Kiyoka is, in the beginning, a seemingly unfeeling guy.

He's had his fair share of hurt though, it seems; he's guarded and wary. From the way he thinks about his previous trial-run fianceés, Kaya wouldn't have been a good match for Kiyoka wben before he liked Miyo. But the surprising way that Miyo acts has him open up as well, has him warm to her. He is a kind man, though icy when he needs to be - and when he's genuinely angry for the sake of what and who he cares about; as Kouji gets to see, it's the quiet rage that is the scariest kind of rage. He's stern and private, but his gentle side is so warm and fluffy. I also really appreciate that he's telling Miyo that it's alright to cry. So often, a crying character is told - particularly be a male character - that they shouldn't cry. That kind of advise is often well-meaning, in this comparison, but it's not ideal. Crying is a very good outlet, and having a male lead say that it's alright to cry is a very good thing. I'm glad that Kiyoka knows that one doesn't just repair trauma with just a few words. Love heals all is a nice sentiment and all, but it's really not that simple and realistic, and it's nice to see that acknowledged in a romance story.

As a note on Kiyoka and his emotions, I love that toward the end of the book, Miyo has started to recognise Kiyoka's feelings for what they are than before. Where she'd have taken his sheepish frown from anger in the beginning, now she can tell that he's just embarrassed. She didn't acknowledge that she can tell, now, but that's almost nicer than if she did.

Death might be painful, but there'd be no more suffering afterward. She'd be free.

This is something that Miyo thinks at first. I do understand it,

she's been through so much, she had nothing to live for any more. This is what she thinks at first, but then, when faced with that very possible scenario at the hands of her stepmother, she has the desire to live. To struggle for happiness. She thinks that she can't can't stand up for herself, but the fact that she chooses not to apologise any more, that is a very small way of doing so. Small, but significant. It's a change she has gone through, as she finally stands up to her abusers. And Miyo meeting the gaze of her sister and stepmother, refusing to do as they want made me cry with pride.

As for the translation itself, I have some issues with certain choices made. Firstly, it's the annoyance of Japanese words being in italic, which at least for me, who reads text in italics as an emphasis to the word, as a disruption in the flow. Then there's the change of honorifics, and because honorifics don't work the same in English as they do in Japanese, the erasure of most honorifics. Doing away with honorifics erases parts of how a society handles interpersonal relations, how they're interpreted linguistically. For example, Miyo. She has been trained severely into extreme politeness and distance. This has her use a lot of honorifics, and removing nearly all honorifics in her speech erases part of how demure she is.

It could also erase part of her growth, though I'm only coming from the standpoint of having watched the anime, so I don't yet know if she changes or drops any honorifics as she grows and blossoms.

Instead of changing and erasing honorifics, use the ones from the original text and add a glossary in the back. You can do that. People generally know how to use a short, one-page glossary at the front or back of a book. I had to decrease the rating because of these issues.

And now, a little note I didn't really know where to fit in the rest of this review:

Kiyoka's reaction to Miyo's first smile. Aaaaaa!!.

Content Warnings

En oansenlig detalj by Adania Shibli

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 30%.

The ereader is he'll, I need to find this as either an audio or paper book to finish it.

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atrollreads's reviews 207 reviews

atrollreads's reviews
207 reviews