banana_hutch's reviews
353 reviews

This Is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone, Amal El-Mohtar

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challenging dark hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This is such a lovely, odd, dark little love story. A modern epistolary novel in a sci-fi setting.
Bird Sense: What It's Like to Be a Bird by Tim Birkhead

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informative medium-paced

3.5

Curious about how birds perceive the world? Then this book is for you! I learned a lot. If you're a bird lover, you'll appreciate this one. A bit dense at times, but very interesting.
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The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This book was such a thrill-ride. Once the action started, it did NOT stop. At no point was I ready for the thing that happened next. This book does such a wonderful job portraying the lives of these women and the rules they're bound by, mixing humor with devastation and cruelty. I loved this one!
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Perfect Little World by Kevin Wilson

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emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

I love Kevin Wilson's books. I enjoyed the other two books of his I've read a bit more than this one, but I still really liked this!

It has the charm and oddities and creeping sadness that I've come to love about his work.

And, as with Family Fang and Nothing to See Here, I'll be mulling this one over for a few weeks.

Note--this one contains some descriptions of self-harm which took me by surprise so I wanted to note it for others.
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Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide by Rupert Holmes

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dark funny lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

This was a really fun one. I was ready to give it 4 stars but some of the wrap-up, aftermath stuff was sort of a let-down. Definitely worth a read if you're looking for a lighthearted twist on a dark topic.
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The Cloisters by Katy Hays

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dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This book is a slow burn. It is dark and rhythmic. I love the way she weaves the toxic, interpersonal elements of the story in with elements of history, art history and academia. Slow-paced books do not necessarily mean dull. This one is slow, but attention-keeping. And your patience will be rewarded with a delicious little twist.
Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson

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emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

I had so much fun reading this book. I came to it directly from The Family Fang and I'm so glad I did!

This one knocked the wind out of me a couple of times and I've been telling people about it nonstop.
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Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

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emotional inspiring mysterious sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

This book was so harrowing, creepy, and upsetting. Lots of tension and unease and class violence but in space and with gender fluidity! I really enjoyed it and recommend it to people often!
Maphead: Charting the Wide, Weird World of Geography Wonks by Ken Jennings

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funny informative lighthearted medium-paced

3.5

 Whoa. It took me forever to get through this book because I found myself stopping every few paragraphs just to look up something that Jennings' talked about in this book. It was absolutely riveting, and I can't wait to make some of my friends read it so I can talk to them about it.

Ken Jennings is a talented writer. The content is fascinating, and the style is conversational and just a little bit sassy.

GREAT READ.