bookishfaye's reviews
511 reviews

As Good As Dead by Holly Jackson

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.75/5 I am GAGGED.

This threw the whole plot structure of the first two away and had me on the edge of my seat with my jaw dropped the entire time never knowing what was going to happen. I truly cannot believe this is where Holly took this last book, but holy FUCK did she ever take us there!!!!! The only reason why this isn’t 5⭐️ is because the ending did feel too rushed for my liking, & sometimes Pip makes me cringe, but I still really loved it.

Also this potential this trilogy has for like 2 more additional trilogies…… give me Pip in college……. Give me Pip as a detective….. Holly I’m on my knees pleading with you……..

Home Is Where the Bodies Are by Jeneva Rose

dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

4.5

This audiobook was so fricken fun!! Wasn’t very shocked with the reveal, but I had a good time!!

A Flame in the Night by Morgan Dante

fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.0

The erotica was the hard carry for this book, the vibes were overall fun too

#DRCL Midnight Children, Vol. 1 by Shin'ichi Sakamoto

dark fast-paced

3.0

Cute little Dracula reimagining with queer rep & absolutely stunning art

Compound Fracture by Andrew Joseph White

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes

3.75

Positives: 
- I simply adore Andrew Joseph White’s Brain 
- the Autism rep in this is SO fucking good & real. It also felt so personal to my experience and denial throughout the years in my eventual acceptance of my own autism.
- the evil racist corrupt small town story hit so astronomically hard & the commentary in this was on a whole other level and is so visceral to the current state of the world right now 
- the Appalachian backdrop wasn’t as folkloric as I thought it was going to be, but it more so read as southern… gothic dare I say? & I read this whole book in a deep Southern Appalachian drawl & there’s so much potential for the audiobook to hit so hard in that regard.
- and of course, the trans rep & commentary was A+

Negatives: 
- I can’t lie, I did feel quite bored throughout & found myself skimming through pretty large portions.

However, in general the commentary and representation is so fucking good it’s hard for my to seriously hold onto major critiques of this book. I liked it a lot & I think books like this are so important especially right now.

Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb

emotional slow-paced

1.5

Ummmm i’m sorry but this is the most visceral example of second book syndrome I’ve ever read & I feel….. like I’m being punked??? Like this was 600+ pages of no substance to make one point & this pretty much completely didn’t need to exist at all sorry……. 

1.5⭐️ because the last paragraph did make me kinda tear up and I really really really do love the Fool. I really hope the other books are better than this because this world & author are in such a pedestal in my mind… especially after how much I loved assassins apprentice. How did I go from feeling like a protective mother to Fitz to just wanting him to shut the fuckUPPPPP 

Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.75

Ummmmm I feel hollow

Leia: Princess of Alderaan by Claudia Gray

medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes

3.25

Binged the second half in one sitting and here are my thoughts:

Positives:
- Claudia Gray is so clearly a Star Wars lover & she is so masterful at incorporating elements of the world/characters/background/lore etc into her books. 
- the politics at times were soooo good (a double edged sword at the same time which I’ll get too) & this book works great as a prequel to the OG trilogy films!
- the last line…. I fell to my knees in my living room let me tell you…. Claudia never fails to devastate the audience 

Negatives:
- the over-reliance on the politics as the main plot for a book this long ended up feeling quite dry & boring, & I think this would have worked sooooooo much better as a novella 
- much of the second half I skimmed because I hit a point where it just felt like either the same conversations over and over again, or this constant build up to something that never really happened, (because to be fair, it is building up to the events of the movie, but it made this book as a standalone not have all that much substance/story in the end.

What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma by Stephanie Foo

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

This was so beautiful, I’m rendered kind of speechless atm

The Lake House by Sarah Beth Durst
Did not finish book. Stopped at 58%.

DNF 58% in, I honestly was loving the vibes and the setting, but the character dynamics I couldn’t bring myself to care about and I was kind of just over it