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dawn_chen's reviews
463 reviews
双卿 by 魏辽, 青州从事, 修竹, 贺兰邪, 四百岁, 迟中二南, 温裘, 南方赤火, 檐中, 梦小叶
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
The first two stories in this Chinese historical sapphic mystics anthology are absolutely gold (with the second one being the best thing I've ever read which is a Chinese sapphic retelling/continuation of the original Legend of the Immortal White Snake which the legend in itself is already pretty gay but this retelling absolutely filled in all my favorite blanks and headcanons about the white and turquoise snakes but in an explicit gay storyline with a sad but also very thematic parallel ending). However. Overall the other short stories felt mediocre so balanced in the end as a 3 stars read.
Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke by Eric LaRocca
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Look, horror stories aren’t supposed to make logical sense, but they’re supposed to make an impact like all stories do. This short book isn’t horror, it’s just a bunch of disturbing thoughts someone had that fetishizes lesbians patched together that barely holds calling itself a story. I found myself laughing at this book and also pissed off this could call itself a book.
A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-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
3.5
I really like the writing, it's absolutely gorgeous. And the themes of women being silenced in literature spheres, also the nature of storytelling. The ending especially struck my core and made me teary eyed. But the pacing is really slow and for most of the book not much happened to be honest for me to care about the plot until the very end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Mental illness, Rape, and Sexual assault
The Summer You Were There Vol. 4 by Yuama
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Again, I absolutely loved the newest volume of my favourite sapphic manga. The story had taken a turn for the more emotional and tragic aspect of it. Yet the dynamic between the main couple is heartwarming despite everything. Writing a story for your pretend girlfriend who is bedridden at the hospital??? I'm sorry I am weak I am crying.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, and Suicide attempt
当且仅当雪是白的 by 陆秋槎
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
这个作者是我还在国内看岁月·推理的时候应该就读到过的短篇推理小说作者。推理情节本身还是蛮有转折并且精致的，条条有理，确实是有经验的推理写手。文风很无病呻吟，但也是我在简中看书时候最喜欢的那种无病呻吟。怎么说呢，现在看有种又害臊又很被戳中脊椎和内心的快感。不能理解角色，却很喜欢一些句子。整本书都很悲观，但却是我作为同样悲观主义者难以否认的一部分。旧案写的比新案好，最后凶手的动机还是有些过于牵强了吧。但作者确实把校园欺凌加害者的心理和未来处境写的很好。至于被害者和杀人动机⋯⋯作者还是写本格推理吧，凶手心理的揭露这种东西写的让我几乎想笑出声。
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Bullying, and Toxic friendship
有终 by 小谢春风
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Writing style is not my favorite among Chinese sapphic (gl) books. I don't like it nearly to the level as I liked 她的山，她的海 or 柏舟. Still the characters are distinct, the chemistry is there, the main couple has a surprisingly sad ending in the epilogue. The main overarching mystery is compelling and all the cases were intriguing. Also the extra chapters about the main culprit adds an interesting depth to the character and backstory which is done better than most books I've read of this kind.
柏舟 by 若花辞树
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
我最喜欢的gl实体小说（和她的山，她的海并肩）。时间回转的设定很棒。悬疑很带感。人物感情也写的很好。刚开始看就停不下来。一口气看完的。很爽。
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Violence, and Murder
Devout: An Anthology of Angels by Quinton Li
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
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
4.5
This anthology is everything I wished for and more. Almost every story provides a unique and interesting interpretation of angels and angel lore. All written beautifully. An equal amount of grotesqueness and also beauty. My favorite is definitely Misery In Company by Morgan Dante, their short story retelling of a queer Faust and Mephistopheles, the demon who struck a deal with Faust - from the demon’s perspective - is probably the most beautiful and heartbroken piece of writing that absolutely wrecked me in a way I didn’t think was possible. I also just love almost every single story and poem in this anthology. For someone who is obsessed with angels this is the perfect book to pull me out of my current reading slump.
The Fork, the Witch, and the Worm by Christopher Paolini
4.0
I can never exagerate my love for the Inheritance Cycle. It is probably my introduction to fantasy and it definitely made up part of my teenage memories. This additional collection of short stories in the Inheritance Cycle's world is the best gift I could have received in 2019.
My favorite part of the book must have been "The Worm", as it expanded on the Urgals and their culture which was one of my favorite part of the original series. I did not expect the ending where Ilgra and the dragon reached mutual acceptance of eachother. The message is truly touching where as most story tell us to conquer the danger, but this one tells us to live with while never losing our appreciation of life.
I must say Angela did a great job on giving a voice to the herbalist who was rather mysterious in the original stories. We still don't know that much about her, but I do feel like I got more of an intend from her perspective on the world. Her genuine care of wanting to lead Elva on the right path was something I didn't expect, in the original stories I felt like as if she was simply taking care of Elva to past time and study the girl as some kind of entertainment. "The Witch" however humanized her and made me rethink about her motives. My favorite part has to be how Elva revealed that Angela in fact has some kind of fear hidden in her past, too. The best way of making someone empathize with a character is to give him or her a source of vulnerability, which we didn't really get from Angela until now. It's truly marvelous and I feel like I know a bit more about this mysterious character who everyone has a crush on. Lol.
"The Fork" is something I don't know how to talk about to be honest. I sensed a hint at the potential of a future sequel to the Inheritance world from Murtagh. I can not express my wish of how much I would want a whole trilogy from his pov. Murtagh is definitely the third place one my list of favorite characters from the Inheritance Cycle, with Roran being the first and Nasuada the second. Murtagh's struggle with being viewed for his service of the evil king is truly realistic. I can not stress how much I agree with what Eragon said: after all the shit Murtagh's been through, "he deserves to be happy."
Anyway, thanks to Christopher Paolini for this new addition to the Inheritance Cycle! Thanks for enriching my world with such a wonderful story. Hope everything goes well for you and your family.
My favorite part of the book must have been "The Worm", as it expanded on the Urgals and their culture which was one of my favorite part of the original series. I did not expect the ending where Ilgra and the dragon reached mutual acceptance of eachother. The message is truly touching where as most story tell us to conquer the danger, but this one tells us to live with while never losing our appreciation of life.
I must say Angela did a great job on giving a voice to the herbalist who was rather mysterious in the original stories. We still don't know that much about her, but I do feel like I got more of an intend from her perspective on the world. Her genuine care of wanting to lead Elva on the right path was something I didn't expect, in the original stories I felt like as if she was simply taking care of Elva to past time and study the girl as some kind of entertainment. "The Witch" however humanized her and made me rethink about her motives. My favorite part has to be how Elva revealed that Angela in fact has some kind of fear hidden in her past, too. The best way of making someone empathize with a character is to give him or her a source of vulnerability, which we didn't really get from Angela until now. It's truly marvelous and I feel like I know a bit more about this mysterious character who everyone has a crush on. Lol.
"The Fork" is something I don't know how to talk about to be honest. I sensed a hint at the potential of a future sequel to the Inheritance world from Murtagh. I can not express my wish of how much I would want a whole trilogy from his pov. Murtagh is definitely the third place one my list of favorite characters from the Inheritance Cycle, with Roran being the first and Nasuada the second. Murtagh's struggle with being viewed for his service of the evil king is truly realistic. I can not stress how much I agree with what Eragon said: after all the shit Murtagh's been through, "he deserves to be happy."
Anyway, thanks to Christopher Paolini for this new addition to the Inheritance Cycle! Thanks for enriching my world with such a wonderful story. Hope everything goes well for you and your family.