Scan barcode
erinkellyreads's reviews
632 reviews
Looking for Lorraine: The Radiant and Radical Life of Lorraine Hansberry by Imani Perry
Did not finish book. Stopped at 12%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 12%.
I really wanted to be excited for this book! I love Lorraine Hansberry, and I was very interested into how she put peeks into her life into her work. I think that I need to read this one, though, not listen to it. I'll try again another time.
Neon Gods by Katee Robert
dark
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I'd heard about this series, but didn't know anything about it. I did end up hate-reading (it didn't start out that way!) all six of the "Touch of Darkness" books that this book gets compared to, and the main things that I've seen have been that this book has more spice and less plot but is written better than ToD. First off, 100000% this book is written better than ToD, but this is still not literature. It definitely has more spice of a kinkier variety, but I sat through three books of the Hades half of ToD that was way less tasteful (I can't get over the interest in "ball slapping").
"Neon Gods" felt in the tradition of the singular romance novel series where each book is about one couple within a larger world (and it is - looks like Psyche is up next). It is an easy read, and I ended up finishing it quickly. No, it doesn't have a whole heck of a lot of plot, but I liked this Hades more, and the concept of The Thirteen vs them being actual gods was neat. If you like a quick, kinky, romance novel with a darker flavor and some nods to Greek mythology, you'll be entertained.
*I will note that I started this book out with the audiobook but switched over to the paperback because I did not like the readers. They had a reader for each perspective, but then in their respective chapters they would do imitations of the other instead of just having the other voice actor read the dialogue. Took me right out, especially in the spicy scenes. Didn't have a problem once I switched to the paperback.
"Neon Gods" felt in the tradition of the singular romance novel series where each book is about one couple within a larger world (and it is - looks like Psyche is up next). It is an easy read, and I ended up finishing it quickly. No, it doesn't have a whole heck of a lot of plot, but I liked this Hades more, and the concept of The Thirteen vs them being actual gods was neat. If you like a quick, kinky, romance novel with a darker flavor and some nods to Greek mythology, you'll be entertained.
*I will note that I started this book out with the audiobook but switched over to the paperback because I did not like the readers. They had a reader for each perspective, but then in their respective chapters they would do imitations of the other instead of just having the other voice actor read the dialogue. Took me right out, especially in the spicy scenes. Didn't have a problem once I switched to the paperback.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Gun violence, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Stalking, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Death, Eating disorder, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Classism
If the Shoe Fits by Julie Murphy
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
3.75 stars for this cute romp. I appreciate a plus size heroine who never makes herself small because of her size! The romance grew on me over time, and I really loved many of the queer side characters. The Cinderella nods were a little too obvious for me, but when he put the Jimmy Choo on her in New York, I did have a good butterfly-in-the-stomach moment. A nice palate cleanser after some heavy books.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fatphobia
The Stationery Shop by Marjan Kamali
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
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
Easily, this is in the running for best book of the year for me, if not best book of the last few years. The writing is stunning, the characters are complicated and nuanced, and the story is heartfelt and heartbreaking. If this isn't on your TBR, it should be.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Infertility, Mental illness, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Gun violence, Islamophobia, Mass/school shootings, Abortion, and Murder
Minor: Cancer, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Pregnancy
The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King by Carissa Broadbent
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Continuing from the first book in this duology, I am again conflicted in my review. I did get more about the gods and Vincent/Oraya's past, which is what I was looking for, but... this dragged. I just never felt the chemistry between Raihn & Oraya and so when they were fighting over what Raihn did (which - valid, girl, I don't know if I could be in the same room with him after that in the beginning) I wasn't super rooting for them to get back together. I found myself skimming pages to get to the good parts. The ending was, in some ways, expected and, in others, unsatisfying. Now the question becomes - do I do what I did to myself with the Hades/Persephone series and push to read the rest in this world to see if it gets better or do I cut my losses on this series? Time will tell.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Excrement, Vomit, Kidnapping, Stalking, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism
Last Call: A True Story of Love, Lust, and Murder in Queer New York by Elon Green
Did not finish book. Stopped at 36%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 36%.
I just couldn't push myself to listen to more cruel and bloody things happening to queer and trans people. It didn't feel like an expose or homage - it felt salacious and invasive. Just couldn't do it right now.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Murder, Outing, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
Fourth Wing (Part 1 of 2) (Dramatized Adaptation) by Rebecca Yarros
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Two things before we even get in: I already loved the first book, and I already am a big fan of the Graphic Audio versions of books. I've also worked in theatre my whole life, which is, I think, why I think that Graphic Audio for fantasy/romantasy books is such a great idea. Since I already reviewed the book itself, I'm just going to review just the voice acting and foley sound work for this one.
1. I really loved the voice actor for Violet. At first I worried she sounded a little too young, and I was nervous when we got to the spicy bits that it would feel weird. The spicy bits are in Part 2 which comes out in a few days, so we'll see, but I like her feistiness and the reactions felt realistic.
2. A lot of people had trouble with the fact that Xaden's voice actor is the same as Lucien in ACOTAR, but I didn't. I giggled the first few times, but I got over it and was able to picture Xaden. Some people wanted him and Dain's voice actor to switch roles, but that would be a big N-O for me. Xaden is biting and sarcastic, and giving him the other voice actor just because it is deeper would declaw him for me. And no one wants a declawed Shadow Daddy.
3. Jack, Ridoc, and Imogen get special mentions for being great voice actors that bring full world aspects to the world and the relationships of the characters. The only two that really threw me was Professor Kaori because it is SO different from the others and Sawyer because he's Tamlin's voice actor which I didn't catch at first and then made me lol (he just sounded so much older than the others - more than just one year).
4. There were complaints online about Tairn's voice, and I see where they are coming from, but it wasn't enough to deter me. My only note would be on vocal speed, as sometimes scenes slowed down with the vocal inflection he was doing to make Tairn's dragon voice sound different.
5. I enjoyed the foley here, especially in the wooded and dragon scenes. I'm excited to see where that goes in the battle scenes in part 2.
6. My fiance is listening to this for the first time vs myself having read the book before, so I'm interested to hear if he thought the action was hard to follow in the fight scenes on the mat. I'd heard them before, but I felt like I wanted to follow along on text in those bits. That's probably just me though - we did this same thing for all of ACOTAR, and he didn't even need to look at the map.
Overall - I'm staying with my 5 stars! Bringing fantasy to life with Graphic Audio is something I'm very excited for, and I'm so glad I only have a couple of days until part 2 releases. Once that's over, I know we'll have to wait a while for Iron Flame and Crescent City is up next - I just want Throne of Glass, y'all.
1. I really loved the voice actor for Violet. At first I worried she sounded a little too young, and I was nervous when we got to the spicy bits that it would feel weird. The spicy bits are in Part 2 which comes out in a few days, so we'll see, but I like her feistiness and the reactions felt realistic.
2. A lot of people had trouble with the fact that Xaden's voice actor is the same as Lucien in ACOTAR, but I didn't. I giggled the first few times, but I got over it and was able to picture Xaden. Some people wanted him and Dain's voice actor to switch roles, but that would be a big N-O for me. Xaden is biting and sarcastic, and giving him the other voice actor just because it is deeper would declaw him for me. And no one wants a declawed Shadow Daddy.
3. Jack, Ridoc, and Imogen get special mentions for being great voice actors that bring full world aspects to the world and the relationships of the characters. The only two that really threw me was Professor Kaori because it is SO different from the others and Sawyer because he's Tamlin's voice actor which I didn't catch at first and then made me lol (he just sounded so much older than the others - more than just one year).
4. There were complaints online about Tairn's voice, and I see where they are coming from, but it wasn't enough to deter me. My only note would be on vocal speed, as sometimes scenes slowed down with the vocal inflection he was doing to make Tairn's dragon voice sound different.
5. I enjoyed the foley here, especially in the wooded and dragon scenes. I'm excited to see where that goes in the battle scenes in part 2.
6. My fiance is listening to this for the first time vs myself having read the book before, so I'm interested to hear if he thought the action was hard to follow in the fight scenes on the mat. I'd heard them before, but I felt like I wanted to follow along on text in those bits. That's probably just me though - we did this same thing for all of ACOTAR, and he didn't even need to look at the map.
Overall - I'm staying with my 5 stars! Bringing fantasy to life with Graphic Audio is something I'm very excited for, and I'm so glad I only have a couple of days until part 2 releases. Once that's over, I know we'll have to wait a while for Iron Flame and Crescent City is up next - I just want Throne of Glass, y'all.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Bullying, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: War
All Things Aside: Absolutely Correct Opinions by Iliza Shlesinger
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-paced
3.75
I love when a memoir is read by the person who wrote it! Iliza's personality shone through. Some laugh out loud moments, some poignant moments. The essays being segmented also helped this be an easy one to pick up and put down as time allowed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility, Miscarriage, Sexism, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Cursing, Drug use, Grief, and Abortion
Minor: Fatphobia, Antisemitism, Alcohol, and Pandemic/Epidemic
A Court of Silver Flames (2 of 2) [Dramatized Adaptation] by Sarah J. Maas
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
tense
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? Yes
5.0
I cannot recommend the graphic audios enough!! Seriously wish every book had one of these. So excited for more to come.
Crave by Tracy Wolff
Did not finish book. Stopped at 25%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 25%.
The writing is just terrible, y'all. It reads like how adults think young people talk - cringey, stilted, and vapid. I barely even got to the supernatural bits because this book just... stunk. It's a no from me, dog.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying and Death of parent