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simonlorden's reviews
1014 reviews
My Darling Dreadful Thing: A Novel by Johanna van Veen
4.5
I received an ARC through NetGalley and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
A sapphic horror that manages to be soft and romantic as well as horrifying. The description of rotting dead bodies is definitely horroristic, but it's not really scary, and in fact often done with love.
Roos is an abused child with a spirit companion that only she can see, at least until she meets the widowed Agnes, who has her own spirit companion. The two of them cling to each other and slowly begin a relationship, but Agnes's relationship with her husband still haunts them. You sort of know from the beginning that it's going to end horribly, but you still can't really blame Roos, because she did what she thought was best for Agnes and her love.
Overall, a horrifying but still emotional and hopeful story that focuses a lot on death and abuse and trauma, as well as racism.
A sapphic horror that manages to be soft and romantic as well as horrifying. The description of rotting dead bodies is definitely horroristic, but it's not really scary, and in fact often done with love.
Roos is an abused child with a spirit companion that only she can see, at least until she meets the widowed Agnes, who has her own spirit companion. The two of them cling to each other and slowly begin a relationship, but Agnes's relationship with her husband still haunts them. You sort of know from the beginning that it's going to end horribly, but you still can't really blame Roos, because she did what she thought was best for Agnes and her love.
Overall, a horrifying but still emotional and hopeful story that focuses a lot on death and abuse and trauma, as well as racism.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Incest
The Jasad Heir by Sara Hashem
4.0
It took me over a month to read this for some reason. I didn't particularly dislike anything, but the worldbuilding was sometimes a bit too dense, and the middle dragged on. The characters are great, though.
She Left by Stacie Grey
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I received an ARC through NetGalley and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Seventeen-year-old Amy has a fight with her friends and walks out of a house party while fireworks are going off outside. When she gets home, she learns that the five friends she left behind at the cabin were all killed shortly after she left. Twenty years later, Amy - now using her middle name Therese - is one of ten people invited to a lodge by a journalist working on a story about the massacre.
The structure is familiar: ten people are trapped in a building in the middle of a storm, and they start dying one by one. There is a killer in the building, and it is almost certainly one of them. I would say that all the characters were equally suspicious, and since the killer's motive was only revealed right before the big reveal, I'm not sure it would have been possible for someone to guess right - but it's difficult to build a story where you drop enough hints but not too many. Also, maybe someone is cleverer than me.
The cast is pretty diverse, including a gay Black guy, a Mexican guy and an Asian woman, and we have a short chapter from everyone's POV where we can see into their heads a bit. Unfortunately, I didn't really find myself connecting to any of the characters, although Lorelei, the formerly homeless addict who managed to clean up her life was probably my favorite.
Overall it's an entertaining read, but not particularly extraordinary in its genre.
Seventeen-year-old Amy has a fight with her friends and walks out of a house party while fireworks are going off outside. When she gets home, she learns that the five friends she left behind at the cabin were all killed shortly after she left. Twenty years later, Amy - now using her middle name Therese - is one of ten people invited to a lodge by a journalist working on a story about the massacre.
The structure is familiar: ten people are trapped in a building in the middle of a storm, and they start dying one by one. There is a killer in the building, and it is almost certainly one of them. I would say that all the characters were equally suspicious, and since the killer's motive was only revealed right before the big reveal, I'm not sure it would have been possible for someone to guess right - but it's difficult to build a story where you drop enough hints but not too many. Also, maybe someone is cleverer than me.
The cast is pretty diverse, including a gay Black guy, a Mexican guy and an Asian woman, and we have a short chapter from everyone's POV where we can see into their heads a bit. Unfortunately, I didn't really find myself connecting to any of the characters, although Lorelei, the formerly homeless addict who managed to clean up her life was probably my favorite.
Overall it's an entertaining read, but not particularly extraordinary in its genre.
Piros by Christina Henry
4.0
This is another book that kinda Hits Different after Covid, although it goes in a very different direction towards the end. The main character is a biracial, bisexual disabled young woman with an amputated leg, who is obsessed with horror and dystopic movies, and she's probably more prepared for the apocalypse than most people. I really liked the characters, especially Red and her internal monologues and her way of thinking, and also her complicated relationship with her family and her brother. She is also very capable, even though a lot of people including her own family underestimate her because of her disability.
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A sensational book where nobody comes out looking good. June is a thief, Athena is also questionable, the twitter mob is technically right about the plagium but any valid claim gets lost in the shitstorm, etc. The twitter drama in particular was painfully realistic. Like, there are good claims about racism being made, but they are also exaggerated to the maximum. At the same time, the parts what June and later the filmmakers wanted to change about Athena's manuscript are very telling.
And June is somehow amazing at digging the hole even deeper throughout the whole thing, it's almost impressive.
And June is somehow amazing at digging the hole even deeper throughout the whole thing, it's almost impressive.
Pennies by Pepper Winters
2.0
Unfortunately, the internal monologues felt very repetitive, and since they make up a significant portion of the book, I was really bored.
Az eltűnt fák szigete by Elif Shafak
5.0
A wonderful book about intergenerational trauma and the tension between nationalities. While talking about the Cyprian civil war, it also talks a lot about nature, the plants, trees and animals of Cyprus and the world.
The Dark Wife by Sarah Diemer
4.0
Cute sapphic Hades/Persephone retelling. I liked how the pomegranate came back at the end.