typewriter's reviews
394 reviews

American Hippo by Sarah Gailey

adventurous emotional funny

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Sarah Gailey hitting it out of the park as always with all the queer feels and also hippos and cycles of revenge. This book was everything, and I wish I could read more about these characters because I love them all so so much. (as you can see I love these stories to the point of incoherency. I'll stop now)

The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett

challenging mysterious

3.5

As witty as expected, but the story wasn't as gripping as I remember The Maltese Falcon being. Nora Charles is an icon though.

You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi

emotional hopeful

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

emotional lighthearted

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Mostly I wanted more feelings out of this book, but overall it was very enjoyable.

Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski

adventurous challenging mysterious

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

Confusingly written but I found myself enjoying the vibes. I can't separate the book and the show though, which contributed a lot to my enjoyment of this book. If there was ever a good place for a map and a glossary or dramatis personae this would be it. I also found the writing to be more stilted than in the short story collections, very dialogue-heavy without much description at times. I don't know if the fault there lies with Sapkowski or Stok, ditto for the way Ciri and all the older men read as caricatures. None of these faults disturbed me all that much though, so I think I'll continue with the series.

Payback's a Witch by Lana Harper

emotional hopeful lighthearted

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was a very sweet book :) It didn't have the most substance but the themes (leaving home and coming back, finding your place in the world) really resonated with me and the romance was well-written.

A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon

adventurous emotional

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes

3.5

This book was less good than I remember Priory being, and the ending was more lackluster (though Shannon seems to have solved many of her pacing issues). The Seiki plotline was (as in the last book) the least interesting throughout the book

even though it was sapphic.

In general I didn't think enough time was spent developing the various relationships in this book, especially compared to in Priory. My favourite couple was either

Glorian and Wulf or Wulf and Thrit,

but neither relationship got more than the bare bones. Just one scene of chill conversation of banter would've gone a loooong way. I did enjoy the religious conflict, and I hope it's explored further in later books. It's been a while since I read Priory, and I do think reading the two books closer together would make both more interesting in terms of comparisons you could make between the political situations of the various countries and also the way characters in this book are remembered in Priory, but Priory also wasn't good enough that I want to reread it now. A decent way to spend two weeks, but not a book I think I'll be thinking about very much in the future.

Loveless by Alice Oseman

emotional funny

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Even though Georgia and Rooney were quite grating at the beginning I found myself thoroughly enjoying the story by the end. The power of friendship got me once again and I almost cried reading this, which is unusual for me. I would honestly read a whole book about Sunil; they're so cool and I want to know more about them!

The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John le Carré

4.5

I can definitely see why this book has the reputation it does; the plot is delightfully twisty and the cold war commentary is on point (I was surprised by the nuance, especially when

Liz visits East Germany.

I'm looking forward to reading more le Carré!

Trotz Allem... Liebe by Jordi Lafebre

emotional

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A sweet love story plagued with unfortunate racial stereotypes (although to be fair many of the white characters are stereotypes as well). I would've liked to see more of Zeno and Ana's interactions when they were younger; as it was the whole thing felt a bit too much like a forgone conclusion.