art_books_chemistry's reviews
543 reviews

dark emotional tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I have no idea how the author made such a gory, bloody, shocking history into such a slow and boring book. Seriously, I don't understand why this book dragged but I struggled to want to finish it and it just felt like it kept going. Maybe it was the length of time that this book covered since it started with Clytemnestra in her teens and ended when she was in her 40s. There were time jumps, which definitely helped but also seemed to skip major character development which left my opinion of Clytemnestra confused and overall negative.

I absolutely don't believe she deserved any of what was handed to her by fate, however, she was such an unlikable character that my empathy is with her situation and children rather than herself. This story is definitely not for the squeamish or easily upset; there is a lot of violence, death of children, and infidelity. This is basically the story of everything that happened outside of The Illiad, though it does reference various people and events to orient the reader to the more well-known "history".

Overall, not my favorite but it did scratch the itch I had for all these Greek myth stories that have been coming out lately.

Content Warnings

Lights Out by Navessa Allen

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challenging dark emotional funny tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Controversial opinion, this didn't grab me as thoroughly as it could have off the rip. Butcher&Blackbird, for example, had me in the first 5 minutes but it took a little longer for me to warm up to Lights Out. I don't go for the mask thing, maybe that's why. The anticipation and build up to Josh removing the mask in front of Aly was on point though! No spoilers on when that happened but it turned out to be kind of funny too.
I actually thought this book balanced the spice with the plot extremely well, it may be partly due to the fact that the spice was part of the original plot but the secondary plot with Aly's job and her family was great. I'm pretty impressed with the depth of the character development with both Aly and Josh's back stories being both ridiculous and plausible for creating two compassionate yet damaged individuals that are perfect for each other.

Content Warnings

Gagged by the Gherkin by Biblio Barbie

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funny lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

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

5.0

This was absolutely hilarious and ridiculous. Not for the average person, only eccentric monsterf*ckers will appreciate the dill-licious puns Danelle (Biblio Barbie) is able to toss together into the perfect pickle salad. Not gonna lie, I could totally have gone for another chapter of this insanity. xD I was cracking up way to much the entire time. What can I say, I too love pickles and ranch. >.>

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