jameslyons's reviews
80 reviews

My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell

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challenging dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I devoured this in three days

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Goodwood by Holly Throsby

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective relaxing sad medium-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

Great cast of characters and a touching depiction of growing up queer (sans homophobic pressure*) in small-town country Australia, mixed in with two gripping mysteries. I didn't want to leave Goodwood when the book ended and it'll stay with me for a long time.

*VERY notably, this book is in part a queer coming of age story where homophobia and/or coming out DON'T play a pivotal role -- they're not mentioned at all, and it is so refreshing.

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The Survivors by Jane Harper

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0


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Confessions of the Fox by Jordy Rosenberg

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This is not a fun historical romp and those approaching this book with any expectation of a Nice Time will be disappointed/horrified. It's visceral, confronting, disgusting, and uncomfortable; romantic, riotous, hilarious, and very fucking trans.

Ambitious and almost overwhelming at times. It took a lot of faith in the author for me to get through the wilder parts that didn't make sense until everything Did. Thank god it all pulled together in the end. I remain annoyed at the heavy academic bent, but that's a personal pet peeve, and scholarly sycophants will likely adore that aspect. Everyone else, my advice is to just ignore and skim at will. The rest of the story contains So Much aside from that.

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Find Me by André Aciman

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adventurous emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

All Our Shimmering Skies by Trent Dalton

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adventurous challenging dark informative sad tense medium-paced
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

I struggled to enjoy the first third of the book - way too dark, graphic and bleak for me. Most of it felt unnecessary and heavy handed, and I think Dalton could have started the book around page 200, but I was glad I pressed on if only to be transported into the magic of the outback for the rest of the book! And honestly, all these characters and not a single one of them is gay??? Same with Boy Swallows Universe. Hm.... Not exactly the "picture of Australia" his books are cracked up to be.

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The Inland Sea by Madeleine Watts

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emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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The Van Apfel Girls Are Gone by Felicity McLean

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dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Really would have loved a firm conclusion to this thrilling story, but the immersive writing was so good and the characters so compelling, that it earns a solid 4 stars. Not a whodunit, but still worth a read if you can comfortably sit with the mystery and don't mind (or even enjoy) drawing your own conclusions.

The first chapter felt wildly out of place and I'm glad I pushed through my urge to stop reading, because the rest of the book was much better.

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Venus and Aphrodite by Bettany Hughes

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adventurous emotional informative reflective sad fast-paced

3.0


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