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safeblanck's reviews
253 reviews
A Poisoned Package by Eryn Scott
adventurous
mysterious
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? Yes
5.0
oh how much i love these characters & this series❤️❤️😭 really loved the focus on laurie and meg’s relationship in this one, it warmed my heart❤️🩹🥲 as always, i appreciated the small moments shared between the characters & the different relationship dynamics between all of the people who live in the morrissey
Animali si diventa by Federica Timeto
informative
medium-paced
3.5
informative and thought-provoking, made me question a lot of my own beliefs. i really enjoyed reading this collection of essays, told from an intersectional feminist + antispeciesist point of view. looking forward to reading more books about this topic.
Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology by Shane Hawk, Theodore C. Van Alst Jr.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
great collection of indigenous stories. haunting and terrifying in the best way possible. my favorite story was “snakes are born in the dark” by d. h. trujillo. looking forward to reading more anthologies like this one (focusing on indigenous authors perspectives) in the future!!
Teddy by Jason Rekulak
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
the premise was quite interesting, it reminded me of a short horror story i read a few years ago, but the plot-twist was so bad, it left me feeling quite upset. i don't think the transphobic comments were needed at all - they do not serve any purpose in the story and there was no critique of what was being said. saying the child was 'brainwashed' and 'forced to transition' creates a dangerous narrative: the gender identity of the kid is questioned for fun and it becomes a final plot-twist to explain the poor structure of the novel. using this rhetoric can be extremely dangerous and harmful because there are real trans kids in our world who deserve to be loved and accepted by everyone around them. i wonder what message this book was trying to send all along.. a waste of time, i wouldn't recommend reading this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse and Transphobia
Moderate: Racism
The Night House by Jo Nesbø
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
i really liked the gory aspects and how the story unfolds and gets re-written each time. the writing was engaging and the story was easy to get into. nevertheless, the ending doesn’t feel like a real conclusion, there are certain aspects/plot points which in my opinion don’t work so well (for example, i did not enjoy the fatphobic comments), and the story itself is not very memorable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore
Moderate: Fatphobia
Minor: Vomit
The Housemaid by Freida McFadden
Did not finish book. Stopped at 27%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 27%.
don’t love the writing and the story feels very predictable. so far i don’t feel any connection w the characters. i don’t see any reason in finishing this so dnf
As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
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? Yes
5.0
❤️❤️❤️🥲❤️🩹 i cried, i laughed, i felt so many emotions while reading this. these characters will stay with me for a while, salama especially🥹
The Holiday Switch by Tif Marcelo
adventurous
emotional
funny
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? Yes
4.0
When Haru Was Here by Dustin Thao
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
some good ideas but the execution feels all over the place.
North Is the Night by Emily Rath
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
This book was a rollercoaster. The start was too slow, it took a while for me to get into it. I liked the focus on Finnish folklore, it was interesting to learn more about this topic, and this was probably the strongest element in the whole book.
The antagonists felt like caricatures and not fully-developed characters. In this novel, most female characters are described as evil, treacherous, and scary. Lumi is described as a wicked witch. Kalma and Tuonetar are monstruous. The same cannot be said about the descriptions of male characters. It feels weird to see Tuoni, the god of the underworld, be described as kind and warm, when all the female characters are given entirely different treatment. Aina's arc is quite underwhelming and the love story is not convincing at all. In addition, the sapphic element is marginal - I wish it was given more space to blossom.
Another thing I want to point out is the unfair treatment given to Sámi people. They came into the story as background characters who are ruled by Lumi, daughter of Ajatar, the goddess who haunts the woods. Sámi people are indigenous people who have suffered (and still suffer today) repression, marginalization, assimilation and dehumanization. In this book, similarly to real life, Sámi people are not given a real voice. Their only representation seems to be Lumi who is described as a "nasty forest witch": she is the evil antagonist the mcs have to defeat. This characterization is both simplistic and harmful.
In conclusion, some aspects of this book worked, others didn't. The pacing felt weird at times and I wish women and Sámi people's characterization was treated with more care.
Arc kindly provided by the publisher. All opinions are my own.
The antagonists felt like caricatures and not fully-developed characters. In this novel, most female characters are described as evil, treacherous, and scary. Lumi is described as a wicked witch. Kalma and Tuonetar are monstruous. The same cannot be said about the descriptions of male characters. It feels weird to see Tuoni, the god of the underworld, be described as kind and warm, when all the female characters are given entirely different treatment. Aina's arc is quite underwhelming and the love story is not convincing at all. In addition, the sapphic element is marginal - I wish it was given more space to blossom.
Another thing I want to point out is the unfair treatment given to Sámi people. They came into the story as background characters who are ruled by Lumi, daughter of Ajatar, the goddess who haunts the woods. Sámi people are indigenous people who have suffered (and still suffer today) repression, marginalization, assimilation and dehumanization. In this book, similarly to real life, Sámi people are not given a real voice. Their only representation seems to be Lumi who is described as a "nasty forest witch": she is the evil antagonist the mcs have to defeat. This characterization is both simplistic and harmful.
In conclusion, some aspects of this book worked, others didn't. The pacing felt weird at times and I wish women and Sámi people's characterization was treated with more care.
Arc kindly provided by the publisher. All opinions are my own.