squishies's reviews
2179 reviews

Monstress, Vol. 1: Awakening by Marjorie Liu

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Absolutely gorgeous art style (the background and architecture were just <em>amazing</em>, also doesn't hurt that almost everyone's pretty or cute) and loving the world building (Professor Tam Tam lessons are top notch).

There's a lot more political intrigue than I thought there would be.

Kippa is just too fucking cute T_T I wanna protect her at all cost.
 
Minor Mage by T. Kingfisher

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adventurous funny inspiring lighthearted tense medium-paced
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

Always in for a good time with a Kingfisher / Vernon book.  This was a cosy read, along the lines of Illuminations - nothing too scary (except for the ghoul, I suppose), a little dark, maximum comf.
The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted reflective sad medium-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

3.75

I don't think read the blurb to this at all... really liked the title and I guess made up my own idea of what it was, which was a travelling cat in a fantasy world that had other anthropomorphic animals - a low-stakes, cozy read.

The translation did feel a little stiff (which is kind of expected, tbh), but I warmed up to the writing and to Nana (Satoru was a sweetheart from the get-go).  Realising my mistake that it wasn't a fantasy world with anthropomorphic animals, I should have expected the feels and the subsequent tears... I really should have.
The Champions of the Blade by Steven Lochran

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adventurous emotional fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot

3.75

Now that I (mostly) know who is who and enough backstory without having to shake my terrible memory into remembering something, it was more fun to read (obvious, I guess).

There were some surprising moments, like when the Champion's blade shattered and Drake was actually the prophecised one.  Though I kinda liked how it was like "was it really a prophecy come true or things were just done right".

Poor Edgar man.  I was soooo suss of him this entire time and he was such a good boy all this time T_T
What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced

4.0

Another deliciously slow-burning, chilling book from Kingfisher. 
I for sure thought it was gonna be ghosts, but I think sentient fungi is actually more horrifying.  I mean, all that "hair" Madeline was shedding was actually filaments?? *shudders* Yikes on bikes.


I used to do horror, but then I lost my taste of it with all the unnecessary sex or sexual violence or sometimes just a touch too gruesome, even for me.   There's scary and then there's just disgusting and needlessly awful.  I think I keep coming back to Kingfisher's horror books because they evoke a deep seated sense of fear or at least being fairly unsettling without all that noise.

Also I love the way Kingfisher writes.  So effortlessly casual and horrifying at the same time.
A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

Another cosy, slice of life read
except when her husband gets stabbed and dies, fark man, I wasn't expecting that
.

I love the way the novel has been written - the struggles of being a woman in 1800s, the reflection on her younger self, her passion for dragons.  Can't wait to delve into the rest of the series!
Code of Ethics by April White

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adventurous tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No

2.75

There's a plethora of books where the girl is the sunny one while the guy is the grumpy, moody one.  I didn't think anything of it until I read the series "Billionaires in Blue Jeans" - it was the ladies who were rich and had the power, not the men.  It was a bit of a revelation and ever since I've kinda been wanting something along those veins.

So when I saw that Code of Ethics had a grumpy lady who also is a bodyguard, I needed to read it.

It was pretty decent (and I am admittedly a lot tougher on trashy romance than other genres for some reason) - the chemistry was good, banter was great, the conflict was... hmm it's alright, thankfully short and not stretched out.
Wyrde and Wondrous by Charlotte E. English

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • 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

3.75

I'm not sure why I found Gussie rather annoying for the first quarter of the book, but I was relieved that it was short-lived and enjoyed the chaos that followed.

Maybe it's been a while since the last instalment, but I didn't realise Gussie had feelings for Ballentine!  Cute! Lord Maudlin (what I call him anyway) didn't seem to match up well with her in any case.

I was a bit worried that Godspeed was gonna be a sussy bitch and be a villian in some way, but thankfully not!
A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

Just as cosy as the first book and it was lovely slice of life following Dex and Mosscap.
The Sandman Vol. 10: The Wake by Neil Gaiman

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dark emotional sad slow-paced

4.0

Another departure of art style - softer, "prettier", and less edgy and contemporary, but I think it suited the theme of this volume.

Not sure what to make of the rest of the short stories afterwards, though I did like Hobbs' story.

I guess ending on Shakespeare is like coming full circle - that Dream subconsciously (?) wanted to do this a long time ago, but maybe not sure how to do it.  He definitely couldn't do what Destruction did - just up and leaving.

But good luck, Daniel / new Dream.