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voxvenati's reviews
172 reviews
The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
There were few answers in the end, but I really enjoyed the ambiance and experience reading this book. It was soft and sad and cold with lively prose. I will definitely read more from Yoko Ogawa.
I Was a Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book was a solid 4 until that ending kicked my ass and boosted it a half star.
I’m not huge on teenage protagonists, and that’s a me problem. If that wasn’t an issue, this might have been a 5 star.
I love how slasher tropes were handled here. It felt kind of like this is what Black Sheep wanted to be in terms of horror tropes, but Teenage Slasher nailed it whereas Black Sheep fumbled every one (each address different horror sub-genres, but the point stands).
Lots of things working for this. It was funny. It was romantic. The emotional payoff was exquisite. Audiobook narrator was excellent. Worth a read, especially if you like SGJ.
I’m not huge on teenage protagonists, and that’s a me problem. If that wasn’t an issue, this might have been a 5 star.
I love how slasher tropes were handled here. It felt kind of like this is what Black Sheep wanted to be in terms of horror tropes, but Teenage Slasher nailed it whereas Black Sheep fumbled every one (each address different horror sub-genres, but the point stands).
Lots of things working for this. It was funny. It was romantic. The emotional payoff was exquisite. Audiobook narrator was excellent. Worth a read, especially if you like SGJ.
Below by Laurel Hightower
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
What the fuck (derogatory).
Friend and I buddy read this; every theory we came up with along the way was more interesting and relevant than what ended up happening. Hmm… Also, not enough mothman.
The Luminous Dead did psychological, isolationist cave horror MUCH better than this.
In the end, I just want to be in mothman’s warm, leathery embrace.
Friend and I buddy read this; every theory we came up with along the way was more interesting and relevant than what ended up happening. Hmm… Also, not enough mothman.
The Luminous Dead did psychological, isolationist cave horror MUCH better than this.
In the end, I just want to be in mothman’s warm, leathery embrace.
Binti by Nnedi Okorafor
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Interesting, quick little read.
I really enjoyed the audiobook narrator for this one. It’s really hit or miss for me when it comes to narrators, but Robin Miles killed it.
I always love a scifi with other sentient races, so that was an easy win. Did it need to be a novella series? Maybe not, but I’m into the world building and enjoying the ride. Overall, solid.
I really enjoyed the audiobook narrator for this one. It’s really hit or miss for me when it comes to narrators, but Robin Miles killed it.
I always love a scifi with other sentient races, so that was an easy win. Did it need to be a novella series? Maybe not, but I’m into the world building and enjoying the ride. Overall, solid.
Drowned Country by Emily Tesh
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I’m in the middle on this book because I wasn’t as crazy about it as Tesh’s other works.
The parts of the first book I loved felt missing for the most part from this book. The characters felt less rounded, less interesting, and the magic, so to speak, wasn’t there in the world as much. The world building just felt lacking in this one, and too much time was focused on a conflict that was just lackluster.
I also felt the title was a bit misleading, though I’m obsessed with the cover art.
The ending was sweet, though, and I gave the rating a little boost just for that.
The parts of the first book I loved felt missing for the most part from this book. The characters felt less rounded, less interesting, and the magic, so to speak, wasn’t there in the world as much. The world building just felt lacking in this one, and too much time was focused on a conflict that was just lackluster.
I also felt the title was a bit misleading, though I’m obsessed with the cover art.
The ending was sweet, though, and I gave the rating a little boost just for that.
The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
funny
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Utterly delicious. I’m not sure why this book seems to be so polarizing. I guess you get it or you don’t.
This is a book that wields its literary themes in a way that is so familiar and unliterary, I was beyond pleasantly surprised. There are discussions of being biracial, lumped into a “minority” umbrella that are so universal. Feminism, racism, love, language and the power of words - all themes addressed with prose that’s endlessly entertaining.
The yearning is evident, almost from page one. The tension is palpable. The best slow burn I’ve read in a published work. For anyone who doesn’t see the romantic plotline, I worry for you. It could almost have been marketed as a romanceif the ending had gone a different way .
The scifi in this is soft despite time travel being involved. It explores human emotions, delves into the softer sciences/social sciences. It doesn’t seek to explain how the time travel actually functions. Please don’t expect hard science.
Do you have a friend who you text back and forth with about your current hyper fixation? Are you a little bit chronically online? Do you, too, relate to having a blorbo completely and detrimentally take over your life? Kaliane Bradley and The Ministry of Time might be right up your alley.
This is a book that wields its literary themes in a way that is so familiar and unliterary, I was beyond pleasantly surprised. There are discussions of being biracial, lumped into a “minority” umbrella that are so universal. Feminism, racism, love, language and the power of words - all themes addressed with prose that’s endlessly entertaining.
The yearning is evident, almost from page one. The tension is palpable. The best slow burn I’ve read in a published work. For anyone who doesn’t see the romantic plotline, I worry for you. It could almost have been marketed as a romance
The scifi in this is soft despite time travel being involved. It explores human emotions, delves into the softer sciences/social sciences. It doesn’t seek to explain how the time travel actually functions. Please don’t expect hard science.
Do you have a friend who you text back and forth with about your current hyper fixation? Are you a little bit chronically online? Do you, too, relate to having a blorbo completely and detrimentally take over your life? Kaliane Bradley and The Ministry of Time might be right up your alley.
Uzumaki by Junji Ito
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Pretty solid. Love the art, the color pages, how it’s an overarching story but most chapters are also self contained.
There are some surprisingly sweet, funny moments, especially between Kirie and Shuichi. He’s kind of the GOAT. They’re really good together.
I wanted to love this, truly, but the ending/last couple chapters fell short. I’m a lore girlie, and they did not delve deep enough into the history for me to be totally satisfied.
I definitely think Ito excels at long form compared to his short stories, and on that note alone I think it’s worth reading this.
There are some surprisingly sweet, funny moments, especially between Kirie and Shuichi. He’s kind of the GOAT. They’re really good together.
I wanted to love this, truly, but the ending/last couple chapters fell short. I’m a lore girlie, and they did not delve deep enough into the history for me to be totally satisfied.
I definitely think Ito excels at long form compared to his short stories, and on that note alone I think it’s worth reading this.
The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
fast-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
Fucking incredible. Truly like nothing I’ve ever read before.
The amount of world building Hawkins flawlessly crammed (affectionate) into this book is immense. I’ve read trilogies that do less with what they have than what was accomplished in this book.
God, I loved Steve, Carolyn, Erwin. I loved Naga. Even Father by the end, really.
Book was brutal, with pretty graphic death and gore, but not really a horror in the way I was expecting. Still, delicious.
In conclusion, just wow. Check the trigger warnings if you need to, but I highly recommend this. Read a library copy, but I’m going to have to go buy one for annotating now. Fuck.
The amount of world building Hawkins flawlessly crammed (affectionate) into this book is immense. I’ve read trilogies that do less with what they have than what was accomplished in this book.
God, I loved Steve, Carolyn, Erwin. I loved Naga. Even Father by the end, really.
Book was brutal, with pretty graphic death and gore, but not really a horror in the way I was expecting. Still, delicious.
In conclusion, just wow. Check the trigger warnings if you need to, but I highly recommend this. Read a library copy, but I’m going to have to go buy one for annotating now. Fuck.
The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was a refreshing experience. It was tense, gruesome (at times), and full of heart.
Two things I was not really expecting going in, that there was quite a lot of: basketball and animal death - specificallylots of dogs and elk .
I was not a huge fan of the pacing. Front bit was good, middle dragged, end was good. Perhaps contributing to this, the early parts of the book set up like it was going to be something like four short stories tied together by this vengeful entity, but the second half of the book was not split up. It was all one story at that point.
Quite a lot of descriptions of gore, some really tense scenes, but just didn’t hit that scary vibe. Unfortunate it couldn’t hit all three points, but I did like SGJ’s style. It flowed quite naturally.
I liked the entity. I thought she was neat. I wish I had been more on her side, but I just liked some of the characters too much to agree with her.
Really solid read despite me not knowing or caring about basketball. Not scary, but a little graphic, so maybe check trigger warnings if you use them.
Two things I was not really expecting going in, that there was quite a lot of: basketball and animal death - specifically
I was not a huge fan of the pacing. Front bit was good, middle dragged, end was good. Perhaps contributing to this, the early parts of the book set up like it was going to be something like four short stories tied together by this vengeful entity, but the second half of the book was not split up. It was all one story at that point.
Quite a lot of descriptions of gore, some really tense scenes, but just didn’t hit that scary vibe. Unfortunate it couldn’t hit all three points, but I did like SGJ’s style. It flowed quite naturally.
I liked the entity. I thought she was neat. I wish I had been more on her side, but I just liked some of the characters too much to agree with her.
Really solid read despite me not knowing or caring about basketball. Not scary, but a little graphic, so maybe check trigger warnings if you use them.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gun violence, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Gore, Racism, Violence, and Alcohol
Minor: Pregnancy
Delicious in Dungeon, Vol. 3 by Ryoko Kui
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I don’t love the water floor of the dungeon, but god, the frog suits make me laugh every time.