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2treads's reviews
411 reviews
Baby Doll: Short Stories by Gracy Translated by Fathima E V by Gracy
challenging
dark
sad
fast-paced
3.0
These stories explore the existence of women and girls and are sexual, awkward, dark, and chilling.
Ruination by Anthony Reynolds
dark
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I enjoyed this way more than I thought I would. I have no experience of the game upon which this is based, so went in blind and came out with a healthy appreciation for what Reynolds did here.
Ruination can be seen as a prequel that catalyzed events within the video game and I enjoyed the unfurling events as such. With a good pace and stroy that moves, we move through political machinations, familial and intimate relationships, magic, resentments, and a dark quest for power and revenge. I enjoyed the interactions of the characters and the way in which the world came together. It was easy to follow and satisfying at its end.
Ruination can be seen as a prequel that catalyzed events within the video game and I enjoyed the unfurling events as such. With a good pace and stroy that moves, we move through political machinations, familial and intimate relationships, magic, resentments, and a dark quest for power and revenge. I enjoyed the interactions of the characters and the way in which the world came together. It was easy to follow and satisfying at its end.
Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree
dark
lighthearted
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? No
3.0
This was really a cozy fantasy. Viv and company were a treat. The way they bonded and supported each other was great to read. The dialogue was entertaining and the atmosphere warm. Even with the threat of dark magic approaching, the vibes given off by this group had me rooting for their success.
Neighbors and Other Stories by Diane Oliver
challenging
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
These stories are sharp and deftly crafted. Oliver was definitely tapped into the times that affected her characters, making her stories reflect their experiences and social existence.
The Story of the Cannibal Woman by Maryse Condé
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Not my favourite Condé, even though it is in the vein of her other works where she tackles race, identity, womanhood, and intimate relationships, I find this lacked the sarcastic/acerbic wit and dark humour of the others I had read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Death, Homophobia, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, and Colonisation
The Friend Zone Experiment by Zen Cho
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I liked this story. Cho has chosen what all BIPOC readers from colonized countries will recognize: familial/parental obligation as the foundation for her story. However I felt like the romance was the B-plot here.
Both Renee and Ket Siong focus on the ways in which they can help their family almost at the detriment of their own dreams. Renee has to work towards realizing that her worth and success does not matter on the metric her father uses, fight to stand against misogyny and male entitlement, discard the ways in which her brothers have tried to hold her down in order to really come into her own.
Ket Siong was all too willing to put his dreams on hold for both his brother and mother who were dealing with the fallout of whistleblowing and corrupt multinational corporations.
Both Renee and Ket Siong focus on the ways in which they can help their family almost at the detriment of their own dreams. Renee has to work towards realizing that her worth and success does not matter on the metric her father uses, fight to stand against misogyny and male entitlement, discard the ways in which her brothers have tried to hold her down in order to really come into her own.
Ket Siong was all too willing to put his dreams on hold for both his brother and mother who were dealing with the fallout of whistleblowing and corrupt multinational corporations.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny
Minor: Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, and Sexual harassment
Notes on Her Color by Jennifer Neal
challenging
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
What's a book that had a premise that led you to expect something completely different than what you read? For me, it was Notes On Her Color.
🧬🎹🧬🎹🧬
I don't know why I wanted Neal's book to have more of a superhero bend, but I did. I wanted these skin-colour changing women to be out there infiltrating systems and changing them for progress and equality in society. It's more suburban horror. Instead, Neal tells the story of Gabrielle and her mother Tallulah, who are trapped by an overbearing husband and father who only sees the value in their lighter & whiter skin tones that elevate his standing among his white peers.
🎹🧬🎹🧬🎹
When her mother suffers a mental health crisis, Gabi now has to fight for her dreams, love, and gift. Neal uses this to explore internalized racism, repressed expression, queerness, and fortitude.
🧬🎹🧬🎹🧬
🧬🎹🧬🎹🧬
I don't know why I wanted Neal's book to have more of a superhero bend, but I did. I wanted these skin-colour changing women to be out there infiltrating systems and changing them for progress and equality in society. It's more suburban horror. Instead, Neal tells the story of Gabrielle and her mother Tallulah, who are trapped by an overbearing husband and father who only sees the value in their lighter & whiter skin tones that elevate his standing among his white peers.
🎹🧬🎹🧬🎹
When her mother suffers a mental health crisis, Gabi now has to fight for her dreams, love, and gift. Neal uses this to explore internalized racism, repressed expression, queerness, and fortitude.
🧬🎹🧬🎹🧬
Daughter of Calamity by Rosalie M. Lin
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
The story promised by Lin's premise was so interesting. A mash up that gave dancing girls, gangsters, mythical creatures, stolen body parts, ancestral ritual and surgeries, selfish wants and petty jealousies.
Set in a Shanghai that is modernizing and catering to men of the West with affluence who have unfettered access to both women and the drug trade, there are still home-grown gangs with their own interests.
Jingwen navigates her position as a dancer at a popular cabaret and the granddaughter of a powerful surgeon and is pulled into a thrilling mystery of the underground bone trade and uncovering the culprit stealing certain body parts of other cabaret girls.
Lin's tale mashes together science fiction, fantasy, and mystery/thriller to get readers interested in what is happening. But at times, it can make the story feel disconnected and bloated. The prose as well becomes heavy with unnecessary metaphor that exasperates.
There is a captivating story here, it just lacks precise execution.
Set in a Shanghai that is modernizing and catering to men of the West with affluence who have unfettered access to both women and the drug trade, there are still home-grown gangs with their own interests.
Jingwen navigates her position as a dancer at a popular cabaret and the granddaughter of a powerful surgeon and is pulled into a thrilling mystery of the underground bone trade and uncovering the culprit stealing certain body parts of other cabaret girls.
Lin's tale mashes together science fiction, fantasy, and mystery/thriller to get readers interested in what is happening. But at times, it can make the story feel disconnected and bloated. The prose as well becomes heavy with unnecessary metaphor that exasperates.
There is a captivating story here, it just lacks precise execution.
Immortal Dark by Tigest Girma
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
No Longer at Ease by Chinua Achebe
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0