aiona's reviews
120 reviews

Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado

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

4.5

Many of these stories are a great exploration into dissociation. The only one I didn’t enjoy was ‘especially heinous’, mostly because I found the structure of episode descriptions difficult to focus on. This is a queer and creepy book for sure. 
The Summer Book by Tove Jansson

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adventurous funny lighthearted reflective relaxing slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Sweet and relaxing, but I found the characters hard to connect to. 
X by Davey Davis

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challenging dark slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Not for me. Bit too dreary. Main character is not only unlikeable but also not that interesting. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
How Do You Live? by Genzaburō Yoshino

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adventurous emotional hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing 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? It's complicated

4.5

If you liked Sophie’s World, this is definitely worth a read. 
The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories by Ken Liu

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective medium-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

4.5

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

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adventurous emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective relaxing 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

3.0

It’s a nice cosy story, but not too much to it. 
Mindfulness as Medicine: A Story of Healing Body and Spirit by Sister Dang Nghiem

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

The Ink Dark Moon by Izumi Shikibu, Ono no Komachi

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emotional funny inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.5

Our Wives Under The Sea by Julia Armfield

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Very spooky and atmospheric. Felt a sense of dread throughout. I felt like the two main characters could have had more distinctive voices to set them apart. 
Very readable and good for a rainy day. 
Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in Her Head by Warsan Shire

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challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

4.0

Some of these poems gave me shivers.