changeablelandscape's reviews
94 reviews

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

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3.0

Trope bingo blackout!  And you know what?  I really enjoyed it despite how ridiculous it was; I saw every single thing coming from miles away and I kept reading anyway, cheering Yarros on for writing the Pern fanfic of my 15-year-old dreams.
The Fashion in Shrouds by Margery Allingham

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I loved this -- it is *exactly* of its time (1938) with all of its concerns about womanhood and career and artifice vs. authenticity, and I don't agree with 99% of Allingham's apparently conclusions about these things, but it was a perfect September read.
Stet: An Editor's Life by Diana Athill

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2.0

I liked the other memoir by Athill that I read, but this one was weirdly impersonal -- a lot of people in her life treated her very badly (by modern standards) and it's like she kind of knows it, but also doesn't really want to know it, so she describes it clearly and is like 'well this may sound terrible and I guess it was but oh well' which is just ... weird and unsatisfying to read, I kept wanting to go back in time and suggest she didn't deserve to be treated like that!   And the parts with the authors she worked with being really unprofessional and unpleasant... I think a lot of it was meant to be funny, but for me it was just awful.  
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 23%.
I am glad so many other people enjoyed this, but as someone who reads *lots* of writing by women from the 1950s, I couldn't stand how ahistorical this one.   Garmus is writing an imaginary 1950s based on popular culture, and it doesn't read like she did any research into the actual historical period.  There were lots of women pursuing careers at the time, against popular stereotypes, and struggling to balance marriage and family needs against career needs, and feeling the social pressure to conform and trying to figure out what femininity and womanhood and everything meant -- and some of them wrote about it and NONE of it looks anything like this.
Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

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dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious tense slow-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? Yes

3.75

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this!  Liane Moriarty's sense of humor is a lot like her sister Jaclyn's, whose YA & middle grade books I've really enjoyed, but this is definitely an adult novel about Adults Behaving Badly.  Also, having been a kindergarten parent twice now, I can assure you that the amount of weird social politics and hurt feelings and upset about birthday parties and such is not exaggerated *at all*. 
Another View by Rosamunde Pilcher

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emotional funny relaxing slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

A straightforward 1968 coming-of-age romance about a young woman (Emma) sorting through her family issues on the way to a happy ending with an appropriate man.   I enjoyed it enormously; it was a little more nuanced than my average 1960s Harlequin but still definitely in the same bucket.
Absent by Katie Williams

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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? Yes

4.0

A lovely, thoughtful, sad novel about a teenage ghost stuck at her high school, trying to figure out how to change the narrative of her death -- everyone thinks she killed herself, and she's sure her death was accidental, but what can she do as a ghost?  Quite a lot, as it turns out, but not without questions and cost, both of which are handled beautifully.  I love reading a book that I can't see the end of, and this one kept surprising me.
A Coup of Tea by Casey Blair

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Did not finish book.
Too many chosen one vibes, too didactic, just not for me.
Charming as a Verb by Ben Philippe

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 67%.
This was definitely a ME problem -- there was a choice the protagonist made that was in character and fit with everything else, but I just couldn't keep reading after they made that choice.  Saying that probably makes it sound like they attacked someone but no, it wasn't like that, it was just a choice in an ethical area that I (apparently) have very strong emotions about!
Long Black Veil by Jennifer Finney Boylan

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challenging emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective 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? Yes

4.5

I loved this -- Boylan's choice of the thriller format as a way of talking about a trans experience is really, really well-chosen.  I'm looking forward to reading some of her memoirs.