ghada_mohammed's reviews
501 reviews

A poignant mystery novella that explores immigration, colonialism, and the emotionally/morally complex experience of belonging to an oppressed people who are/were themselves oppressors. It challenges modern day issues like the struggles of refugees especially regarding subpar living conditions and access to affordable healthcare. I particularly enjoyed the intricate magic system and the realistically flawed world the author constructed around their characters complete with clashing cultures and complicated politics. I found the ending to be a bit anticlimactic, but lengthwise, the author did a magnificent job of bringing an impossibly multifaceted story to life within such a limited page count.

A candid, brutal story of how a detective and a mindship found unexpected camaradarie as they navigated a murder mystery while simultaneously struggling with their respective troubled pasts. I absolutely loved the worldbuilding and about everything in the Universe of Xuya—always a pleasure to be in an sff world that is not Europe. I also loved how the book depicted trauma and the dynamic between Long Chau and The Shadow's Child: the tart back-and-forth and the startling fact at the end that the mindship was far more relatable than the humans.

A remarkably empowering collage of mini-biographies featuring writings and sayings by some of the most influential Black pioneers from around the world. Exploring culture, education, politics, gender, blackness, pan-africanism and more, Black Voices celebrates the creativity, strength, and genius of the African people. My favourite aspect about this collection was its inclusion of voices from around the African continent as well as the African diaspora. The design and presentation were lovely and the artwork at each chapter's entry was outright gorgeous. All in all, a book that is not only uplifting and informative but also aesthetically pleasing. I highly recommend to anyone who is interested in African culture and history.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

A remarkably visceral and poetic narrative of a young girl's journey on the winding path to womanhood, slowly exploring her restrained femininity and challenging the skeleton of her world, one bone at a time.

Told in a captivating, lyrical prose, How to Say Babylon is a first-hand account of growing up in Jamaica as a daughter of a Rastafari household. Before reading this, my impression of Rastafarianism was vague at best: I had always assumed that it was a chosen cultural identity, a social/spiritual movement, but I was not aware that it was an entire religion, so this book was a an educational experience for me. All in all, it was an eye-opening, candid, and heartfelt book. I highly recommend it.

3.5

A harrowing and humorous tale of monsters, demonic deals, and dangerous secrets.

Damned If You Do is an exploration of how far one is willing to go in order to protect their loved ones and learning to live with and accept the person one becomes along the journey. I particularly enjoyed the sharp plot twists that kept me on edge to see what happens next and Cordelia's brand of snarky humour.

Nonetheless, what I didn't enjoy was how she seemed to keep having the same worldbreaking epiphanies repeatedly and seemingly at random. I don't know how to explain this without spoliers but she will be sitting in her kitchen and suddenly have a grand aha-moment about how she is not a monster because she only did what she had to do and then proceed to have it again 50 pages later while fighting a literal demon. I'm all in for the whole healing is not a straight line thing, but I still think repetition defeats the whole purpose. I also disliked how her mother was allowed to do the bare minimum and then go ahead and take part in the happy ending.

She tried to report Cordelia's father and keep her daughter away when that failed, yes, but she was also blaming Cordelia for what he did and then shutting her out altogether.

If you enjoy stories with strong female monster hunters fighting for survival, this may be for you.

In Schizophrenia: A Strengths Perspective, the author sheds a light on not only his personal experience and struggles with schizophrenia, but also on all of the positive ways it has shaped his person and perspective: like learning to adapt a flexible approach to life plans, focusing one's energy on the things over which one has immediate control, cultivating temperance, creativity, and most importantly, hope and resilience in order to find and maintain the strength to push ahead.

Equally empowering and informative, this book is a guide to making the best of every situation. I highly recommend.

Thank you to Netgalley and Urano World for providing this eARC in exchange of an honest review.

An enchanting tale of dangerous magic, cruel gods, curses, and passionate affairs.

Starring a sensible professor and a gentle vampire, this book poses the questions of what it means to be human and how far one is willing to go in order to achieve what they want. In under 200 pages, the author does a remarkable job of both the worldbuilding and character dynamics. I can't wait to read the next.