historyofjess's reviews
2011 reviews

Yours for the Taking by Gabrielle Korn

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mysterious 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

3.0

Some of the ideas in this book were interesting but the execution often left me a bit flummoxed. The pacing was very odd, particularly in the middle of the book where years are sped through really quickly. The choice to bounce between characters but only bring them together sometimes and some ways sometimes made sense for how the story rolled out, but it could also leave me feeling like I was never getting to know anyone well enough and that they the characters were just there to move the story along rather than exist on their own.

With all the interweaving and expanding of characters I expected a little more from the resolution than what just seemed to be "rich white cis feminism is bad." I just wish there was more going on there.
Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker

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adventurous emotional lighthearted mysterious 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

4.0

What a lovely book. I was so taken by these characters and their world of magic. Everyone was just so loveable and I would happily spend more time in this world with everyone.
Don't Call Us Dead: Poems by Danez Smith

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emotional funny reflective fast-paced

3.5

This was a really quick read but the language and voice was incredibly vivid and memorable. Some of the poems were political, some were humorous and all of them were really special.
The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

This was really interesting world to spend time in. The world-building was done really well and I really liked the moral greyness that the protagonist, as well as other characters, played in. There were times when it dragged for me a bit and I'm not entirely sure the dual timeline and the mystery rollouts always worked for me. While it helped me get to know the main character, it meant that I never really felt that connected to her son because I kept getting pushed away from him, and he was a really important part of the story. The love story also felt a little shoehorned in and underdeveloped.

Despite those issues, I did enjoy reading this book and getting to know this character and the world she inhabits.
Siren Queen by Nghi Vo

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mysterious 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? Yes

3.5

There is a lot that I liked about this book, but I was left feeling a bit unsatisfied at the end. I think I would've been much more interested in some of the content from the epilogue actually being expanded in the novel rather than blown through so quickly. I think some of that could have been even juicier than the stories that were included in the novel. I also would've liked if we had discovered some of the supernatural elements along with Luli rather than having her info dump them so much early on. But generally, this was a fan magical take on the old Hollywood studio system.
Refusing Compulsory Sexuality: A Black Asexual Lens on Our Sex-Obsessed Culture by Sherronda J. Brown

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informative medium-paced

4.5

This was a fascinating read, not only for author's Black and asexual perspectives on sexuality and its pervasiveness in our culture, but as someone who is not asexual, I found it really interesting to contextualize my own sexual history, particularly how my relationship with sex changed after I began having pelvic pain. This feels like a text that anyone could benefit from reading because it makes you look at sex and sexuality, and the value we culturally place on sex, from a totally different perspective.
Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I liked the first half of this book more than second half, but that probably has a lot more to do with the fact that the second half felt largely like a setup for the rest of the series (which concerns me a bit, knowing that Butler never finished this series). I was very riveted by the set up to this world at the edge of breaking. The journey north just kind of lost me a bit. I will say, I was a bit taken aback to find another very drastic age difference romance in a Butler novel. It wasn’t as creepy as Fledgling because Lauren is young but doesn’t have the appearance of an actual child. But a just-barely-an-adult heroine having a sexual relationship with an old man is still kinda icky and it’s entirely possible that it put me off the ending of the book a bit.
Thirsty Mermaids by Kat Leyh

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adventurous funny lighthearted 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

3.75

So cute, so fun. This is one of those books I got because the title just seems like it's going to be cheeky and fun and it absolutely is that. It's also a lovely queer found family story. If you'd asked me what it was going to be about based on the cover/title, I don't think I would've said, a trio of drunk mermaids that accidentally get themselves stuck in human form when they're looking for more booze. It's delightfully literal fish out of water story with some truly loveable fishes at the center, even if they are chaotic boozehounds.
Woman World by Aminder Dhaliwal

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funny lighthearted relaxing 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? It's complicated

3.5

I didn't actually know this had been a web comic when I started reading, though I picked that up fairly quickly after the initial introductive panels and once I adjusted to that, I was just really charmed by the playfulness of it all. There's certainly some political themes in here, but most of it is just fun little running jokes and winsome characters going on with their lives...in a world that just happens to be devoid of men. I will never stop thinking about the little girl obsessed with a found DVD of Paul Blart: Mall Cop and having that has her only concept of what men is. It will never stop being funny.
Witchlight by Jessi Zabarsky

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adventurous funny lighthearted 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

3.25

This was a very sweet story. It read really quickly for me, which was both nice, but also made it feel a little weightless, despite there being some heavy character history in it. Mostly I was just left feeling that the relationship between the main characters is just really lovely.