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hydecircus's reviews
53 reviews
Falling Back in Love with Being Human: Letters to Lost Souls by Kai Cheng Thom
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
3.0
I think I cringed away from how honest and genuine this book is. I think if I get older and less angry maybe I could come back to it and meet it on its own level. As it is, I felt uncomfortable with how much love and forgiveness this book has for everyone. I felt embarrassed when the author wrote poems about animorphs or batman, even though I have also written poems about batman. The difference is I'm not brave enough to publish them, and I'm not brave enough to openly offer forgiveness to those I feel hurt by. There is an audience for this book, but it isn't me, and I'm kind of ashamed of that. On a technical level, it dragged a bit, and some of the poems felt repetitive, especially by the end, but there were also some real stand outs. Huge fan of "to Jesus Christ" on page 69 especially.
Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.25
Probably the most passive main character I've ever read. It's baffling how there are interesting things happening in this book and yet she has no role in any of them. Potential for interesting worldbuilding squandered by the fact that it seems like the author doesn't actually care about making the world feel grounded or lived in as much as she's just interested in it as set dressing. It's only real upside is that despite nothing happening it's fast paced enough to not be too bothersome, at least if you're only reading 4 chapters a week (buddy read) like I was.
Brainwyrms by Alison Rumfitt
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
blowfly girls impact. but fr soooo fucking good. absolutely obsessed with the unique style of this novel the curious cat chapter especially is such a smart way of showing character...
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Gore, Hate crime, Incest, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Excrement, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Animal death
I Will Fear No Evil by Robert A. Heinlein
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
covers topics in a way that would be interesting if it were not so bogged down by a "women be shopping" view of gender. would have been more bearable if it were 200 pages shorter. i would love to read a book set in this world that wasnt told from the perspective of a character rich enough to ignore everything about it
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual assault
Called into Being: A Celebration of Frankenstein by Lindsay Young, Megan Purdy, K. Guillory, Sara Julia Campbell, Sam Beck, Quintin Dixon, Gillian Blekkenhorst, Clara Meath, Maddy Beaupre, Matthew McGrath, Sunny Go, Andrea Ayres, Seren Krakens, Billy Seguire, Saffron Aurora, Helen Robinson, Allison O'Toole, Tess Eneli Reid, Nadia Shammas, Laura Neubert, Jon Berg, Véronique Emma Houxbois, Kayleigh Hearn, Sam Noir, Miike, Christine Prevas, Safiyya Hosein, Nicholas Gambone, Gwen Howarth, Amy Spaulding, Steven Andrews, Cleopatria Peterson, Keith W.T.S. Morris, Richard Pace
emotional
funny
inspiring
fast-paced
4.0
honestly a really lovely read as a massive frankenstein fan. you can feel the passion in everyone's work. i do think its funny they got chip zdarsky in on this (presumably because allison o'toole is his editor) and all he did was write a sentence in the margins of his copy of the novel and take a photo with his iphone. but you can't win them all i guess.
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
mixed feelings on this one. on one hand it feels very accurate to the setting-- if you've spent any time on or adjacen to book twitter or booktok to booktube or any other online book-based subculture, a lot of this book is going to feel uncomfortably real. in the sense that rather than losing myself in the story, i was often overcome with the same seminausea one feels when doomscrolling, and would have to take a break from reading to do something else (like actually doomscroll). the protagonist's internal monologue is self absorbed and completely out of touch, but never crosses the line of being too unbelievable or absurd. on the other hand, the criticisms of the author's depiction of the publishing world as one built on meritocracy and the flippant way class as a factor in success is left unexplored are both more than fair. the ending also felt rushed, with the reveal feeling unearned and cliche. i also think this book could've been cut down significantly but i tend to prefer faster paced stories so that could be entirely preference.
On the Beach by Nevil Shute
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Aside from some lengthy descriptions of working in a submarine and race car driving this book was an absolutely tragic and deeply human glimpse into the lives of people living right before the end of the world. The way the tone shifts and the characters cling to their routines as the clock ticks on...
Family Business by Jonathan Sims
dark
emotional
sad
tense
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
I enjoyed this a lot more than Jonathan Sim's first novel (Thirteen Storeys), it felt a lot more put together and the (still very obvious, but it's not trying to be hidden) main message (capitalism is the real villain) was a lot subtler and I think written smarter as well. I think it was really well done how you could remove the supernatural elements and the core conflict remains: people are slipping through the cracks of society and being forgotten and their deaths are not faultless, and are in fact murders (if not by a malevolent ghost/demon, by the government. Near the end of the novel, a character questions if the supernatural antagonist is one of a kind, and suspects there are more like him, to which another responds "they're called tories") I think focusing on one main protagonist (who I loved) also helps the book keep focus and keep the audience engaged in the story, which is a big improvement over juggling Thirteen Storeys massive cast (a hold over from Sim's previous anthology-style writing on The Magnus Archives, I always assumed). I also want to add that this is the first I think I've ever seen a queerplatonic relationship depicted in a mainstream published book, which was very cool.
The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
i tend to expect books that have been adapted into a film to be a lot more than what was presented on screen, and this isnt the books fault but i was honestly shocked at how short it is. it knows exactly what story it wanted to tell and it told it, with nothing extra. i think this is honestly a postive and i really enjoyed how to the point it was. i think i wouldve liked it more if i read it in one sitting instead of taking a months long break, especially considering how concise the story it, but that's my fault not the books.