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jess_esa's reviews
512 reviews
The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo
Leigh Bardugo is one of those authors I always read and enjoy even when they’re not that good, but this one is definitely her weakest. It’s like a mashup of her other books with a different coat of paint, fewer stakes, and a pretty godawful ending. I enjoyed the main characters Luzia and Santangél, but the side characters are pretty weak. The last third of the book, when it finally picked up the pace was gripping, and that’s kind of all I have to say about it. It also feels very dated in terms of structure and style. It's like it’s been sitting around for ten years. It’s worth reading, I did finish it, but don’t go in with high expectations.
3.5
No Exit by Jean-Paul Sartre
5.0
So to my taste, hysterical and brilliant. I truly tapped into something reading Estelle, she’ll never leave me. Looking forward to reading some more Sartre.
Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino
3.5
There’s a lot that’s special about this book. I love the way it was written, the candid messages to and from space, and the way it taps into the autistic asexual experience. Overall, though, it didn’t make a huge impression on me and I found the first half a lot more impactful than the second.
Machete: Poems by Tomás Q Morín
4.0
This collection was a mixed bag for me. I found the poems at the beginning and the end more memorable than the middle. The ones that hit, though, hit hard. I'll definitely look out for more from this poet in the future.
Measure for Measure by William Shakespeare
4.0
Observed some great scenes from this in acting class and was immediately compelled to come home and read it with Arrow. Had a lot of fun with it, it’s definitely a quirky one that inspires a lot of interesting discussion.
Fruit of the Dead by Rachel Lyon
Did not finish book.
Did not finish book.
I loved her first book but this was unfortunately very boring
Camille and Other Plays: A Peculiar Position; The Glass of Water; La Dame Aux Camelias; Olympe's Marriage; A Scrap of Paper by
5.0
God this was so sad, kill me 😭
I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman
5.0
I loved this book so much, I can’t put it into words. I was captivated from the first page. It’s so haunting, quiet, and masterful in how much (how little) information it gives you. I wish I could wipe my brain and read it again.
“I was forced to acknowledge too late, much too late, that I too had loved, that I was capable of suffering and that I was human after all.”
“I was forced to acknowledge too late, much too late, that I too had loved, that I was capable of suffering and that I was human after all.”
Curl by T. O. Bobe
4.0
Picked this up on a staff recommendation and really glad I did. It’s a surreal little collection of prose and poetry that centres around the lost loves and loneliness of the world’s greatest barber”. The translators note at the back is really interesting too.