moodreadingmagic's reviews
834 reviews

Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors

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dark emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

The Kingdom of Copper by S.A. Chakraborty

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

5.0

Sunderworld, Vol. I: The Extraordinary Disappointments of Leopold Berry by Ransom Riggs

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
I loved the Miss Peregrine series and the inspiration behind the series was so unique. So when I saw that Ransom Riggs was debuting a new series I was eager to check it out. 
 
Sunderworld is full of nostalgic teen angst,  friendship, grief  and the desire to escape into a world where you feel like you may belong. Sunderworld is an urban fantasy world that offers more grit than whimsy and transports our main character into a world that may help him better connect with his late mother. 
 
For fans of: 
šŸ“¼ YA urban fantasy 
šŸ“¼ Noatalgic nods to the 80s/90s 
šŸ“¼ Stephen Kingā€™s Dark Tower series (sentient modes of transportation and a gritty deserted town vibe) 
 
Thank you to Penguin Teen and Net Galley for the early copy of this book. All opinions are my own. 
 

My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Craft: Stories I Wrote for the Devil by Ananda Lima

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

4.0

 
Craft is a collection of short stories written from the perspective of a young Brazilian American writer. As the name suggests, the main character, ā€œthe writerā€ writes for the devil, who she meets at a college party. These stories are essentially stories within a story of her life as an immigrant, a splicing of her new life in America and her childhood home in Brazil. 

This collection of stories creates a fantastic meta experience as the writer writes both to us, the readers, and the devil himself. The relationship she has with the devil is intimate, the devil often consoling her as often as scaring her, showing up during all facets of her coming of age story. 

I received an advance copy of the audio version of this book. The narration really captured the third person omnipresent ethereal vibe present in this story (or stories). I do wish I had read this physically only to better identify each individual story from another. Listening to these stories does not necessarily capture each story as its own and instead offers a more chapter to chapter reading experience.

This is a beautifully crafted horror novel, with no real plot or story line to follow, it instead offers an introspective and at times disturbing thought process of the writer.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book; all opinions are my own.

 
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore

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

4.5

A Botanist's Guide to Parties and Poisons by Kate Khavari

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adventurous dark funny informative lighthearted mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

A Botanist's Guide to Flowers and Fatality by Kate Khavari

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adventurous funny informative mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Lady Macbeth by Ava Reid

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challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

 
Quick story time: Lady Macbeth was high up on my most anticipated books of 2024. I went onto NetGalley and requested, as a fairly green user of NetGalley and with a stagnant, abandoned Bookstagram account. When I received approval for this ARC you would have thought I won the lottery. šŸ˜‚ All this to say, I have been chomping at the bit to read and review this book and even better I can confidently say it exceeded my expectations. 

I absolutely loved this book and consumed it with a ferocity akin to the characters within the book. As the title indicates, this story is a retelling of one of Shakespeareā€™s darker stories, Macbeth but from the perspective of Lady Macbeth herself. I loved the authenticity Ava Reid brought to the time period and her ability to provide us with an incredibly complex and richly developed Lady Macbeth. Ava Reidā€™s prose is beautiful and her ability to create these spooky, ethereal and gothic worlds is top notch. 

Lady Macbeth takes the reader on a very wild ride. At one point I told my friend that this book was giving me major Game of Thrones red wedding vibes and honestly that vibe never dissipated; it slowly grew and blossomed into a masterpiece in fury and revenge. Lady Macbeth is beautiful and savage, calculated and ruthless, intelligent and empathetic. I could go on and on forever. 

If you love a good retelling, fantastical or classic, with a beautiful mix of horror please check this out when it hits shelves on August 13th. 

Thank you Randomhouse and Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book; all opinions are my own. 

 
Behind Every Good Man by Sara Goodman Confino

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emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

 
This is my first time reading a book by Sara Goodman Confino (SGC). I have loved seeing her books grow in popularity among the niche Peloton Momā€™s Book Club and have had her other books on my TBR for ages. When I saw an opportunity to request an ARC for her newest book, I decided it was meant to be and requested a copy.

Behind Every Good Man is a historical womenā€™s fiction novel with a side of wholesome romance. This book gives off major Marvelous Mrs. Maisel vibes; you have a strong female lead hell bent on breaking down the patriarchal systems in the 60s, Jewish representation, and political history. I am convinced that SGC firmly pulled inspiration for Beverly Diamondā€™s character development from Miriam Maisel and you cannot convince me otherwise. 

I adored this book, it was rich in history, humor, politics, Jewish identity, female empowerment, etc. I have since learned that SGCā€™s most recent book published last year, Donā€™t Forget to Write, is a tie-in to this new book and I have already snagged a copy so I can read more about the elusive and equally interesting Marilyn Kleinman. I really need to hear more about this window shattering kiss with the rabbiā€™s son. 

If you like historical, womenā€™s fiction with romance, and Jewish representation; this is a book you absolutely should check out. Behind Every Good Man comes out on August 6th. Thank you to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book; all opinions are my own.