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rcsreads's reviews
720 reviews
Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail by Ashley Herring Blake
Did not finish book. Stopped at 21%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 21%.
I was already annoyed by the one dimensional, pretty characters and the fact the author clearly had no idea what an interior designer does, but we just described a person running a bakery as a "round woman" like some sort of giant blueberry and I just fucking can't anymore!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fatphobia
Poor Things by Alasdair Gray
dark
funny
medium-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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Child death, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail
A Traveller In Time by Alison Uttley
adventurous
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Say Nothing: A True Story Of Murder and Memory In Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
Say Nothing is advertised as though it's a true crime but the case of Jean McConville's disappearance is just a loose binding to what is essentially a history of The Troubles. From other reviews I've read a lot of people go into this expecting a true crime novel and are disappointed. But if you go into it as a narrative nonfiction history then it's incredibly readable and well written. Patrick Radden Keefe has clearly done his research and, mainly, stays impartial. You will kind of hate Gerry Adams by the end though!
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I think this would be a good introduction to The Troubles for people who weren't around for this particular part of history, or just as a more detailed look if most of your knowledge came from Newsround in the 90's.
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I think this would be a good introduction to The Troubles for people who weren't around for this particular part of history, or just as a more detailed look if most of your knowledge came from Newsround in the 90's.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Dear Life by Alice Munro
slow-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? It's complicated
2.75
2013 was clearly a bad year for literature if this was the only thing worth giving the Nobel Prize to!
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The last four stories, including the titular Dear Life, are semi-autobiographical and I really enjoyed them. I'd have liked a whole book of the same snapshots of one life. The rest of the book is just people in small towns, where all the men are dicks, having affairs. I was so bored of it by the end.
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The last four stories, including the titular Dear Life, are semi-autobiographical and I really enjoyed them. I'd have liked a whole book of the same snapshots of one life. The rest of the book is just people in small towns, where all the men are dicks, having affairs. I was so bored of it by the end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Terminal illness
Minor: War
Julius by Daphne du Maurier
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
So, imagine American Psycho but he's French and it's written by a 26 year old woman! I love a du Maurier because you just never know what you're getting. She writes in every genre and sometimes there are sexy pirates and other times we're just drowning kittens!
Julius is probably the least likeable MC ever. The book takes us from birth to death and he's just a horrible person throughout, but Daphers still makes me enjoy reading it! The woman was a genius!
Julius is probably the least likeable MC ever. The book takes us from birth to death and he's just a horrible person throughout, but Daphers still makes me enjoy reading it! The woman was a genius!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and War
Affinity by Sarah Waters
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The Murder of Mr. Wickham by Claudia Gray
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I finished The Murder of Mr Wickham last night. It was very enjoyable and easy to read. All of Jane's characters acted how we would expect and I enjoyed the addition of the next generation. Juliet Tilney clearly took after her mum, and Jonathan Darcy was an awkward, autistic kid struggling with the fact that murder investigations do not follow the rules of polite society!
Also, OMG Fanny and Edmund Bertram may have actually been more annoying and pious than they were in Mansfield Park!
I know enough about Wickham that I had guessed why he was murdered long before the reveal and there was so much chat about people's wardrobes that I also guessed who. I was invested enough in everyone's marriage problems, though, that guessing the murder didn't ruin the book for me.
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Definitely recommended to the Austen fans, like me, who can't resist a spin-off or retelling.
Also, OMG Fanny and Edmund Bertram may have actually been more annoying and pious than they were in Mansfield Park!
I know enough about Wickham that I had guessed why he was murdered long before the reveal and there was so much chat about people's wardrobes that I also guessed who. I was invested enough in everyone's marriage problems, though, that guessing the murder didn't ruin the book for me.
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Definitely recommended to the Austen fans, like me, who can't resist a spin-off or retelling.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, Grief, and Murder
Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
This one started funny, descended through some homophobic jokes and wound up annoyingly twee!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia and Mental illness
How Winston Delivered Christmas: A Christmas Story in Twenty-Four-and-a-Half Chapters by Alex T. Smith
adventurous
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0