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rcsreads's reviews
720 reviews
Trespasses by Louise Kennedy
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The Last Witch of Scotland by Philip Paris
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
3.0
It was fine. I wasn't really motivated to pick it up and was just reading it to finish it. I think the fact I've visited the witch stone in Dornoch, and seen a play about the women, and thus knew how their story ended removed any sense of suspense or jeopardy. I didn't care enough about the fate of the troupe for them to draw me in more.
The writing is pretty basic and YA feeling and it rushed through the actual witch trial with minimal focus on the consequences or emotions of it.
The modern part at the end was awful and twee.
The writing is pretty basic and YA feeling and it rushed through the actual witch trial with minimal focus on the consequences or emotions of it.
The modern part at the end was awful and twee.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Child death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, and Police brutality
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
Did not finish book. Stopped at 15%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 15%.
Libby wait list too long. Listening to different edition on Spotify.
Tales of the Tattooed: An Anthology of Ink by
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
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? It's complicated
4.0
I enjoyed this collection but it was mainly detective stories and wasn't especially weird.
Sylvia's Lovers by Elizabeth Gaskell
adventurous
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Sylvia has two lovers, a sexy seaman called Charley and her cousin Philip who is a total A-hole.
This one takes a while to get going and there is an unreasonable amount of whaling chat in the 1st half, although I did enjoy Sylvia's dad bragging about how he rode a whale in his youth. My man Napoleon is lurking in the backdrop and the press gang cause Sylvia no end of trouble with her men. Once it gets going there's all kinds of unbelievable coincidences and heartbreak and then, having made you hate Philip, Gaskell tries to redeem him. Sylvia may have forgiven him in the end but I never will!
Not Gaskell's best but I did enjoy it, it made me cry, and for being over 400 pages I got through it pretty quick.
This one takes a while to get going and there is an unreasonable amount of whaling chat in the 1st half, although I did enjoy Sylvia's dad bragging about how he rode a whale in his youth. My man Napoleon is lurking in the backdrop and the press gang cause Sylvia no end of trouble with her men. Once it gets going there's all kinds of unbelievable coincidences and heartbreak and then, having made you hate Philip, Gaskell tries to redeem him. Sylvia may have forgiven him in the end but I never will!
Not Gaskell's best but I did enjoy it, it made me cry, and for being over 400 pages I got through it pretty quick.
The Unwomanly Face of War by Svetlana Alexiévich
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
The House on the Borderland by William Hope Hodgson
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Kiki's Delivery Service by Eiko Kadono
adventurous
funny
inspiring
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? No
5.0
The Breaking Point: Short Stories by Daphne du Maurier, Sally Beauman
dark
mysterious
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? Yes
4.0
Jungle House by Julianne Pachico
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Thanks very much to Serpents Tail for sending me a copy Jungle House to review. It's out on the 2nd November and I loved it.
.
I sped through this one in a couple of days, it's very fast paced, intriguing and well written. The relationship between Lena and Mother is so interesting and has all the hallmarks of a clingy mum; complicated relationship; coming of age type story but the mother is an AI who Lena relies on for all news and contact with the outside world. I loved that we didn't get any information on the outside world from anyone outside the bubble of Jungle House. I love an unreliable narrator and by the end I wasn't sure if the rebels even existed or were ever a threat. I had so many theories about where Isabella had gone (they were all wrong) and at times suspected every character both human and AI. Mother is precisely why I refuse to have a smart speaker! What if it evolves!
As speculative fiction the world of Jungle House is wholly believable. But the book is equally about human relationships and whether we can really trust the people we rely on, even when they're all robots. I particularly enjoyed the chapters we got from each of the AI perspectives. Silvana and Alfonso's part in particularly was so endearing and I had a wee tear for them.
.
I sped through this one in a couple of days, it's very fast paced, intriguing and well written. The relationship between Lena and Mother is so interesting and has all the hallmarks of a clingy mum; complicated relationship; coming of age type story but the mother is an AI who Lena relies on for all news and contact with the outside world. I loved that we didn't get any information on the outside world from anyone outside the bubble of Jungle House. I love an unreliable narrator and by the end I wasn't sure if the rebels even existed or were ever a threat. I had so many theories about where Isabella had gone (they were all wrong) and at times suspected every character both human and AI. Mother is precisely why I refuse to have a smart speaker! What if it evolves!
As speculative fiction the world of Jungle House is wholly believable. But the book is equally about human relationships and whether we can really trust the people we rely on, even when they're all robots. I particularly enjoyed the chapters we got from each of the AI perspectives. Silvana and Alfonso's part in particularly was so endearing and I had a wee tear for them.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Death, Violence, and War