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sarahdm's reviews
156 reviews
Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski
adventurous
medium-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? No
2.5
Misogynistic at its worst and boring at its best, Blood of Elves fit in with the other books of this mediocre series just fine.
The first half of the book is just "Four Witchers and a Baby" which I feel like could be really fun if we weren't constantly bombarded with reminders of how weak woman are because of their periods and the none stop sexualization of a 13 year old child. Not to mention the other 2 women in the book being jealous of said 13 year old. Both Triss and Yen are just being horrible caricatures of a bitchy, overly sexualized woman. They don't have any character trait passed "Down bad for Geralt and will scratch out the eyes of anyone who gets in my way." Sapkowski is completely incapable of writing a good female character or creating an environment where a potentially interesting female character could thrive. But I think I have complained enough about this in my review for Sword of Destiny.
The other half is fantasy racism and politics. It was so incredible boring. I could not get invested at all. At least in The Last Wish, the action and story was interesting enough to at least pay attention.
Also what the hell happened to the writing? Sapkowski is relying very heavily on dialog in this one, its a miracle when we get a description of anything (besides breasts of course, we get PLENTY of descriptions for that). We are also constantly jumping around from different characters and different time line. Like this is so obviously Ciri's book but we kept being all over the place. And the ending being "but little did they know of the dark times ahead. Anyway, the end!" Lazy. I know Sapkowski can do better than this.
Lambert and Dandelion's bits were great. These are characters I actually really enjoyed. Ciri was also great, I just wish she wasn't put though Sapkowski's writing.
2-2.5 stars.
The first half of the book is just "Four Witchers and a Baby" which I feel like could be really fun if we weren't constantly bombarded with reminders of how weak woman are because of their periods and the none stop sexualization of a 13 year old child. Not to mention the other 2 women in the book being jealous of said 13 year old. Both Triss and Yen are just being horrible caricatures of a bitchy, overly sexualized woman. They don't have any character trait passed "Down bad for Geralt and will scratch out the eyes of anyone who gets in my way." Sapkowski is completely incapable of writing a good female character or creating an environment where a potentially interesting female character could thrive. But I think I have complained enough about this in my review for Sword of Destiny.
The other half is fantasy racism and politics. It was so incredible boring. I could not get invested at all. At least in The Last Wish, the action and story was interesting enough to at least pay attention.
Also what the hell happened to the writing? Sapkowski is relying very heavily on dialog in this one, its a miracle when we get a description of anything (besides breasts of course, we get PLENTY of descriptions for that). We are also constantly jumping around from different characters and different time line. Like this is so obviously Ciri's book but we kept being all over the place. And the ending being "but little did they know of the dark times ahead. Anyway, the end!" Lazy. I know Sapkowski can do better than this.
Lambert and Dandelion's bits were great. These are characters I actually really enjoyed. Ciri was also great, I just wish she wasn't put though Sapkowski's writing.
2-2.5 stars.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny and Sexism
The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-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
3.0
I have mixed feelings.
IWTV felt like it had direction and purpose, driven by its singular voice. While “The Vampire Lestat” feels like its all over the place. At one point Lestat is telling a story he heard from a vampire, who heard it from another vampire, who heard it from another vampire, and it’s like “What, who is talking right now?” Honestly some of these characters feel like they should have just had their own book (Marius, Magnus, Nicolas, Gabrielle, Armand) and Lestat is just tacked on so they have something tying them (loosely) together. Rice seems so much more interested in telling her own vampire lore and OCs backstories then anything else. I really liked IWTV because it used the lense of the vampire to muse on humanities great questions, that gothic, moody tone that Lestat attributes to “Oh that’s just Louis’s character/voice.” Which I guess is fine but tt kind of only makes me interested in books that are going to be in Louis’s “voice.” I liked the beginning and Lestat’s origins because it felt more like IWTV but after that (right around we get to the Children of Darkness) this book absolutely goes off the rails. I absolutely lost my shit when Marius was like “Yeah my good friend Jesus is a vampire. In fact, ALL GODS are actually vampires.” LMAO, I could not take anything serious after that, not to mention the rock star portions.
I am also absolutely devastated that Louis went back to Lestat in the end. It feels like the very faint theme of loneliness was just thrown out the door. I also feel like the ending should have us asking how reliable of a narrator are Lestat and Louis. I don't trust any of these queens.
Not sure if I will continue this series. I have read that Rice stopped using an editor after Queen of the Damned, so I might give this series one more chance with the next book.
IWTV felt like it had direction and purpose, driven by its singular voice. While “The Vampire Lestat” feels like its all over the place. At one point Lestat is telling a story he heard from a vampire, who heard it from another vampire, who heard it from another vampire, and it’s like “What, who is talking right now?” Honestly some of these characters feel like they should have just had their own book (Marius, Magnus, Nicolas, Gabrielle, Armand) and Lestat is just tacked on so they have something tying them (loosely) together. Rice seems so much more interested in telling her own vampire lore and OCs backstories then anything else. I really liked IWTV because it used the lense of the vampire to muse on humanities great questions, that gothic, moody tone that Lestat attributes to “Oh that’s just Louis’s character/voice.” Which I guess is fine but tt kind of only makes me interested in books that are going to be in Louis’s “voice.” I liked the beginning and Lestat’s origins because it felt more like IWTV but after that (right around we get to the Children of Darkness) this book absolutely goes off the rails. I absolutely lost my shit when Marius was like “Yeah my good friend Jesus is a vampire. In fact, ALL GODS are actually vampires.” LMAO, I could not take anything serious after that, not to mention the rock star portions.
I am also absolutely devastated that Louis went back to Lestat in the end. It feels like the very faint theme of loneliness was just thrown out the door. I also feel like the ending should have us asking how reliable of a narrator are Lestat and Louis. I don't trust any of these queens.
Not sure if I will continue this series. I have read that Rice stopped using an editor after Queen of the Damned, so I might give this series one more chance with the next book.
I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
3.0
TL;DR Its an okay written summary of Jennette’s childhood and womanhood traumas. This book is not about her journey to healing but more of a declaration to start healing.
Honestly, this book was a slog for about the first 100 pages. While Jennette is young, her writing is simple. Its hard to engage with. As you read on she gets angrier, her thoughts are more complex. Its like her writing is aging with her, maturing as you turn the page. I really struggle with those first 100 pages. I felt disconnected from the trauma, kept at arms length. Then as we enter the teens and young adult phases of her life, I’m actually enjoying the book as she really dives deep into what shes feeling. Her writing isn’t groundbreaking buts its tolerable enough to no longer distract me from the actual content of the book.
There is a lot of emotions on display. Mostly anger, hopelessness, suicidal ideation, grief, emptiness. Something in Jennette’s story will be relatable to you as she goes through the universal and unique hardships of womanhood and childhood abuse. But at the end of the day those emotions are all thats here. This isn’t the journey of healing you think it is, but the declaration of the attempt to start healing.
There were times this book was down right boring. The trauma is not hard to read or harrowing like some reviewers say. But I also don’t see this as an entitles celebrity who’s just complaining as other reviewers think. It just kind of feels like life’s normal bullshit that happens to a lot of us. The abusive parent, the OCD, the body issues, the alcohol problems, issues with relationships and sex. These are not uniquely celebrity problems. Which is either gonna pull you in or bore you to tears.
The title and blurb really give you the whole picture all by itself. I think I could have skipped this one.
Honestly, this book was a slog for about the first 100 pages. While Jennette is young, her writing is simple. Its hard to engage with. As you read on she gets angrier, her thoughts are more complex. Its like her writing is aging with her, maturing as you turn the page. I really struggle with those first 100 pages. I felt disconnected from the trauma, kept at arms length. Then as we enter the teens and young adult phases of her life, I’m actually enjoying the book as she really dives deep into what shes feeling. Her writing isn’t groundbreaking buts its tolerable enough to no longer distract me from the actual content of the book.
There is a lot of emotions on display. Mostly anger, hopelessness, suicidal ideation, grief, emptiness. Something in Jennette’s story will be relatable to you as she goes through the universal and unique hardships of womanhood and childhood abuse. But at the end of the day those emotions are all thats here. This isn’t the journey of healing you think it is, but the declaration of the attempt to start healing.
There were times this book was down right boring. The trauma is not hard to read or harrowing like some reviewers say. But I also don’t see this as an entitles celebrity who’s just complaining as other reviewers think. It just kind of feels like life’s normal bullshit that happens to a lot of us. The abusive parent, the OCD, the body issues, the alcohol problems, issues with relationships and sex. These are not uniquely celebrity problems. Which is either gonna pull you in or bore you to tears.
The title and blurb really give you the whole picture all by itself. I think I could have skipped this one.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica
2.0
TL;DR: If this is your first "what if people are food" story I think you'll have a great time. However, if you have explored this story genre before its going to be a boring, tedious read. This book honestly just doesn't go hard enough into the disturbing for me.
The book is divided into part one (119 pages) and part two (89 pages). Part one is a walking tour of "this is how the world would work if people were food." When you hear this premises, you already get the idea how it works especially if you have explored this genre before or know anything about how cattle/livestock is processed. So having a walking tour of this idea was boring for me. At parts other readers found "horrifying" I just kept thinking "yes of course that's exactly how that would work" and not really batting an eye. I feel like if this is your first time exploring the people food question, then this part is probably great and satisfyingly disturbing.
Part two is where things start to ramp up. The acts and displays of a man eat man society start to get a little more disturbing but still not disturbing enough to really hit enough to be called "chilling" or "gut-churning." I would say out of the whole book, maybe 2 or 3 sentences really struck a nerve with me.
Some positives: I do think the book is really well written. And while I don't think the themes go well with the setting, exploring "words as a way to disguise reality" was enjoyable enough. I'm not a big fan of how we are kept at arms length from the main character but its not a mark against the book. The book is not preachy regarding the idea of "eating meat is bad" as some other reviewers seems to think. Its honestly not even a theme at all in the book.
Overall, wouldn't recommend. There are other stories that explore this idea better and with more thought.
The book is divided into part one (119 pages) and part two (89 pages). Part one is a walking tour of "this is how the world would work if people were food." When you hear this premises, you already get the idea how it works especially if you have explored this genre before or know anything about how cattle/livestock is processed. So having a walking tour of this idea was boring for me. At parts other readers found "horrifying" I just kept thinking "yes of course that's exactly how that would work" and not really batting an eye. I feel like if this is your first time exploring the people food question, then this part is probably great and satisfyingly disturbing.
Part two is where things start to ramp up. The acts and displays of a man eat man society start to get a little more disturbing but still not disturbing enough to really hit enough to be called "chilling" or "gut-churning." I would say out of the whole book, maybe 2 or 3 sentences really struck a nerve with me.
Some positives: I do think the book is really well written. And while I don't think the themes go well with the setting, exploring "words as a way to disguise reality" was enjoyable enough. I'm not a big fan of how we are kept at arms length from the main character but its not a mark against the book. The book is not preachy regarding the idea of "eating meat is bad" as some other reviewers seems to think. Its honestly not even a theme at all in the book.
Overall, wouldn't recommend. There are other stories that explore this idea better and with more thought.
I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
3.0
TL;DR Its an okay written summary of Jennette’s childhood and womanhood traumas. This book is not about her journey to healing but more of a declaration to start healing.
Honestly, this book was a slog for about the first 100 pages. While Jennette is young, her writing is simple. Its hard to engage with. As you read on she gets angrier, her thoughts are more complex. Its like her writing is aging with her, maturing as you turn the page. I really struggle with those first 100 pages. I felt disconnected from the trauma, kept at arms length. Then as we enter the teens and young adult phases of her life, I’m actually enjoying the book as she really dives deep into what shes feeling. Her writing isn’t groundbreaking buts its tolerable enough to no longer distract me from the actual content of the book.
There is a lot of emotions on display. Mostly anger, hopelessness, suicidal ideation, grief, emptiness. Something in Jennette’s story will be relatable to you as she goes through the universal and unique hardships of womanhood and childhood abuse. But at the end of the day those emotions are all thats here. This isn’t the journey of healing you think it is, but the declaration of the attempt to start healing.
There were times this book was down right boring. The trauma is not hard to read or harrowing like some reviewers say. But I also don’t see this as an entitles celebrity who’s just complaining as other reviewers think. It just kind of feels like life’s normal bullshit that happens to a lot of us. The abusive parent, the OCD, the body issues, the alcohol problems, issues with relationships and sex. These are not uniquely celebrity problems. Which is either gonna pull you in or bore you to tears.
The title and blurb really give you the whole picture all by itself. I think I could have skipped this one.
Honestly, this book was a slog for about the first 100 pages. While Jennette is young, her writing is simple. Its hard to engage with. As you read on she gets angrier, her thoughts are more complex. Its like her writing is aging with her, maturing as you turn the page. I really struggle with those first 100 pages. I felt disconnected from the trauma, kept at arms length. Then as we enter the teens and young adult phases of her life, I’m actually enjoying the book as she really dives deep into what shes feeling. Her writing isn’t groundbreaking buts its tolerable enough to no longer distract me from the actual content of the book.
There is a lot of emotions on display. Mostly anger, hopelessness, suicidal ideation, grief, emptiness. Something in Jennette’s story will be relatable to you as she goes through the universal and unique hardships of womanhood and childhood abuse. But at the end of the day those emotions are all thats here. This isn’t the journey of healing you think it is, but the declaration of the attempt to start healing.
There were times this book was down right boring. The trauma is not hard to read or harrowing like some reviewers say. But I also don’t see this as an entitles celebrity who’s just complaining as other reviewers think. It just kind of feels like life’s normal bullshit that happens to a lot of us. The abusive parent, the OCD, the body issues, the alcohol problems, issues with relationships and sex. These are not uniquely celebrity problems. Which is either gonna pull you in or bore you to tears.
The title and blurb really give you the whole picture all by itself. I think I could have skipped this one.
She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan
2.0
TL;DR: Wildly disappointing. Set myself up to dislike this by reading the words "Mulan meets The Song of Achilles." The main character is so poorly executed while the foil character is excellently done. The book probably should have only been about him. While stunningly written, do not recommend.
The main problem with She Who Became the Sun is its two main characters: Zhu the main character and her foil the eunuch Ouyang.
The comparison to The Song of Achilles is completely inaccurate. While the character work is wonderfully done, the relationships between the main character and their love interest is so nonexistence that I was surprised that this is being compared to such an iconic queer romance. There is more chemistry between friends then there is between the married couple. The other "couple", the eunuch and their love interest, is tragic and a lot more interesting. If you are interest in unrequited angst with zero romance then you'll definitely enjoy those parts (along with all the gut punch in chapter 15). But because the book compares itself to Song of Achilles, I was expecting actual romance. This marketing comparison really set me up to be disappointed.
Also, this book explores a lot of gender ideas and feelings. In the amab eunuch characters, feelings of gender dysphoria, misgendering, and gender queerness are investigated. In this character I feel the queer exploration was done really well. In the afab main character I feel like I am suppose to be reading it as a trans journey. However, through 80% of the book the main character adamantly identifies as a woman in disguise. Its not until chapter 19, when I'm already pretty disappointed in the "tran's narrative" that it even starts to become one which it is then rushes.
Another mark against this book is its pacing. The book will lovingly take its time with precious character moments but then gloss over huge plot points. Important events and choices will take place entirely off screen. I kept having to re-read to make sure I didn't accidently miss something.
A positive: The book is beautifully written. Its really poetic and when it does take the time to pause and describe scenes, its done stunningly.
The only thing keeping me reading is the actual interesting and well written character eunuch Ouyang as well as a small handful of interesting side characters. Its probably a good thing that the next book will be focused on him.
The main problem with She Who Became the Sun is its two main characters: Zhu the main character and her foil the eunuch Ouyang.
The comparison to The Song of Achilles is completely inaccurate. While the character work is wonderfully done, the relationships between the main character and their love interest is so nonexistence that I was surprised that this is being compared to such an iconic queer romance. There is more chemistry between friends then there is between the married couple. The other "couple", the eunuch and their love interest, is tragic and a lot more interesting. If you are interest in unrequited angst with zero romance then you'll definitely enjoy those parts (along with all the gut punch in chapter 15). But because the book compares itself to Song of Achilles, I was expecting actual romance. This marketing comparison really set me up to be disappointed.
Also, this book explores a lot of gender ideas and feelings. In the amab eunuch characters, feelings of gender dysphoria, misgendering, and gender queerness are investigated. In this character I feel the queer exploration was done really well. In the afab main character I feel like I am suppose to be reading it as a trans journey. However, through 80% of the book the main character adamantly identifies as a woman in disguise. Its not until chapter 19, when I'm already pretty disappointed in the "tran's narrative" that it even starts to become one which it is then rushes.
Another mark against this book is its pacing. The book will lovingly take its time with precious character moments but then gloss over huge plot points. Important events and choices will take place entirely off screen. I kept having to re-read to make sure I didn't accidently miss something.
A positive: The book is beautifully written. Its really poetic and when it does take the time to pause and describe scenes, its done stunningly.
The only thing keeping me reading is the actual interesting and well written character eunuch Ouyang as well as a small handful of interesting side characters. Its probably a good thing that the next book will be focused on him.
Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey
4.0
Upright Woman Wanted is exactly what is says on the tin: "an explicitly antifascist, near-future story of queer identity." All of Sarah Gailey's books are treasured queer comfort reads, and this one is no exception.