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slaywithsteph's reviews
190 reviews
Chlorine by Jade Song
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Competitive school swimmer + queerness + mermaid pyschosis = Chlorine.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Self harm, Blood, Medical trauma, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha
Following the lives of four Korean women, this book is a slice-of-life without much plot. There’s little character growth but ample character exploration.
As a non-Korean, I cannot say if the author successfully details the obsessive — and sometimes surgery-heavy — world of Korean beauty standards, but it feels realistic to me.
However, what really brought it down for me was the book felt unbalanced in that I’m not sure why Wonna’s story existed in this. It’s not that she wasn’t interesting; it’s that she felt out of place with the other characters. Though, I do love the concept of a girl down the hall being included, it just felt like her entire storyline was so jarringly different, it felt like she was piece-mealed into the book. Maybe a fourth POV could have tied her in better? But I digress.
I went in with zero expectations, and so I was startled by several moments throughout the book. It took me until the final chapters to even realize this was likely a slice-of-life book, so I spent a lot of time wondering where the plot was going to come in.
Overall, I think Cha succeeded in what she wanted to do with the three main characters, and I very much appreciated how relaxing this was to read.
dark
emotional
hopeful
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I would live my life so much better than you if I had your face.
Following the lives of four Korean women, this book is a slice-of-life without much plot. There’s little character growth but ample character exploration.
As a non-Korean, I cannot say if the author successfully details the obsessive — and sometimes surgery-heavy — world of Korean beauty standards, but it feels realistic to me.
However, what really brought it down for me was the book felt unbalanced in that I’m not sure why Wonna’s story existed in this. It’s not that she wasn’t interesting; it’s that she felt out of place with the other characters. Though, I do love the concept of a girl down the hall being included, it just felt like her entire storyline was so jarringly different, it felt like she was piece-mealed into the book. Maybe a fourth POV could have tied her in better? But I digress.
I went in with zero expectations, and so I was startled by several moments throughout the book. It took me until the final chapters to even realize this was likely a slice-of-life book, so I spent a lot of time wondering where the plot was going to come in.
Overall, I think Cha succeeded in what she wanted to do with the three main characters, and I very much appreciated how relaxing this was to read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Dysphoria, and Classism
Korean beauty standards, beauty standards
Misery by Stephen King
challenging
dark
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Gun violence, Car accident, and Dysphoria
Moderate talk of death of infants, killing of infants
Big Little Spells by Hazel Beck
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, and Sexism
Moderate: Animal death, Toxic relationship, Stalking, and Toxic friendship
Antiasexualism
You Shouldn't Have Come Here by Jeneva Rose
Grace Evans, an attractive city woman, visits a ranch in the middle of nowhere to get away from her busy city life and gets a little cozy with her host Calvin, an attractive cowboy. However, there’s a locked door, a missing woman, a sheriff snooping around and an angry ex that complicate the love budding between Grace and Calvin.
I don’t know if it’s the sheer number of horror/thriller movies, television shows and books that I’ve consumed, but I find myself knowing the ending at the very beginning, so the twists in this one weren’t really all that surprising to me.
That said, I love the red herrings thrown in and at least twice, I thought, “Huh, maybe I’ll be wrong and so-so will be the killer.”
The book flops between Grace and Calvin’s POV, and I found this enjoyable and adding to the fun and mystery.
The love story (and triangleish?) was cringey and meh. It was more of a lust plot than love, in my opinion, and there was a little of smut.
It’s good for what it is, but if you’re not a fan of cringe and lust stories, I suggest steering clear, because you have to wade through half the book before the thriller part of the plot kicks in.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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
3.0
They say love makes you blind. This wasn’t love though. This was lust, and it makes you downright stupid.
Grace Evans, an attractive city woman, visits a ranch in the middle of nowhere to get away from her busy city life and gets a little cozy with her host Calvin, an attractive cowboy. However, there’s a locked door, a missing woman, a sheriff snooping around and an angry ex that complicate the love budding between Grace and Calvin.
I don’t know if it’s the sheer number of horror/thriller movies, television shows and books that I’ve consumed, but I find myself knowing the ending at the very beginning, so the twists in this one weren’t really all that surprising to me.
That said, I love the red herrings thrown in and at least twice, I thought, “Huh, maybe I’ll be wrong and so-so will be the killer.”
The book flops between Grace and Calvin’s POV, and I found this enjoyable and adding to the fun and mystery.
The love story (and triangleish?) was cringey and meh. It was more of a lust plot than love, in my opinion, and there was a little of smut.
It’s good for what it is, but if you’re not a fan of cringe and lust stories, I suggest steering clear, because you have to wade through half the book before the thriller part of the plot kicks in.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Death, Gore, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Stalking, and Alcohol
Disorientation by Elaine Hsieh Chou
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Unhinged. This is the unhinged version of Yellowface. The plot which stirs the pot is ridiculously hilarious but the journey I took with Ingrid was not.
Where she began in a pool of her own internalized racism, she emerged with eyes wide open. Where she once made herself smaller, she reclaimed her space. Where she began unsure, she became certain. Where she began meek, she ended strong.
This is a book that I will remember.
Where she began in a pool of her own internalized racism, she emerged with eyes wide open. Where she once made herself smaller, she reclaimed her space. Where she began unsure, she became certain. Where she began meek, she ended strong.
This is a book that I will remember.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia
Moderate: Bullying, Police brutality, Alcohol, and Deportation
Minor: Gun violence and Misogyny
Small Town, Big Magic by Hazel Beck
adventurous
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Emberson Wilde talks to herself with the same attitude every young (and more experienced) woman should: Full of self-confidence and power. It’s such a jarring difference from my own self talk, which is often insecure and self-deprecating, I initially felt a sense derision, but this is how we should feel about ourselves.
The main character is a HBIC, and she means business. Once she finds herself casting magic without meaning to and discovers her memories have been altered, Emerson — Em — takes the task of saving her town in stride. And why would she stumble anyways? Wildes always rise.
This was a fun, lighthearted tale of magic and witches and a mysterious imbalance to the natural order of things. I plan to read the sequel, too.
The main character is a HBIC, and she means business. Once she finds herself casting magic without meaning to and discovers her memories have been altered, Emerson — Em — takes the task of saving her town in stride. And why would she stumble anyways? Wildes always rise.
This was a fun, lighthearted tale of magic and witches and a mysterious imbalance to the natural order of things. I plan to read the sequel, too.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny and Sexism
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Death and Terminal illness