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unboxedjack's reviews
1260 reviews
The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown
Did not finish book. Stopped at 20%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 20%.
I got through 20% of this book and I would say that throughout 80% of the time I read that small amount, I was rolling my eyes. With a promise of being something akin to The Midnight Library and The Invisible Life of Addie Larue, two books I greatly enjoyed, I expected something unique, thoughtful, and, at the very least, readable. I'll give Brown credit for creating something unique here. I love a good story about books imbued with magic and the aftermath of this being discovered. Yet Brown's talents end there. Between his "man writing women" way of characterizing any female identified character (i.e., the protagonist and her friend yammering on about food, bodies, and weight as though that's all women care about), two-dimensional personalities of any character, and blandness of prose, this book was simply not enough to capture my attention. Brown struck me as an adolescent attempting to write like an adult. And perhaps that would work better as a middle grade book rather than something marketed towards adults, but it still wouldn't overshadow the fact that Brown simply seems to be unable at creating a readable or captivating story.
Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for an ARC copy.
Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for an ARC copy.
Big Machine by Victor LaValle
adventurous
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The Memory Librarian: And Other Stories of Dirty Computer by Janelle Monáe
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Jackal by Erin E. Adams
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Raising Steam by Terry Pratchett
funny
lighthearted
medium-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
2.5
The Crow Road by Iain Banks
emotional
funny
reflective
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? Yes
4.0
Mordew by Alex Pheby
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar
emotional
funny
reflective
slow-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? It's complicated
4.0
Martyr! centers around the life of Cyrus, a 20-something Iranian immigrant grappling with grief, sexuality, identity, and purpose. He learns of an Iranian artist, living in a museum as a final art piece as she dies from cancer. Intrigued and moved by this, he concocts the idea of writing a novel about martyrs, eventually choosing to embark on an impromptu trip to New York to meet the artist. In addition to his own voice, we get a collection of perspectives that add to Cyrus's story, though at times to detract. It felt like each of these voices could have been a separate novel unto themselves and could be, at times, a bit rushed. Cyrus's narrative was obviously the strongest, but I felt that the ending was a cobbled together pastiche of somewhat maudlin tropes, dangling precariously on the precipice of overt cheesiness.
Martyr! is an ambitious book by a promising writer. It's evident from the way it's written that Akbar's true home is within poetry, which certainly adds flavor to this story. He's able to imbue this story with some fairly accessible insights into existential inquiry, yet this is at the expense of plot. For starting off as strongly as it did, I was disappointed by the somewhat deus ex machina ending. Perhaps if this book was expanded to include more background on some of the side narratives it would've been a full 5/5 for me, but for now, I think this is a strong 4/5 stars. Thanks to Knopf and NetGalley for an ARC of this lovely novel.
Martyr! is an ambitious book by a promising writer. It's evident from the way it's written that Akbar's true home is within poetry, which certainly adds flavor to this story. He's able to imbue this story with some fairly accessible insights into existential inquiry, yet this is at the expense of plot. For starting off as strongly as it did, I was disappointed by the somewhat deus ex machina ending. Perhaps if this book was expanded to include more background on some of the side narratives it would've been a full 5/5 for me, but for now, I think this is a strong 4/5 stars. Thanks to Knopf and NetGalley for an ARC of this lovely novel.
The Fury by Alex Michaelides
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Character is plot; character is fate. The Fury takes these adages to heart and creates a story that is both predictable, yet twisty all at once. Taking its structure as a loosely formed play, The Fury comes in a set of five acts that do well in plotting out a murder mystery. The narrator is highly unreliable, yet in a welcome twist, is aware of this. This added a delightful element to this thriller that was welcome to making this story engaging. For as well as Michaelides does in crafting his stories, this Agatha Christie-esque plot was a bit too predictable. The characters he created did well in creating a plot, but the character is fate ethos that he begins the story with doesn't quite pick up as much steam. We see each character through the view of this unreliable narrator, which does add an element of mystery on top of this story, but ultimately allows the story to rely on fairly stereotypical characterizations.
The story centers on a murder among a group of friends on a Greek island. We quickly are told that rather than a "whodunit", this is a tale of "whydunit." Michaelides does well crafting a nice twist on the locked room sort of tale, but this falls a bit short when it comes to seeing how each character's personality dooms them. Though not as dynamic as The Silent Patient, The Fury is a fast-paced and enjoyable read, earning 3.5/5 stars from me. Thanks to NetGalley and Celadon for an ARC.
The story centers on a murder among a group of friends on a Greek island. We quickly are told that rather than a "whodunit", this is a tale of "whydunit." Michaelides does well crafting a nice twist on the locked room sort of tale, but this falls a bit short when it comes to seeing how each character's personality dooms them. Though not as dynamic as The Silent Patient, The Fury is a fast-paced and enjoyable read, earning 3.5/5 stars from me. Thanks to NetGalley and Celadon for an ARC.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Gore, Gun violence, and Murder
The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch by Philip K. Dick
challenging
reflective
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? Yes
2.25