Do you ever read a book and can understand the characters thoughts, fears, and goals so intrinsically it’s like they were an extension of you? Yeah, wDo you ever read a book and can understand the characters thoughts, fears, and goals so intrinsically it’s like they were an extension of you? Yeah, well that was how Old Wounds played out for me. I cannot begin to explain how much this story meant to me. To hear and read the different perspectives of Erin and Max and to both understand them and learn a new side of identity and gender issues was the most impactful part of this story. The horror was perfectly executed— not in the literal cryptid itself, but the people Erin and Max had to face. The raw fear and violations they both faced added to the sort of “if you know, you know” feeling of it all.
There isn’t much I can critique other than confusing text in certain places. A tightening up of some sentences and scenes would do this book immense justice. But I also have aphantasia so do with that what you will.
Speaking of my favorite thing ever, Old Wounds passed the aphantasia test! Despite the confusion in some places, it was so easy to get into and understand what the characters looked like (even the cryptid), what the places looked like, and the general vibes of the story.
I don’t want to make it seem like the 2.5 star rating makes this look like a bad book, which it really wasn’t. It just needs a little… shaping.
As perI don’t want to make it seem like the 2.5 star rating makes this look like a bad book, which it really wasn’t. It just needs a little… shaping.
As per usual, I’d love to start with the highlights. It’s clear this author did her research for the kingdom of Zorvyaka. Despite the world building being mildly confusing and eyebrow raising at times, the inspirations of Russia and the Romanov days were not lost on me. From the snowy landscape to the hierarchy of power, it was, more or less, executed well. I can’t really say anything about Basadesh as, well, it simply wasn’t the focus of this book! I would’ve loved it if there *was* more focus but I understand why, since it’s to come in later editions.
A few things I appreciate greatly that surprised me was how easy it was to slip into this book, Arjun and Eldrin were in their late 20s (as far as I’m concerned are their actual ages) which is more of a rarity in LGBTQ books! and how mildly invested I found myself in their relationship. I couldn’t explain it to you but those gay men had a slight pull on me idk man.
Now onto the critiques. Where is Chekhov and why did his gun not go off? I’m talking about the incident at the beginning of the book where Eldrin crafted that potion of sorts with the goats hair. It would’ve been so interesting to see how something as “simple” as a this be used later on at the climax of the story.
The world building was my biggest gripe in The Spy Prince of Basadesh. - The fundamental question of “Why are we at war?” wasn’t fully answered/alluded to. Why are Basadesh and Zorvyaka at war? What are the political motives apart from the obvious of “they’ve invaded us/we invaded them”? If these were answered in some regard, they were completely lost on me. Also, why does it seem like only the people of Basadesh are called discriminatory terms (like dogs)? I’m sure Basadesh would’ve come up with equally discriminatory terms for the people of Zorvyaka… since they’re at war… - When bringing up mythology such as Griffins and Unicorns, they need to make some sort of sense as to how they fit in to the overall world, seeing as those two examples have folk tales, fables, and myths from many different cultures. It doesn’t leave a good taste in my mouth when the world building doesn’t take into account how these types of things fit into itself. Also the casual mentions of God, heaven, and hell made me questioning if this was *our* world or a fantasy world.
Next thing on the chopping block isn’t a full critique, it’s mainly just grammar and spelling errors. Aldrin got a good chuckle out of me. (Also not a full critique but why were the sex scenes some of the most memorable scenes of the whole book LOL)
Looping back to Arjun and Eldrin, I almost wish we got less of them. There was a great opportunity to deal with how it feels to fall in love with the enemy, falling for a “servant”, and similar internal discussions. The enemy dynamic should’ve lasted a lot longer than 30% into the book.
Final rambling! The general flow and plot was a little wonky, but I got the main jist. It felt very touch and go— a quick important scene followed by a longer, more drawn out, and ultimately less important scene.
Passed the aphantasia test! At some points it was hard to know what was going on/where the characters were but overall it was relatively easy to understand where we were, the scenery, what the characters looked like, and other visual components.
I kinda got lazy writing this towards the end idk if you can tell loll
You know a book tested me when I feel the need to start a review with “Lord, where do I begin?”
The premise of “Don’t Let the Forest in” is an interestYou know a book tested me when I feel the need to start a review with “Lord, where do I begin?”
The premise of “Don’t Let the Forest in” is an interesting one, what would happen if the monsters in our head became real? Interesting enough! Let me start with the positive, CG Drews can CRAFT the arcs to a story. Even though this book really tested me, I couldn’t put it down, and, to me at least, that proves this authors knows the ebbs and flows of their own story. More or less, lol. In the last ~15%, there were a lot, and I mean a lot, of plot twists. So much so I felt they were starting to become unbelievable. BUT! The final one was wonderful. Chefs kiss. I became so invested in the progression and unraveling of this final twist. The way Drews wrote the raw emotions the characters were feeling and the actions taken was one of my favorite parts of the book. I wish the entire story was comprised of similar moments of raw spiraling.
Positives over… Before we begin with ANY kind of discussion about the story itself, one must be aware that Andrew isn’t just written as an asexual but also aromantic (to some regard) even though the author themselves makes no mention of this. Let’s review our terminology. Asexual = little to no sexual attraction. Aromantic = little to no romantic attraction. Both are spectrums, which is something actually discussed in the book! (Just asexual, though.) Claiming a character only asexual while mixing in aspects of aromanticism is just… I don’t even know. Andrew says very clearly he doesn’t experience sexual attraction. Cool, he’s asexual! And also doesn’t get crushes. Cool, that’s apart of aromanticism. Ace people can still get crushes! Please do not conflate these two identities together!! If you don’t know just research something!!! Please!!!! This aspect of the books is going to cause further confusion and misinformation surrounding the aro-ace spectrums. Please get aroace sensitivity/beta reader or editor. A very small number of people (three, including myself…) have talked about this, proving my point about misinformation continuing.
Other than that! Much of this book needs an overhaul or an editor. Probably the latter. In order for this not to be a jumble of words, I’ll try my best to keep this concise. One of my biggest issues with this book is the repetition. From devil kissed curls to mud, it all felt too much. There was a lot of repetition in the way metaphors and the contents within them were written too. A lot of bones, teeth, vines, ribs, blood, etc were employed to give a certain vibe to the overall feel of the story… and I found it quite frankly irritating the more I progressed. Drews is a wonderful writer, no doubt about that, but I wish they would’ve taken more risks within the writing of Don’t Let the Forest in. Varied sentence structure/length, switching up the flow of literary devices, tweaking descriptions of characters/scenes/events, things like that are what I feel would benefit the more from a little more… oomph.
Moving away from discussions of sexuality and repetition, I’d like to bring up the topic of bullying and discrimination within Don’t Let the Forest In. I dont know how to articulate this the way I want but I’ll try my best. WHY IS ANDREW DISCRIMINATED AGAINST MORE THAN THE QUEER WOMEN OF COLOR?? Thank you. Now, I’m not trying to say that Australians in American schools don’t get bullied for having a foreign accent, different manors of speech, etc, etc, but you cannot sit there, look me in my eyes, and tell me with your whole heart and soul that Andrew gets called “Vegemite boy”? I’m going to leave it at that. The more “realistic/believable”(?) discrimination came to in the form of remarks by Bryce at Andrew and Thomas about them being queer. For some reason, these came up less than Andrew’s Australian identity… Final piece in this segment. Why was there just a random, casual nod to slavery/indentured servitude? Roughly paraphrasing here but the line read something to the effect of “The small halls were a relic of past days when servants had to quickly get around so as to not disturb the lord of the manor.” It’s such a small detail that’s I’m surprised I even noticed it, but it just bugged me. To have the setting be in middle-of-nowhere Virginia and to bring this up with no reason other than to make a nod to the schools past usage felt like an interesting choice, to say the least.
For my final bit of ramblings, I need to bring up the amount of plot holes, things that just didn’t make sense, and things that made me cock my left brow and sigh. *Slight spoilers from here on out*!! - Thomas and Andrew’s relationship beginning the book. Why do I care that they’re fighting? We, the readers, just met them and have no context as to what their relationship was prior to their fight. We’re only told that they’re best friends, not shown! By chapter seven they’re on a full blown fight and I couldn’t understand why I was supposed to care. - Why are the monsters never actually explained? Were they real, or just something out of the traumatized psyches of Andrew and Thomas? Where did they actually come from? And more coming up right after our commercial break. But in all seriousness, I’m left wanting much more explanation and world building. You cannot “leave something up to interpretation” if there’s lackluster explanation and nothing tied into it. - There were two big “plot points” that didn’t make sense or tie into the narrative at all. Those being: Thomas’s abusive parents and Andrew’s eating disorder. Both were thrown into the story clumsily and it read like an early draft of work where you’re writing stuff to jog your memory later to fully flesh it out. - Late time I checked, one cannot cut teeth on ribcage bones but… you do you ig - This one was just funny to me but “She probably thought him a bigot” my guy JUMPED at a pride flag ofc she’s gonna think you a bigot smh. In such a story as this with the language being serious, having such a modern term will throw the reader off, and possibly make the laugh… However, I did enjoy the discussion of not feeling “gay enough” to participate in something as simple as GSA! Very good. Needed more of that. - Stuttering… I’m good, no thank you. (Honorable mentions: stuff like SLAMSLAMSLAM.) - Flowery and very pretty, yet ultimately meaningless and confusing, language. My aphantasic ass couldn’t even conjure anything for what the damn monsters looked like. - And finally, telling right after showing. Yeeowch
All in all, I caught myself saying “You can’t just say perchance” too many times to count.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC!
If there’s one thing you should take away from this book, it is ABSOLUTELY the themes and message Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC!
If there’s one thing you should take away from this book, it is ABSOLUTELY the themes and message surrounding death and grief.
The Other Ones is a great tale for teens who are struggling with the complexities that come along with a loss of any kind. Salem and Asha’s characters portray the anger, emptiness, confusion, self-sufficiency, and joy that come with processing and dealing with loss magnificently. There was a delicate balance of being stuck within yourself and letting the passage of time take you throughout The Other Ones that I felt drove the overall theme home.
After reading a few reviews, this seems to come up as a point of contention with the book, but I for one enjoyed the guise of the paranormal, feeling it to be an apt cover up for what was really going on beneath the surface. It didn’t feel like I was being “lead on” by this book and what story it wanted to tell, mainly because it’s kinda obvious this isn’t a genuine “haunting” and more so the aftermath of a family who has gone through an unresolved death. (Also employing the use of the paranormal as a means of telling this story was an excellent choice, as it can truly feel like you’re “haunted” after a loss.)
I do wish we got a little more with the side characters and their developments as friends, Sal’s discovering his sexuality, and generally a bit more “meat” at the end of the book. The ending felt conclusitory enough, it just left me wanting a little bit more.
Despite that, let me gush about Sal and Pax and the coziness of this book for just a moment. This was such a pleasant, casually queer read! I absolutely adored every minute of Sal and Pax’s relationship and how it developed. (Pax had the coziest room I’ve ever read and I am JEALOUS!) They were so so cute!!!
I’m so excited to see where Fran Hart goes with her writing career because DAMN was this a great debut book. All in all, loved The Other Ones and I will be picking up a physical copy upon release. (Can’t believe I read this in less than 48 hours…)
Archives, space, heists— what more could you want? For being Yume Kitasei’s sophomore novel, she really, truly hit it out of the park! If this book nevArchives, space, heists— what more could you want? For being Yume Kitasei’s sophomore novel, she really, truly hit it out of the park! If this book never wins an award or some kind of accolade for the absolute craftsmanship, love, world building, and care that went into it, you’ll be hearing from me. EASILY going on the list as one of my favorite reads of 2024. The world of The Stardust Grail, despite being set in a futuristic, sci-fi world, felt incredibly real and fleshed out. The different species, the planets, nodal system, artifacts, and history all felt as if I was reading directly from the accounts of the people experiencing the story, and not just from the book. The characters felt so real and fleshed out, even if they played a minor role in the grand scheme of things (like Pickle. I loved Pickle.) Not just the characters themselves but the dynamics each one found themselves a part of. Auncle and Maya, Maya and Liam, Medix and Wil, Medix and Maya, just to name a few of my favorites. The way each character clashed and meshed with each other made The Stardust Grail just that much better. My only problems with the book were at times it felt a bit wordy, not purple prose-y, but hard to follow, and I wish we got some more information on the predominant illness. Other than those minor issues I had, I can only applaud Kitasei for taking on the task of wearing as many hats as it takes to create such a thorough, thoughtful sci-fi novel. I could talk about this book all day long. It means so much to me. ENDLESS love for The Stardust Grail. 5/5 ...more
We Shall be Monsters takes a spin on the classic theme of “Good versus Evil” in a wonderful web of Indian mythology, nods tWHEW was that a good book!!
We Shall be Monsters takes a spin on the classic theme of “Good versus Evil” in a wonderful web of Indian mythology, nods to Frankenstein, an unlikely traveling group, and probably one of the best parts of this book, Kuuta.
The characters were very well rounded and fairly complex! Dalbir’s personality was my favorite, so full of life and laughter. Love you Dalbir. I cannot wait to see where their adventures take them in the next book and to see all of their development! Especially Virtika’s. Praying that there’s more of her in the sequel.
Fighting through thoughts and experiences of “What makes someone good?” and “What marks the difference between a human, a demon, and something in the middle?” are what made We Shall be Monsters as rich as it was fantastical.
My only issues were with certain scenes being paces oddly and at times it seemed as if we arrived at point B from A with minimal explanation as to how we got there. Around the beginning and ~70% mark I felt these to be the “worst” spots of it, but I use that word very lightly as it was never a glaring issue.
Overall, this was a fantastic book and I’m eagerly awaiting the sequel! 4.5/5...more
I enjoyed this book very much! It was a solid read. The Madness was enthralling from start to finish, and if you know me, you know how hard it is for mI enjoyed this book very much! It was a solid read. The Madness was enthralling from start to finish, and if you know me, you know how hard it is for me to stay focused on a book. The vast amounts of stories that carry so much substance in this 160-page book were the highlight of my reading experience. Not to mention the breaks in story-telling for our narrator to spill some of his insanity onto us was such a fun and clever choice! I cannot wait to see where Phillips takes his writing career, because this was a damn solid first book! 3.5-4/5...more
Solid book of poetry! I found it to be pleasant. Terrell does a good job of weaving simple questions that have simple answers along with more complex,Solid book of poetry! I found it to be pleasant. Terrell does a good job of weaving simple questions that have simple answers along with more complex, deeper topics together to make something of a great variety of poetry. Normally I am not a fan of more “contemporary” “insta-style” poetry, (just not my cup of tea,) but I found the sheer variety of styles and mix of topics delightful, as that is something I’ve yet to find in more modern/contemporary poetry. Overall, I felt that the message these poems brought to the table was: What a simple thing it is to love yourself. The world will be undyingly cruel, but we don’t have to follow that, internalize it. We can still be kind. I do, however, wish there was more of the complex, highly descriptive poetry, as I feel those are his strongest. 3/5...more
I am going to begin with what I liked in this book as there were things I genuinely enjoyed!
- The aspeThank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC!
I am going to begin with what I liked in this book as there were things I genuinely enjoyed!
- The aspects and discussions we got on opium drew me in. I am an absolute sucker for these types of stories (ex. when Meiya’s addiction was, albeit briefly?, explored and it shows the many faces of how addiction affects both the person and those around them.)
- I also found intriguing (when Ruyuing wasn’t commenting on Antony’s jade green eyes) the parts we got about the absolute hell Er-Lang is in. In these instances, although it’s from a 1st person perspective, it’s clear we’re telling a story of brutal colonization, death, and destruction.
- The last thing that sticks out is Baihu’s character, as I found his to be the most interesting and do wish he had more opportunities on the page. While there are a plethora of gripes I have with this book, his character is not one of them. (Baihu save me… save me… save me Baihu)
MOVING ONTO MY GRIPES!!! (and my, there are plenty to go around. I definitely won’t be able to touch upon them all, but I’ll do my best.) - First and foremost, this is straight up a colonizer romance and a VERY abusive one at that (naturally, those type of relations are going to be but 1.) this is my first, hopefully last, colonizer romance and 2.) I have no idea the usual threshold for… those types of behaviors in these books.) - I do not think the marketing was appropriate at all. Calling this a (not verbatim) “true enemies to lovers'” and a “star crossed lovers” was… definitely a choice. I did, however, think the ending, where Baihu shows Ruying all the plentiful awful things Antony has done to her, her family/friends, and her people, was a good way to show this so desperately needed wake up call for her.
- Besides that, the world building was lacking. Maybe this’ll be something expanded on in the future books in this series, because it really did not make sense at a first glance. Fictional Medieval (?) China named Er-Lang with minimal defensive forces (weapons, etc) and Rome (like the real life Rome) that colonizes Er-Lang from a sky portal and has very advanced artillery and military. - Maybe I got that wrong? Let me know because I genuinely don’t know how to explain this world in a way that makes sense. The amount of times a car just showed up and I had to pause a moment cause I was still in Er-Lang in my head… too many.
- Back to Ruying and Antony for just a moment, apologies for my scatterbrain-like review. I was not expecting the egregious amounts of green eye mention, (shout out to all my jade-green eyed people i guess lmao) and it seemed to come out of nowhere, like we get it, the white dude has green eyes… can we get back to the darker themes now??
Anyways, overall this book left me feeling really disappointed as it was one of my more highly anticipated books of 2024 This had a lot of potential if the romance simply did not. Exist. I can only hope the rest of the series will pivot completely and stay true to what the ending of this book showed. I swear one day I will win in picking ARCs to read. Until then I’ll just stew in my mild disappointment. 2/5 ...more
I received an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!
Alright, I have a lot of thoughts…
At the very beginning I was quite excited, as I I received an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!
Alright, I have a lot of thoughts…
At the very beginning I was quite excited, as I love the original Carmilla and (most of) its retelling, but as I progressed throughout the book, so many things fell completely flat on their face. There were too many instances to count where the plot simply wasn’t making sense anymore, dialogue felt awkward (dead), or a theme introduced was completely dropped and then picked back up again.
I have a slight bone to pick with calling this a Carmilla retelling/reimagining as there wasn’t much calling back to the original Carmilla other than the characters and vampirism. Even with the characters from the original source, it felt like this was just using their names and nothing about the actual characters. Laura’s flip flopping between “innocent southern girl” and “completely domineering powerhouse” both gave me whiplash and confused me, primarily due to the fact that Laura’s character simply isn’t like that. A similar sentiment with De Lafontaine and Carmilla, both felt much out of character for what was trying to be accomplished. And the odd choice to attempt a critique/condemnation on student/teacher relationships? Fell far too flat for what I assume was trying to be attempted.
Carmilla and Laura’s rivalry felt half baked at best and if I stuck a toothpick in it, the toothpick would come up all gooey and make you feel sad inside. Now, I normally love a good “enemies to lovers” but when the buildup is so… lacking and one half of the novel they’re at each others necks, fighting for the attention of their professor, and then the next half they suddenly find comfort and solace in each other, it’s a bit hard for me to get into.
Again, the out of character-ness of it all is my BIGGEST gripe. If you’re going to retell a story, please, for the love of me, make the setting, actions, and behavior of the characters and how they fit into the overall story make sense.
Reading this was like watching a car crash. I wanted to stop but I just couldn’t. If I had to lay my eyes on the words “slick folds” one more time I fear I would have gone insane.
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