very cute retelling of emma that...ooh boy...really hits right to the core of the emma experience, which is horribly awkward secondhand embarrassment.very cute retelling of emma that...ooh boy...really hits right to the core of the emma experience, which is horribly awkward secondhand embarrassment. overall, really cute but not especially standout....more
a solid meh from me. i appreciate that anne came around and like started to really study and understand the theory behind gender identity but it sort a solid meh from me. i appreciate that anne came around and like started to really study and understand the theory behind gender identity but it sort of rubbed me the wrong way that the narrative entirely focused on her struggle with her son's transition? like at no point does she really truly acknowledge the harm she's done to her son's self esteem and mental health by rejecting his identity over and over, it's just like "wow this was sooooooo hard for me but i came around so we could have a relationship and now it's fine." like i think, actually, that we don't need any more narratives about parents reconciling with their child's identity?? we have enough?? i don't actually care how hard it is for them?? anyways, 2/5, wasn't really vibing with it....more
not a whole ton happening in terms of plot, but a very cute and quick modern vampire graphic novel! the art was super expressive in terms of linework not a whole ton happening in terms of plot, but a very cute and quick modern vampire graphic novel! the art was super expressive in terms of linework which i really enjoyed - and honestly i'll read pretty much anything silver sprocket puts out soooo...more
audiobook problem: just saw palamades' name written out for the first time and realized that his name is NOT in fact calamities sextus, which frankly audiobook problem: just saw palamades' name written out for the first time and realized that his name is NOT in fact calamities sextus, which frankly i think would've been cooler but OKAY.
anyways oh my god this was INCREDIBLE. if you have valid criticisms of it i simply do not care <3 i enjoyed it too much!! loved the plot, LOVED the dense and gothic and dramatic worldbuilding, loved all the twists at the end and the absolutely emotionally devastating ending, but most of all oh my god i loved the characters?? gideon was so much fun and a perfect narrative voice for the story that brought a needed touch of irreverent humor to a fairly bleak and brutal universe (reminding me a lot of The Last Wish or The Blacktongue Thief). harrow is my beloved light of my life unlikeable little monster and i adored her.
gideon and harrow's dynamic was so 100% perfect and exactly what i needed and i guarantee i'll be thinking about it for months. lesbian gothic space necromancer and her sworn cavalier who have known each other their entire lives and hated each other so long that it becomes a form of devotion in and of itself?? GOD i am so emotionally ruined over them
anyways yeah this was incredible it lived up to the hype pls read it ...more
i don't know how i hadn't heard ANYTHING about this since it came out but omg i'm glad i picked it up, this was SO GOOD. the lesbian fae fairytale seti don't know how i hadn't heard ANYTHING about this since it came out but omg i'm glad i picked it up, this was SO GOOD. the lesbian fae fairytale set in a sleepy little village with a darker edge of your DREAMS. the vibes reminded me a lot of Ash which is one of my favorite books of all time so of course it was an instant 5/5. the art really makes the story pop, with a soft, muted watercolor look and the most GORGEOUS dreamy flowing lines. the scene with the room full of crows is like my favorite panel in the entire book, it just works SO well. also this is a super quick read so there's zero reason to NOT read it right this second!!...more
i finished this ages ago and never really reviewed it because i wasn't sure how to articulate my thoughts on it but like, wow, holy fuck, jeanette wini finished this ages ago and never really reviewed it because i wasn't sure how to articulate my thoughts on it but like, wow, holy fuck, jeanette winterson never fails me <3 on the sliding scale of how esoteric her books get, this one - for me at least - lands squarely somewhere between Art and Lies and Lighthousekeeping, which worked SUPER well for me. i love the character dynamics, i love how the dialogue is written, i love the unexpected moments of hilarity woven between musings on love and time and physics. i love how in every single book she writes, the man characters are just the most deeply unlikeable people on the planet hahaha (excluding henri my beloved). just gorgeously written, although i'll admit that it took me ages to read because this one is DENSE. expect to be working your way through a few pages at a time - which is honestly the way to do it because there are so many gems in here. adored this book and adored buddy reading it with my partner in winterson crime, s!! 5/5 please read it immediately...more
as someone who was utterly obsessed with books in the vein of hatchet, this like spoke DIRECTLY to little me.queer hatchet queer hatchet queer hatchet
as someone who was utterly obsessed with books in the vein of hatchet, this like spoke DIRECTLY to little me. except little me, while also nonbinary, did NOT have the commitment to do all the survivalist research hahaha (i also didn't have a cool sporty dog best friend, rip). i think this is going to be a really important one for all the lonely nonbinary kids out there who feel most at home in the woods though, and that's really cool to see. shoutout jen wang, i wish this had existed when i was a kid...more
YES PERFECT!! god this was so much fun - i loooove the art style and the story concept and the characters and just in general it was good vib4.5 stars
YES PERFECT!! god this was so much fun - i loooove the art style and the story concept and the characters and just in general it was good vibes all around. huge fan. also all of the riffing on youth groups and evangelical churches was extremely on point and made me laugh every time. my only complaint was that it could've used a bit more time for the plot and characters to breathe, but since that's a common gripe with graphic novels i'm not too mad about it. ...more
i would've given this a higher rating but the main character was so insufferably quirky i couldn't manage it. please, god, i do not care about this sti would've given this a higher rating but the main character was so insufferably quirky i couldn't manage it. please, god, i do not care about this straight girl, or frankly any of these people, they're all SO ANNOYING. if i wanted to experience annoying american teenagers i would simply look outside my window <3...more
i've been a huge fan of rosemary valero-o'connell's work since reading Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me, so i was thrilled to see this illustratedi've been a huge fan of rosemary valero-o'connell's work since reading Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me, so i was thrilled to see this illustrated collection of poetry from them. the poetry is beautiful, but what really stood out to me was the artwork - lots of spacious multi-page illustrated spreads with gorgeous linework and colors. it also experiments pretty heavily with texture and collage elements that give it an organic, nostalgic feel. there's some beautiful words here, too. here's one of my favorites from the collection:
the summer, heavy-lidded, arrives with arms stoned in dew to teach me. hyacinths jewel the charred pavement, the city's pulse points doused in beer and lilac. with sweat-cooked bellies browning, salt in my laugh lines, it isn't hard to understand that my use is to stand in awe, witness to wonders that candy under my gaze, adored, to renew my vows to that hothouse flower asleep in my chest.
there is no sea between us, no serpent below, and if there's any part of me that can't remember that to love you is to feel the hands of a god pulling my hair back from my face then the sun has bleached it from my sight....more
YESSSSSSS THIS WAS SO GOOD!!! i love the concept so much and like the execution was just spot on. immediately engaging, great characters, the art is jYESSSSSSS THIS WAS SO GOOD!!! i love the concept so much and like the execution was just spot on. immediately engaging, great characters, the art is just incredible, and all of the backgrounds were pictures of a dollhouse the author got on fb marketplace??? that is SO genius and delightful. 10/10 would putty again...more
realest thing i've ever read. the absolute middle-of-blog-post spiral is in fact, exactly how i feel every time i attempt to cookrealest thing i've ever read. the absolute middle-of-blog-post spiral is in fact, exactly how i feel every time i attempt to cook...more
i mean it's a cool concept and all and the art was good but it felt so like...abstract and rushed that it just didn't have the emotional impact it neei mean it's a cool concept and all and the art was good but it felt so like...abstract and rushed that it just didn't have the emotional impact it needed? unfortunately, i felt much the same about Fruiting Bodies - but really liked The Hills of Estrella Roja! i think this is just an author who needs the breadth of a full book to really nail the emotional punch of a story. looking forward to seeing the next full length work from them...more
now me personally if a strange woman emerged from the woods barefoot with mushrooms and worms coming out of her feet i would NOT let her stay at my canow me personally if a strange woman emerged from the woods barefoot with mushrooms and worms coming out of her feet i would NOT let her stay at my campfire. actually that's a lie, i totally would, i would also die if this happened to me...more
i think this was even better than the first - just so cute and lovely and full of heart <3 i really love the parallel drama of the d&d storyline and ti think this was even better than the first - just so cute and lovely and full of heart <3 i really love the parallel drama of the d&d storyline and the characters' real life friendships and also the CHARACTER DESIGN!!! the art in general is just so adorable and lively, this really warmed my heart. a fantastic feel good read perfect for a summer afternoon :)...more
oooh yes this was stellar. looove the eerie, macabre, at times hilarious, and always completely raw and on point feel that lima brings to these storieoooh yes this was stellar. looove the eerie, macabre, at times hilarious, and always completely raw and on point feel that lima brings to these stories. a really masterful collection full of works that function well both as a loosely connected overarching narrative, as well as completely self-contained narratives.
a lot of these stories are lockdown stories as well which, despite being very grounded in the political sphere of 2020-2022, still feel very fresh and enjoyable to read despite the wealth of lockdown stories we've gotten since then. i love how the author draws parallels between US and brazilian politics, exploring both sides of the political dynamic with stories like [i]ghost story.[/i] i'm a huge sucker for autobiographical fiction too, and i really enjoyed how lima weaves memoir-style segments into and around the main stories. like, this is just so fucking excellent, please read it???
got this as an ARC and i'm so glad i was able to get my hands on it early because it was a THOROUGHLY enjoyable read! really impressive not only as a got this as an ARC and i'm so glad i was able to get my hands on it early because it was a THOROUGHLY enjoyable read! really impressive not only as a work of horror but also especially impressive given that it's the author's debut - leslie anderson is definitely one to watch!
i told basically everyone i knew about this while i was reading it and i have to say, getting to chant "horse horror horse horror horse horror" at people is extremely fun. i looooved that this was a horror book for horse girls because oh my god that is a niche i need more of?? also just did a fantastic job of exploring the ecology of small towns and how interwoven everyone's lives. while i can usually take or leave a lot of POVs, this worked really well to showcase the story from every angle and highlight the complex plot threads. the town almost takes on a life of its own, with the monster from the woods acting as a personification of the poverty and generational trauma that haunts everyone living there. it's just so well done and i am SO IMPRESSED.
reads super easily - it's just mystery/thriller enough to make it hard to put down while keeping the harsher edge of horror. the character development flows really well, too, in an almost untraceable arc - i went back to the beginning after finishing so i could underline a few quotes i liked and i didn't realize until i did that how much the POV of the main character, marshall, had changed. that's definitely a sign of a good author to me and i loooove an author who can manage character development and complex plots at the same time. and i mean, small-town rural folk horror with lots of horse gore and creepy forest monsters that also explores the opioid crisis and economic downfall of rural america AND lack of access to reproductive healthcare?? this could not be MORE specifically written for me. 10/10 i loved it and i highly encourage horror fans to check it out when it is released in august! ...more
SO cute. i mean it's tegan and sara AND everything tillie walden touches is gold - i could not imagine a more all star collab than this! an absolute dSO cute. i mean it's tegan and sara AND everything tillie walden touches is gold - i could not imagine a more all star collab than this! an absolute delight to read and i can't wait for the next one!...more
i have...conflicting feelings about this one. like okay, positives? - the art is GORGEOUS huge fan of the subtle, textured look w/ the muted color pali have...conflicting feelings about this one. like okay, positives? - the art is GORGEOUS huge fan of the subtle, textured look w/ the muted color palette - i love the contrast between the like explicit gore/sex rendered in the like cartoony geometric style w/ the muted colors. super good. LOVE it - i really liked the cult/folk horror-y elements and like, how the main character's just a puppet and no one knows and it's never explained lol - tillman. i just adore him
NEGATIVES. - like i'm not complaining about there being kink in this, i think kink has a place in art and also it's just a fascinating topic to explore through the lens of story. but also, it kinda just felt like the artist was throwing it in there as material to jack off to later HAHAHAH - it felt very. fanfictionized? like this was definitely made by a transmasc creator who is chronically addicted to tumblr and/or twitter and has a gore fetish and if you like that sure but that is NOT MY VIBE hahaha - the character development? nonexistent. the plot? ehhhh it's sorta there but mostly not. i guess my primary issue is that the whole story just felt so Pleased with itself that it never made an actual statement or impression on me? like it was trying realll hard to be sort of shocking and making a statement and it's like okay but what's the Point of this
but also i'm not like mad at it. it's going to hit for a lot of people and a lot of people will enjoy it but it's not my thing and that's cool! godspeed to the people who like it and as for me i just probably won't be reading any more work by this artist...more
at times borderline incomprehensible, but also like the VIBES were good!! also the art was just so lovely and i'm now very curious about the history oat times borderline incomprehensible, but also like the VIBES were good!! also the art was just so lovely and i'm now very curious about the history of this play it's based on....more
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