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Post by havekrillwhaletravel on Nov 10, 2023 9:13:28 GMT -6
Title: Fingersmith Author: Sarah Waters Genre: historical What do you think of it?I'm just about to begin reading this one today, so I have no opinion yet. Will update later. Anyone read it? Recommend it?n/a I'm looking forward to your thoughts about it! I read Fingersmith a while ago. The first third of the book was amazing. The atmosphere was delicious. Her prose was evocative, and she has a satisfying rhythm to her writing. And I loved the MC's struggle with her morality and her emotions. I loved how she was stumbling in the dark, forced to make choices and assumptions with the incomplete information she's given. The story up to then had built up so much goodwill ...
that the rest of the book gradually pummels to dust. I was SO DONE by the end. It's hard to get into why without spoilers, but I found the pacing and plotting to be such a total trainwreck. I really wish the book had ended in the first-third.
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Post by RAVENEYE on Nov 10, 2023 9:43:38 GMT -6
For sure! Interview is not a restful book for a brain that needs escape and recuperation, no doubt about it. Agatha Christie is fun to read though (or similar whodunits). Ooo, how did you get hold of an ARC? I joined NetGalley! Used my tiktok account that has 20k followers to boost my appeal. Dunno if it matters, though. You then request ARCs through Netgalley and you may or may not be approved. They you can get them digitally through the netgalley app. I can't tell which causes me to gape bigger - that you got to join NetGalley (hurray!) or that your tiktok account has 20k followers (holy moly!). |
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Post by RAVENEYE on Nov 10, 2023 9:47:55 GMT -6
Title: Fingersmith Author: Sarah Waters Genre: historical What do you think of it?I'm just about to begin reading this one today, so I have no opinion yet. Will update later. Anyone read it? Recommend it?n/a I'm looking forward to your thoughts about it! I read Fingersmith a while ago. The first third of the book was amazing. The atmosphere was delicious. Her prose was evocative, and she has a satisfying rhythm to her writing. And I loved the MC's struggle with her morality and her emotions. I loved how she was stumbling in the dark, forced to make choices and assumptions with the incomplete information she's given. The story up to then had built up so much goodwill ...
that the rest of the book gradually pummels to dust. I was SO DONE by the end. It's hard to get into why without spoilers, but I found the pacing and plotting to be such a total trainwreck. I really wish the book had ended in the first-third.
Aw man! That's discouraging b/c I'm only about 60 pages in and I'm loving it. I figured Sue would have tough decisions ahead b/c what she's setting out to do is just awful. And I know what I WANT to happen at this point, but will it??? Yet I also noticed how thick the book is, and thought wow, this story has to get a bit more complicated to justify that many pages. So I guess we'll see if I end up with the same conclusion you have. |
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Post by Alatariel on Nov 11, 2023 23:28:51 GMT -6
I joined NetGalley! Used my tiktok account that has 20k followers to boost my appeal. Dunno if it matters, though. You then request ARCs through Netgalley and you may or may not be approved. They you can get them digitally through the netgalley app. I can't tell which causes me to gape bigger - that you got to join NetGalley (hurray!) or that your tiktok account has 20k followers (holy moly!). I think just about anyone can join! You can always try.  And my tiktok is all about Cleo, our medical journey with her, the NICU, cerebral palsy, physical therapy, etc...it's mostly grandma's who follow and root for her. It's really sweet. <3 |
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Post by havekrillwhaletravel on Dec 1, 2023 2:57:17 GMT -6
Title: The Dangers of Smoking in Bed Author: Mariana Enriquez Genre: Horror?
What do you think of it?
CW: Mentions child abuse
This short story collection, and Mariana Enriquez, has received a LOT of hype online. So when I saw Amazon had a sale on this book, I snagged it up. This is such a frustrating collection and I don't understand all the praise it's gotten.
The prose is mediocre. Apart from a few flashes of brilliance (usually the stories end with a whomper of a finishing line) and the title story, the writing is unmemorable. It doesn't feel "considered"; it lacks colour or style or anything really. There's also the collection's fixation on gentrification and shock tactics (a strange scatalogical obsession?, child abuse) which are brought up without any real reflection, or insight. They just feel completely superficial.
The worst example of this is Rambla Triste - a story where the ghosts of homeless children trap and inflict misery on a city's current inhabitants. The story brings up gentrification, but it's not explored in any meaningful way. It's just a vaguely ... bad ... thing. There's also a tired litany of suffering the homeless children experienced that just feels sordid and tawdry. I just felt so manipulated, like these topics were brought in to prop up and inflate meaning into an otherwise sloppily written, unremarkable story. And these fixations end up cheapening the parts of the collection where I DO like.
For instance, there's Kids Who Come Back - a story about homeless children suddenly reappearing, but there's something ... off about them. It's weird, it's interesting, it explores how we continue to fail those who slip through the cracks even when given a second chance. Yet it's bogged down by the first half - almost 20 minutes (by my Kindle's estimation) of tiredly recounting the suffering and misery the homeless children go through.
Recommend it? It's frustrating because there ARE stories that I really liked. The title track is strange and poignant. There's The Well and The Lady Upstairs which are powerful, dark explorations of selfishness. There's Meat and Where Are You, Dear Heart? which are just weird. But to get to these, you have to wade through some utterly dull stories, a lot of bland writing and constantly cheap attempts to make those dull stories more important and shocking than they actually are.
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Post by RAVENEYE on Dec 1, 2023 10:43:42 GMT -6
Title: The Dangers of Smoking in Bed Author: Mariana Enriquez Genre: Horror?
What do you think of it?
CW: Mentions child abuse
This short story collection, and Mariana Enriquez, has received a LOT of hype online. So when I saw Amazon had a sale on this book, I snagged it up. This is such a frustrating collection and I don't understand all the praise it's gotten.
The prose is mediocre. Apart from a few flashes of brilliance (usually the stories end with a whomper of a finishing line) and the title story, the writing is unmemorable. It doesn't feel "considered"; it lacks colour or style or anything really. There's also the collection's fixation on gentrification and shock tactics (a strange scatalogical obsession?, child abuse) which are brought up without any real reflection, or insight. They just feel completely superficial.
The worst example of this is Rambla Triste - a story where the ghosts of homeless children trap and inflict misery on a city's current inhabitants. The story brings up gentrification, but it's not explored in any meaningful way. It's just a vaguely ... bad ... thing. There's also a tired litany of suffering the homeless children experienced that just feels sordid and tawdry. I just felt so manipulated, like these topics were brought in to prop up and inflate meaning into an otherwise sloppily written, unremarkable story. And these fixations end up cheapening the parts of the collection where I DO like.
For instance, there's Kids Who Come Back - a story about homeless children suddenly reappearing, but there's something ... off about them. It's weird, it's interesting, it explores how we continue to fail those who slip through the cracks even when given a second chance. Yet it's bogged down by the first half - almost 20 minutes (by my Kindle's estimation) of tiredly recounting the suffering and misery the homeless children go through.
Recommend it? It's frustrating because there ARE stories that I really liked. The title track is strange and poignant. There's The Well and The Lady Upstairs which are powerful, dark explorations of selfishness. There's Meat and Where Are You, Dear Heart? which are just weird. But to get to these, you have to wade through some utterly dull stories, a lot of bland writing and constantly cheap attempts to make those dull stories more important and shocking than they actually are.
This is a really effective review. So effective that it's caused me to reflect on whether the stuff I'm editing right now commits the same sins. Keen readers like yourself catch things that casual readers don't, so this is really informative. Some of those critical things to keep in the wings and watch for as I edit scene by scene.  I'd heard great things about this collection, so ... Too bad we can't just download some of the stories and not the rest... But, then, different stories will appeal to different people. Imma add it to my reading list for future purchase, cuz I gotta read it for myself now. That said, I'm about halfway through Fingersmith, just after the POV switches to Maud, and I'm still fascinated with the story. I expected some kind of twist like what happened at the end of Part 1, but did NOT expect Maud to be nearly this deceitful and nasty. Mind blown. What does Part 3 have in store for these three crooked characters? I bet they all end up in the noose. That, or Sue and her gang give Gen'leman and Maud their comeuppance. I hope. Don't tell me! No hints. I want to be totally surprised. |
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Post by havekrillwhaletravel on Dec 5, 2023 21:37:27 GMT -6
This is a really effective review. So effective that it's caused me to reflect on whether the stuff I'm editing right now commits the same sins. Keen readers like yourself catch things that casual readers don't, so this is really informative. Some of those critical things to keep in the wings and watch for as I edit scene by scene.  I'd heard great things about this collection, so ... Too bad we can't just download some of the stories and not the rest... But, then, different stories will appeal to different people. Imma add it to my reading list for future purchase, cuz I gotta read it for myself now. That said, I'm about halfway through Fingersmith, just after the POV switches to Maud, and I'm still fascinated with the story. I expected some kind of twist like what happened at the end of Part 1, but did NOT expect Maud to be nearly this deceitful and nasty. Mind blown. What does Part 3 have in store for these three crooked characters? I bet they all end up in the noose. That, or Sue and her gang give Gen'leman and Maud their comeuppance. I hope. Don't tell me! No hints. I want to be totally surprised. Oooh, it'd be pretty cool to have a system for people to purchase individual stories out of a collection.
That first twist was amazing. I remember being so shocked at what happened, and I love the following section of the story when we revisit events from Maud's point of view. We get insight into her thoughts and personality, and we see just how mistaken Sue was.
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Post by Alatariel on Dec 6, 2023 17:10:29 GMT -6
Title: One Dark Window
Author: Rachel Gillig
Genre: YA Fantasy
What do you think of it?
Finished it in record time because, well, airplane. It was good! Compelling, interesting and mysterious magic, great main character, some romance, some mystery and intrigue. I'm on book 2 now so we'll see how the duology ends up. I like it, but I definitely saw the ending coming. It's my curse. I'm (almost) never surprised by a YA book ending.
Summary:
Elspeth needs a monster. The monster might be her.
Elspeth Spindle needs more than luck to stay safe in the eerie, mist-locked kingdom she calls home—she needs a monster. She calls him the Nightmare, an ancient, mercurial spirit trapped in her head. He protects her. He keeps her secrets.
But nothing comes for free, especially magic.
When Elspeth meets a mysterious highwayman on the forest road, her life takes a drastic turn. Thrust into a world of shadow and deception, she joins a dangerous quest to cure the kingdom of the dark magic infecting it. Except the highwayman just so happens to be the King’s own nephew, Captain of the Destriers…and guilty of high treason.
He and Elspeth have until Solstice to gather twelve Providence Cards—the keys to the cure. But as the stakes heighten and their undeniable attraction intensifies, Elspeth is forced to face her darkest secret yet: the Nightmare is slowly, darkly, taking over her mind. And she might not be able to stop him.
Dun Dun Duuuuuuun...(all of that happens in the first few chapters so I didn't spoil anything that's not on the back of the book, that's the Amazon summary)
Recommend it?
Sure! Good writing and good characters, what else could I ask for? Maybe the MC could've spilled the beans on her secret sooner because the whole "he wouldn't understand" bit is a little overdone. I'd LOVE to read a book where the main character has a secret and just...spills the beans really early on and then see the fallout/consequences play out. The whole "I feel so betrayed you kept this secret all this time" schtick is just tiring. However, it builds nicely into book two and I do look forward to how things will end up.
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Post by RAVENEYE on Jan 5, 2024 11:36:08 GMT -6
Two reading updates! 1. havekrillwhaletravel - I finished Fingersmith. Loved it. Poor Sue, duped by everybody. Yes, she meant to dupe somebody, but her faith in and love for the Master Duper until the end is just heartbreaking. The only part that disappointed was the end. So ... with all their new wealth, these two girls are going to spend their lives sitting around that horrible house reading and writing porn? That's it? Didn't leave me with a feeling of hope that they've actually escaped from much. But at least they have each other? The rest was brilliant, IMO. 2. I just finished A Head Full of Ghosts
Author: Paul Tremblay Genre: Horror What do you think of it?I'm used to reading Horror short stories, so reading a full-length horror novel feels like a step forward (or downward into the dark). My first impression is that A Head Full of Ghosts is "a comfortable horror story." Given the title, I expected ghost possession, in the tradition of A Turn of the Screw. But this was a modern cousin of The Exorcist. And after having survived watching that film and reading that book (as therapy after watching the film), it's hard to scare me with demon possession stories. That's why this was a "comfortable" read. It was packed with enough familiar things that I wasn't pissing my pants every five minutes or having nightmares. In other words, it didn't offer much new in the way of possession stories. Comfortably classic. It even pokes fun of the whole concept of possession literature in the form of "blog posts" that break down the possession genre and the reports of this particular possession in modern terms, which, honestly, give much needed breathing space between the violent, disturbing moments of the possession itself, while drawing out the tension and providing shocking foreshadowing. The other breakaway from The Exorcist was the ending. In a priceless article that follows up the novel (in which the author explains what horror is or ought to be, in his opinion), he poses the question "what happens to these people after the event? how do they get on with life after surviving such horrible things?" And that's how this story ends, with more horror of a different kind. No spoilers though. The flow and structure of the novel made for an effortless read. There's no belaboring anything. And I couldn't put it down. So I finished the novel in about 4 days, which is hugely odd for me, as it generally takes me a couple of weeks to sit through a novel. Recommend it?Sure. If possession horror is your thing, this is a treasure. |
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Post by RAVENEYE on Jan 18, 2024 15:16:12 GMT -6
Title: The Silent Companions Author: Laura Purcell Genre: Gothic/Historical Horror What do you think of it?Ooooh, I'm gonna tear this one to pieces! First, what did this novel do right? The ending. Endings of way too many stories disappoint me for a variety of reasons. This one stuck with its Gothic Horrorness to the end and didn't pull any "happily ever after" crap. Evil wins, yay! Now for why I didn't like this book. This story had soooo much potential. The opening couple of chapters had me hooked. A woman in an 1860s asylum who has suppressed the horrors she's been through and a doctor who must help her remember to save her from the gallows. Did she commit the crimes she's accused of or not? Then a dive into the past to learn what happened. A rundown estate, a village of people who fear said estate because of its "witch," creepy painted cutouts of people moving around on their own, a 1630s dairy full of secrets. What's not to love here? But I was surprised when the book was so skinny when I pulled it out of the box. Hmm, must be tight writing, I thought. But after those opening chapters, I started realizing the issue. Actually, 4 main issues that bugged the hell out of me: 1. TELLING. Soooo much telling. About a quarter of the way through I started circling all the uses of "felt/feel." Lists of emotions that the POV character was "feeling" from one moment to the next. This is one of my major pet peeves. Mainly because we're instructed OVER AND OVER not to do this. How did this author get away with this? Who the hell is her editor that she didn't say, "Hey, this is annoying. You can dig deeper than this." Because of this main issue, when the shit starts hitting the fan and the "companions" start showing up en masse, I started ROLLING MY EYES. Never what a writer wants their reader to do, right? (And this book is published by PENGUIN, for the love of ARGH!) Example: There was ONE scary chapter where the POV character is running down a dark corridor with these wooden things behind her, but seriously, even that is laughable. Just imagine it: People painted on wooden cutouts, so lifelike they are mistaken for real people until they're seen up close. "Oh, it's a painting!" Creepy and cool and unique, right? But then imagine these the things scraping along the floor, joggling side to side while chasing a human with legs--and somehow catching up with her. Bahahaaha!!! I can totally see how this idea might be inspired by a nightmare that woke the author up in a heart-pounding cold sweat. But it doesn't translate too believably into fiction. 2. modern languageThe decades we're dealing with here are 1860s and 1630s. The diary entries from the years before the English Civil War were especially annoying. These folks woulda been speaking almost like Shakespeare. Certainly more like the characters in Dafoe's novels. As a lit major, my studies in these eras are so thorough--I know what to expect! But we get all this modern style with a few words thrown in like "Fie!" "Perchance" and "aye" to remind us we're not in modern times. (at least Purcell didn't go so far as to use "okay" throughout *coughLydiaKangcough*). This issue leads to everyone sounding the same. I mean, should two characters living centuries apart write their stories with the same writing style/voice? Absolutely not. Elsie and Anne sound identical. Seriously? Every once in a while the text would include a teeny-tiny historical factoid to back up what was going on, and I'd be like "Oh, look, the author did a little research." Seriously, I thought that at one point. (So unlike Fingersmith where the details are so rich and entwined with the whole that you are THERE with the characters, you believe absolutely that you are in the 1800s.) 3. floating body partsWhen read in the frenzy of the action, things like this can be overlooked, but separated out like this, they're like  . I think this happens when an author is searching for an interesting way to say something ordinary and probably to avoid starting yet another sentence with "She" as in "She looked over her shoulder" and "She searched the room." 4. withholding
I get the repressed memory thing, but when a POV character is repressing memories and ALSO alludes to certain things she knows happened during that event but the thing is so disjointed that I'm left saying, "What does that even mean?" until the BIG REVEAL, there's withholding so that there can BE a big reveal, and it's contrived and irritating as hell. MY CONCLUSION: this novel HAD to have been written in a rush, without time to triple-check the prose and catch the crutches lazy writing employs. Recommend it?Nah.
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Post by Alatariel on Jan 18, 2024 16:55:24 GMT -6
RAVENEYE oh man, all the things you listed that bugged you about that book is kind of why I don't like Anne Rice. The whole book Interview with the Vampire is just him telling a story and it really ended up bugging me. And there were so many tangents in the story I couldn't figure out what's relevant and what wasn't... Title: Silver in the Wood and Drowned Country Author: Emily Tesh Genre: Light fantasy, both novellas What do you think of it?
I LOVED THEM. They're classified as cozy fantasy only because you know the ending will be happy, even when you're not sure somewhere in the middle. I loved the little mysteries, the little tastes of magic, the characters and world created... Quick reads, short novellas, definitely recommend between heavier reads. Recommend it?YESSSSSS
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Post by havekrillwhaletravel on Jan 19, 2024 7:58:37 GMT -6
4. withholding
I get the repressed memory thing, but when a POV character is repressing memories and ALSO alludes to certain things she knows happened during that event but the thing is so disjointed that I'm left saying, "What does that even mean?" until the BIG REVEAL, there's withholding so that there can BE a big reveal, and it's contrived and irritating as hell. Ohh, I haaaaaaaate that. Such an irritating way to introduce a "slow burn" and mystery, and all you want is just for them to GET. ON. WITH. IT.
I could feel your frustration in this review. I felt intrigued by the synopsis. It feels so unique, and it's a shame that the writing didn't feel like it was up to snuff.
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Post by RAVENEYE on Jan 19, 2024 11:34:23 GMT -6
4. withholding
I get the repressed memory thing, but when a POV character is repressing memories and ALSO alludes to certain things she knows happened during that event but the thing is so disjointed that I'm left saying, "What does that even mean?" until the BIG REVEAL, there's withholding so that there can BE a big reveal, and it's contrived and irritating as hell. Ohh, I haaaaaaaate that. Such an irritating way to introduce a "slow burn" and mystery, and all you want is just for them to GET. ON. WITH. IT.
I could feel your frustration in this review. I felt intrigued by the synopsis. It feels so unique, and it's a shame that the writing didn't feel like it was up to snuff.
I see what you did there! Argh!  |
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Post by RAVENEYE on Jan 19, 2024 11:35:44 GMT -6
RAVENEYE oh man, all the things you listed that bugged you about that book is kind of why I don't like Anne Rice. The whole book Interview with the Vampire is just him telling a story and it really ended up bugging me. And there were so many tangents in the story I couldn't figure out what's relevant and what wasn't... Title: Silver in the Wood and Drowned Country Author: Emily Tesh Genre: Light fantasy, both novellas What do you think of it?
I LOVED THEM. They're classified as cozy fantasy only because you know the ending will be happy, even when you're not sure somewhere in the middle. I loved the little mysteries, the little tastes of magic, the characters and world created... Quick reads, short novellas, definitely recommend between heavier reads. Recommend it?YESSSSSS Added to my wish list! |
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Post by Alatariel on Jan 26, 2024 11:35:08 GMT -6
Title: If We Were Villains
Author: M.L Rio
Genre: um....mystery/literary/suspense?
What do you think of it?
One of the absolute best books I've ever read and I'll never be the same again.
I want to preference this with: This book isn't for everyone and that's okay!! Also, it's not a thriller so don't expect the pacing to be that of a thriller. It's a Shakespearean tragedy in five acts.
It has a lot of Shakespeare interspersed. As the author says, the characters speak this sort of pidgeon english with Shakespeare quotes mixed into their speech patterns. It's pretentious and if you don't like or understand Shakespeare, the book will not be for you. The characters attend a prestigious arts university and our main characters are in their fourth and final year, so they've been fully immersed in Shakespeare for FOUR YEARS and it's been woven into their brains irreparably.
I don't want to say anything beyond what's in the blurb:
On the day Oliver Marks is released from jail, the man who put him there is waiting at the door. Detective Colborne wants to know the truth, and after ten years, Oliver is finally ready to tell it.
A decade ago: Oliver is one of seven young Shakespearean actors at Dellecher Classical Conservatory, a place of keen ambition and fierce competition. In this secluded world of firelight and leather-bound books, Oliver and his friends play the same roles onstage and off: hero, villain, tyrant, temptress, ingénue, extras.
But in their fourth and final year, good-natured rivalries turn ugly, and on opening night real violence invades the students’ world of make-believe. In the morning, the fourth-years find themselves facing their very own tragedy, and their greatest acting challenge yet: convincing the police, each other, and themselves that they are innocent.
Recommend it?
YES YES YES YES
However, I have a BA in theater from Berkeley. The Shakespeare pretentious didn't bother me, in fact I adored it because it was so relatable! Everything these characters went through is so close to my own experiences (minus the murder) being fully immersed in the theater world for yeeeeears. I've been in those exact classes. I've performed in or seen those exact plays. In fact, I was a witch in Macbeth TWICE. I've studied, performed, and obsessed over Shakespeare for many, many years. This book was written FOR ME. So I recommend it but also fully acknowledge it's not FOR everyone.
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And my tiktok is all about Cleo, our medical journey with her, the NICU, cerebral palsy, physical therapy, etc...it's mostly grandma's who follow and root for her. It's really sweet. <3
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