dhatislandbookworm's reviews
225 reviews

Little Rot by Akwaeke Emezi

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dark fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

We Are Watching Eliza Bright by A.E. Osworth

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Wanna know what the inside of an incel’s head sounds like? It’s literally this. 

This book was a wild rollercoaster. And though we spent most of the book in the head of an incel, it was actually intriguing to see the thought process into WHY they treat Eliza the way they do. 

Surprise: there’s no reason. They just fucking feel like it. 🙃
The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis

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dark emotional medium-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? It's complicated

3.5

The Night of Baba Yaga by Akira Otani

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dark fast-paced

1.0

I almost DNF’d this multiple times. 

The first time was at 4%, but I let it slide because of the time period it’s set in. 

The second time however, the ONLY reason I didn’t DNF was because I had ~35 minutes left in the audiobook.
 
Baba Yaga is brutal. There is gratuitous violence towards women, which I already expected based on the blurb. However, the sheer amount of it just felt like an excuse to be cruel. Especially because the audiobook is only 4 hours long. 
 
And once we got to that 80% mark? Yeah, no. It completely lost me. 
 
The characters are one-dimensional, the entire plot felt rushed, and the end was confusing. 

Anyway, this book serves no purpose ✌🏾 
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Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle

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dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Honey: A Novel by Isabel Banta

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emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

A book about a rising pop star navigating fame in the early aughts? Sounds like my cup of tea. However, by the end, I found myself asking, “Ok? That’s it???” 
 
The synopsis claims that Honey sets out to “redefine the narratives of some of the most famous pop icons.” I was ready for a fresh, nuanced takedown of an industry that has been known to exploit its talent. But therein lies the problem: it’s scared push the envelope to do so. 

I appreciated the integration of articles, interviews, and Genius entries, but Honey seems to bury itself in this nostalgia to divert from the fact that it’s not saying anything that we haven’t been for the last decade. Because of this, it just feels like an underwhelming, lengthy “Behind the Music” episode. 
 
By the 50% mark, I knew how the book would end and only finished because it didn’t meet my DNF threshold. 

Amber was an ok main character and had some excellent introspective moments, but I had a hard time connecting with her motivations. I don’t even think she knew what her motivations were, so I didn’t have a reason to root or care for her. The one thing I will say is that it did tackle the narrative of media-created cattiness between female artists well. 

If you actually want a not-so-fictionalized mish-mash of stories based on 90s + 00s pop stars, then this is for you. But honestly, you’re better off just reading a memoir. 
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Camp Prodigy by Caroline Palmer

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emotional inspiring lighthearted fast-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? Yes

5.0

This was so cute! I loved the character development in Tate and Eli and the cute found family they formed. The art was beautiful, the characters so vibrant, and the discussions of gender and mental health easy to understand for the target audience. I loved it!
Puzzled: A Memoir of Growing Up with OCD by Pan Cooke

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emotional hopeful informative reflective fast-paced

5.0

As someone that had undiagnosed OCD, this graphic novel validated the experiences that I was having! The intrusive thoughts, late night spiraling, reassurance seeking, all of it! I’m so glad this exists because it made me feel less alone. 

This would also be a great book to put into schools’ curriculum as a basic understanding of how OCD works. 
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Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong

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adventurous medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

A Wolf Steps in Blood by Tamara Jerée

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dark mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Can a body of work somehow be too short for its own good? 
 
I enjoyed the prose and the way Jerée was able build such an atmospheric setting with compelling lore. However, I think where A Wolf Steps In Blood falls short is that it IS a novella! 😭 
 
I felt myself yearning for more everytime things got juicy, but knew I wouldn’t get it because of the page count. This honestly had more than enough potential for things to be explored in a longer format! 
 
Additionally, because this used the fated mates trope, it meant that the romance moved at a break neck speed. Though the swiftness of their bond is briefly acknowledged, the story still suffered from pacing issues and unexplained plot elements. 

I’m hoping that Jerée returns to this world for a full-length novel because it deserves it. 
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