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emilynied's reviews
302 reviews
Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I've now read two of Alice Feeney's books and I can for sure tell her writing style, which I think is really cool. She has a very distinctive way of developing her characters and building up that tension through flashbacks and unreliable narrators that is so fun to read in a mystery. I will say, I don't think I like the marriage mystery as much as I liked the systemic dynamic in "Sometimes I Lie" but it was still a fun one. I also listened to this on audiobook and it was also great to hear the different voices. Adam and Amelia are not super likeable main characters, but the story was for sure worth it.
Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-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
4.5
I'm so pleasantly shocked at how much I enjoyed this book. It's sci-fi and dystopian, which is usually right up my alley, but I don't usually connect with characters who care deeply about religion, and I didn't think that was going to change with this book, given it's age. However, I was proven wrong.
This book starts in July 2024, which happens to be the month and year that I picked it up - the start date was just days away from the actual date I started reading (woww). Their world is descending into madness and anarchy from drugs, disease, war and chronic water shortages. Lauren's community tries to salvage the remains of a culture through religion, but her small world is destroyed in the span of one night. Lauren is forced on the run out in the world with only two companions in a scary world. They make their way north, joined by more refugees on their way for a better future.
The actual prompting of the travel in this book happens almost halfway through, giving the reader over 100 pages to get a feel for Lauren's delicate life in the compound. We meet her father and step mother and her brothers, who stories are troublesome and heartbreaking. The reader is then wrenched away from this reality along with Lauren and we too are put on a path of hope and fear for her as the pages turn. The characterization as the characters travel and encounter new people is done so well and I could feel Lauren's thoughts and feelings jumping up from the page. She's such a complex character, and experiences this gender-bending phenomena that is nuanced and fascinating to me.
I found myself latching on to Lauren's hope and her own religion that she begins to craft on their journey - I think I warmed up to it because it wasn't approached as a religion, more as a way of thinking that became more and more informed by Lauren's own interactions and experiences with the world. The reader gets a front row seat. And it's not immediately accepted by her companions either; the reader listens to Lauren get grilled by pessimists and questioners and the way of thinking isn't forced on us at all.
After reading the summary of the second book, which came out only a couple years after the first, MAN, this book is so extremely relevant - like, it's actually scary how similar that summary sounds to our world today. I would really liked to continue with the series despite being fearful of its results. Would highly recommend this book to anyone, should be required reading.
This book starts in July 2024, which happens to be the month and year that I picked it up - the start date was just days away from the actual date I started reading (woww). Their world is descending into madness and anarchy from drugs, disease, war and chronic water shortages. Lauren's community tries to salvage the remains of a culture through religion, but her small world is destroyed in the span of one night. Lauren is forced on the run out in the world with only two companions in a scary world. They make their way north, joined by more refugees on their way for a better future.
The actual prompting of the travel in this book happens almost halfway through, giving the reader over 100 pages to get a feel for Lauren's delicate life in the compound. We meet her father and step mother and her brothers, who stories are troublesome and heartbreaking. The reader is then wrenched away from this reality along with Lauren and we too are put on a path of hope and fear for her as the pages turn. The characterization as the characters travel and encounter new people is done so well and I could feel Lauren's thoughts and feelings jumping up from the page. She's such a complex character, and experiences this gender-bending phenomena that is nuanced and fascinating to me.
I found myself latching on to Lauren's hope and her own religion that she begins to craft on their journey - I think I warmed up to it because it wasn't approached as a religion, more as a way of thinking that became more and more informed by Lauren's own interactions and experiences with the world. The reader gets a front row seat. And it's not immediately accepted by her companions either; the reader listens to Lauren get grilled by pessimists and questioners and the way of thinking isn't forced on us at all.
After reading the summary of the second book, which came out only a couple years after the first, MAN, this book is so extremely relevant - like, it's actually scary how similar that summary sounds to our world today. I would really liked to continue with the series despite being fearful of its results. Would highly recommend this book to anyone, should be required reading.
She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-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
4.25
Shelley! You're a genius! I really, really enjoyed this book. It felt like a mix of many of my favorite fantasy books - from "The Poppy War" and the traditional story of "Mulan," yet still managed to stand solely and strongly as its own work.
We open to a young girl with just her father and brother left, starving in 1345 China under harsh Mongol rule. Zhu Chongba, her brother, is given a fate of greatness, while she is given "nothing." The girl is not even given a name in the first part of the story. When bandits attack and her father is killed, Zhu Chongba succumbs to grief and she is left on her own, deciding to assume his identity and enter a monastery through pure will and grit.
This is where the story really begins to pick up, through her assumed identity as Zhu Chongba, one which the reader becomes comfortable with, and her capabilities as a monk and later, so much more. The transition to (what I consider) the third part of the book felt very stark to me and I do wish there was more of a transition there, especially because the reader is just pushed into a different timeline with very different characters. I struggled a bit to adjust and reorient myself with the world and the characters, so I had to bump my rating due to that.
Otherwise, once I got back into it, I GOT SO INTO IT. Our second POV character is Ouyang, a eunuch general (which I know know means a man that has been castrated). It's so interesting as Ouyang and Zhu certainly serve as foils to each other as they face each other in the fight over power - a man stripped of his manhood versus the woman taking power through her sexuality and masculin gender expression. They're not pretty characters and make some tough decisions to read through, but I appreciated the frankness and harshness of the read - it made it so much more powerful -- I MEAN THAT ENDING ZHU HOW COULD YOU.
I really loved Ma and her storyline and also Zhu's brother (who I'm forgetting the name of, whoopsie), who accept her for who she is despite the harsh traditional values of the world they live in. The exploration of fluid sexuality and expression (and gender dysphoria?) there was so, so interesting to me - I found it fascinating to read about and I love that they found love :) ALSO, am I the only one who caught the double meaning of the title?? (This could be stunningly obvious or I've discovered something so amazing all on my own) BUTT "she" who became the "sun" = son (as in the brother who's identity she assumed?! Am I right here? Someone please tell me.
We open to a young girl with just her father and brother left, starving in 1345 China under harsh Mongol rule. Zhu Chongba, her brother, is given a fate of greatness, while she is given "nothing." The girl is not even given a name in the first part of the story. When bandits attack and her father is killed, Zhu Chongba succumbs to grief and she is left on her own, deciding to assume his identity and enter a monastery through pure will and grit.
This is where the story really begins to pick up, through her assumed identity as Zhu Chongba, one which the reader becomes comfortable with, and her capabilities as a monk and later, so much more. The transition to (what I consider) the third part of the book felt very stark to me and I do wish there was more of a transition there, especially because the reader is just pushed into a different timeline with very different characters. I struggled a bit to adjust and reorient myself with the world and the characters, so I had to bump my rating due to that.
Otherwise, once I got back into it, I GOT SO INTO IT. Our second POV character is Ouyang, a eunuch general (which I know know means a man that has been castrated). It's so interesting as Ouyang and Zhu certainly serve as foils to each other as they face each other in the fight over power - a man stripped of his manhood versus the woman taking power through her sexuality and masculin gender expression. They're not pretty characters and make some tough decisions to read through, but I appreciated the frankness and harshness of the read - it made it so much more powerful -- I MEAN THAT ENDING ZHU HOW COULD YOU.
I really loved Ma and her storyline and also Zhu's brother (who I'm forgetting the name of, whoopsie), who accept her for who she is despite the harsh traditional values of the world they live in. The exploration of fluid sexuality and expression (and gender dysphoria?) there was so, so interesting to me - I found it fascinating to read about and I love that they found love :) ALSO, am I the only one who caught the double meaning of the title?? (This could be stunningly obvious or I've discovered something so amazing all on my own) BUTT "she" who became the "sun" = son (as in the brother who's identity she assumed?! Am I right here? Someone please tell me.
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I did really enjoy this book and it's my first Agatha Christie read! The queen of mystery! This was straight and to the point, given it was less than 300 pages, and I ate it up. It was super fast-paced and built up the suspense whilst covering a lot of ground despite the small page count.
I liked the use of the poem as a quick starter for this novel and I found myself flipping back and forth to see how which character would meet their demise to fit with the stanza. While I didn't care for any of the characters really given their old-fashioned selves (and quite frankly their selfishness and frankness), I think the exploration of human nature and what is good vs. evil was super interesting and the character interactions were also fascinating to explore up until the end. I also loved reading and picking up on classic mystery tropes that I see in much of the media I consume today. I think I'll enjoy reading Christie's other books more with Hercule Poirot more, only because it will give me a character to root for and rally for (like I said, I didn't really connect with any of the characters here).
I will say, Ms. Christie is a little anti-semitic... it was on like page six y'all, like right off the bat. I was reading a pretty old version and her books were written throughout the 1900s (this one in 1939) and I actually looked it up - some of her books have been edited to remove offensive references to Jews, which is good. It seems like based on autobiographical research, Christie herself came to realize what she wrote was wrong, so take that with a grain of salt I guess. It was pretty off-putting, especially at the start to read about a main character referring to another as "that Jew" or saying things like of course he would do that, he's a Jew, etc. So I do think the reader should be aware of that before reading or venturing into Christie's works.
I liked the use of the poem as a quick starter for this novel and I found myself flipping back and forth to see how which character would meet their demise to fit with the stanza. While I didn't care for any of the characters really given their old-fashioned selves (and quite frankly their selfishness and frankness), I think the exploration of human nature and what is good vs. evil was super interesting and the character interactions were also fascinating to explore up until the end. I also loved reading and picking up on classic mystery tropes that I see in much of the media I consume today. I think I'll enjoy reading Christie's other books more with Hercule Poirot more, only because it will give me a character to root for and rally for (like I said, I didn't really connect with any of the characters here).
I will say, Ms. Christie is a little anti-semitic... it was on like page six y'all, like right off the bat. I was reading a pretty old version and her books were written throughout the 1900s (this one in 1939) and I actually looked it up - some of her books have been edited to remove offensive references to Jews, which is good. It seems like based on autobiographical research, Christie herself came to realize what she wrote was wrong, so take that with a grain of salt I guess. It was pretty off-putting, especially at the start to read about a main character referring to another as "that Jew" or saying things like of course he would do that, he's a Jew, etc. So I do think the reader should be aware of that before reading or venturing into Christie's works.
Content Warnings
Minor: Antisemitism
The Prison Healer by Lynette Noni
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I really did enjoy this book, but like many YA books I've been reading lately, I think I found it a little too YA (actually devasting that I'm growing up and prefer more mature books). I do like the premise and the prison-setting was well developed and interesting to explore. Our main character Kiva is a healer at the prison who tends to the prisoners and the new inmates coming in from the outside world. We follow her story as she treats a new inmate - the Rebel Queen, who has the potential power to overtake the current ruling monarchs and their family. After she receives a note from her family on the outside, she takes the place of the rebel queen in a serious of trials basically destined to kill her.
I feel like certain circumstances of this book made it feel more YA than it maybe originally intended - for example, for being in the highest security prison in the world it seems, most of the prisoners have a lot of free reign, especially when we're introduced to Jaren. Kiva and Jaren have a lot of time to themselves, when you would think that they would be separated due to their alleged crimes that brought them to Zalindov in the first place. Kiva also manages to survive each trial and they're only given the span of just a chapter or two to cover each trial - I wish they were given the susense and severity that they were built up to be. Regardless, this book was a super fast-paced read and I definitely want to see what happens next, especially after that cliff hanger!!
I feel like certain circumstances of this book made it feel more YA than it maybe originally intended - for example, for being in the highest security prison in the world it seems, most of the prisoners have a lot of free reign, especially when we're introduced to Jaren. Kiva and Jaren have a lot of time to themselves, when you would think that they would be separated due to their alleged crimes that brought them to Zalindov in the first place.
The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
adventurous
medium-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
3.75
This was... a BOOK. First of all, this thing is 800+ pages, which, I've tackled long books like this before, but none as mature and complex as this one (no offense, Sarah J. Maas). I do wish I had chosen a different time to read this, rather than stressing about finishing it before leaving on vacation but I am so glad I finally got to it. Because I wanted to finish it within the week, I think I was focused a bit too much on reading quickly rather than fully absorbing the rich and complex world that I was immersed in. So, take this review with a grain of salt because I really do think I would have enjoyed it more with more time (so I can for sure see a re-read in my future).
Anyways..this book was really, really great. It bounces between of POVs with a lot of action and world building. We have Ead Duryan, a lady-inwaiting at the court of Queen Sabran the Ninth and The House of Berethnet. I really liked the dynamic here and it was wild to me to feel time pass through the pages. I loved their relationship and the maturity of it - they had such a mature relationship that felt pretty refreshing considering I mostly read YA fantasy.
We also have Tané, who has trained to be a dragonrider since she was a child, though she lives on the other side of the "world," on the opposing side. I really, really wish we got more of the training side - as we mostly deal with the ramifications of a decision Tané makes early on in the book. I would have loved to read about more dragons :) There are a couple other POVs, with characters who circle around following their own paths. None of the characters are fully good or fully bad, and I also thought that was interesting - I love my morally grey baddies.
The ending was action packed and exciting and I loved the conclusion of each characters story - just thinking about it makes me want to reread lol. Despite my slight disconnection with the story as I rushed to finish it, I actually teared up a little at the ending between Ead and Sabran, I love them so much. Writing this review makes me just want to pick the book up again lol as I've mentioned like five times in this review so far, so maybe I'll do that sooner rather than later, tbd. So... I'm leaving it with a placeholder of 3.75 stars because I can see myself really loving this book, I just have to revisit to get there.
Anyways..this book was really, really great. It bounces between of POVs with a lot of action and world building. We have Ead Duryan, a lady-inwaiting at the court of Queen Sabran the Ninth and The House of Berethnet. I really liked the dynamic here and it was wild to me to feel time pass through the pages. I loved their relationship and the maturity of it - they had such a mature relationship that felt pretty refreshing considering I mostly read YA fantasy.
We also have Tané, who has trained to be a dragonrider since she was a child, though she lives on the other side of the "world," on the opposing side. I really, really wish we got more of the training side - as we mostly deal with the ramifications of a decision Tané makes early on in the book. I would have loved to read about more dragons :) There are a couple other POVs, with characters who circle around following their own paths. None of the characters are fully good or fully bad, and I also thought that was interesting - I love my morally grey baddies.
The ending was action packed and exciting and I loved the conclusion of each characters story - just thinking about it makes me want to reread lol. Despite my slight disconnection with the story as I rushed to finish it, I actually teared up a little at the ending between Ead and Sabran, I love them so much. Writing this review makes me just want to pick the book up again lol as I've mentioned like five times in this review so far, so maybe I'll do that sooner rather than later, tbd. So... I'm leaving it with a placeholder of 3.75 stars because I can see myself really loving this book, I just have to revisit to get there.
Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
3.5
I read this for book club, and I'm really happy that I picked it up. This book is inspired by the real-life sorority targeted by Ted Bundy in his final murderous spree, and I thought it was fascinating how Knoll weaved history with her own fictional plot, adding nuance and the point of view of women who might otherwise be overlooked by the media and historically.
I think sorority girls are often disregarded and thought of as dumb blondes who succumb and enforce peer pressure and societal standards - so the fact that Pamela Schumacher, president of one of the top sororities at Florida State University, was one of our two main narrators, was really interesting to me. Her trauma and experience is thoroughly explored, from the night of to years later at the killer's sentencing.
Ruth Wachowsky is the other main narrator, her own story taking place a couple years earlier across the country. We experience her story leading up to her kidnapping and death, and again, get a story of a young women in the 1970s. I think I felt that her story could have been further explored as I felt like the POV was lacking just a little bit. The switch up between POVs could have been starker, especially because the two girls were fairly similar - I think their character voices could have been a bit stronger.
I also, for some reason, got weird vibes from Tina? I don't know if I fully trusted her and felt a bit detached from that character throughout both plots for some reason. Despite that, this story felt so important to tell and I think Knoll balanced the truth and fiction so, so well. There were specific instances of taking straight quotes and facts from real life regarding the judge and the media's response to the killer and the spoof on the "bright young man" quote was so, so well done. Knoll wrote in the author's note how she spoke to Kathy Kleiner, one of the survivors from FSU and I thought that was extremely powerful.
I think sorority girls are often disregarded and thought of as dumb blondes who succumb and enforce peer pressure and societal standards - so the fact that Pamela Schumacher, president of one of the top sororities at Florida State University, was one of our two main narrators, was really interesting to me. Her trauma and experience is thoroughly explored, from the night of to years later at the killer's sentencing.
Ruth Wachowsky is the other main narrator, her own story taking place a couple years earlier across the country. We experience her story leading up to her kidnapping and death, and again, get a story of a young women in the 1970s. I think I felt that her story could have been further explored as I felt like the POV was lacking just a little bit. The switch up between POVs could have been starker, especially because the two girls were fairly similar - I think their character voices could have been a bit stronger.
I also, for some reason, got weird vibes from Tina? I don't know if I fully trusted her and felt a bit detached from that character throughout both plots for some reason. Despite that, this story felt so important to tell and I think Knoll balanced the truth and fiction so, so well. There were specific instances of taking straight quotes and facts from real life regarding the judge and the media's response to the killer and the spoof on the "bright young man" quote was so, so well done. Knoll wrote in the author's note how she spoke to Kathy Kleiner, one of the survivors from FSU and I thought that was extremely powerful.
Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Alice Feeney has been on my tbr for a while now, especially because she's so liked by Sara Carolli and Destiny Sidster - now that I'm reading "Rock Paper Scissors" by her as well, I definitely have a better feel of her writing style and how she crafts her mystery books. I really enjoy this domestic thriller style because it takes its time to explore the character relationships, whether it be husband and wife or sister and sister.
Amber wakes up in a hospital in a coma, yet she can hear everyone around her (they have no idea though). She doesn't remember how she ended up there, only with an inkling that her husband had something to do with it. The timelines switch between the present, a week before accident and a number of diary entries from her childhood twenty years ago. It weaves psychological thrill, mystery and more into this really fun book that is exciting to unravel. The twist was super fun and I found it to be a pretty fast paced read.
Amber wakes up in a hospital in a coma, yet she can hear everyone around her (they have no idea though). She doesn't remember how she ended up there, only with an inkling that her husband had something to do with it. The timelines switch between the present, a week before accident and a number of diary entries from her childhood twenty years ago. It weaves psychological thrill, mystery and more into this really fun book that is exciting to unravel. The twist was super fun and I found it to be a pretty fast paced read.
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
The format of this book was not what I expected - it's presented as a series of letters, first between Celie and God when she thinks her sister Nettie is dead, and then between her and Nettie as they connect with each other across continents and years apart. The book spans twenty years and its powerful narration explores the struggles of growing up Black and female in the early 20th century in the South. The familial relationships are widely explored, in both their thoughtful and at times, unpleasant moments, making their portrayals feel real and genuine.
I also really enjoyed Nettie's journey as a faux-mother and living in Africa, toeing the line and trying to find her identity as an African American and a Black woman. It really explored those complexities which I appreciated as a reader. The ending was so, so powerful and I really enjoyed this book.
I also really enjoyed Nettie's journey as a faux-mother and living in Africa, toeing the line and trying to find her identity as an African American and a Black woman. It really explored those complexities which I appreciated as a reader. The ending was so, so powerful and I really enjoyed this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Rape
All the President's Men by Bob Woodward, Carl Bernstein
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.75
The original edition of this book came out two months before Nixon's resignation, which is so crazy to me. The reporting that led to the idea and publishing of this book also led to uncovering the truth about the Watergate break-in and the crimes committed all the way up to the oval office.
Bernstein and Woodward chronicle the start of their reporting journey all the way through to the end, and I really liked the 50th anniversary edition add-ons, which add more context to our political environment today (and the ramifications of the resignation of a president). It's also hard to ignore my personal connection to this story; watching "All the President's Men" with my Dad for the first time inspired my interest in reporting (and is probably the reason why I'm a journalism major). I loved all of the leads and the investigation and the on background sources and those who were scared to talk. It's such an intriguing and interesting story and I will probably re-read it many times more.
Bernstein and Woodward chronicle the start of their reporting journey all the way through to the end, and I really liked the 50th anniversary edition add-ons, which add more context to our political environment today (and the ramifications of the resignation of a president). It's also hard to ignore my personal connection to this story; watching "All the President's Men" with my Dad for the first time inspired my interest in reporting (and is probably the reason why I'm a journalism major). I loved all of the leads and the investigation and the on background sources and those who were scared to talk. It's such an intriguing and interesting story and I will probably re-read it many times more.