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michellereadatrix's reviews
778 reviews
Really Good, Actually by Monica Heisey
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Death in the Details by Katie Tietjen
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Death in the Details follows Maple, a WWII widow in a small Vermont town where, while qualified, she isn't able to practice law. She builds dollhouses as an outlet, instead of dwelling on her fear and pain, until the building grows obsessive. She begins to see the houses and, while delivering one, finds a man hanging in his barn.
The dollhouse tableaux are based on those of Frances Glessner Lee who would recreate crime scenes that way, but Maple is her own character. While I would say there are qualities of a cozy at work, but story is a little grittier than that as we discuss sexism, racism -- the hardware store owner struggles with business due to being half Japanese -- and spousal abuse. Maple lost her brother young, and her residual pain informs many of her choices.
While I really enjoyed Death in the Details, I don't think anyone will be knocked over by the reveal(s) which are well broadcast, and the ending was almost too wrapped up. I'm hoping for more!
Definitely a warning for suicide and talk of hanging.
The dollhouse tableaux are based on those of Frances Glessner Lee who would recreate crime scenes that way, but Maple is her own character. While I would say there are qualities of a cozy at work, but story is a little grittier than that as we discuss sexism, racism -- the hardware store owner struggles with business due to being half Japanese -- and spousal abuse. Maple lost her brother young, and her residual pain informs many of her choices.
While I really enjoyed Death in the Details, I don't think anyone will be knocked over by the reveal(s) which are well broadcast, and the ending was almost too wrapped up. I'm hoping for more!
Definitely a warning for suicide and talk of hanging.
Penance by Kanae Minato
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A group of school girls witness one of their friends going off with a man and ending up assaulted and murdered. These girls are shaped by this, and by the girl's mother essentially cursing them to help bring the murderer to justice of otherwise pay penance.
A lot of this is nowhere in the realm of believable, like who the murderer is and how he came to target Emily, but it kept me reading. What do girls and women do in a world of dangerous men and how do these characters handle their childhood traumas in adulthood?
A lot of this is nowhere in the realm of believable, like who the murderer is and how he came to target Emily, but it kept me reading. What do girls and women do in a world of dangerous men and how do these characters handle their childhood traumas in adulthood?
Moon of the Turning Leaves by Waubgeshig Rice
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
I really like this author's style and enjoyed reading this second book to find out what happened next. Waubgeshig Rice writes with such confidence that people will enjoy a quieter and more thoughtful take on a story others would fill with explosions and constant chaos. His characters are capable people, but never treated as superheroes, living their lives respectfully and with honor. Sometimes what happens will make you cry, but there's also a note of hope -- that there will be threats and dangers, but also community.
Puzzleheart by Jenn Reese
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
When the house was sad, I was sad.
Against the Lockers by Aiden E. Messer
dark
tense
medium-paced
2.0
This wasn't the book for me. The torture was fine, lol, but nothing felt grounded in reality and I really would have liked to see it work-shopped a little, and edited a bit better. It was impossible for me to remember these were college students as everything, down to the lockers, read as high school. I should have cared so much more about these characters. If it weren't so short, I would have DNFd.
That aside, I recommend this to people who like a quick, bloody revenge tale who can let go of wanting to play editor as they read. It brings the gore.
That aside, I recommend this to people who like a quick, bloody revenge tale who can let go of wanting to play editor as they read. It brings the gore.
The Husbands by Chandler Baker
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail by Ashley Herring Blake
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
A Step Past Darkness by Vera Kurian
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I like Vera Kurian as an author, and LOVED Never Saw Me Coming. I still hype that book. I saw the author do a panel a couple years ago -- Bouchercon 2022? -- and she really sold me on Never Saw Me Coming and this lead to my well-annotated and tabbed copy.
I enjoyed so much in A Step Past Darkness, but I found it plagued with pacing issues, and one segment really detracted from the story for me, to the point that I seriously considered DNFing.
The blurb on the back of the book really buries that there's a strong supernatural thread in this story that moves it more into horror than thriller. I'm cool with this because I read and love horror, and that this book pays homage to It (Stephen King) isn't exactly something I'm going to complain about. Still, if it weren't my thing, I'd feel deceived and possibly annoyed.
I would love to read more books with a supernatural element from this author.
The places where this story overlaps or echoes It are the best parts for me. Not because I find it derivative, or because these aspects weren't strong on their own, but because these are some of my favorite tropes of all time.
I love stories about strong friendships in childhood. I love the idea of having to face childhood fears again in adulthood. I seek out books that understand that not everyone is listened to equally -- that some characters have the added complication of being a part of a group or groups with less power, less chance of being believed.
Children/teens are one of those groups. I'm always going to love when a group comes together to be more than the sum of their parts, and to support one another.
And I sentimentally love the thought of childhood friends reuniting, even if it's to face danger. I watch the original made-for-TV "It" for those relationships. It's a weird comfort movie, but here we are.
I cared about these characters, and where they would end up. I initially cared a lot about the central mystery, but a lot of that interest waned with time. Early on, we find out one of the main characters dies. Maddy. Hey, it's in the blurb. I really appreciated the handling of this character. We meet her as a pious Regina George, but she is written in a way that made me root for her. But this author made me root for a psychopath one time. But I hated that she died, in the best way. I think it would have packed a bigger punch if the layout of the ... well, next paragraph,
The book is dual timelines. The first timeline finds our characters teens in 1995 and the second timeline is them again in 2015. All the main characters get POV chapters in both timelines. The book jumps back and forth between the timelines.
I'm into the dual timelines, as should be clear, but I think I needed the story to be linear. With the POVs and the jumping back and forth it sometimes made it feel like there was no momentum. in either year. And on occasion we had to cover the same ground twice. In 2015, because we hadn't arrived at the moment in 1995, details were revealed in order to make sense that we eventually have to read in 1995. Again, it messed with the sense of momentum, and added unnecessary pages. (I've read some tomes in my time, but these 502 pages made it the longest book of 2024 so far.)
The part that really detracted for me felt discordant with the rest of the book in a way that my enjoyment never rallied from. The most non-spoilery way I can communicate this is that there's a portion of the story where we find out a lot of the back story about what's going on, but it feels very tonally different. Scripted. Obviously, this is all fiction, but in a novel it felt like for a while we were in a 90s TV show where the characters need to know things fast, so they're for the time of this episode going to stumble upon just what they need, no more because they'll be swept to the next thing they need to know, and be helped to do so in a way that when transferred to another medium reveals the artificiality of it all.
As much as I become immersed in a novel, I don't quite forget it's a novel, but I suspend disbelief. I invest in that world, and the general underpinnings of novels. This portion asked me to abide by a different set of rules and underpinnings and made me hyper-aware this is all made up. I specify a 90s show because novels, TV, and cinema (why do I hear this in the voice of Lazslo from What We Do in the Shadows?) today are more stylistically similar.
I hated this shift so much that I put the book aside for a couple days. I saw I had 10 days left on the library loan, silently apologized to the 5 people waiting, and took some time. I didn't DNF because I really did care about these characters, but it was never the same.
I in no way think this issue is going to be universal. I in no way want to discourage anyone from reading a book that really has a lot going for it because of my issue. I'm truly only sharing my stumbling block.
The bad guy provided some chills, but he wasn't Pennywise scary, by any means, and I would have liked this amped up, to be honest.
Spoilers about the ending, various events, and the season 3 finale of Buffy. Honestly, only read this if you've read the book.The ending, if I'm not missing anything, was extremely happy under the circumstances. I realize it would have been stronger if Jia had died, and it feels like a cop out that she didn't, but I can't be mad. I wanted this characters to be okay. I wish Maddy could have been okay. And Milky, who seems to have died of old age, but I still want a miracle. When the pastor died, it reminded me of how the mayor died on Buffy -- with that moment of, "Well, I guess that's that." That's the type of 90s TV reference I love! I will choose to believe that was intentional.
I'm horrible at summing up. Good book with tropes I like. Pacing was a bit slow. Horror could have been more horrifying. One thing that really bugged me. Would love to see more horror by Vera Kurian, or anything, really. I want to follow these characters forever, but instead will wish them well in all future endeavors. The next person in line for this book at the library is going to wake up to a nice surprise -- unless they're like me and have a ridiculous amount of books on hold.
I enjoyed so much in A Step Past Darkness, but I found it plagued with pacing issues, and one segment really detracted from the story for me, to the point that I seriously considered DNFing.
The blurb on the back of the book really buries that there's a strong supernatural thread in this story that moves it more into horror than thriller. I'm cool with this because I read and love horror, and that this book pays homage to It (Stephen King) isn't exactly something I'm going to complain about. Still, if it weren't my thing, I'd feel deceived and possibly annoyed.
I would love to read more books with a supernatural element from this author.
The places where this story overlaps or echoes It are the best parts for me. Not because I find it derivative, or because these aspects weren't strong on their own, but because these are some of my favorite tropes of all time.
I love stories about strong friendships in childhood. I love the idea of having to face childhood fears again in adulthood. I seek out books that understand that not everyone is listened to equally -- that some characters have the added complication of being a part of a group or groups with less power, less chance of being believed.
Children/teens are one of those groups. I'm always going to love when a group comes together to be more than the sum of their parts, and to support one another.
And I sentimentally love the thought of childhood friends reuniting, even if it's to face danger. I watch the original made-for-TV "It" for those relationships. It's a weird comfort movie, but here we are.
I cared about these characters, and where they would end up. I initially cared a lot about the central mystery, but a lot of that interest waned with time. Early on, we find out one of the main characters dies. Maddy. Hey, it's in the blurb. I really appreciated the handling of this character. We meet her as a pious Regina George, but she is written in a way that made me root for her. But this author made me root for a psychopath one time. But I hated that she died, in the best way. I think it would have packed a bigger punch if the layout of the ... well, next paragraph,
The book is dual timelines. The first timeline finds our characters teens in 1995 and the second timeline is them again in 2015. All the main characters get POV chapters in both timelines. The book jumps back and forth between the timelines.
I'm into the dual timelines, as should be clear, but I think I needed the story to be linear. With the POVs and the jumping back and forth it sometimes made it feel like there was no momentum. in either year. And on occasion we had to cover the same ground twice. In 2015, because we hadn't arrived at the moment in 1995, details were revealed in order to make sense that we eventually have to read in 1995. Again, it messed with the sense of momentum, and added unnecessary pages. (I've read some tomes in my time, but these 502 pages made it the longest book of 2024 so far.)
The part that really detracted for me felt discordant with the rest of the book in a way that my enjoyment never rallied from. The most non-spoilery way I can communicate this is that there's a portion of the story where we find out a lot of the back story about what's going on, but it feels very tonally different. Scripted. Obviously, this is all fiction, but in a novel it felt like for a while we were in a 90s TV show where the characters need to know things fast, so they're for the time of this episode going to stumble upon just what they need, no more because they'll be swept to the next thing they need to know, and be helped to do so in a way that when transferred to another medium reveals the artificiality of it all.
As much as I become immersed in a novel, I don't quite forget it's a novel, but I suspend disbelief. I invest in that world, and the general underpinnings of novels. This portion asked me to abide by a different set of rules and underpinnings and made me hyper-aware this is all made up. I specify a 90s show because novels, TV, and cinema (why do I hear this in the voice of Lazslo from What We Do in the Shadows?) today are more stylistically similar.
I hated this shift so much that I put the book aside for a couple days. I saw I had 10 days left on the library loan, silently apologized to the 5 people waiting, and took some time. I didn't DNF because I really did care about these characters, but it was never the same.
I in no way think this issue is going to be universal. I in no way want to discourage anyone from reading a book that really has a lot going for it because of my issue. I'm truly only sharing my stumbling block.
The bad guy provided some chills, but he wasn't Pennywise scary, by any means, and I would have liked this amped up, to be honest.
Spoilers about the ending, various events, and the season 3 finale of Buffy. Honestly, only read this if you've read the book.
I'm horrible at summing up. Good book with tropes I like. Pacing was a bit slow. Horror could have been more horrifying. One thing that really bugged me. Would love to see more horror by Vera Kurian, or anything, really. I want to follow these characters forever, but instead will wish them well in all future endeavors. The next person in line for this book at the library is going to wake up to a nice surprise -- unless they're like me and have a ridiculous amount of books on hold.