amshu's reviews
264 reviews

A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal

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adventurous mysterious medium-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? No

3.5

i so wanted to love this book, but for some reason, it just didn't hit right. faizal's worldbuilding and storytelling skills are so technically and emotively brilliant, you can almost taste the gritty, tea-steeped air of white roaring with every page. i loved all the character dynamics but it genuinely felt flat (if not borderline forced and performative) at times. personally, a longer book with more time to establish the character dynamics might've been better because it felt like i was constantly being told who these characters are and what makes them so fearsome or talented or complex but i couldn't quite see it. especially with arthie, I have been screaming for south asian rep for forever and now that its here i don't know how i feel about it, i couldn't quite see what made her so special or so charming. she's quite gritty and stoic which i would've enjoyed if not for the way everyone else seemed to regard her. still can't fully put into words what was missing from a tempest of tea, but irrespective, the worldbuilding and setting was quite fresh and interesting
The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham

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adventurous challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

conceptually and technically, this is a masterfully written book. it tackled the situation in a way that I entirely did not expect, somehow managing to obscure the perspectives of both the women and the Children (with a capital C ofc) which is quite redolent of the 1950s and early 60s. I found myself surprisingly quite interested in this alternative approach to the story and kept wanting to keep read it, and weirdly enough, Zellaby (for all his casual racism and weird theories) made for such a compelling main character. wish I could've gotten the perspectives of the Children more, or at least of the women who'd suffered such a gross invasion but irrespective quite a brilliant read
Galatea by Madeline Miller

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fast-paced

3.5

a brilliant short story, while it doesn't particularly hold a candle to the song of Achilles, it is still incredibly moving and aching for what it is. 
Briefly, A Delicious Life by Nell Stevens

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective sad fast-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? No

5.0

what a delicious gift of a novel

it is as though I have gone my entire life looking at things a certain way, and all of a sudden, this book offers me an alternative. every thought so tangible and unique and intelligent, I adored Blanca as a narrator and the way she examines life. It is such a perfectly constructed novel that I could find no faults in it. 
I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced
 had me in a perpetual chokehold of bittersweet sadness, i can see exactly why it was everyone's must-read for the year (I also don't rate memoirs but its high up there) 
A Song to Drown Rivers by Ann Liang

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adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

very much so a right time right book situation

incredibly lyrical, moving prose that was paired with well-constructed political intrigue. reflecting back on the book, so many of the plot points felt unrealistically fleshed out and conveniently written a certain way, it made it difficult to find Xishi's political uprise very realistic. Irrespective, I was quite invested in her journey and relationships, and my favourite aspect is probably the fact that she was still somehow attached to the emperor but her hatred and desire for revenge overpowered that guilt and affection. I've always found it unrealistic that you can only skew in one direction or the other when you're spying, and seeing a portrayal of this morally grey in-between felt truly perfect. 
We Run the Tides by Vendela Vida

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reflective fast-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? No

3.0

one of those novels that fall short of producing anything truly meaningful, all of the underlying themes of girlhood and class are just better executed in other works and while it captured my attention throughout I just kept expecting something better, if not more. just thoroughly underwhelming. 
Sin Eater by Megan Campisi

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challenging dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

oddly enough, this book was a very sensorial experience. every page leapt out to me in gritty, tangible bursts that made me feel as though the words could reach out and touch me, envelop me in their scents. for what the premise is, 'The Sin Eater' offers a very unique, original premise that feels reminiscent of British history in a deliberate way. I was incredibly moved by May's characterisation and journey, and the reminder that she is roughly 14 or 15 makes it all the more poignant. Overall, a really well-crafted and masterfully told story. 
What the Water Gave Us by Lucy Writers

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adventurous hopeful reflective medium-paced

4.5

so incredibly poignant and well-crafted. as is the case with any anthology, some resonated with me more than others but that is not to say that there isn't a story worth listening to in every one of these pages. it is one of those books that I would absolutely insist on purchasing a paperback version simply because the tangible experience of it was so potent. it is an anthology I believe I will revisit quite often, making me reflect upon my own experience with migration, language, and self-identity and at the end of the day, isn't that what the best of literature does to us?
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

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challenging emotional sad tense 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

4.25

There's no other way to say it other than that it was a frustrating read. What made it so frustrating because when a character goes through something terrible, you wish for them to see better days, but this novel is built upon the idea that some people don't just get better. Life is never an upward hill and for some people, their journey ends on a low. I don't think a book could have ever made me so desolate for a character's future, to the point where I had begun to wish for Jude to do what he did in the end because I could so no alternative. Anyways, I must regretfully inform everyone that I did in fact cry a little towards the end.