bijou3owl's reviews
167 reviews

Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica

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

3.0

Contrary to what the blurb says, this is a book about grief, first and foremost. Grief over the loss of a child, and grief over family being broken.
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The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin

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challenging reflective slow-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

This is one that deserves a re-read every decade or so. I first read it for a college class, and let me tell you, it hits very differently at 32 vs 21. Life experience really changes which beats hit and which concepts resonate. 
Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as If Your Life Depended on It by Chris Voss, Tahl Raz

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informative medium-paced

4.0

Mean Girl Feminism: How White Feminists Gaslight, Gatekeep, and Girlboss by Kim Hong Nguyen

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 17%.
DNF @ 17%

The cover does this book a disservice: this is an academic book for fellow academics, not for a general audience. 

If you majored or minored gender/queer/race studies, or hell have even taken a few courses, this will hit much better for you. I myself - someone with an interest in the topic but who has never engaged with it in an academic setting - felt I needed to at minimum read several foundational review papers before tackling this.
Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett

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adventurous dark mysterious 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

4.0

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson

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

2.0

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

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dark emotional mysterious 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

4.0

Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh

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

4.0

Last First Snow by Max Gladstone

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challenging dark tense slow-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

Max Gladstone fucked me upppp with this one. 

Unlike the others in the craft sequence, where there's some sort of mystery to solve, this is a heart-wrenching, slow-moving tragedy. 
Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki

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emotional hopeful sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0