pkc's reviews
397 reviews

The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi

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emotional mysterious reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.5

Three Women by Lisa Taddeo

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dark emotional hopeful informative sad medium-paced

5.0

The Intoxicating Mr Lavelle by Neil Blackmore

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dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

A shocking morality tale masquerading as a passionate love story. This book had me absolutely hooked and I gobbled the last 135 pages up in one sitting. Absolutely breathtaking. Nuanced characters, shocking twists and a derisive cry against the status quo of the time that still rings now. I only deducted a half a star for the ending. It was a bit of a bummer. Otherwise, an excellent, sexy and shocking read.
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Notes on 'Camp' by Susan Sontag

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challenging informative medium-paced

4.0

The Man I Think I Know by Mike Gayle

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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? It's complicated

5.0

310 pages of heartwarming beauty. Don’t get me wrong, the heartwarming moments come from dark places, so they’re hard-won but beautiful. Mike Gayle has a real skill for taking nuanced, complicated human experiences and affording them an ease of digestion without over-simplifying or skimping on the emotion. I look forward to the next book of his I read. James and Danny are beautiful co-protagonists and their platonic friendship is beautifully explored. It’s not something that you see an awful lot in literature, but it’s beautifully done here.
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The Institute by Stephen King

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

2.0

I finished this in conjunction with the audiobook, reading the last 200+ pages in my physical copy and…King remains one of my favourite authors BUT this just wasn’t it for me. It felt a bit like he’d bitten off more than he could chew and the end was rushed with a resolution that could be described as shaky at best. I rated it as highly as I did because the final set piece was epic. It either needed to be expanded or drastically cut back. I can’t decide which. I will say though. The authors note at the end of my copy brought a wee tear to my eye.
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Love After Love by Ingrid Persaud

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dark emotional funny hopeful sad 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

4.5

This was a really unique take on a “kitchen sink” style family drama, predominantly set in Trinidad. Even though the country didn’t form an obvious backbone of the story, it did factor in as a character in itself, lending a colour and culture that elevated the tension and levity all at once. Please be warned that this book is so dark in places, but like any good family unit, the darkness is accompanied and sometimes even complemented by truth and the occasional wry observation.
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Save the Cat! Writes a Novel: The Last Book on Novel Writing You'll Ever Need by Jessica Brody

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informative slow-paced

5.0

Mort by Terry Pratchett

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

3.5

Boys Don't Cry by Fíona Scarlett

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

4.0

Achingly sad, but hopeful. A really gorgeous example of Irish literature: spare, taut and bruising. I absolutely loved it. Didn’t like feeling like I was asked to have sympathy for certain characters and it wrapped VERY quickly.
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