watermelleon's reviews
248 reviews

A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee

Go to review page

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

2.5

"how not to write an unreliable narrator: a guide" 

I initially was enjoying the world building and the dark academia setting, however the rest did not live up to expectations. The mystery fell quite flat and was overstretched, I didn't feel very attached to the characters and at times found them somewhat frustrating! The plot felt a bit scattered and too fast at times. Whatever was going on with the narrator had potential, but became unclear in the least smart way and unreliable became unlikeable very quickly. Lots of potential and very little payoff. Ultimately I was left reading through the rest very quickly to hope that any interesting twists or answers were picked up, which is probably a bad sign that your mystery isn't very good. 

Lesson learned: a good mystery is about the journey as much as the payoff. 

Probably a 2 but the beginning DID give me some inspiration in writing my own book, but it's the first dark academia thing I've really read and there is probably definitely a better version out there. So I don't think I can fully credit it for that. 
Life as a Unicorn: A Journey from Shame to Pride and Everything in Between by Amrou Al-Kadhi

Go to review page

emotional funny reflective sad fast-paced

4.0

Whizzed through this one!! 

An excellent memoir, with a surprising amount of nuance.  I was somewhat cautious it would be told in a more spiteful way (which would be completely valid!), but it was fascinating to hear about the queerer aspects of the quran and the endless struggle of religion vs culture, and amrou's relationship with and journey within Islam. I have had so many conversations with Muslim people about this exact topic, and it was wonderful to have such a detailed account. 

I felt a lot of interpretations closely mirror actions of other religious family groups which receive far less stigma in britain, which amrou was able to address delicately with a lot of thought. This was very intelligently written! 

It has been a great experience reflecting on my own queerness and whiteness, and the in depth experience of queer Muslims which I so often look for but rarely find! 

Definitely recommend this, marked as a 4 as the writing style at times felt perhaps a little too overwhelmed with metaphors and overblown artistic style that wasn't quite to my personal liking (but seems very in line with the writers character!) 

Also absolutely loved the absolutely bizzare likening of Allah to some sort of sadistic DM at the beginning, and how religious trauma can be processed through the queer and kink scene. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
Where Am I Now? True Stories of Girlhood and Accidental Fame by Mara Wilson

Go to review page

emotional funny reflective medium-paced

5.0

This book has taken me a loooong time to finish. Nothing that the book did, it was very easy to dabble in and out of and then the covid years hit. 

A fantastic memoir that left me double checking it wasn't ghostwritten - Mara has such a tallent for storytelling! So many things resonated with me on a deep level, and I feel like I learned so much more than just some gossip from her childhood acting days. Some parts were extremely intelligent and funny, others so dark and sad that I was in tears and had to put the book down because it was so intense. 

All in all, a very honest and refreshing memoir and I loved it! 


I'm The Grim Reaper, Season 3 by GRAVEWEAVER

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

It's everything I need in a pretty package! 

Enemies to lovers
Stunning drawings
An incredible unfolding mystery 
Intense moments that made me struggle to sleep 
Dark difficult grit about human nature
A bit of philosophy for good measure
And the power of friendship

This upset me in the best way. I couldn't put it down and I'm craving the next season! 


Expand filter menu Content Warnings
I'm The Grim Reaper, Season 2 by GRAVEWEAVER

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was a high 4 until I read chapter 61. Nightmare fuel that I was not expecting. 

The art is just incredible! Some great philosophical moments and great character development and relationship building at the heart. Impossible to put down, can't wait to see where this continues! 



I'm the Grim Reaper, Season 1 by GRAVEWEAVER

Go to review page

dark mysterious fast-paced

4.0

Didn't realise I had already moved onto season 2! Hard to rate this accurately as a result but the art and story have been so incredible so far 😊
Rainbow Milk by Paul Mendez

Go to review page

emotional reflective sad 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? No

4.5

I (mostly) finished this last year, but couldn't bear to finish the last few pages until today. What an incredible novel. 
I Have No Mouth & I Must Scream by Harlan Ellison

Go to review page

challenging dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Reason why I read this:

I had no book and I must read 

Feel pretty sick now ngl

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
Just Ignore Him by Alan Davies

Go to review page

challenging informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

Challenging, emotional, dark, incredible. 

Warning: this is not an easy read. There were times I had to pause, and take a breath, or contemplate what was being said. It is very triggering for many reasons, quite graphic in detail, and for this reason I imagine is very difficult for a lot of readers. 

One thing I did not expect from this read was how nuanced it would be written. This is not a sob story where someone is feeling forced to sell their journey as trauma porn for others to feel something over. This is a delicate, intelligent, and well thought out commentary on the society we live in, toxic masculinity, the fickle nature of sexuality, the social and physical effects of childhood trauma, the attraction of dangerous volunteers to risky roles, the court system, the police, feminism, and generational trauma (to name just a few!) 

At one point, Alan touched upon a particularly sore spot for me that I was not expecting to appear at all. But his conversational voice and facts presented reminded me the reader that survivors of trauma exist everywhere in so many forms and we all have learned lessons that have value when we are ready to reach out and discuss it with others. 

I'm so glad to have picked the audio book version, which added another level of expertly guided feelings by Alan. He is a fantastic voice, and had me crying on many many bus journeys and walks.

An incredible last line that will stick with me for a long time as well. I wish for many of my friends and family members to read this.


Expand filter menu Content Warnings
Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell

Go to review page

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective tense 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

5.0

If you haven't read this book, read it with as little foresight as possible. Do not read reviews, pass go, sink in unprepared.

If you have read it, read this:
Vague enough spoilers await..

Disclaimer, it's my 4th (. 5?) book by David Mitchell. As a stand alone with no prior knowledge, it is a 5 star read.

If you've read any other David Mitchell novel, it becomes even more special.

This book is a beautifully skilled craftwork jigsaw puzzle, with pieces that snap into place perfectly despite at first being unpredictable. You can start in the centre or form the edges,  or from a corner outwards. It does not matter which order you fill them to get the satisfying conclusion that appears.

An odessey through the 60s, this book is your own personal tour through time, it's glitter and it's failures. It's real, but understands naivety, inspiration, hope and other complicated human feelings.

This novel hinges on the  story of human potential, who we are and who we will become (or who we could be, given the chance). We follow the band reach stardom and everything in between in the peak of their youth, but we also see revisited characters in their younger selves, and the legacy of others long gone, their periods of potential and hope. This 'glory days' epic reminds you there will be an eventual end to these experiences, but they will never leave who you have become in the way they have changed you.

Bone clocks spoiler -
I think back to an older Levon speaking to an older Crispin hersey, both with their own regrets, what they could have done better. At the time, Levon loved his band and forgave them for their youthful incidences. Because of this I expected a fallout, a feud over losing a record deal, a dramatic end, a tour bus that crashed. Instead I was hit with the nature of life - the script doesn't pick and choose favourites, it shoots where it may.


Thoughts and questions that made me existential while reading this book:

A young Crispin Hershey points a finger gun at Dean. And then the writer erases him. 

Is the love between luisa and elf really forever? An older elf writes on amongst the stark cliffs of sheep's head. 

Speaking of Holly Sykes, it's peculiar that she's a gravesend girl too. 

Bolivar is a scary and familiar sight. But what does he want? Is it a call forwards into something new, or someone we have seen before? Who had to die at that point in time to be there? 

"I hope somebody made a quality bootleg of this" 
How popular were utopia avenue then to be forgotten now? Is it a universe teetering on the edge of ours, or a perfect copy? Is another point being made about what happens to David Mitchell's world when it comes to the end of the timeline? 
"it makes you wonder if you've actually been living not in the real world but only a description of it" - 
It is only a script after all. 

Speaking of the end of the world, only some unknown coincidence in hawaii saved utopia avenue's last record.  And a man with impossible technology that almost disappeared from the world in only 50 years. 

I wonder if/when the horologists will show us any possibility of moving through time in order to preserve it, and I wonder if any meddling has taken place so far. 

Griff Griffin. I guess it wasn't his time to be a Protagonist yet. I wonder about Steve also. An important part of the band, written as "an important piece of the puzzle", or a "heartbeat", you're convinced he's important but you're left wondering how. He never thinks out loud to us. It's curious. Or maybe he's just dyslexic and can't write a chapter. 

Why does the cloud atlas sextet sound so familiar to Jasper? 

I wonder what sixsmith was doing at this point in time. 

"How come the rich own the world when they're so bloody useless?" - dean's transition through social class and what remains. The poetry of ordering a boring sandwich as room service. Class was a point of contention initially for dean/griff and elf, seeing their relationships change was a voyage. 

Other things about elf and griff that can be thought and not written. If David Mitchell is Elf, I'm Levon. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings