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The Arena of the Unwell by Liam Konemann
“At any given moment, I have no idea what’s true about any of us.” The Arena of the Unwell is a gritty and exhilarating exploration of loneliness and longing, obsession and jealousy, queerness and male intimacy. tw: self-harm & suicidal ideation Our narrator is Noah, a 22-year-old gay man who lives in London. He works…
1st pov, 4.25 stars, addiction, Adult, ALIENATION, atmospheric, AUSTRALIAN AUTHOR, bad love, bi side characters, cheating, Contemporary, contemporary malaise, DEPRESSION, england, feverish, gay, gritty realism, grunge vibes, introspective, jealousy, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, Liam Konemann, LONDON, loneliness, Longing, m/m, masculinity, mental health, music, nostalgic reads, obsession, psychological, published in 2022, queer, read in 2022, self-destructive, self-harming, sex, SEXUALITY, strong sense of place, suicide, The Arena of the Unwell, the male malaise, toxic relationships, unreliable narrators -
Agatha of Little Neon by Claire Luchette
“We were fixed to one another, like parts of some strange, asymmetrical body: Frances was the mouth; Mary Lucille, the heart; Therese, the legs. And I, Agatha, was the eyes.” Agatha of Little Neon is a gem of a novel. Claire Luchette’s prose is a delight to read, its deceptive simplicity bringing to mind authors…
1st pov, 2000s, 4.25 stars, addiction, Adult, Agatha of Little Neon, all girls school, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, arc, beautiful prose, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, catholicism, Christianity, Claire Luchette, Contemporary, female authors, friendships, identity, introspective, LESBIAN, lgbtq+, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, Longing, My reviews, netgalley, new york state, nuns, published in 2021, queer, read in 2021, reading, Religion, restrained prose, rhode island, suicide, teachers -
Filthy Animals by Brandon Taylor
Taylor has gone and done it again. My poor heart can’t take this. “[S]adness drenched them. Sadness at leaving. Sadness at going back to their lives. The sadness of knowing it would never again be this perfect, this easy.” This may not sound like a compliment but I believe that Brandon Taylor has a real…
4.25 stars, academia, Adult, ALIENATION, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, anxiety, anxiety-inducing reads, bad love, bi side characters, Black & Black heritage authors, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, Brandon Taylor, campus, cold tone, collection of short stories, Contemporary, dancers, DEPRESSION, f/f side, favourite authors, Filthy Animals, gay, interconnected stories, lesbian side characters, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, Longing, m/m, male authors, My reviews, published in 2021, queer, read in 2021, read in 2022, reading, restrained prose, SEXUALITY, short stories, suicide, the male malaise, toxic relationships, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE -
Storm of Locusts by Rebecca Roanhorse
Usually, I don’t go back on DNFs (there’s plenty more books in the sea and all that) but I also get that sometimes my enjoyment of a book depends on me getting to read it at the ‘right time’. The reason why I’d DNFed Storm of Locusts after reading just a chapter or so was…
1st pov, 4.25 stars, action, Adult, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, apocalyptic, bi side characters, Black & Black heritage authors, FANTASY, female authors, FOLKLORE, found family, friendships, gods, indigenous, indigenous author, lgbtq+ side, MAGIC, monsters, myths, native american & first nation, Native American & First Nation authors, PARANORMAL, post-apocalyptic, published in 2019, read in 2021, Rebecca Roanhorse, Religion, road trip, SPECULATIVE FICTION, Storm of Locusts, the sixth world, the sixth world series, URBAN FANTASY -
The Red Scrolls of Magic by Cassandra Clare & Wesley Chu — book review
“Romance was a lot of work.” The Red Scrolls of Magic is a fun throwback to Cassandra Clare’s TMI in which Magnus and Alec finally get the stage for themselves. After the Mortal War the couple takes a well-earned romantic getaway in Europe. Once in Paris however an ‘old friend’ of Magnus breaks some bad…
3rd pov, 4.25 stars, adventure, AMERICAN AUTHOR, balls, BISEXUAL/PANSEXUAL, Cassandra Clare, co-authored, curses, DEMONS, FANTASY, female authors, FRANCE, gay, Italy, lgbtq+, light reads, m/m, MAGIC, male authors, PARANORMAL, Paris, queer, read in 2020, Rome, shadowhunters, Taiwanese American Author, The Eldest Curses, The Eldest Curses #1, The Red Scrolls of Magic, uplifting reads, URBAN FANTASY, Venice, WARLOCKS/WIZARDS, Wesley Chu, YOUNG ADULT -
Night Music by Jenn Marie Thorne — book review
A delightful and thoughtful summer romance meets the classical music world in Jenn Marie Thorne’s criminally underrated Night Music. Ruby, the seventeen-year-old daughter of the renowned composer Martin Chertok, has always felt the pressure of her name. However, unlike her older siblings, who have all embarked on successful musical careers, Ruby messes up her audition…
4.25 stars, academia, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, class, coming of age, Contemporary, family, fathers & daughters, female authors, identity, Jenn Marie Thorne, music, musicians, Night Music, published in 2019, re-reads, READ IN 2019, read in 2020, ROMANCE, social issues, Summer, summer reads, uplifting reads, YOUNG ADULT -
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri — book review
“In so many ways, his family’s life feels like a string of accidents, unforeseen, unintended, one incident begetting another.” In the past few years I’ve read and fallen in love with Jhumpa Lahiri’s collection of short stories as well as her book on her relationship with the Italian language In Other Words. Although The Namesake…
1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 20th century, 3rd pov, 4.25 stars, Adult, America, asian diaspora, atmospheric, belonging, bildungsroman, BOSTON, cambridge (us), cheating, cold tone, cultural dissonance, divorce/separations, family, FAMILY SAGA, fathers & sons, favourite authors, female authors, HISTORICAL FICTION, identity, India, indian american author, intergenerational, Jhumpa Lahiri, Kolkata, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, Longing, MARRIAGE, Massachusetts, migration/immigration, modern classics, mothers & sons, NEW YORK, published in 2003, re-reads, read in 2020, read in 2022, restrained prose, The Namesake, trains -
Real Life by Brandon Taylor — book review
“Is it into this culture that he is to emerge? Into the narrow, dark water of real life?” It had been awhile since I finished a book in one day or since I read a book that made me cry…but once I started Real Life I simply couldn’t stop, even if what I was reading…
3rd pov, 4.25 stars, academia, Adult, ALIENATION, America, American, anxiety, bad love, Black & Black heritage authors, body dysmorphia, Brandon Taylor, campus, class, cliques, cold tone, Contemporary, favourite authors, gay, GRIEF, horrible friends, labs, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, m/m, mental health, midwest, published in 2020, queer, RACE, read in 2020, Real Life, science, sex, sexual assault/abuse/rape, SEXUALITY, toxic relationships, trauma, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE -
A Beautiful Crime by Christopher Bollen — book review
A Beautiful Crime is a tantalisingly suspenseful part thriller part romance, one that brilliantly captures the landscape, aesthetics, and politics of Venice. “The love of the city had killed its people. Quite simply, Venice had been visited to death.” The opening of the novel has a terrific hook. We know that someone at some point…
4.25 stars, A Beautiful Crime, Adult, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, ART/CREATIVITY, cheating, Christopher Bollen, class, Contemporary, CRIME, gay, heist, Italy, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, LITERARY FICTION, m/m, male authors, museums, MYSTERY, NEW YORK, politics, published in 2020, queer, read in 2020, rich people, social issues, SUSPENSE, THRILLER, travel, Venice, white-collar crime -
If I Never Met You by Mhairi McFarlane — book review.
“The trouble with liars, Laurie had decided from much research in the professional field, is they always thought everyone else was less smart than them.” If I Never Met You is the fourth novel I’ve read by Mhairi McFarlane and I’m happy to say that it is my favourite book of hers. McFarlane just keeps…
3rd pov, 4.25 stars, Adult, BOOK REVIEW, Booklr, break-ups, cheating, Contemporary, drama, england, fake dating, favourite authors, female authors, friendships, HUMOR, identity, If I Never Met You, lawyers, light reads, LONDON, Mhairi McFarlane, office, published in 2020, re-reads, read in 2020, read in 2021, rom-coms, ROMANCE, scottish british author, uplifting reads, work culture
luce [is reading] 