-
Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo
That was what Lethe and the societies demanded. Secrecy. Loyalty. Well, fuck them. In Hell Bent, the long-awaited sequel to the high-octane Ninth House, we are reunited with the danger-prone and dangerous Alex Stern. Still recovering from her several near-death experiences, and attempting to keep up with her coursework and maintain the facade of being…
3rd pov, 4 STARS, academia, Adult, adventure, alex stern, alex stern #2, ambiguous protagonist, America, AMERICAN AUTHOR, atmospheric, autumn, California, campus, Contemporary, curses, dark academia, dark fantasy, DEATH, DEMONS, FANTASY, female authors, friendships, gay side characters, ghosts/spirits, gritty aesthetics, hell, Hell Bent, HORROR, it’s about the *aesthetics*, it’s about the *yearning*, Leigh Bardugo, lgbtq+ side, MAGIC, morality, MURDER, MYSTERY, NEW ADULT, New Haven, Ninth House, occult, PARANORMAL, place as character, PRIVILEGE, published in 2023, quests, read in 2023, rich people, secret societies, secretiveness, she is dangerous, strong sense of place, SUSPENSE, terrific prose, trauma, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE, URBAN FANTASY, VAMPIRES, violence, Yale -
Either/Or by Elif Batuman
This sequel needs a sequel. βWas this the decisive moment of my life? It felt as if the gap that had dogged me all my days was knitting together before my eyesβso that, from this point on, my life would be as coherent and meaningful as my favorite books. At the same time, I had…
1990s, 1st pov, 5 STARS, ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE, academia, Adult, adulthood, America, American, arc, ART/CREATIVITY, autumn, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, books about books, books about writers, cambridge (us), campus, coming of age, Contemporary, contemporary malaise, cultural dissonance, Either/Or, Elif Batuman, existentialism, favourite authors, female authors, first love, friendships, Harvard, identity, introspective, language, LGBTQ+ Author, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, Longing, Massachusetts, mumblecore, My reviews, netgalley, nostalgic reads, philosophical, psychological, published in 2022, re-reads, read in 2022, reading, RUSSIA, sex, SEXUALITY, SLICE OF LIFE, spring, strong sense of place, Summer, the female malaise, The Idiot, toxic relationships, travel, Turkey, turkish american author, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE, unrequited love, WINTER, womanhood/femininity