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Babel, or The Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution by R.F. Kuang
βLanguages arenβt just made of words. Theyβre modes of looking at the world. Theyβre the keys to civilization. And thatβs knowledge worth killing for.β Babel, or The Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution is an fierce indictment against colonialism. Within this superbly written slow-burner of a bildungsroman, R.F. Kuang presents her…
1820s, 1830s, 19TH CENTURY, 3 STARS, 3rd pov, 4 STARS, abuse, academia, Adult, ALIENATION, alternate history, anxiety-inducing reads, atmospheric, babel, Babel or The Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution, belonging, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, brothers, child abuse, CHILDHOOD, China, chinese american author, class, cliques, colonialism, coming of age, cultural dissonance, dark academia, DEATH, england, FANTASY, fathers & sons, female authors, friendships, great storytelling, growing up, GUILT, HISTORICAL FICTION, history, identity, India, language, lgbtq+, LONDON, loneliness, Longing, MAGIC, morality, MURDER, muslim side characters, My reviews, MYSTERY, orphans, oxford, philosophical, politics, PRIVILEGE, psychological, published in 2022, queer undercurrents, R.F. Kuang, RACE, read in 2022, reading, revenge, secret societies, secretiveness, ship, SOCIAL COMMENTARY, social issues, strong sense of place, SUSPENSE, teachers, terrific prose, tragedy, travel, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE, URBAN FANTASY, war -
The World Cannot Give by Tara Isabella Burton
this is my fault. i should know by now that titles claiming to have dark academia or sapphic vibes should be approached with extreme caution. DISCLAIMER: I did not like this book and my review reflects of that. I will be brutally honest about my thoughts on this novel so if you want to read…
1 STAR, 3rd pov, academia, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, ANGST, boarding/private school, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, books about writers, cheesy, Christianity, cliques, Contemporary, dark academia, drama, eating disorders, f/f side, female authors, horrible friends, lesbian side characters, Longing, maine, MELODRAMA, music, My reviews, MYSTERY, obsession, philosophical, published in 2022, queer, read in 2022, reading, Religion, sex, SEXUALITY, SUSPENSE, Tara Isabella Burton, teen angst, The World Cannot Give, toxic relationships, unrequited love, weak prose, weak worldbuilding -
The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater
And so my latest TRC re-read has come to an end. What an outstanding series. Truly. I cannot even begin to articulate how much this series means to me and how much I love it. In this finale, the stakes are higher than ever and a lot of things Stiefvater has hinted at in the…
3rd pov, 5 STARS, ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE, academia, adventure, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, boarding/private school, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, class, cliques, coming of age, Contemporary, curses, dark academia, DEATH, DEMONS, dreamers, Dreams, fairytalesque prose, FANTASY, favourite authors, female authors, friendships, gay, ghosts/spirits, growing up, henrietta, it’s about the *yearning*, lgbtq+, loneliness, Longing, m/m, Maggie Stiefvater, MAGIC, MAGICAL REALISM, My reviews, nature, occult, PRIVILEGE, queer, reading, rich people, SMALL TOWN, tarots, terrific prose, the raven cycle, the raven king, virginia, YOUNG ADULT -
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
The Secret History lives rent free in my head. It is a masterpiece. A thing of rare beauty. A tour de force. A literary triumph. βOne likes to think thereβs something in it, that old platitude amor vincit omnia. But if Iβve learned one thing in my short sad life, it is that that particular…
1980s, 1st pov, 20th century, 5 STARS, ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE, academia, addiction, Adult, ALIENATION, AMERICAN AUTHOR, anxiety, beautiful prose, beauty, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, California, campus, class, cliques, Contemporary, CRIME, dark, dark academia, DEATH, donna tartt, ennui, existentialism, female authors, friendships, gay side characters, GUILT, HISTORICAL FICTION, identity, incest, introspective, it’s about the *yearning*, lgbtq+ side, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, Longing, MEMORY, modern classics, morality, MURDER, My reviews, MYSTERY, obsession, philosophical, PRIVILEGE, psychological, Psychological thriller, published in 1992, queer undercurrents, re-reads, read in 2016, read in 2021, reading, rich people, SUSPENSE, terrific prose, the secret history, THRILLER, toxic relationships, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE, unrequited love, Vermont, whydunnit, WINTER -
Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas
βI used to believe the house was haunted. Really, it was the other way around; the house haunted me.β 3 re-read: I once again loved this. The novel’s gothic ambience is truly hypnotic and Thomas really manages to suffuse Ines’ experiences at Catherine House with a dreamlike quality. There is a vagueness, a haze, one…
1990s, 1st pov, 5 STARS, ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE, academia, Adult, ALIENATION, ambiguous protagonist, ambivalent mood, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, atmospheric, BISEXUAL/PANSEXUAL, Black & Black heritage authors, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, campus, Catherine House, cliques, cold tone, Contemporary, creepy setting, dark, dark academia, dreamlike quality, Elisabeth Thomas, existentialism, FANTASY, female authors, feverish, gay side characters, GOTHIC, GRIEF, GUILT, haunted house, hauntings, HORROR, it’s about the *aesthetics*, it’s about the *yearning*, lgbtq+, loneliness, Longing, modern gothic, morality, My reviews, MYSTERY, NEW ADULT, no plot just vibes, obsession, otherness, Pennsylvania, published in 2020, re-reads, read in 2021, read in 2022, reading, secretiveness, strong sense of place, surreal, terrific prose, the female malaise, trauma -
Leda and the Swan by Anna Caritj
Alas, campus novels are my achilles heel (when will i learn?). βPerhaps this not knowing was the thrill of it: the mystery, the risk.β Leda and the Swan is an ambitious debut novel that sadly misses the mark.From its tired premise to its one-note characters, Leda and the Swan feels like a wasted opportunity. Not…
2.5 STARS, 2000s, 3rd pov, academia, Adult, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, Anna Caritj, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, campus, cliques, Contemporary, drama, female authors, Leda and the Swan, loneliness, missing girls, missing persons, My reviews, MYSTERY, Not Like Other Girls, orphans, published in 2021, read in 2021, reading, sexual assault/abuse/rape, subject over characters/story, SUSPENSE, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE -
Sarahland by Sam Cohen
Kinky, offbeat, and playful, Sarahland is a madcap story collection. Most of the stories focus on queer Jewish young women who are named or rename themselves Sarah. Their quest for identity and love leads them astray from traditional notions of femininity and adulthood. They become entangled in parasitic relationships, lose and regain their sense of…
Adult, America, American, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, cliques, collection of short stories, Contemporary, contemporary malaise, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), ennui, existentialism, f/f, female authors, feverish, HUMOR, identity, Jewish, LESBIAN, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, LITERARY FICTION, MAGICAL REALISM, millennial, My reviews, prostitution, published in 2021, queer, read in 2021, reading, Religion, RETELLINGS, Sam Cohen, sapphic, Sarahland, sex, sexual assault/abuse/rape, SEXUALITY, short stories, surreal, trans side characters, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE, unrequited love, weird -
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
βFear and hatred, fear and hatred: often, it seemed that those were the only two qualities he possessed. Fear of everyone else; hatred of himself.β A Little Life is a heart-wrenching tour de force. Dark, all-consuming, devastating, moving, stunning, brutal, dazzling, beautiful, disturbing, A Little Life is all of these and so much more. This…
5 STARS, A Little Life, ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE, abuse, ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS, actors, Adult, ALIENATION, all of the trigger warnings, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, anxiety, ART/CREATIVITY, ARTISTS, beautiful prose, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, child abuse, chronic pain, cliques, Contemporary, dark, DEPRESSION, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), disabilities, distressing reads, female authors, film industry, forgiveness, found family, friendships, gay, graphic content, GRIEF, GUILT, Hanya Yanagihara, identity, Italy, lesbian side characters, lgbtq+, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, m/m, male friendships, masculinity, monasteries, morocco, NEW YORK, Pedophelia, psychological, published in 2015, queer, rape, read in 2021, self-harming, sexual assault/abuse/rape, SEXUALITY, suicide, tragedy, trauma, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE, violence -
The Witch’s Hand by Nathan Page
The main reason why I read The Witch’s Hand was Maggie Stiefvater’s 5-star review for it (what can I say, I trust in Stiefvater). And I’m so glad I did! Way back when I had an ahem Scooby-Doo phase (not only did I watch 20+ Scooby-Doo animated films but I also ended up devouring the…
1960s, 4 STARS, America, American, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, brothers, canadian artist, canadian author, cliques, DETECTIVE, Drew Shannon, FANTASY, gay, ghosts/spirits, Graphic Novels, HISTORICAL FICTION, lgbtq+, light reads, MAGIC, male artists, male authors, MYSTERY, Nathan Page, New England, occult, PARANORMAL, published in 2020, read in 2021, SMALL TOWN, summer reads, SUPERNATURAL, The Witch's Hand, twins, uplifting reads, WITCHES, YOUNG ADULT -
Last Night by Mhairi McFarlane
This is the fifth novel that I have read by Mhairi McFarlane and it is her best one yet. I said this in my review for her previous novel, If I Never Met You, but McFarlane is always improving as a writer. While Last Night presents readers with her trademark blend of humor of realism,…
1st pov, 5 STARS, Adult, arc, child abuse, cliques, Contemporary, DEATH, ENEMIES TO LOVERS, england, favourite authors, female authors, forgiveness, friendships, gay side characters, GRIEF, GUILT, HUMOR, identity, introspective, Last Night, lgbtq+ side, mental health, Mhairi McFarlane, netgalley, Nottingham, published in 2021, read in 2021, road trip, rom-coms, ROMANCE, scotland, scottish british author, siblings, unrequited love
luce [is reading] 