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The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black
“It felt scary, as if she were stepping across some invisible boundary, as if she might not know herself afterward. As if she were becoming the self she’d always thought lurked just underneath her skin. Her coolest possible self.” The Coldest Girl in Coldtown is very much old-school Holly Black: edgy aesthetics, gritty/snarky dialogues, and…
3.25 stars, 3rd pov, Adult, adventure, age gap, America, AMERICAN AUTHOR, atmospheric, balls, bi side characters, DEATH, drama, dystopia, FANTASY, favourite authors, female authors, gritty aesthetics, HOLLY BLACK, HORROR, it’s about the *aesthetics*, lgbtq+ side, monsters, no plot just vibes, PARANORMAL, published in 2013, queer side characters, re-reads, read in 2013, read in 2022, revenge, road trip, ROMANCE, SPECULATIVE FICTION, survival, The Coldest Girl, trans side characters, URBAN FANTASY, VAMPIRES, violence, YOUNG ADULT -
The Women Could Fly by Megan Giddings
“This is the story of the witch who refused to burn. Some people said that there was power in her blood, a gift from her ancestors that she could endure.” Megan Giddings’s sophomore novel is highly evocative of those The Handmaid’s Tale inspired dystopias where readers are presented with a near-future where women—sometimes men—live in…
1st pov, 3.25 stars, Adult, America, AMERICAN AUTHOR, ART/CREATIVITY, atmospheric, beautiful prose, BISEXUAL/PANSEXUAL, Black & Black heritage authors, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, dystopia, FANTASY, female authors, female friendships, feminism, forgiveness, GRIEF, HORROR, identity, ISLAND, lesbian side characters, lgbtq+, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, MAGIC, Megan Giddings, Michigan, missing moms, missing persons, missing women, mothers & daughters, My reviews, MYSTERY, near future/alternate reality, PARANORMAL, published in 2022, queer, read in 2022, reading, social issues, SPECULATIVE FICTION, SUPERNATURAL, the female malaise, The Women Could Fly, trauma, witchcraft, WITCHES -
Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
Cloud-Atlas-esque novels seem to be all the rage in 2022… “This place is precarious, that’s the only word for it. It’s the lightest sketch of civilizations, caught between the forest and the sea. He doesn’t belong here” This is my third novel by Mandel and once again I have rather conflicting thoughts and feelings about…
1910s, 20th century, 3 STARS, Adult, America, ART/CREATIVITY, ARTISTS, beautiful prose, belonging, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, books about books, books about writers, canada, canadian author, Contemporary, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), dystopia, Emily St. John Mandel, f/f side, female authors, HISTORICAL FICTION, interconnected stories, interesting structure, lgbtq+ side, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, moon, morality, musicians, My reviews, pandemic, philosophical, published in 2022, queer side characters, read in 2022, reading, restrained prose, SCI-FI, Sea Of Tranquility, siblings, SPECULATIVE FICTION, time travel -
How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu
Lacklustre and monotonous, not only did How High We Go in the Dark fail to grip my attention but it also failed to elicit an emotional response on my part. It was a bland and repetitive affair, which is a pity given the hype around it. It didn’t help that a few weeks ago I…
2 STARS, Adult, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, apocalyptic, asian american, DEATH, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), doctors, dystopia, environmental, existentialism, family, GRIEF, illness, interconnected stories, japan, male authors, pandemic, parenting, post-apocalyptic, published in 2022, read in 2022, SCI-FI, SPACE, spaceships, SPECULATIVE FICTION, weak prose, weak worldbuilding -
Noor by Nnedi Okorafor
Earlier this year I read and loved Nnedi Okorafor’s Remote Control, which is a truly wonderful novella. Because of this, I was looking forward to Noor as I’m a fan of Okorafor’s take on Africanfuturism and of the way she seamlessly fuses folkloresque fantasy elements with sci-fi ones. While Noor certainly delivers on the Africanfuturism…
2.5 STARS, 3rd pov, Adult, afrofuturism, arc, Black & Black heritage authors, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, dystopia, FANTASY, female authors, FOLKLORE, My reviews, netgalley, Nigeria, nigerian american author, NNEDI OKORAFOR, noor, politics, published in 2021, read in 2021, reading, SCI-FI, SPECULATIVE FICTION, subject over characters/story -
To Paradise by Hanya Yanagihara
My disappointment is immeasurable, and my day is ruined. If you’ve read my review for A Little Life you know how much that novel means to me. Just looking at my hardback copy makes me feel all sorts of intense feelings. So, naturally, my expectations were high for To Paradise. At first, the Cloud Atlas-esque…
1890s, 1990s, 19TH CENTURY, 3 STARS, Adult, age gap, alternate history, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, arc, beautiful prose, big books, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, cheating, chronic pain, class, cultural dissonance, DEATH, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), dystopia, f/f side, family, fathers & sons, favourite authors, female authors, gay, hawaii, illness, interconnected stories, lesbian side characters, lgbtq+, LITERARY FICTION, Longing, m/m, MARRIAGE, mental health, My reviews, netgalley, pandemic, PRIVILEGE, published in 2022, queer, read in 2021, reading, social issues, SPECULATIVE FICTION, style over character, to paradise -
Bloodchild and Other Stories by Octavia E. Butler
In Bloodchild and Other Stories Octavia Butler demonstrates how fluid Afrofuturism is. In these stories, Butler combines different genres—such as speculative fiction, sci-fi, fantasy, horror—presenting her readers with thought-provoking stories that challenge Western influences and beliefs. Within these stories, Butler is able to simultaneously reclaim the past and to promote visions of possible futures. This…
1990s, 20th century, 3 STARS, Adult, afrofuturism, ALIENS, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, apocalyptic, Black & Black heritage authors, Bloodchild and Other Stories, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, collection of short stories, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), dystopia, ESSAYS, FANTASY, female authors, HORROR, illness, My reviews, OCTAVIA E. BUTLER, published in 1995, RACE, read in 2021, science, short stories, SOCIAL COMMENTARY, SPECULATIVE FICTION, violence -
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
“But I have no faith in love. Love cannot save me.I choose vengeance.” Xiran Jay Zhao has written an ambitious debut novel that should definitely appeal to fans of Pacific Rim & The Hunger Games. Iron Widow is likely one of the most creative books that I’ve read this year (which is saying something given…
1st pov, 2 STARS, action, alternate history, arc, battles, bi side characters, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, China, chinese author, chinese inspired setting, DEATH, dystopia, FANTASY, Iron Widow, LGBTQ+ Author, lgbtq+ side, m/f/m romance, My reviews, netgalley, Not Like Other Girls, polyamory, reading, RETELLINGS, revenge, SCI-FI, trying and failing @ feminism, violence, weak prose, weak worldbuilding, Xiran Jay Zhao, YOUNG ADULT -
The Rock Eaters: Stories by Brenda Peynado
The Rock Eaters: Stories will probably appeal to fans of macabre tales, such as the ones authored by Samanta Schweblin, Mariana Enríquez, and possibly even Yōko Ogawa. This collection of speculative short stories is a highly metaphorical one. Brenda Peynado uses magical realism, aliens, dystopian and fantastic scenarios, to discuss immigration, xenophobia, and class disparity.…
2 STARS, Adult, ALIENS, America, American, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, Brenda Peynado, collection of short stories, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), Dominican American author, dystopia, FANTASY, female authors, greek chorus, grotesque, latin america, latin american, latinx author, lgbtq+ side, MAGICAL REALISM, migration/immigration, My reviews, published in 2021, queer side characters, read in 2021, reading, SCI-FI, short stories, social issues, SPECULATIVE FICTION, surreal, The Rock Eaters, The Rock Eaters: Stories -
Terminal Boredom: Stories by Izumi Suzuki
Perhaps I should be more lenient towards these stories as they were written in the 1970s but alas I did find them rather dated.Most of these stories are set in near-futures. The first portrays an all-female society in which men are seen as less than human. Other stories present readers with different shades of bleak…
1970s, 2 STARS, ALIENATION, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, dystopia, ennui, existentialism, feminism, futuristic, Izumi Suzuki, japan, JAPANESE AUTHOR, Kafkaesque, lesbian side characters, lgbtq+, loneliness, My reviews, navel gazing, near future/alternate reality, published in 2021, queer, read in 2021, reading, SCI-FI, SOCIAL COMMENTARY, SPECULATIVE FICTION, terminal boredom, Terminal Boredom: stories, TRANSLATED FICTION, weird
luce [is reading] 