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Hardboiled & Hard Luck by Banana Yoshimoto
“I felt as if this place I had come to was nowhere. As if I no longer had a home to return to. That road I had been on didn’t lead anywhere, this trip would never end—it seemed to me as if next morning would never arrive.” Banana Yoshimoto is at her whimsical best in…
1990s, 1st pov, 3.5 STARS, Adult, ハードボイルド／ハードラック, Banana Yoshimoto, collection of short stories, Contemporary, DEATH, dreamlike quality, Dreams, existentialism, f/f, favourite authors, female authors, forgiveness, ghosts/spirits, GRIEF, heartbreak/breakups, hotel, illness, japan, JAPANESE AUTHOR, lgbtq+, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, Longing, MAGICAL REALISM, melancholy, MEMORY, navel gazing, no plot just vibes, published in 1999, queer, read in 2023, right person wrong time, sapphic, short stories, SISTERS, SLICE OF LIFE, suicide, surreal, TRANSLATED FICTION, unnamed narrator, uplifting reads -
Nothing Can Hurt You Now by Simone Campos
A banger of a premise is let-down by sensationalistic storytelling, a banal plot, and a writing style that for all its attempts to be gritty & edgy comes across as laughable. Worst still, the narrative seems under the impression that it is doing a lot, in terms of unconventional female characters and challenging simplistic representations…
2 STARS, 3rd pov, Adult, amateur detective, brazil, brazilian author, Contemporary, f/f, female authors, graphic content, kidnapping, LESBIAN, lgbtq+, men who are sleazy, missing girls, missing persons, models, MYSTERY, Neurodiversity, Not Like Other Girls, Nothing Can Hurt You Now, prostitution, published in 2019, queer, read in 2022, sapphic, sex, sex scenes that are yikes, Simone Campos, SISTERS, smut, style over character, survival, SUSPENSE, THRILLER, TRANSLATED FICTION, trying and failing @ feminism, wannabe gone girl -
The Magician’s Assistant by Ann Patchett
Quietly meditative yet incredibly evocative. I find it difficult to pick favorites when it comes to Patchett’s work but The Magician’s Assistant has my heart. Published in 1997 Ann Patchett’s third novel, The Magician’s Assistant is her most underrated work to date. Like with any other novel that I hold dear to my heart, I…
1990s, 3rd pov, ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE, abuse, Adult, aids/hiv, America, AMERICAN AUTHOR, ANN PATCHETT, atmospheric, beautiful prose, California, Contemporary, DEATH, dreamlike quality, Dreams, f/f, favourite authors, female authors, friendships, gay side characters, GRIEF, illness, introspective, lgbtq+, LITERARY FICTION, Longing, los angeles, m/m side, MAGIC, MAGICAL REALISM, magicians, melancholy, MEMORY, Nebraska, published in 1997, queer, re-reads, read in 2016, read in 2017, read in 2022, restrained prose, sapphic, SLICE OF LIFE, SMALL TOWN, strong sense of place, The Magician's Assistant, travel, unrequited love, WINTER -
The Oleander Sword by Tasha Suri
well, my expectations were destroyed so i guess i got what i wanted 🤡 The second book syndrome was strong in this one. If you’ve read my review for The Jasmine Throne you know how much I loved that book (i think i described it as one of the best fantasy novels out there)…sadly I…
2 STARS, 3rd pov, Adult, ANGST, battles, british indian author, court intrigue, DEATH, f/f, FANTASY, female authors, high fantasy, indian inspired setting, LESBIAN, lgbtq+, myths, political intrigue, published in 2022, queer, read in 2022, revenge, ROMANCE, royals, sapphic, siblings, TASHA SURI, temples, The Oleander Sword, war -
We Had to Remove This Post by Hanna Bervoets
We Had to Remove This Post is one of those books that leaves me thinking…well, not much beyond: this is a thing that exists It doesn’t happen all that much but now and again I read books that spectacularly fail to elicit any discernible feeling or emotion in me (beyond ‘meh’). This is ironic given…
1st pov, 2 STARS, Adult, cold tone, Contemporary, dutch author, f/f, female authors, feverish, Hanna Bervoets, HORROR, jealousy, LESBIAN, lgbtq+, LITERARY FICTION, morality, Netherlands, NOVELLA/SHORT STORY, obsession, office, paranoia, psychological, published in 2021, queer, read in 2022, sapphic, social issues, social media, subject over characters/story, technology, TRANSLATED FICTION, unreliable narrators, violence, We Had to Remove This Post, work culture -
Solo Dance by Kotomi Li
“There’s a limit to how much misogyny and heteronomrative bullshit a story can have.” Solo Dance follows a millennial woman from Taiwan working an office job in Tokyo who feels alienated from her colleagues and their daily conversations about marriage, the economy, and children. Chō, our protagonist, is a lesbian, something she keeps ‘hidden’ from…
1st pov, 2.5 STARS, Adult, ALIENATION, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, books about books, books about writers, break-ups, Contemporary, contemporary malaise, cultural dissonance, DEPRESSION, existentialism, f/f, female authors, heartbreak/breakups, japan, Kotomi Li, LESBIAN, lgbtq+, Li Kotomi, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, navel gazing, office, published in 2018, queer, rape, read in 2022, reading, sapphic, sexual assault/abuse/rape, SEXUALITY, she is not feeling good at all, social issues, Solo Dance, subject over characters/story, suicide, taiwan, taiwanese author, the female malaise, tokyo, TRANSLATED FICTION, trauma, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE, work culture, youth -
The Other Mother by Rachel M. Harper
“Yes, of course. It is always him they want to know about—the father, not the other mother.” The Other Mother is an affecting and nuanced multigenerational tale unearthing long-buried family histories. The author’s interrogation of motherhood challenges the heteronormative archetype of the nuclear family, as she focuses on the experiences, choices, and parenting of single-women…
1990s, 2000s, 2010s, 3.5 STARS, 3rd pov, addiction, Adult, America, AMERICAN AUTHOR, Black & Black heritage authors, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, break-ups, campus, Contemporary, drama, f/f, family, FAMILY SAGA, fathers & daughters, female authors, FLORIDA, forgiveness, gay, grandfathers, GRIEF, heartbreak/breakups, identity, LESBIAN, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, LITERARY FICTION, Longing, Miami, motherhood, mothers & sons, musicians, My reviews, New England, parenting, Providence, published in 2022, queer, Rachel M. Harper, read in 2022, reading, rhode island, siblings, The Other Mother, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE, unrequited love -
Concerning My Daughter by Kim Hye-Jin
“The expectations and ambitions, possibilities and hopes concerning my daughter – they still remain and torment me no matter how hard I work to get rid of them. To be rid of them, how skeletal and empty do I have to be? Despite its short length Concerning my Daughter is by no means a breeze…
1st pov, 3 STARS, Adult, ageing, Concerning My Daughter, Contemporary, f/f, family, female authors, graphic content, GUILT, identity, intergenerational, Kim Hye-Jin, Korea, korean author, LESBIAN, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, LITERARY FICTION, motherhood, mothers & daughters, PUBLISHED IN 2017, queer, read in 2022, sapphic, SEXUALITY, SOCIAL COMMENTARY, social issues, TRANSLATED FICTION, unnamed narrator -
Nothing Burns as Bright as You by Ashley Woodfolk
If you like lyrical love stories such as Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson, or books that give serious A24 coming-of-age film vibes such as All the Water I’ve Seen Is Running by Elias Rodriques, don’t sleep on Nothing Burns as Bright as You. The author captures how all-consuming first love can be through the…
1st pov, America, AMERICAN AUTHOR, ANGST, Ashley Woodfolk, atmospheric, bi side characters, Black & Black heritage authors, BOOK REVIEWS, Contemporary, f/f, female authors, FRIENDS TO LOVERS, LESBIAN, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, lyrical prose, My reviews, Nothing Burns as Bright as You, queer, reading, ROMANCE, sapphic, style over character, stylised prose, Summer, toxic relationships, unnamed characters, unnamed narrator, vignettes, YOUNG ADULT -
Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami
It would be safe to say that I do have a bit of an uneasy relationship with Murakami’s work. I read and was not blown away by it. Over the last couple of months, I have picked up several of his short story collections but never felt compelled to finish them. The main reason why…
1990s, 1st pov, Adult, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, Dreams, existentialism, f/f, feverish, first love, Greece, hallucinations, Haruki Murakami, japan, JAPANESE AUTHOR, LESBIAN, lgbtq+, male authors, men who do not seem to know how to write women, missing persons, missing women, My reviews, obsession, philosophical, published in 1999, read in 2022, reading, ROMANCE, sapphic, sex, SEXUALITY, Sputnik Sweetheart, story within a story, surreal, teachers, TRANSLATED FICTION, travel, unrequited love
luce [is reading] 