-
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 -
Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh
Compared to My Year of Rest and Relaxation, Eileen just ain’t it. “I was like Joan of Arc, or Hamlet, but born into the wrong life—the life of a nobody, a waif, invisible. There’s no better way to say it: I was not myself back then. I was someone else. I was Eileen.” Vile, vulgar,…
1960s, 1st pov, 20th century, 3 STARS, abuse, addiction, Adult, ALIENATION, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, dark, dark humor, eileen, endless monologues, ennui, fathers & daughters, favourite authors, female authors, grotesque, HISTORICAL FICTION, introspective, kidnapping, LITERARY FICTION, Massachusetts, MURDER, navel gazing, obsession, Ottessa Moshfegh, prison, queer undercurrents, re-reads, toxic relationships, unreliable narrators, WINTER, winter reads, work culture -
Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley
DISCLAIMER: If you are thinking of reading this novel I recommend you check out some more positive reviews, especially ones from #ownvoices reviewers (such as Brandann Hill-Mann’s review). I didn’t hate this book it but I would be lying if I said that it didn’t really, really, really frustrate me (because it did). I would…
1st pov, addiction, America, Angeline Boulley, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, canada, coming of age, CRIME, DEATH, drama, FANTASY, female authors, Firekeeper's Daughter, gay side characters, GRIEF, indigenous, indigenous author, insta love, INVESTIGATION, kidnapping, lgbtq+ side, Michigan, MURDER, My reviews, MYSTERY, native american & first nation, Native American & First Nation authors, Not Like Other Girls, Ojibwe/Chippewa, Ojibwe/Chippewa author, psychopaths, published in 2021, rape, read in 2021, ROMANCE, sexual assault/abuse/rape, social issues, sports, SUSPENSE, THRILLER, trauma, trying and failing @ feminism, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE, why the hype, YOUNG ADULT -
Yes, Daddy by Jonathan Parks-Ramage
“Desire places people in dangerous positions. This was a fact I’d yet to learn and something Richard knew all too well.” Dio mio, this book was so stressful.Equal parts gripping and horrifyingYes, Daddy is one hell of a debut novel. This is not the kind of book one enjoys reading. In fact, most of the…
2000s, 2010s, 3.5 STARS, abuse, ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS, Adult, age gap, all of the trigger warnings, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, bad love, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, books about writers, class, Contemporary, courtroom drama, dark, film industry, forgiveness, gay, graphic content, GUILT, Jonathan Parks-Ramage, journalism, kidnapping, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, male authors, netgalley, NEW YORK, Pedophelia, psychological, Psychological thriller, published in 2021, queer, rape, read in 2021, Religion, sex, sexual assault/abuse/rape, social issues, SUSPENSE, terrific prose, theatre, THRILLER, trauma, violence, Yes Daddy -
A Crooked Tree by Una Mannion
“That summer when I so desperately tried to reel us all in, I didn’t understand the forces spinning us apart.” The opening of A Crooked Tree is certainly chilling. Libby, our fifteen-year old narrator, is in the car with her siblings. When their squabbling gets too much their mother dumps twelve-year old Ellen on the…
1980s, 1st pov, 20th century, 3.25 stars, A Crooked Tree, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, CHILDHOOD, class, coming of age, creepy setting, family, female authors, friendships, girlhood, growing up, GUILT, kidnapping, MYSTERY, netgalley, nostalgic reads, Pennsylvania, place as character, Poverty, psychological, published in 2021, read in 2021, rural setting, siblings, SISTERS, Summer, SUSPENSE, Una Mannion, YOUNG ADULT -
The Lake by Banana Yoshimoto
The Lake is narrated by the quintessential Banana Yoshimoto protagonist. While Yoshimoto’s sparse yet dreamy makes for an easy reading experience this is definitely not one of her ‘strongest’ novels.Chihiro, daughter of an ‘unconventional’ couple, moves to Tokyo in order to pursue a career graphic artist. She’s still grieving her mother’s death and spends most…