![luce [is reading]](https://wishfullyreading.files.wordpress.com/2023/01/9429655-1.jpeg){kind=small}
-
Seven Empty Houses by Samanta Schweblin
Having found Samanta Schweblin’s Mouthful of Birds to make for a relatively disturbing collection of short stories I was intrigued to read more by her. Seven Empty Houses even promised a thematic unity in its seven stories, as they all featured strange houses. Sadly I found the motif to be explored/utilized in a rather underwhelming…
2 STARS, Adult, argentina, argentinian author, collection of short stories, Contemporary, creepy setting, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), female authors, ghosts/spirits, haunted house, hauntings, HORROR, latin america, latinx author, LITERARY FICTION, MAGICAL REALISM, published in 2015, read in 2022, Samanta Schweblin, Seven Empty Houses, short stories, surreal, SUSPENSE, weird -
Bright Dead Things by Ada Limón
Lighting does indeed strike twice and so does Ava Limón’s poetry. This past summer I was very much taken by Limón’s latest collection, The Hurting Kind, so much so that I was keen to make my way through her backlist. In Bright Dead Things Limón showcases not only her skill for language, but her ability…
1st pov, Ada Limón, Adult, America, AMERICAN AUTHOR, atmospheric, beauty, belonging, Bright Dead Things, Contemporary, DEATH, environmental, female authors, female poet, GRIEF, Kentucky, language, latin american diaspora, latinx author, lgbtq+, Longing, lyrical prose, melancholy, MEMORY, nature, NEW YORK, Nonfiction, nostalgic reads, POETRY, published in 2015 -
Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho
“He spoke the spell under his breath, still a little uncertain after the agonies he had endured. But magic came, ever his friend—magic answered his call.” Written in a playful pastiche style Sorcerer to the Crown will certainly appeal to fans of Susanna Clarke, Neil Gaiman, and Diana Wynne Jones. Cho’s bombastic prose, characterized by…
1800s, 1810s, 19TH CENTURY, 3rd pov, 4 STARS, academia, Adult, adventure, all girls school, alternate history, bombastic style, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, curses, DRAGONS, FAERIES, FAIRYLAND, FANTASY, FANTASY OF MANNERS, favourite authors, female authors, HISTORICAL FICTION, HUMOR, MAGIC, magic school, Malaysian author, My reviews, playful style, published in 2015, re-reads, read in 2016, read in 2021, reading, Regency era, SOCIAL COMMENTARY, Sorcerer Royal, WARLOCKS/WIZARDS, WITCHES, Zen Cho -
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
“Fear and hatred, fear and hatred: often, it seemed that those were the only two qualities he possessed. Fear of everyone else; hatred of himself.” 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 -
Pretend I’m Dead by Jen Beagin
Pretend I’m Dead was 50 shades of fucked up but boy was it funny. “When he went to order their drinks, he asked, “What’s your poison?”“Oven cleaner,” she’d said with a straight face.Her sense of humor sometimes made people—herself, included—uncomfortable.” This novel is divided in four chapters, each one focusing on a particular relationship of…
3rd pov, 4 STARS, addiction, Adult, age gap, ALIENATION, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, bad love, BISEXUAL/PANSEXUAL, Booklr, child abuse, Contemporary, contemporary malaise, dark, dark humor, DEPRESSION, ennui, female authors, graphic content, grotesque, illness, incest-y, Jen Beagin, lgbtq+, LITERARY FICTION, Massachusetts, mental health, millennial, mumblecore, New Mexico, obsession, Pretend I'm Dead, published in 2015, read in 2021, sexual assault/abuse/rape, suicide, surreal, toxic relationships, work culture -
The Star Side of Bird Hill by Naomi Jackson
“Loving a country besides the one you lived in was a recipe for disaster.” The Star Side of Bird Hill is an enjoyable coming-of-age novel about two sisters, Dionne and Phaedra, who are sent off by their mother to spend their summer with their grandmother, Hyacinth, in a small town in Barbados. The girls’ aren’t…
1980s, 3 STARS, 3rd pov, Adult, America, Barbados, Black & Black heritage authors, Caribbean, caribbean american author, coming of age, family, female authors, GRIEF, growing up, HISTORICAL FICTION, illness, ISLAND, lgbtq+ side, mental health, mothers & daughters, Naomi Jackson, NEW YORK, published in 2015, read in 2020, SISTERS, social issues, suicide, summer reads, The Star Side of Bird Hill -
The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley — book review
“Under the gas lamps, mist pawed at the windows of the closed shops, which became steadily shabbier nearer home. It was such a smooth ruination that he could have been walking forward through time, watching the same buildings age five years with every step, all still as a museum”. The Watchmaker of Filigree Street mostly…
1880s, 19TH CENTURY, 3rd pov, adventure, age gap, alternate history, British author, cultural dissonance, drama, england, female authors, FRIENDS TO LOVERS, HISTORICAL FICTION, japan, Keita Mori, lgbtq+, LONDON, loneliness, m/m, MAGICAL REALISM, MEMORY, MYSTERY, Natasha Pulley, published in 2015, queer, read in 2020, SPECULATIVE FICTION, STEAMPUNK, Thaniel Steepleton, The Watchmaker of Filigree Street, VICTORIAN -
The Long and Faraway Gone by Lou Berney — book review
“That was Wyatt’s philosophy when it came to the past: Stay out of it. ” The Long and Faraway Gone is a well written if somewhat uneven novel. I can definitely see why it has drawn comparisons to books by Dennis Lehane. Both authors render a strong sense of place, so much so that the…
1980s, 3.5 STARS, 3rd pov, Adult, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, Contemporary, CRIME, HISTORICAL FICTION, Lou Berney, male authors, missing girls, missing persons, MYSTERY, Noir, obsession, Oklahoma, private investigator, published in 2015, READ IN 2019, SISTERS, SUSPENSE, The Long and Faraway Gone, THRILLER, trauma, violence -
Wylding Hall : Book Review
Wylding Hall by Elizabeth Hand ★★★✰✰ 3.5 stars I’ve read two other books by Elizabeth Hand, one of which I consider an all time favourite. Wylding Hall begins strongly enough. The narration uses a limiting form of structure and consists in a series of interviews with the former members of a British an acid-folk band. In the…
1970s, 20th century, 3.5 STARS, Adult, AMERICAN AUTHOR, creepy setting, documentary style, Elizabeth Hand, england, female authors, ghosts/spirits, GOTHIC, manor/big house, missing men, missing persons, modern gothic, music, music band, MYSTERY, NOVELLA/SHORT STORY, published in 2015, READ IN 2019, REVIEW, SUPERNATURAL, SUSPENSE, Wylding Hall -
THE GHOST FIELDS (RUTH GALLOWAY): BOOK REVIEW
The Ghost Fields by Elly Griffiths ★★★✰✰ 3 stars “Stop!” shouts Nelson. “Police!” In answer a bullet shoots past his ear. “Ruth!” yells Nelson. “Get behind the duck.” While I did find The Ghost Fields to be rather entertaining, it also made me realise that Elly Griffiths is not for me. Maybe it’s down to…
luce [is reading] 