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The Clothing of Books by Jhumpa Lahiri
In this short and meditative piece, Jhumpa Lahiri examines the role that book jackets play in a person’s reading experience and the responsibility they have in not only conveying the book within but in catching someone’s attention. Lahiri looks back to her youth and recalls how the books she borrowed from at the library were…
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The Bright Lands by John Fram
At first, I was intrigued by The Bright Lands: a small town in Texas, missing teen(s), possible evil entities…I kind of expected it to be a modern take on Twin Peaks by way of Stephen King. Sadly, however, The Bright Lands never delivers on its intriguing premise. The writing leaves a lot to be desired,…
2 STARS, 3rd pov, Adult, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, BOOK REVIEWS, Contemporary, cults, gay, heavy on telling, HIGH SCHOOL, HORROR, John Fram, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, male authors, missing boys, MYSTERY, NEW YORK, PARANORMAL, problematic, published in 2020, queer, read in 2020, REVIEWS, rural setting, sex, SMALL TOWN, small town crime, Southern America, sports, SUPERNATURAL, SUSPENSE, texas, The Bright Lands, THRILLER, weak prose -
Bad Love by Maame Blue — book review
Bad Love is a compelling debut novel that is part modern love story, part coming of age. The novel’s narrator and protagonist recounts her first relationship, one that blurred the line between ‘good’ love and ‘bad’ love. Ekuah, a British-Ghanaian university student in London, meets Dee on a night out with her friends. From this…
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Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan — book review
“I felt I had hitherto woefully misdirected my energies in attempting to cultivate a personality. If you didn’t have one then that left more room for everyone else’s.” With so many professional reviewers hailing Exciting Times as one of the best debut novels of 2020, praising Naoise Dolan for her wit and her razor-sharp social…
1st pov, 2.5 STARS, ALIENATION, ambiguous protagonist, BISEXUAL/PANSEXUAL, BOOK REVIEW, Booklr, cheating, Contemporary, contemporary malaise, Dublin, Exciting Times, existentialism, f/f, female authors, hong kong, Hyped new releases, introspective, IRELAND, IRISH AUTHOR, language, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, millennial, mumblecore, Naoise Dolan, navel gazing, Neurodiversity, published in 2020, queer, read in 2020, reading, REVIEWS, ROMANCE, sapphic, teachers -
Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare — book review
“We don’t always love people who deserve it.” To be honest, I thought I was over Cassandra Clare….and it turns out I was very wrong. There is something about the Shadowhunter world that I find interesting. And over the past ten years or so I have grown fond of it and the characters that inhabit…
1900s, 20th century, 3rd pov, 5 STARS, ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE, action, adventure, Alastair Carstairs, AMERICAN AUTHOR, balls, bi side characters, BOOK REVIEW, Booklr, Cassandra Clare, Chain of Gold, Cordelia Carstairs, curses, DEMONS, drama, Dreams, Edwardian era, england, female authors, gay side characters, ghosts/spirits, great storytelling, HISTORICAL FICTION, lgbtq+, LONDON, m/m side, MAGIC, monsters, PARANORMAL, published in 2020, queer, queer side characters, read in 2020, REVIEWS, ROMANCE, shadowhunters, siblings, The Last Hours, TLH, URBAN FANTASY, YOUNG ADULT -
Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano — book review
Dear Edward presents its readers with a moving coming of age that deals with themes of grief, loss, and death. Throughout the course of Edward’s narrative Ann Napolitano depicts the important role that friends and family play in a person’s recovery process. While I was certainly felt invested in Edward’s story, I found the structure…
3 STARS, 3rd pov, Adult, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, Ann Napolitano, BOOK REVIEW, Booklr, coming of age, Contemporary, Dear Edward, DEATH, family, female authors, friendships, GRIEF, growing up, GUILT, LITERARY FICTION, orphans, plane crash, published in 2020, read in 2020, REVIEWS, tragedy, trauma -
Skyward by Brandon Sanderson — book review
I more or less inhaled this book. “You get to choose who you are. Legacy, memories of the past, can serve us well. But we cannot let them define us. When heritage becomes a box instead of an inspiration, it has gone too far.” This is easily my favourite book by Brandon Sanderson. A few…
4.5 STARS, action, adrenaline fuelled reads, adventure, ALIENS, AMERICAN AUTHOR, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, Brandon Sanderson, coming of age, Cytonic Series, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), fathers & daughters, friendships, identity, male authors, ON BOOKS, published in 2018, read in 2020, REVIEWS, SCI-FI, Skyward, SPACE, space battles, SPACE OPERA, spaceships, SPECULATIVE FICTION, Spensa Nightshade, war, YOUNG ADULT -
The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin — book review
Rusting Earth…The Fifth Season is a spectacular read. “This is what you must remember: the ending of one story is just the beginning of another. This has happened before, after all.” Reviewing The Fifth Season is no small feat. We have N.K. Jemisin’s writing style, her intricate and all-encompassing world-building, and her unflinching and emotionally…
5 STARS, ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE, action, adrenaline fuelled reads, Adult, apocalyptic, Black & Black heritage authors, BOOK REVIEW, Booklr, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), environmental, fantastic worldbuilding, favourite authors, female authors, FOLKLORE, gay side characters, GRIEF, high fantasy, hugo winners, lgbtq+ side, morality, motherhood, mothers & daughters, myths, N.K. Jemisin, nature, philosophical, post-apocalyptic, POWERS, queer side characters, re-reads, read in 2016, read in 2020, revenge, REVIEWS, SCI-FI, social issues, SPECULATIVE FICTION, survival, terrific prose, The Fifth Season, tragedy, trans side characters, trauma, violence -
Platform Seven by Louise Doughty — book review
In spite of its flaws Platform Seven is a lot more thoughtful than one might expect from its murder mystery premise. “There was a man on the station only two hours ago who will never go home again.” One of the weakest aspects of this book is that it tries, and doesn’t really succeed, in…
3 STARS, 3rd pov, abuse, ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS, Adult, afterlife, bad love, British author, Contemporary, domestic thriller, england, female authors, ghosts/spirits, Louise Doughty, mental health, MYSTERY, Peterborough, Platform Seven, psychological, Psychological thriller, published in 2019, READ IN 2019, REVIEWS, suicide, SUPERNATURAL, SUSPENSE, tragedy, violence against women -
Between a Wolf and a Dog : Book Review
Between a Wolf and a Dog by Georgia Blain ★★★✰✰ 3 stars This novel had a really strong start: Blain’s style was compelling and brought her story to life. However, as the narrative progresses, I started to notice that the language and descriptions could be very repetitive and, at times, even overdone. Although there are…
luce [is reading] 