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Bad Cree by Jessica Johns
Bad Cree was one of my most anticipated 2023 releases and while I did like it, it didn’t quite live up to its premise as it ultimately reads as one of those debuts that manages to be both refreshing (in its imagery, in its lack of the usual romance subplot) and cliched (in its storyline,…
1st pov, 3 STARS, Adult, alberta, America, bad cree, canada, canadian author, Contemporary, Cree, cree author, dead girls, DEATH, Dreams, FANTASY, female authors, forests, GUILT, hauntings, HORROR, indigenous, indigenous author, Jessica Johns, lgbtq+ side, MAGICAL REALISM, MYSTERY, native american & first nation, Native American & First Nation authors, nehiyaw author, PARANORMAL, published in 2023, queer side characters, read in 2023, SISTERS, subject over characters/story, SUSPENSE, trauma -
Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo
That was what Lethe and the societies demanded. Secrecy. Loyalty. Well, fuck them. In Hell Bent, the long-awaited sequel to the high-octane Ninth House, we are reunited with the danger-prone and dangerous Alex Stern. Still recovering from her several near-death experiences, and attempting to keep up with her coursework and maintain the facade of being…
3rd pov, 4 STARS, academia, Adult, adventure, alex stern, alex stern #2, ambiguous protagonist, America, AMERICAN AUTHOR, atmospheric, autumn, California, campus, Contemporary, curses, dark academia, dark fantasy, DEATH, DEMONS, FANTASY, female authors, friendships, gay side characters, ghosts/spirits, gritty aesthetics, hell, Hell Bent, HORROR, it’s about the *aesthetics*, it’s about the *yearning*, Leigh Bardugo, lgbtq+ side, MAGIC, morality, MURDER, MYSTERY, NEW ADULT, New Haven, Ninth House, occult, PARANORMAL, place as character, PRIVILEGE, published in 2023, quests, read in 2023, rich people, secret societies, secretiveness, she is dangerous, strong sense of place, SUSPENSE, terrific prose, trauma, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE, URBAN FANTASY, VAMPIRES, violence, Yale -
Soledad by Angie Cruz
“Could it be that that’s just the way things go between people? Irreconcilable differences, which can’t really be explained or solved.” What could have been a polyphonic tragicomedy exploring trauma, abusive and dysfunctional relationships, generational and cultural divides, sex, love, and desire, is let down by a cast of cartoonish characters, repetitive dialogues and interactions,…
1990s, 2000s, 20th century, abuse, ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS, adolescence, Adult, America, Angie Cruz, Contemporary, DEATH, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), Dominican American author, dominican republic, drama, Dreams, family, female authors, girlhood, grandmothers, illness, intergenerational, jealousy, latin america, latin american, latin american diaspora, latinx author, lesbian side characters, lgbtq+ side, MAGICAL REALISM, MELODRAMA, men who are sleazy, migration/immigration, motherhood, mothers & daughters, navel gazing, NEW YORK, no quotations marks, published in 2001, read in 2023, sex, sex scenes that are yikes, sexual assault/abuse/rape, SEXUALITY, Soledad, style over character, trauma, trying and failing @ feminism, unrequited love, womanhood/femininity -
LaRose by Louise Erdrich
“They spoke in both languages. We love you, don’t cry. Sorrow eats time. Be patient. Time eats sorrow.” Unsparing yet profoundly touching LaRose chronicles the aftermath of a tragic accident: it’s 1999, when, on a reservation in North Dakota, Landreaux Iron, hunting for a deer near his property, accidentally shoots and kills Dusty, the 5-year-old…
1830s, 1990s, 19TH CENTURY, 2000s, 20th century, 3rd pov, 4.5 STARS, abuse, addiction, Adult, America, bullying, CHILDHOOD, Christianity, coming of age, Contemporary, DEATH, DEPRESSION, family, FAMILY SAGA, female authors, forgiveness, friendships, generational trauma, ghosts/spirits, great storytelling, GRIEF, gritty realism, growing up, GUILT, indigenous, indigenous author, intergenerational, LaRose, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, Louise Erdrich, MAGICAL REALISM, MARRIAGE, mental health, native american & first nation, Native American & First Nation authors, nature, no quotations marks, north dakota, Ojibwe/Chippewa, Ojibwe/Chippewa author, polyphonic, published in 2016, read in 2022, Religion, reservations, revenge, school setting, sexual assault/abuse/rape, siblings, social issues, strong sense of place, suicide, toxic relationships, tragedy, trauma, unrequited love -
Are You Happy Now by Hanna Jameson
“That this was the trade-off. The price of happiness. In order to feel happy he had to feel everything.” A quietly crushing yet devastatingly tender work scintillating with insight and emotional intelligence. With acuity and empathy Hanna Jameson presents her readers with a captivating narrative chronicling four people’s attempts at happiness despite a looming health…
3rd pov, 4.5 STARS, Adult, adulthood, age gap, ALIENATION, ambivalent mood, America, anxiety, Are You Happy Now, atmospheric, bad love, beautiful prose, belonging, BISEXUAL/PANSEXUAL, British author, contemporary malaise, dancers, DEATH, DEPRESSION, desire, divorce/separations, ennui, female authors, first love, gay, Hanna Jameson, heartbreak/breakups, i don’t think happiness is for me, identity, illness, introspective, it’s about the *yearning*, jealousy, journalism, lgbtq+, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, Longing, m/m, male friendships, melancholy, mental health, musicians, near future/alternate reality, NEW YORK, pandemic, psychological, published in 2023, queer, read in 2022, restrained prose, right person wrong time, ROMANCE, self-destructive, SEXUALITY, SPECULATIVE FICTION, strong sense of place, suicide, trauma, unrequited love, wedding drama, work culture -
Marie’s Proof of Love by Mieko Kawakami
“Love doesn’t belong to any of us—it exists elsewhere, complete, from beginning to end. We simply have the privilege of coming into contact with it every once in a while.” The dreamlike mood permeating this short story by Mieko Kawakami is reminiscent of Elisabeth Thomas’s Catherine House, Sylvia Plath, and Fleur Jaeggy’s Sweet Days of…
abuse, all girls school, boarding/private school, dreamlike quality, female authors, GRIEF, heartbreak/breakups, JAPANESE AUTHOR, loneliness, Marie’s Proof of Love, melancholy, Mieko Kawakami, NOVELLA/SHORT STORY, published in 2021, read in 2022, sapphic, short stories, the female malaise, trauma, unnamed country -
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Usually, when I read a book I know how I feel about it—whether I loved it, really liked it, thought it was just okay, or disliked it—and I have an idea of how to articulate my feelings. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is one of those rare books that has me really torn up and…
1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 20th century, 3 STARS, abortion/miscarriage/bodily autonomy, academia, Adult, age gap, America, anxiety, asian american, big books, books that make me mad, California, cambridge (us), class, coming of age, Contemporary, DEATH, DEPRESSION, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), disabilities, drama, female authors, friendships, Gabrielle Zevin, gay side characters, GRIEF, growing up, GUILT, Harvard, HISTORICAL FICTION, horrible friends, Jewish, korean american author, lgbtq+ side, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, los angeles, m/m side, Massachusetts, mental health, nostalgic reads, Not Like Other Girls, orphans, published in 2022, queer side characters, ROMANCE, Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, toxic relationships, trauma, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE, unrequited love, videogames, work culture -
Daughters of the New Year by E.M. Tran
Xuan and her children never talked about this dance. They did it over and over again, playing their parts faithfully and acting as though the other had not transgressed. While I appreciate the conceit of Daughters of the New Year, its execution did not win me over. The summary may be somewhat at fault, as…
1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2.5 STARS, 20th century, Adult, asian american, asian diaspora, astrology, beauty contest, belonging, bullying, Contemporary, cultural dissonance, Daughters of the New Year, DEATH, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), drama, E.M. Tran, f/f side, family, female authors, generational trauma, HISTORICAL FICTION, history, intergenerational, interwoven narratives, lesbian side characters, lgbtq+ side, MEMORY, migration/immigration, Mississippi, motherhood, mothers & daughters, New Orleans, OCD, polyphonic, published in 2022, queer side characters, read in 2022, reality shows, SISTERS, snapshots, Southern America, trauma, Vietnam, Vietnamese American Author, womanhood/femininity -
White Horse by Erika T. Wurth
The story and themes in White Horse were promising enough, their execution however ultimately is somewhat of a letdown. That is not to say that White Horse is not worth reading as I do think that it does have value in terms of entertainment and in its discussions of trauma, self-destructiveness, and survival. Our narrator…
1st pov, Adult, America, AMERICAN AUTHOR, Apache Chickasaw Cherokee author, bars & restaurants, colorado, Contemporary, dead girls, Denver, disabilities, Erika T. Wurth, female authors, female friendships, friendships, ghosts/spirits, GRIEF, gritty aesthetics, hauntings, HORROR, indigenous, indigenous author, literary references, mothers & daughters, MURDER, MYSTERY, native american & first nation, Native American & First Nation authors, PARANORMAL, published in 2022, read in 2022, self-destructive, survival, SUSPENSE, THRILLER, trauma, White Horse -
The Furrows by Namwali Serpell
At first, The Furrows presents its readers with a labyrinthine yet hypotonic narrative about trauma, grief, and guilt. Cassandra, our central character, now an adult, recalls the death of her seven-year-old brother, Wayne when she was twelve. Then, this accident is presented to us again, except this time the circumstances are different. Cassandra tells different…
Adult, ambiguous protagonist, ambivalent mood, America, bad love, Black & Black heritage authors, black diaspora, CHILDHOOD, cold tone, Contemporary, DEATH, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), female authors, GRIEF, GUILT, incest-y, LITERARY FICTION, MEMORY, MYSTERY, Namwali Serpell, psychological, published in 2022, read in 2022, rich people, sea, siblings, snapshots, style over character, surreal, The Furrows, toxic relationships, trauma, Zambian author
luce [is reading] 