Reviews and Comments

mouse

mouse@bookwyrm.social

Joined 3 years, 5 months ago

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Immodest Acts (Paperback, 1987, Oxf.U.P.(N.Y.)) No rating

The discovery of the fascinating and richly documented story of Sister Benedetta Carlini, Abbess of …

Somewhat surprisingly for a book randomly found in a thrift store, this was interesting, accessible, and short (about 130 pages minus appendices). It was a fun way to meditate on ins and out of trying to understand people in history, in general and specifically in regard to morality and sexuality, as a person who can't escape their own subconscious contemporary context and also as a person with a very conscious perspective.

Strange and Stubborn Endurance (2022, Doherty Associates, LLC, Tom) 3 stars

Not for me

3 stars

This really didn't do it for me! I think part of that is that I'm not wild about romances and this was a romance. A big complaint for me is that the romantic leads behave so constantly and consistently we've-been-to-therapy correctly towards each other that I found their interactions tedious and didactic. It felt moralizing to me ("observe, this is the correct way to handle an emotion"), but I think it was intended to be more of a wish fulfillment love story ("imagine if you dated someone this emotionally mature"). Also everyone is described as being super hot and I did not enjoy that.

The heroes behaved perfectly in every situation and the villains were over-the-top horrible in every situation, and even though the moral stakes were ones I agree with (don't sexually assault people, don't be homophobic, don't murder people), I was put off by the black-and-white-ness of the …

Some Desperate Glory (2023, Doherty Associates, LLC, Tom) 5 stars

All her life Kyr has trained for the day she can avenge the murder of …

Dark but not heavy

5 stars

This book really stuck with me after reading it. I had to stop reading it before bed because I would stay up too late reading it, which is a trait I cherish in a book and is also hard to pull off in a book with such heavy themes -- brainwashing, abuse, reproductive coercion, war,.... And the characters were so well articulated. I really live for books where characters seem like actual humans who are capable of being really truly horrible to each other and also capable of kindness and growth.

The Conjure-Man Dies (Paperback, 2020, HarperCollins Publishers Limited, Collins Crime Club) No rating

When the body of N’Gana Frimbo, the African conjure-man, is discovered in his consultation room, …

I enjoyed this! I wouldn't recommend it if someone was just looking for something to read because wow the language around race does not age well and the plot wasn't super tight, but it's an interesting piece of the history of detective fiction