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screamsbeneath

screamsbeneath@bookwyrm.social

Joined 4 months, 2 weeks ago

she/they Love and compassion are acts of resistance. Forever in recovery; learning to be a better human.

I read far more than I realized. I’m trying to find better words to describe the feelings manifested by the books I read, so my reviews may be more feeling oriented than objective.

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Rakesfall (Hardcover, 2024, Doherty Associates, LLC, Tom) 5 stars

Some stories take more than one lifetime to tell. There are wrongs that echo through …

Rakesfall

5 stars

Fantastic. If you enjoyed Saint of Bright Doors I’d say this is an easy recommendation. It is less linear and a bit more off the rails; it’s like reading a Dali painting at times in the best of ways. We even get to venture back to Luriat for a time, in time. Don’t want to say too much because you should just take the plunge, but it’s a book I desperately want to talk about with people.

Narration was great but it probably increases the difficulty in keeping characters straight.

Honey Witch (2024, Orbit) 5 stars

Honey Witch

5 stars

This was a wonderful slow burn, sapphic, cozy, cottage core romance with teeth. The pitch of Bridgerton meets Practical Magic is close, but honestly the regency period tropes are such a small part of the book since queer relationships are normalized.

I have to mention the narration first. Mia Hutchinson Shaw was phenomenal. If I had just read the book then the characters would have been far flatter and the romance nowhere near as sizzling. Listen to this if you can!

The pacing was really well done, the conflicts in the light parts of the story weren’t dragged out and the crescendo at the end was long enough to have impact without feeling layered on to hit a specific range of emotional turmoil.

The romance was so good if you like a really slow burn and pseudo enemy to lover trope. The characters all had depth, their choices and flaws …

The Warm Hands of Ghosts (Hardcover, 2024, Del Rey) 5 stars

During the Great War, a combat nurse searches for her brother, believed dead in the …

Brutal, haunting, heartfelt

5 stars

In my mind, ww1 is the nightmare that keeps your worst nightmares up at night. This was unflinching and unapologetic about the horrors of war and especially the systems that churn millions into the gears of war.

This is a story about a decorated combat nurse going through hell to find her brother as he endures hell and finds refuge in the darkest of places.

I was fascinated by the exploration of what the devil of the old world would do if they found themselves in this man made hell that was indiscriminate of sin and virtue. But I read the devil metaphorically, rather than the literal intention that casts this as historical fantasy - drawn from my own experiences of seeking oblivion from the unspeakable which can quickly lead to mental delusion, shared with those around you to personify, and exorcise, a bogeyman; to keep it at arms length, …

Can't Spell Treason Without Tea (2022, Thorne, Rebecca) 5 stars

All Reyna and Kianthe want is to open a bookshop that serves tea. Worn wooden …

Cozy

5 stars

Big recommend to anyone that liked Legends and Lattes or similar stories. This book did really well with balancing the cozy vibes with external threats to the community and everything the characters built, which gave it more depth than L&L, more akin to Bookshops and Bonedust. The world building was interesting enough to me to not fall into generic fantasy.

I loved the emphasis on non-violent outcomes and diversion of fantasy bad character tropes to productive members of a community, which really added to the depth. I hate when a bandit or thief type is just one dimensionally “bad”. I also loved that the romance is healthy with good communication and positive modeling of working through issues.

Blood in the Machine (2022, Little Brown & Company) 5 stars

The true story of what happened the first time machines came for human jobs, when …

Grab a Hammer

5 stars

Fascinating and informative. Highly recommended if you’re curious in the origins of workers rights, unions, uprisings, etc. Does a great job of putting into focus the often ambiguous specter of the machinations that the titans of industry/big tech/etc as they wage war against the work class in the name of higher profit margins.

It does help put into context many references towards the Luddites I’ve encountered in fiction recently, most notably in Babel. I also have a new appreciation for Frankenstein that I’ve somehow missed out on in all of my counter culture exposure.

I likely need a cool down period since I am even more outraged than normal at every injustice I’ve encountered since starting this book. And let’s face it, it’s hard to turn around without being confronted by injustice.

When among Crows (2024, Cengage Gale) 5 stars

We bear the sword, and we bear the pain of the sword.

Pain is Dymitr's …

Razor Sharp

5 stars

This book devoured me. Elegant prose, fascinating world, refreshing magic, deep complicated characters, everything was a hit for me. The narrators were all fantastic and really brought this to life in a way my own inner voice would fail to do, especially since I am unfamiliar with Polish. There was an editing error, or so I assume, and the last 90seconds was duplicated earlier in the final chapter, which made it hit a little less as the send off. But maybe it’s the same in the print version and something went over my head.

Thistlefoot (EBook, 2022, Anchor) 4 stars

In the tradition of modern fairytales like American Gods and Spinning Silver comes a sweeping …

Enjoyable

4 stars

Enjoyed the setting and what Nethercott was getting at with this story. Interesting storytelling and world building with themes of personal, familial, generational, and cultural trauma. It can get dark but didn’t feel too heavy. The folklore tie-ins felt especially well done and I wish there was more exploration of the world, but it wasn’t that kind of story.

And look, I hated Isaac. Almost quit reading because of the character. Then eventually I saw parts of my past trauma responses reflected in his behavior and it clicked why I hated him so much. I still feel his backstory required me to give him too much of a pass, but hurt people hurt people and we all react and hurt differently.

The Tainted Cup (2024, Del Rey) 4 stars

An eccentric detective and her long-suffering assistant untangle a web of magic, deceit, and murder …

Loved It

5 stars

Had a great time with this. I haven’t had this much fun in a fantasy setting since the Shades of Magic books by V.E. Schwab and the Witch King by Martha Wells.

The mystery aspects were well done - all of the pieces were available and figuring out broad strokes was even within my own grasp. It was great fun to see the internal logic spelled out and add to the world building.

The Brides of High Hill (Tor) 4 stars

The Cleric Chih accompanies a beautiful young bride to her wedding to an aging lord …

Satisfying entry

4 stars

Not my favorite of the stories, but still better than good. Slower burn, mysterious. I think some plot points/characters could have used a bit more fleshing out. If you’ve enjoyed the rest of Singing Hills, this has the familiar yet different feel to it and is worth your time.

Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop (2024, Bloomsbury Publishing USA) 4 stars

Cozy, heartfelt, reflective

5 stars

Intentionally read this slow to savor it. This is what I want from a light hearted cozy slice of life - enough depth and emotional resonance for characters to work through small (but big to them) struggles without it feeling too perfect.

It is a bit episodic in nature at times, but the slow pace I read it made it so I didn’t mind that at all. If I gave into my desire to devour this quickly then I may have felt a little differently and knocked a star based on my mood influencing the feel.

Great if you like some of the other recent slice of life darlings that feature bookish or coffee themes. Lower emotional stakes but still has depth.

Juniper and Thorn (Hardcover, 2022, HarperCollins Publishers) 5 stars

Brutal

5 stars

Ava Reid is a master of gothic horror, her prose takes root deep within you and doesn’t let go. I’ll read anything she writes and I trusted that even when I wanted to grief quit the book, that the payoff would be worth it.

I don’t care to reread this particular book, but it was an excellent read. Check the trigger warnings, they are no joke in this one.

The Starless Sea (Hardcover, 2019, Doubleday) No rating

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Night Circus, a timeless love story …

Lives up to the Hype

No rating

Not much to say, it was fantastic. Stories within stories, sometimes meta but not obnoxious about it. The prose is poetic and nebulous at times, so that can be a no go for some, but I love it. I got lost in it a bit, but most likely my own fault for forcing myself to keep going when my mind was buzzing.

reviewed Siren Queen by Nghi Vo

Siren Queen (Hardcover, 2022, Tordotcom) 3 stars

It was magic. In every world, it was a kind of magic. "No maids, no …

Razor Sharp Magic Realism

4 stars

I generally enjoyed this, but not as much as I hoped I would gives how much I love Nghi Vo. That’s not to say this was bad compared to their other works, just that the characters didn’t grab me nearly as much. I felt the true strengths here were the setting, an early 20th century Hollywood where the magical realism is so honed in, most of the time it almost feels like poetic analogies of reality. I think this time period is under represented in fiction, at least in my sampling, and I found it refreshing; especially with queer representation, we were always here, just beyond the sight of society.

The main character was well developed, I could sympathize with their motives, and their decisions followed their persona. I just don’t relate to people that are reckless while having it all, which of course is an oversimplification because at what …

Light From Uncommon Stars (Hardcover, 2021, Tor Books) 4 stars

Good Omens meets The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet in this defiantly joyful …

Loved This

5 stars

Yes there were really hard parts, yes I was triggered at times, but Aoki managed to expertly balance this with such heartfelt and grounded writing that I never felt unsupported when the story ventured to the cliffs edge. This has been added to my list of all time favorites and will be slotted in as a challenging comfort read I return to to remind me that it’s ok when life gets hard and the worlds ugly - I just have to find the friendly face in the dark.

I’m so happy I listened to this, Cindy Kay was the perfect narrator. She also narrates the Sing Hills novellas, so check those out too if you want more expert story telling.