kylahken's reviews
63 reviews

Cleat Cute by Meryl Wilsner

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lighthearted relaxing medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

adorable, 🌶️🌶️🌶️

but, as always, relies a lot on the ‘i won’t pry’ miscommunication trope
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Satisfaction Guaranteed by Karelia Stetz-Waters

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lighthearted relaxing medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Read this in a hurry on dec 30th to finish my goodreads challenge and my loan on it was expiring at midnight so, solid quick easy read. While 🌶️, it was only in the very last little bit of the book; the title very cutely has a double meaning because they both gain emotional satisfaction which made me give a little “awwwh” when I closed the novel out.

Very cute sapphic book, but does heavily rely (as most romance novels do) on the ‘i won’t pry’ miscommunication trope as its main tension between characters.
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Hold Still by Nina LaCour

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dark emotional sad medium-paced

3.5

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

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challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

loveeeeeee
Several People Are Typing by Calvin Kasulke

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

Elsewhere: A Novel by Gabrielle Zevin, Gabrielle Zevin

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adventurous hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Torn between a solid 4 or 4.5 so I’ll split the difference - but overall a lovely read! Quick to get through, I always love Zevin’s writing, and the plot itself was also quite easy to follow and read! Not a life altering must read, but would definitely recommend.
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Thirsty by Jas Hammonds

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challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This very quickly turns from a light story of a teenage girl having a fun and idyllic summer with her best friend and girlfriend, to a dark narrative of deep seeded self hatred and insecurity in the world (also fun, right?) I love an unlikable narrator, but i can’t entirely say she was unlikeable, I just think she’s human. I did want to hug (or smack) some sense into her, but that’s entirely the point. As someone who has a healthy relationship with my friends, family, partner, and alcohol, I never found myself truly judging Blake, just rooting for her. Hammonds does a wonderful job of reminding us just how flawed and complex and ultimately wonderful humans are, and how it’s okay to not be okay, to need help, to rely on those around have your best interest at heart.
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Someone Who Will Love You in All Your Damaged Glory: Stories by Raphael Bob-Waksberg

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dark emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.5

Part of me wants to give it 5 stars, but a part of me says 4, so i’ll compromise on 4.5/5. I think a large part of my understanding of the book comes from having watched all of Bojack many times, and while the messages theoretically would be the same, I don’t think I’d have understood or read it in the same way as if I had just picked the book up off the shelf having no knowledge of the author or having watched Bojack. 

That being said - would definitely recommend either way. The stories switched from long chapters to then a small chapter after it, alternating between that, which was very refreshing, and the intent of each story is so clear. Many heart wrenching or laughable or existential or all of the above or none of the above or somewhere inbetween. Lovely read, though not one to be read as a casual beach day read, I will definitely sit for a day and process. 
A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

3.5- I should’ve seen it coming. but i did not; lesbians and dark academia, fun! Though the mental health portrayal tried to say mental health issues =/= crazy, they didn’t quite get there in the end.
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Grief Is the Thing with Feathers by Max Porter

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Phenomenal. Having lost my mother about two years ago, a very hard read, but well worth it.
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