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librarymouse's reviews
406 reviews
Exit Strategy by Martha Wells
adventurous
emotional
funny
fast-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
4.5
An engaging addition to the series! I should be transparent that I read the first 5 books in the series in a week and they all kind of blur together, but I did enjoy this one, especially with Murderbot reconnecting with the crew that freed it from The Company.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, and Stalking
Minor: Slavery
Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Murderbot interacting with different types of bots, constructs, and programs is really cool to read about. The idea of Murderbot being a voice in Mickey's head under the name Consultant Ren and navigating/learning through Mickey's eyes was unique and well executed, especially with the added twist of Mickey privately messaging Abene to hold up their lie when Murderbot has to reveal itself to save them. Mickey is such a sweet, trusting, and overall lovely creature and it's relationship with Abene prompting Murderbot to have some feelings/introspection about why it's having those feelings is a really cool (and dare I say human) touch, especially for a narrator who is pointedly and adamantly not a person.
I really enjoy that these are monster-of-the-week style books while still having an overarching plot.
I really enjoy that these are monster-of-the-week style books while still having an overarching plot.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Injury/Injury detail
Artificial Condition by Martha Wells
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Murderbot is picking up strays and making friends (and killing people, but they're bad so it's okay)! Fun, fast, well-written read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Violence, and Murder
All Systems Red by Martha Wells
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-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
5.0
This novel is a great introduction to Murderbot! It is a very enjoyable narrator! It's motivations lean towards protection despite having a hacked Guardian drive that doesn't allow them to be compelled to do so, and it comes to care for the crew it's been assigned to. This series reminds me of Becky Chambers, though I believe Murderbot Diaries was published before the Wayfarers series. Queerness in outerspace with a nonhuman narrator, of whom humanity isn't expected is the way to my heart. I especially love the aro-ace coding of the narrator. I know robots as allegories for a-spec people is a tired stereotype, but I enjoyed reading it, nonetheless, having Murderbot's lack of external sexual organs line up with his interior experience of attraction was neat!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Paperback Crush: The Totally Radical History of '80s and '90s Teen Fiction by Gabrielle Moss
informative
medium-paced
3.5
This book was funny and informative as Gabrielle Moss explored the history of 80's and 90's teen fiction. It was enjoyable, but I sometimes felt myself drifting while I was reading as the dates, characters, and titles blended together. There are a lot of dark themes in mass market teen fiction.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Stalking, Car accident, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Classism
Hope Was Here by Joan Bauer
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I read Hope Was Here for the first time in 5th grade. I got in so much trouble for writing my name on the wall because the school was a place I didn't want to forget and that I didn't want to forget me, the same way Hope does in the book. She was smarter about it than I was.
As someone who doesn't generally enjoy Christian fiction, Hope Was Here is one of the few books I read as a child, with strong Christian messaging, that has held up to be enjoyable to my adult self. This novel has great messaging encouraging individuals to take a part in their systems of government in order to make the change they want to see in the world. Addie is so deeply funny and relatable to me, especially her reaction to having gone on a date with GT. I love a book where an odd woman gets to be loved as she is. I cried at Hope getting a dad, and I cried even harder when GT died, leaving her having had a dad for far less time than she deserved. This book is a great work of realistic fiction.
As someone who doesn't generally enjoy Christian fiction, Hope Was Here is one of the few books I read as a child, with strong Christian messaging, that has held up to be enjoyable to my adult self. This novel has great messaging encouraging individuals to take a part in their systems of government in order to make the change they want to see in the world. Addie is so deeply funny and relatable to me, especially her reaction to having gone on a date with GT. I love a book where an odd woman gets to be loved as she is. I cried at Hope getting a dad, and I cried even harder when GT died, leaving her having had a dad for far less time than she deserved. This book is a great work of realistic fiction.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer and Grief
Moderate: Animal death
Animal death tagged for depiction of a dead mouse. No animals die on the page.
The Carnivale of Curiosities by Amiee Gibbs
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I came into this wanting something similar to The Night Circus. While this didn't quite live up to expectations, I did enjoy the read. The ending felt somewhat disconnected from the rest of the novel - unrealistic in the context of the reality the novel sets up for us as readers, and at points it felt as if there wasn't enough page time allowed for readers to come to care for the characters in any deeper way.
The incestuous rape plotline was unexpected and added to the treachery in disgusting and interesting ways. I would have preferred the novel be more of a character study than ending with Charlotte as a zombified avenging angel, working for a devil, but readers (beggars) can't be choosers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement and Infidelity
Juice Like Wounds by Seanan McGuire
adventurous
dark
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
While reading In an Absent Dream, I'd wondered what happened to Mockery. This addition ties up the lose ends of the novella well and answers the question of what happened to Lundy and her friends that made her return to the world of her birth for the first time. The Goblin Market is a complicated place. It's not made for everyone to live in, and it's not made for everyone compatible with it to live in forever. This side quest explores how sometimes the concept of fair value can lose its meaning when an individual loses themself, and it shows the cost of a life lost in the "eye for an eye" fairness of the market. They're children with minds full of adventure and a strong belief that the market would protect them. It's also interesting to see more of the archivist as a person who can and does fail in her overseeing of The Goblin Market.
On a related note, the concept of fair value has infiltrated my subconscious. I consider purchases and trades under the idea of "is the price of this worth the amount of time it took me to make the amount of money I'd used to purchase it," and "are the items we're trading worth the same value we're willing to take/share." It makes purchasing and bartering more fun, and I wish I lived in a place where bartering was more prevalent.
On a related note, the concept of fair value has infiltrated my subconscious. I consider purchases and trades under the idea of "is the price of this worth the amount of time it took me to make the amount of money I'd used to purchase it," and "are the items we're trading worth the same value we're willing to take/share." It makes purchasing and bartering more fun, and I wish I lived in a place where bartering was more prevalent.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
The Pink Agave Motel: & Other Stories by V. Castro
Did not finish book. Stopped at 15%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 15%.
Thank you to V. Castro and NetGalley for the digital ARC. I'm sorry I didn't like the book.
The short stories throw readers directly into the deep end of what should be the climax of a story without any of the build up. It makes it hard to care about the characters and leaves the settings feeling indistinct.
This reads like fanfiction. The plural first person POV, the in-depth description of characters' outfits and bodies, and the pop culture references all culminate in the distinctive voice of online fandom spaces. I really enjoy horror set in liminal spaces, and I was looking forward to the titular story, but I couldn't get through the rest of them to get there. Story one, "The Carnival of Gore" was not well written and felt unnecessarily horny. I couldn't suspend my disbelief for a dying man being aroused by the same type of creature whose bite may have killed him, in such a short amount of page time. Story 2, "The Four Horseman Inn" was fine, for the most part. Not particularly memorable. I don't understand why they let the zombie in, in the middle. There was nothing to make me care about the characters or their plight. Story 3 "Bruja Barbie and her Ken" is a smutty stalker reverse harem. Specific pop culture references and inverting the male gaze in a way that allowed it to stay just as toxic made this an unenjoyable read. I gave up 2 pages into Story 4 "The Last Halloween." I couldn't follow the plot outside of the general understanding of it being a bacchanal.
Having a diverse variety of lived experiences and desires available in literature is important and there is an audience for this book, but I am not it.
The short stories throw readers directly into the deep end of what should be the climax of a story without any of the build up. It makes it hard to care about the characters and leaves the settings feeling indistinct.
This reads like fanfiction. The plural first person POV, the in-depth description of characters' outfits and bodies, and the pop culture references all culminate in the distinctive voice of online fandom spaces. I really enjoy horror set in liminal spaces, and I was looking forward to the titular story, but I couldn't get through the rest of them to get there. Story one, "The Carnival of Gore" was not well written and felt unnecessarily horny. I couldn't suspend my disbelief for a dying man being aroused by the same type of creature whose bite may have killed him, in such a short amount of page time. Story 2, "The Four Horseman Inn" was fine, for the most part. Not particularly memorable. I don't understand why they let the zombie in, in the middle. There was nothing to make me care about the characters or their plight. Story 3 "Bruja Barbie and her Ken" is a smutty stalker reverse harem. Specific pop culture references and inverting the male gaze in a way that allowed it to stay just as toxic made this an unenjoyable read. I gave up 2 pages into Story 4 "The Last Halloween." I couldn't follow the plot outside of the general understanding of it being a bacchanal.
Having a diverse variety of lived experiences and desires available in literature is important and there is an audience for this book, but I am not it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Stalking, and Sexual harassment
When We Were Animals by Joshua Gaylord
adventurous
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Somehow, so much and absolutely nothing happens in this book. It's beautifully written and decorated with desire and viscera. Lumen is a complicated, sympathetic character - a little girl fed myths and legends and allowed to play in fairy rings, and then expected to grow into an adult unbelieving of magic. This novel encapsulates that coming of age feeling, in which nothing goes right, everything hurts, and you have to constantly resist the desire to peel open your skin like a fruit to see if there's a realer version of yourself hiding underneath. I adore strange and creepy little girls being written as such and allowed to revel in their existence as is. Lumen may not be a good person, but as she reflects, we may not really know who we are without others upon whom to reflect ourselves, and not all that is kind or loving is good.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Gore, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Suicide and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Excrement, and Vomit