Not the right choice to follow Nghi Vo’s fox-spirit tale. Atmospheric, but I feel talked down to and everything is over-explained. This is why I like Not the right choice to follow Nghi Vo’s fox-spirit tale. Atmospheric, but I feel talked down to and everything is over-explained. This is why I like sticking to genre for Asian fantasy instead of litfic. DNF @ pg 60. (I did flip through the rest because the hardcover had wide margins for footnotes, but there were… barely any? And just random stuff too, like Snow’s uncle the pyrotechnic expert. Such a wasted opportunity!)...more
Too YA for me for right now, even with the intriguing worldbuilding. The middle-aged Amina was much more to my tastes. May try again later.Too YA for me for right now, even with the intriguing worldbuilding. The middle-aged Amina was much more to my tastes. May try again later....more
The stories are not the kind of erotica/horror writing I was expecting, and thus they’re not my thing. The quality of writing isn't consistently high The stories are not the kind of erotica/horror writing I was expecting, and thus they’re not my thing. The quality of writing isn't consistently high enough (up to the point I DNF’d, anyway) to hold my attention despite not being my thing. I hope they find the right audience out there.
ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review....more
DNF with prejudice. For the way this topped all the end-of-year best-of lists, you’d think it would be more than naval-gazing faux-buddhist pseudo-phiDNF with prejudice. For the way this topped all the end-of-year best-of lists, you’d think it would be more than naval-gazing faux-buddhist pseudo-philosophical twaddle. ...more
Tried this one again, hoping I had one more festive read in me for the year, but there are just sooo many things that bug me right away. It’s gonna beTried this one again, hoping I had one more festive read in me for the year, but there are just sooo many things that bug me right away. It’s gonna be one of those books where shitty systemic poverty gets magically fixed for one [pretty young white] woman by the power of romance with a [manipulative gaslighting] millionaire, isn’t it? And we’re gonna do all that with a family of real estate developers in the midst of a housing crisis, is that right? (One of which gets a happy ending at a hedge fund; I peeked ahead.)
Noooope. DNF @ page 62.
ETA: according to the end notes, it’s a While You Were Sleeping homage, which happens to be the second I’ve read this year, and the way Alexis Hall handles class conflict and economic crisis, not to mention mental health, is just a shocking night-and-day difference.
ETA x2: and this is petty, but don’t say it’s a webcomic but then provide walls of text like a blog post without a single graphic to be found.
ETA x3: for anyone wanting ace rep, beware that demisexuality gets infodumped and then instaloved. It’s basically a Portlandia sketch without the satire. Eeeeeesh. YMMV, but it rubbed me the wrong way....more
This gave me a hardcore PTSD nightmare, so I guess it’s effective? The fact that it’s both steamy and insanely heavy is probably a feat in itself. I uThis gave me a hardcore PTSD nightmare, so I guess it’s effective? The fact that it’s both steamy and insanely heavy is probably a feat in itself. I ultimately had to bail though, it was just Too Much....more
I feel ollllllllllld. DNF @ 19% but skimmed to the end to see how they took down the billionaire. (I was more interested in that than the outcome of tI feel ollllllllllld. DNF @ 19% but skimmed to the end to see how they took down the billionaire. (I was more interested in that than the outcome of the romance, oops.)...more
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