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All the Sinners Bleed
S.A. Cosby
Sarahj_berry wrote a review...
I wanted to love this but I found it a real slog. Found the prose jarring and the characters frustrating. I didn’t really care if they ever got out of the prison. Enjoyed the hunt element but it felt like it lasted only a couple of pages amidst endless exposition.
Sarahj_berry finished a book

On Earth As It Is Beneath
Ana Paula Maia
Sarahj_berry started reading...

On Earth As It Is Beneath
Ana Paula Maia
Sarahj_berry wrote a review...
I know there’s been a lot of hype about this book recently: loads of praise with advanced reader copies and then more scathing reviews post release. This is my honest take.
Plot: the plot was stronger than I thought it would be. There’s a twist, I won’t say more than that, and it took this from good to great in my opinion. I also thought it had smart things to say, particularly some subtle messages about how the patriarchy and ideas of traditional gender roles hurt men as well as women.
Setting: the setting is brilliantly done, both in the modern day tradwife ranch and the 1800s pre-technology farm. It felt rich and evocative. I could picture the differences, the ideal, and the reality of these worlds. It ’s a cliche, but the setting felt like a character in the story.
Characters: and speaking of characters, they were also great. They felt incredibly real to me, especially Natalie and Caleb. They were frustrating and sympathetic and redeemable and irredeemable all at the same time. It wasn’t an easy line to tread and she tread it well.
Quality: this is the only part we’re it slightly tripped up for me. Parts of it definitely felt rushed and some points were more heavy handed than they needed to be.
Enjoyment: I loved my time with this, finishing two thirds of it in one feverish day across audio and physical copy, finishing it over two hours at a silent reading night at my local bookshop wine bar.
Sarahj_berry finished a book

Yesteryear
Caro Claire Burke
Sarahj_berry finished a book

A Little Life
Hanya Yanagihara
Post from the A Little Life forum
Sarahj_berry wrote a review...
Didn’t enjoy this anywhere near as much as I’d hoped to. The characters felt shallow, the plot predictable, and the writing bland.
Sarahj_berry finished a book

Remarkably Bright Creatures
Shelby Van Pelt
Post from the Yesteryear forum