meganisnotokay
she/her • trying to escape reality through fiction | asexual & anxious ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ
1067 points
meganisnotokay wrote a review...
Unfortunately I was expecting much more from this book, not just from the awards it’s won, but also from the synopsis itself. I appreciated the realistic depiction of preteens and that the story didn’t rush to explain things right away. The art was also beautiful and I loved the setting of a small beach town. However, it was a lot more reflective and slice-of-life than I was expecting. It was much more about conversations being had rather than things actually happening. On top of that, the climax and conclusion were…well…anticlimactic. I also wanted more insight into Rose’s turnaround in the end. We already can read her thoughts, so I thought it was a little odd we didn’t get to see her reflections and thoughts that led to the change. Unfortunately, despite the beautiful art and realistic depiction of preteens, this was a miss for me.
0meganisnotokay finished a book
This One Summer
Mariko Tamaki
0meganisnotokay wants to read...
The Twelve Kingdoms Book 1 - Shadow of the Moon, Shadow of the Sea: Part 1 (Novel)
Fuyumi Ono
0Post from the Pines (Wayward Pines, #1) forum
Okay, so I don't think it's a hot take that Ethan is incredibly flawed. Personally, though, I found him very VERY unlikable (his entitlement and his shallowness when it comes to women, etc. had me rolling my eyes). However, where in some books this would be a reason for me to DNF or rate lowly, what has kept me reading (and enjoying this book) is the fact that it comes across as purposeful. The way Crouch writes Ethan's flaws and unlikability feels very much intentional. Not only is he not romanticizing these flaws (often they actually get Ethan in trouble), he's also slowly revealing the reasons why Ethan may be like this. Then as a plus he is presenting these flaws in interesting ways/scenarios. I think this book (at least as far as I have read: 57% through) is a good example of an unlikeable protagonist done right. I had read a book earlier this year and rated it low, with one of the reasons being the awful main character. Someone tried to say I was objectively wrong (which is silly in the first place because it was just my opinion but that's besides the point lol) and that it was a point the author was trying to make & purposeful characterization. My issue with that book was that it did not feel intentional at all, nor did it add to the story imo, or was very interesting. However, that comment made me wonder if maybe I AM just unfairly harsh on flawed cis male protagonists. BUT this book made me realize, no. I'm actually totally cool with a flawed cis male protagonist; it just needs to be done well lol. Long post, but if you have any thoughts lemme know! (keep it civil/respectful please and know that the above is just my own opinion)
0meganisnotokay commented on a post from the Pagebound Club forum
Hello! Not sure if this is the best place for this. I just tried writing a lengthy review for a book I finished. I went to select emojis after writing but decided I wanted to read my review again before selecting. I selected X to Exit the emoji panel, but it wound up deleting my entire review (even though the X to Exit for the entire review was a different button behind the emoji panel). Don't know if that makes sense. TL;DR: I didn't intend to delete my review, just exit out of emoji-selecting panel for review, but this action deleted my review in its entirety.
8meganisnotokay commented on a post from the Pagebound Club forum
How does everyone track the books they have in their home library? An app?
57meganisnotokay wants to read...
The Village Beyond the Mist
Sachiko Kashiwaba
0meganisnotokay commented on meganisnotokay's update
meganisnotokay paused reading...
The Book Thief
Markus Zusak
3meganisnotokay paused reading...
The Book Thief
Markus Zusak
3meganisnotokay commented on meganisnotokay's review of The Awakening of Lora Abernathy (The Cosms Cycle, #1)
DNF @ 27% (not rating because of this) (TL;DR at the bottom 🙃) Some background: I was looking for horror recs (specifically subgenres within horror to check out) on Pagebound and the author mentioned their book was available to read for free as an ARC & had body horror. However, I fear this gave me wrong expectations going in and there was a miscommunication. I think they maybe thought I was looking for book recs in other (non-horror) genres but that have a subgenre of horror, rather than specific subgenres of horror where the main genre is still horror (i.e. body horror books: the main genre is just listed as “horror” but it’s more specifically “body horror”). Because of this, I expected the book to be horror fantasy, not fantasy with horror elements. And I actually DNFed before I even got to any horror elements. However, that’s not my only reason for DNFing. While I was intrigued by how Lorna, the first character we’re introduced to, and her dog-form worked (they seem to be separate identities/characters/beings that have to share a body), I pretty quickly lost interest as I read on. I think the main reason was the POV switch to a somewhat less interesting character and being so quickly introduced to new characters. Both things made it difficult to feel like I was getting to know any of the characters, their motivations, or really feel invested in any of them. And not being invested in the main characters makes continuing to read a story very difficult. On top of that there were two instances of the tense randomly switching from past tense to present tense. One felt like a definite mistake, while the other I couldn’t tell if it was purposeful or also a mistake. The first instance occurs in the middle of a chapter and is a is a single paragraph (pg. 18 of pdf version) and then the next paragraph goes back to past tense. The second instance occurs at the end of Chapter 3 and then the book seemingly continues using present tense when, until then, it was in past tense. Just kinda weird and random and feels like an error. Lastly there were a few personal taste and opinion-based things I didn’t like: I had trouble distinguishing the vibe of the setting… I think it’s medieval fantasy? However there is modern language (“nerd shit” & “girls girl”). I’m personally not a fan of modern aspects in an otherwise medieval/classic fantasy setting The writing felt a bit simplistic, cliche at times, and juvenile The dialogue (especially the flirting & banter) was quite cringey, cheesy, and/or unrealistic imo I don’t know a lot about DnD but it gives the vibes that it started out as a DnD campaign (or maybe WAS a full-on DnD campaign) that the author then turned into a novella. At the very least it feels set in a classic DnD-inspired world? Especially with some of the terminology (see: “adventurers”) and the worldbuilding/fantasy races (i.e. “tiefling”). Plus the general concept feels very DnD coded (different characters of different fantasy races come together to do a job). I’m not personally a fan of this but I could see others liking this aspect of it The PROS: I felt the description of character actions & facial expressions were quite good (setting descriptions were pretty good too) Tobias being a trans character was super cool Kind of piggybacking off the above, loved the diversity. There was a small side character in a wheelchair and lots of LGBTQ+ rep (especially trans/gender queer) TL;DR I had the wrong expectations going in (thought it was more horror than it was) but even upon realizing this, was willing to give it a shot. Was intrigued at first and loved the diversity (lots of gender queer rep), but didn’t feel any real investment in any of the characters. The final nail(s) in the coffin were jarring tense changes that felt like mistakes. On top of that though, there were some things that I’m personally not a fan of: unrealistic & cheesy dialogue, modern phrases in an otherwise medieval fantasy setting, and it felt like a DnD campaign turned into a novella. The combination of all this led me to DNF.
2meganisnotokay finished reading and wrote a review...
DNF @ 27% (not rating because of this) (TL;DR at the bottom 🙃) Some background: I was looking for horror recs (specifically subgenres within horror to check out) on Pagebound and the author mentioned their book was available to read for free as an ARC & had body horror. However, I fear this gave me wrong expectations going in and there was a miscommunication. I think they maybe thought I was looking for book recs in other (non-horror) genres but that have a subgenre of horror, rather than specific subgenres of horror where the main genre is still horror (i.e. body horror books: the main genre is just listed as “horror” but it’s more specifically “body horror”). Because of this, I expected the book to be horror fantasy, not fantasy with horror elements. And I actually DNFed before I even got to any horror elements. However, that’s not my only reason for DNFing. While I was intrigued by how Lorna, the first character we’re introduced to, and her dog-form worked (they seem to be separate identities/characters/beings that have to share a body), I pretty quickly lost interest as I read on. I think the main reason was the POV switch to a somewhat less interesting character and being so quickly introduced to new characters. Both things made it difficult to feel like I was getting to know any of the characters, their motivations, or really feel invested in any of them. And not being invested in the main characters makes continuing to read a story very difficult. On top of that there were two instances of the tense randomly switching from past tense to present tense. One felt like a definite mistake, while the other I couldn’t tell if it was purposeful or also a mistake. The first instance occurs in the middle of a chapter and is a is a single paragraph (pg. 18 of pdf version) and then the next paragraph goes back to past tense. The second instance occurs at the end of Chapter 3 and then the book seemingly continues using present tense when, until then, it was in past tense. Just kinda weird and random and feels like an error. Lastly there were a few personal taste and opinion-based things I didn’t like: I had trouble distinguishing the vibe of the setting… I think it’s medieval fantasy? However there is modern language (“nerd shit” & “girls girl”). I’m personally not a fan of modern aspects in an otherwise medieval/classic fantasy setting The writing felt a bit simplistic, cliche at times, and juvenile The dialogue (especially the flirting & banter) was quite cringey, cheesy, and/or unrealistic imo I don’t know a lot about DnD but it gives the vibes that it started out as a DnD campaign (or maybe WAS a full-on DnD campaign) that the author then turned into a novella. At the very least it feels set in a classic DnD-inspired world? Especially with some of the terminology (see: “adventurers”) and the worldbuilding/fantasy races (i.e. “tiefling”). Plus the general concept feels very DnD coded (different characters of different fantasy races come together to do a job). I’m not personally a fan of this but I could see others liking this aspect of it The PROS: I felt the description of character actions & facial expressions were quite good (setting descriptions were pretty good too) Tobias being a trans character was super cool Kind of piggybacking off the above, loved the diversity. There was a small side character in a wheelchair and lots of LGBTQ+ rep (especially trans/gender queer) TL;DR I had the wrong expectations going in (thought it was more horror than it was) but even upon realizing this, was willing to give it a shot. Was intrigued at first and loved the diversity (lots of gender queer rep), but didn’t feel any real investment in any of the characters. The final nail(s) in the coffin were jarring tense changes that felt like mistakes. On top of that though, there were some things that I’m personally not a fan of: unrealistic & cheesy dialogue, modern phrases in an otherwise medieval fantasy setting, and it felt like a DnD campaign turned into a novella. The combination of all this led me to DNF.
2meganisnotokay commented on a post from the Pagebound Club forum
I’ve recently gotten into reading horror and love that there’s such a variety of subgenres to explore! Some I’ve found I like are deep sea horror, body horror, and creature(??) horror (idk what to call it… it’s like where a creature/monster/nonhuman being(s) is the main spook but NOT werewolves, vampires, classic monsters, ghosts etc.). Some I don’t like are comedy horror, splatter horror, and gross (??) horror (aka horror that relies on gross elements like bugs, parasites, vomit, etc.). Paranormal (or is it supernatural?) horror (like spirits, ghosts, demons, etc.) is a 50/50 for me so far but I’ve only read like 3 or 4 in that genre so hard to know rlly. My questions for YOU: 1. Do you have any recs for horror subgenres I should explore next? 2. Do you have any horror book recs that fit in the subgenres I mentioned I like? 3. Any good paranormal/supernatural horror recs to help me figure out if I like the subgenre? 4. What’s the difference between paranormal and supernatural horror?🥴
21meganisnotokay commented on a post from the Pagebound Club forum
I’ve recently gotten into reading horror and love that there’s such a variety of subgenres to explore! Some I’ve found I like are deep sea horror, body horror, and creature(??) horror (idk what to call it… it’s like where a creature/monster/nonhuman being(s) is the main spook but NOT werewolves, vampires, classic monsters, ghosts etc.). Some I don’t like are comedy horror, splatter horror, and gross (??) horror (aka horror that relies on gross elements like bugs, parasites, vomit, etc.). Paranormal (or is it supernatural?) horror (like spirits, ghosts, demons, etc.) is a 50/50 for me so far but I’ve only read like 3 or 4 in that genre so hard to know rlly. My questions for YOU: 1. Do you have any recs for horror subgenres I should explore next? 2. Do you have any horror book recs that fit in the subgenres I mentioned I like? 3. Any good paranormal/supernatural horror recs to help me figure out if I like the subgenre? 4. What’s the difference between paranormal and supernatural horror?🥴
21meganisnotokay wants to read...
This Thing Between Us
Gus Moreno
0meganisnotokay wants to read...
Hell Followed With Us
Andrew Joseph White
0meganisnotokay commented on a post from the Pagebound Club forum
I’ve recently gotten into reading horror and love that there’s such a variety of subgenres to explore! Some I’ve found I like are deep sea horror, body horror, and creature(??) horror (idk what to call it… it’s like where a creature/monster/nonhuman being(s) is the main spook but NOT werewolves, vampires, classic monsters, ghosts etc.). Some I don’t like are comedy horror, splatter horror, and gross (??) horror (aka horror that relies on gross elements like bugs, parasites, vomit, etc.). Paranormal (or is it supernatural?) horror (like spirits, ghosts, demons, etc.) is a 50/50 for me so far but I’ve only read like 3 or 4 in that genre so hard to know rlly. My questions for YOU: 1. Do you have any recs for horror subgenres I should explore next? 2. Do you have any horror book recs that fit in the subgenres I mentioned I like? 3. Any good paranormal/supernatural horror recs to help me figure out if I like the subgenre? 4. What’s the difference between paranormal and supernatural horror?🥴
21Post from the Pagebound Club forum
I’ve recently gotten into reading horror and love that there’s such a variety of subgenres to explore! Some I’ve found I like are deep sea horror, body horror, and creature(??) horror (idk what to call it… it’s like where a creature/monster/nonhuman being(s) is the main spook but NOT werewolves, vampires, classic monsters, ghosts etc.). Some I don’t like are comedy horror, splatter horror, and gross (??) horror (aka horror that relies on gross elements like bugs, parasites, vomit, etc.). Paranormal (or is it supernatural?) horror (like spirits, ghosts, demons, etc.) is a 50/50 for me so far but I’ve only read like 3 or 4 in that genre so hard to know rlly. My questions for YOU: 1. Do you have any recs for horror subgenres I should explore next? 2. Do you have any horror book recs that fit in the subgenres I mentioned I like? 3. Any good paranormal/supernatural horror recs to help me figure out if I like the subgenre? 4. What’s the difference between paranormal and supernatural horror?🥴
21meganisnotokay commented on a post from the Pagebound Club forum
Hi everyone! I am looking to expand our BIPOC fantasy shelf in our library and was wondering if anyone has any suggestions? We need the books appropriate for a high school age group, but some adult content is okay! (I will review the suggestions) I have made a list on my page, but would love to add more!! Please let me know if there are any hidden gems I haven't added :)
35meganisnotokay commented on a post from the Pagebound Club forum
I rly wanna be active when it comes to reading, like annotating and writing reviews and everything, but I was wondering if anyone is struggling with this? Like in this site especially I would like to have a rating for every book I've read, maybe a nice self where they could fit, but it feels like so much work. I think I wanna push for the reviews but book journaling and everything else is so hard to get into, eventually it makes reading a chore and ruins the cute, aesthetic organizing. Does anyone have any fun suggestions for making reading more interesting as an activity? Cause I don't think book journaling is for me
20meganisnotokay commented on a post from the Pagebound Club forum
hello everyone ! Recently I’ve been craving Victorian era stories (of any genre) and if anyone has any suggestions it would be greatly appreciated ! I would especially love queer rep from this time period, since that’s the project I’m working on, but I’m open to anything :)
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