minsuni
Min ☀️🪻🐝 ☆ she/her ☆ 25 ☆ pt ☆ i'm your meemaw and i think it's going to be sapphic
40110 points
minsuni TBR'd a book
3h
You're No Better
Andrew Joseph White
Bestselling author Andrew Joseph White returns with another horrific YA thriller: a profound portrait of a struggling teen trying to convince the world—and himself—that he’s better than the serial killer who raised him. Morgan Slaughter, a seventeen-year-old trans boy with autism, put his serial killer father in prison years ago. Despite that, everyone thinks Morgan will grow up to be just like his dad: including his volatile mother, the documentary crew following their family, and maybe himself. Desperately, Morgan latches onto his father’s final victim—the only one who was never identified—hoping that if he unravels the mystery, he’ll finally prove he’s better than the man who hurt him. But this puts Morgan in the crosshairs of classmate Felicity Keating, who knows the truth about Morgan’s childhood—that he wasn’t just a witness to his father’s brutality, he was an accomplice. And if he doesn’t let them help with his investigation? They’ll tell everyone. Forced to confront his past, Morgan’s ugly but carefully controlled world unravels. The film crew is manipulative. His mother’s temper spirals into malice, then violence. And Morgan and Felicity may be more tightly intertwined than either of them can stomach . . . You're No Better is a gritty and unapologetic coming-of-age suspense about teens who grew up surrounded by cruelty and are clawing their way to adulthood the only way they know how.
minsuni TBR'd a book
3h
You're No Better
Andrew Joseph White
Bestselling author Andrew Joseph White returns with another horrific YA thriller: a profound portrait of a struggling teen trying to convince the world—and himself—that he’s better than the serial killer who raised him. Morgan Slaughter, a seventeen-year-old trans boy with autism, put his serial killer father in prison years ago. Despite that, everyone thinks Morgan will grow up to be just like his dad: including his volatile mother, the documentary crew following their family, and maybe himself. Desperately, Morgan latches onto his father’s final victim—the only one who was never identified—hoping that if he unravels the mystery, he’ll finally prove he’s better than the man who hurt him. But this puts Morgan in the crosshairs of classmate Felicity Keating, who knows the truth about Morgan’s childhood—that he wasn’t just a witness to his father’s brutality, he was an accomplice. And if he doesn’t let them help with his investigation? They’ll tell everyone. Forced to confront his past, Morgan’s ugly but carefully controlled world unravels. The film crew is manipulative. His mother’s temper spirals into malice, then violence. And Morgan and Felicity may be more tightly intertwined than either of them can stomach . . . You're No Better is a gritty and unapologetic coming-of-age suspense about teens who grew up surrounded by cruelty and are clawing their way to adulthood the only way they know how.
Well…. maybe you shouldn’t trust every book your favorite author recommends.
A big part of me is annoyed at this book because of how much potential it had. I really enjoyed the writing, the descriptions of the world around the characters, the fungus and the monsters was so well done and the horror aspect of this story was so well written, the concept of the plot is so interesting and I was genuinely invested in understanding the void more, its story and what lived in its different layers. But then the plot itself was so messy and boring.
Nothing happens that directly impact the plot for like 40% of the book, and when something does happen, it’s wrapped up so quickly that completely deviates from the main plot. What’s even the point of things happening when they’re over so quickly. Most of this book is just the characters going through the void, describing what they’re seeing and a few attacks they have to face and it was just boring to read.
Things also happen for no reason or that have no impact on the plot? And at the same time some things are left without explanation that could’ve had a bigger impact on the main character’s story.
And honestly, I kinda hated Petra. She cares way too much about her business that when someone dies, her first thought is that it will ruin her score, she’s judgmental towards others when she herself had been through a lot when she was younger, she was so quick to let people go and at the same time so easily influenced by those around her. She was so weak for a main character with barely any growth.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!
minsuni commented...
4h
agree with how repetitive it was and so much telling instead of showing and unfortunately this continued throughout the whole book 🥀
Loved the authors debut which was also a YA horror so was excited for this botanical horror fantasy!
For some reason this reads way younger than her debut. It’s a personal preference but I don’t tend to enjoy YA books written for the younger end of the scale because often times the narrative is written in a way that doesn’t trust the reader to fully remember or understand things.
The storytelling is repetitive, telling over showing and info dumpy. The whole first chapter felt like Schlote-Bonne didn’t trust the reader to remember very basic info about her characters; we get it Petra wants to open a clinic no need to mention it for the 100000 time!!! 😣
Dialogue is meh and I don’t care about the characters. Sad to DNF a highly anticipated release but the writing just isn’t my cup of tea and not nearly as engaging as her debut.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bindery Books for the eARC.
It’s not a revolutionary read, and if you’ve read other queer non fiction you’ll probably not learn much from this one, but I did find it interesting to understand how Miller's work was perceived by different people, how the people in his life changed the way they talked to him after he came out and how much that affected him. I could never image being told that my queerness is contagious, that my friends are scared of leaving their kids with me in case I “make them queer”, that I should “keep it to myself” and should live in silence. But it’s unfortunately the reality a lot of people had (and still have) to go through and it was equally sad and compelling to understand that perspective.
It’s also thanks to people like Miller, that share their voice and their story in a time when homosexuality is seen as a disease, that make queer people feel seen, that make them feel more comfortably in their own skin and have a positive self image about themselves.
Some of the things said by Miller are, maybe not questionable but do leave space open for discussion, but a lot of it is also due to the time when this person lived and how, while a gay man himself, he was still learning to accept himself and being part of the queer community.
Yeah this was bad. Entertaining bad but still bad.
The downfall of this book was the writing. It read like wattpad writing, trying to be deep but ultimately just turning out to be cringe, with a romance that not only is very insta-lust but way too sex focused with barely any romantic development between the characters. I still don’t understand why Corvina liked Vad besides being codependent to him. She puts so much focus on him accepting her that it felt like that was the only reason why she wanted to be with him.
I kinda hated Vad honestly. He’s very self entitled, everything has to happen in his way and how he wants, he cant have a relationship with Cordina but, of course, she also cant be with anyone else or have sex with anyone else, he says nothing can happen between them but then randomly kisses her out of nowhere? Make it make sense babes.
There’s so much repetition that it sometimes became annoying to read. He’s masculine - we get it -, he would move mountains for her - I understood that the first 50 times he said it -, her pussy belongs to him - I’m sure it does buddy. All of these little things are said over and over again, sometimes in the same paragraph, that it’s just tedious to read.
I still want to keep reading this author, I do enjoy how she writes dark settings, but really disappointed in this book and I’ll probably go into her other work with lower expectations.
minsuni commented...
8h
pleaseeee read it read it read it!! It's so good, I immediately wanted to reread it as soon as I finished it and I think you'll really like it hehe
Looking for a sapphic horror read for me and my friend/book buddy :) What is your favorite one and why (without spoilers ofc hehe)?
caait finished a book
14h
What Feeds Below
Tatiana Schlote-Bonne
At the edge of the City of the Void, a massive chasm extends miles into the earth, its treacherous terrain overrun with vicious monsters and carnivorous plants. For orphaned best friends Petra and Jade, guiding treasure-seeking tourists down into the Void is the only way to earn enough to pull themselves up out of the slums for good. Petra prefers to play it safe and take jobs only in the Void’s upper levels, where the dangers are better understood, while Jade wants to risk a descent to the deepest and most mysterious Sixth Layer. Because the deeper they go, the better the payout, and the sooner their dreams can become reality. Their friendship is Petra’s whole world, and Jade’s approval means everything—so Petra agrees to do it Jade’s way. When their job goes wrong and Jade is lost in the Void, Petra must plunge deeper than she’s ever dared to save her friend. But she doesn’t know the truth of the Void . . . or what really waits for her in its depths.
minsuni started reading...
9h
The Ornithologist's Field Guide to Love
India Holton
Rival ornithologists hunt through England for a rare magical bird in this historical-fantasy rom-com reminiscent of Indiana Jones but with manners, tea, and helicopter parasols. Beth Pickering is on the verge of finally capturing the rare deathwhistler bird when Professor Devon Lockley swoops in, capturing both her bird and her imagination like a villain. Albeit a handsome and charming villain, but that's beside the point. As someone highly educated in the ruthless discipline of ornithology, Beth knows trouble when she sees it, and she is determined to keep her distance from Devon. For his part, Devon has never been more smitten than when he first set eyes on Professor Beth Pickering. She's so pretty, so polite, so capable of bringing down a fiery, deadly bird using only her wits. In other words, an angel. Devon understands he must not get close to her, however, since they're professional rivals. When a competition to become Birder of the Year by capturing an endangered caladrius bird is announced, Beth and Devon are forced to team up to have any chance of winning. Now keeping their distance becomes a question of one bed or two. But they must take the risk, because fowl play is afoot, and they can't trust anyone else—for all may be fair in love and war, but this is ornithology.
thistle_bitch finished a book
17h
Feast While You Can
Mikaella Clements
For readers of Nightbitch and We Ride Upon Sticks, this strange and sexy novel of queer love in a small town is an unsettling reminder that the horrors of modern life are monsters ready to possess us all. In the valley at the intersection of three towering mountains sits Cadenze, an ugly, remote town with little to its name. It's filled with tourists in the summer and dead the rest of the year, when most of its residents surrender to a sleepier existence. Except, that is, for whatever is lurking in the caves... Angelina Sicco was born and raised in Cadenze, and for many generations, so was every member of her family. Determined to be content with her lot in life, she walks her mongrel dog, attends her brother's heavy metal concerts, holds court in the local dive bar, and does everything she can to bait hot, queer women to her sleepy, conservative hometown. But on the night of a family party much like every other, Angelina runs into Patrick's ex, the sternly handsome Jagvi, who's back in town for a spell. Perhaps enticed by Jagvi’s arrival, an ancient evil lying dormant in those caves is awakened, and soon Angelina’s small, contained world begins to shatter. As the monstrous force grows bolder, it infiltrates Angelina’s life. It talks with her dog’s mouth; it guzzles on her memories; it controls Angelina from the inside. Only Jagvi’s touch repels it — the final trigger for a secret, passionate romance. But this monster feasts on all the passion, heartbreak, and mess that makes up a life, and Angelina Sicco’s life has never looked tastier. What will Angelina do to protect her future? And what will it cost her?
