Welcome to Litsy!

I have to admit, I‘m not a contemporary mystery/crime novels connoisseur, but the premise intrigued me. Overall, it‘s a relaxing read (if you can call that a book about an old lady serial killer). A cozy mystery—except, since you know who the killer is from the start, it‘s not a mystery at all?

The “victims”, aside from crossing the old lady, are also cliche bad guys, which was the part I didn‘t necessarily like.

3.25/5

#onedayread #smallbooks

This was me giving Django Wexler a second chance. It went better than the first, but not by much. The non-action parts were enjoyable, but whenever the action started, my brain turned off. Too much visuals and too little everything else, perhaps? I don‘t have complete aphantasia, but it‘s close—if there‘s nothing but eye input in a book, I‘m unable to really enjoy it 😞

3.0/5

#sf #lgbtq #lgbtqsf #wlw #onedayread #smallbooks

I usually really like Parker‘s books. He writes interesting narration—of the unreliable type—and his characters are well-developed. This time, I don‘t know if it was me or this #novella, but I just couldn‘t focus on what was happening. The fickle gods vs mortals theme was interesting, but, somehow, only in retrospect.

3.0/5

#onedayread #smallbooks #fantasy #standalone

More than a horror, it‘s a character study, where the character is a small town, and the titular werewolf is the background on which it is painted—an interesting reverse of focus, once you notice it. As always, King has an uncanny ability of bringing his characters to life with a few sentences, plus the book has the vibes of those corny horror B-movies I like to watch sometimes instead of comedies. Ultimately, not very scary but still fun.

3.5/5

Good thing this #sf #novella isn‘t long; otherwise, I wouldn‘t be able to handle the unlikeability of the characters. Surprisingly though, packed in this short action flick, it mostly works. The bad guys are also kind of flat, but the rest of the worldbuilding is decent—especially the half-built, half-bioengineered space stations and ships. Overall, it has potential on which it doesn‘t really deliver.

2.75/5

#smallbooks #onedayread #lgbtq

#Steampunk. Flying ships. Superweapons. Magic. Powerful goddesses. God-possessed girls. New Orleans.

This is one cool #standalone #alternativehistory #novella 😁

(If only the characters were a match for the worldbuilding...)

Don‘t get me wrong. The characters are fine, just noticeably overshadowed, so the overall balance is a bit off.

Still a pick, though.

3.5/5

#onedayread #smallbooks

This... was weird...?

Aside from that, the writing felt stiff—composed mostly of explanations and simple statements. It was hard for me to feel immersed, and I had to fight to focus on the plot 😫

(At one point I realized someone had died a scene earlier because people were *talking about it*)

The imagery was interesting, though.

2.5/5

#horror #lgbtq #smallbooks #onedayread

Shallower than a puddle.

Literary value: none.

Angst level: below zero.

(Which is weird, come to think of it. If a demon brainwashed your and your love interest‘s entire families, there should be plenty of angst, and then some.)

Still, the right #audiobook at the right time, if for the wrong reasons (read: mild hungover—I would‘ve hated it otherwise; talk about #moodreads).

Short. Silly. Relaxing.

So.

3/5

Yup.

#onedayread #smallbooks

Starts like your regular #fairytale: a nice girl meets a prince. He‘s from the land beneath the sea, and he wants to go back. She wants to help him.

Insta-love—or is it?

Fairytale vibes, subverted tropes (for example, one of the best resolutions to a #lovetriangle ever put to page 😂), simple yet pretty writing, good characterization, and it feels much longer—fuller—than it is.

5/5

#smallbooks #onedayread #fantasy #standalone

Imagine a #sf #cyberpunk #spaceopera told from the perspectives of an evil admiral of a mercenary fleet and her faithful lieutenant/wife. It‘s a rare unicorn: a dark #powercouple in a long-established #lgbtq relationship. Sex, death, echos of betrayal, and whimsical AIs of uncertain allegiances abound.

Previous volumes were each more of a standalone story; this one capitalizes on them.

4.5/5

#sfwrittenbyawoman #series #onedayread #smallbooks