Zell

Just as funny as book one in this series, although significantly more unbelievable and convoluted. This one feels a little more forced, i think because of the juxtaposition between Finlay and Vero's hijinks and the rising stakes, but overall still great and I can't wait for the next one!

Sparse and gripping, this book feels like the reader is trying to complete a puzzle with half of the pieces missing. The character descriptions are so interesting, and I love the mysterious element of the unknown here, especially since this is based on a real person. Definitely worth a read!

This was deeply, deeply disturbing, and so fascinating. I couldn't connect to the Stork parts as much as to Strang's life, and found myself waiting to jump back out of that narrative. But the style and the levels of consciousness were so well done, and the ending was a shock to me. Not for the faint of heart, but if it's for you it really works.

This book was beautifully written and such a richly woven tapestry of imagination and fact. The characters were fully fleshed out, the story followed their growth in a really cool way, and this was both heartbreaking and gorgeous. This book deserves a ton of attention, it is on the same level as the works of Yaa Gyasi and Colson Whitehead, if not better.

This book has the same vibes as The Bell Jar and I absolutely love a protagonist with questionable and dwindling sanity. Maria is such a fantastic example of an “unlikeable” character (which I don't get, I loved her) and the spiral her life takes absolutely drew me in. I see why this is a classic and it definitely stands the test of time.

Delightfully weird and disturbing. I wasn't expecting body horror from this but it was so well done! A great mix of just weird vibes and graphic descriptions. I loved every single story.

Absolutely flawless storytelling, so well put and with perfect pacing. These were gorgeous rich stories while still moving quickly enough. I love Butler's masterful ability to drop the reader into a world and allow them to understand it without extensive world building or exposition. Truly remarkable, possibly the best short story collection I've read.

A really interesting and unique read. I loved how much was left as uncertain throughout the book- West sometimes seems like the most sane character, and I half expected this to end up being a time travel novel. Such interesting characters and jumps in time. The pacing felt really slow at parts to me, but the commentary on schizophrenia and Alzheimer's was really really good.

Beautiful descriptors, gorgeous fantasy elements, and a complex and flawed protagonist. Oh, and it's also queer. I loved this book from start to finish. It is a perfect blend of historical and fantastical, with a lot of timeless issues brought in as well.

Interesting concept but information is repeated over and over. I enjoyed the statistical info but everything else felt like it could have been a quick news article, not a whole book.

One of the best short stories I've ever read. Absolutely brilliant plots, just enough detail and scene setting, and all the characters were three-dimensional and flawed. All the stories here stood strong independently, but together they were even stronger.

This felt a little obvious, with a naive and gullible narrator, but it didn't push the envelope beyond what was believable, in my opinion. This was both a cult indoctrination story and an abuse story, and I thought it was really well done

I love these books so much. Nick and Charlie are so wholesome and I love watching their relationship blossom. The art and the plot are perfect.