beanie
I was really excited about this one because I???m extremely fascinated by bog bodies and love a weird twin dynamic but it unfortunately fell flat for me. If I hadn???t received this as an ARC, I probably wouldn???t have finished it. The anachronistic language really stuck out and took me out of the story. I also think it didn???t go in any one direction hard enough for me. It wasn???t as gross, scary, gay, or gothic as I was hoping for. The first part of the book is genuinely good though. Van Veen really nails the atmosphere at the start of the novel and the epistolary parts were excellent but then it just sort of???deflated about halfway through. Unfortunately, you can really tell she struggled with writing this book, which she plainly admits in the afterword. I???d be interested to try to read her other novel to see if she just hit a snag with this one or if I just don???t like what she???s doing.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC for review.
I read Andrew Joseph White's previous novel, Hell Followed with Us, in February and loved it. So when he posted on social media that the ARC for his upcoming novel was available, I jumped at the opportunity to read it.
While no one would call Hell Followed with Us a light read, Compound Fracture is unquestionably heavy. I spent the last 100 pages teary-eyed. I say this admittedly having not yet read White's first novel, but I believe this to be his finest achievement thus far. I don't want to say too much because I think that this story should be experienced, but I hope that Miles is as inspiring to other readers (especially young trans people) as he is to me.
Thanks to NetGalley and Peachtree for providing the eARC (my first one!)
not officially rating this one because I'm glad young queer people get to read books about themselves and I am starting to recognize that I, personally, need to stop reading books for teenagers. there was a lot I appreciated here from the perspective of a queer trans dude, but Oliver's experience is pretty far removed from my own and I honestly found being in his head a little irritating sometimes. grateful that this exists though.
This may be coming from a part of my mind still processing Lou Sullivan's We Both Laughed in Pleasure, but Monstrilio feels so remarkably transmasc (and autistic!) to me. I'm utterly fascinated by S??mano C??rdova's mind and how, whether he intended to, he has so succinctly managed to capture the insatiability that comes when you've tasted the truth of your being and the ache of diminishing yourself for those you love.
They are happy to believe I forgot how they maimed me.
As a queer trans guy, I see so much of my own journey in Lou's. He wasn't perfect, as none of us are, but he was honest and he was human. He cared so much for others and worked so hard to ensure that people like me could exist, unashamed, in the world. I feel such gratitude for the love that he showed himself in his lifetime, and such grief that the world lost him too soon. Thank you, Lou.
This was not really picking up for me and I particularly wasn't enjoying how frequently I had to read about Pyotr raping Anna. I'm going to try one of Arden's other books later.