Reviewing all the books I read in 2023 in just ONE sentence each 📖 (part 2!)

a fairy tale of self-discovery the origin story of a great wizard whose greatest enemy follows him closely with every step like a shadow four stars

a slow start that builds to a poyant finish a young naive princess finally taking her fate into her own hands a minor character in Greek mythology being given center stage at last three stars

long-winded oddly paced and at times disturbing critique of arranged marriage with some interesting elements three stars

enjoyable enough but disappointing lacking those horror elements and not doing enough to explore its very interesting themes of religious indoctrination and toxic familial relationships tied up way too neatly with an anticlimactic ending three stars

an intriguing concept that didn't go deep enough for my taste with the central metaphor Ty language anguage to colonialism classism and capitalistic consumption two stars

a disappointment with poor writing that failed to sufficiently explore its themes of grief and being trapped living in the past two stars

an unexpectedly emotional piece of literary fiction exploring the ethics of True Crime as a genre with an engaging narrative introspective themes and beautifully written if at times baffling Pros four stars

if Divergent and thrown of glass had a baby with dragons two stars

a Timeless exploration of the Dynamics within the gay community and the contradictions and conflicts within gay identity the Myriad ways shame can steal our joy and leave us alone and grieving five stars

a disappointing read lacking in scares character development and thematic depth with an extremely unlikable cast of characters wasted potential lack of emotional impact and a very frustrating and honestly a little bit offensive depiction of theater people one star

a cleaning manual that was more about helping you to feel better about yourself when you don't actually do the cleaning you have to do then helping you do the cleaning you have to do two stars

an anxious actress and a heartbroken bisexual come together in this steamy sweet and safic fake dating room romance four stars

a childhood favorite that fundamentally altered my view of the world by reinforcing both my deep connection with animals and my fundamental belief that women are strong and resilient five stars

an immersive and profoundly feminist retelling of the Hindu Legend of Ramana that is a tragically beautiful exploration of motherhood Womanhood and trying to do the right thing in seemingly impossible circumstances five stars

an intriguing concept of being a lone black woman on the frontier at the turn of the century that became overly complicated and fell apart in the second half three stars

the sudden tragic death of a teenage girl reveals Secrets kept close and highlights the danger of prejudice accompanied by a beautiful bee metaphor four stars

Bleak unsettling and devastating a minor detail takes an uncompromising look at the realities of life in an occupied Palestine five stars

a favorite of mine this play is full to the brim with sparkling wit and humor and despite being written in the 17th century is deeply relevant to today's Society especially when you take into account social media five stars

gripping yet mundane soft and sweet and funny in the in between moments pain and grief and anger just beneath healed over roughly with a scab that breaks and bleeds and must be tended to over and over again just gorgeous Five Stars

an unexpectedly poignant Love Letter to self-sacrifice Ing and loving immigrant parents and the contrasting pain and joy of Music sprinkled throughout a grotesque cautionary tale exploring the implications of unattainable eurocentric beauty standards five stars

yet another book that is focused on what makes us human and who is deserving of bodily autonomy that started slow had a rambling middle and ended in the most gorgeous and heartbreaking way four stars

an atmospheric captivating and immersive Gothic fantasy novel with an absolutely gorgeous descriptive writing style intricately developed and diverse characters an engaging plot and a unique Magic system five stars

a surreal and visceral love letter to the evolution from girl to woman and the ties that bind us inextricably together three stars

a major missed opportunity of a thriller that just threw away a premise with amazing potential to be a creepy unsettling psychological horror two stars

a surreal and deeply unsettling exploration of eurocentric beauty standards and grief cleverly critiquing the beauty industry with dark humor and an eerie atmosphere five stars

a fascinating concept delivered in the most lackluster way possible with a very unnecessary romance two stars

the heartbreaking and gut-wrenching story of just a few of the far too many missing and murdered indigenous women of North America five stars

a disappointing sequel to an unexpected favorite that somehow managed to make a layered complex fascinating magical world full of interesting and engaging diverse characters mind-numbingly dull with very little plot progression disjointed philosophical discussions unresolved subplots so many unresolved subplots and sudden inexplicable shifts in character motivations three stars but barely

a cult classic lesbian vampire story that teases apart issues of race sexuality and the climate crisis that felt a little disjointed in the Final Chapter added for the 25th anniversary three stars

a heart-wrenching look at what makes us human and who deserves love care respect and bodily autonomy packaged in a horrifying post-apocalyptic world five stars

a poignant exploration of the grief associated with the loss of a grandparent like figure in your life that lacked the spookiness that I expected from a ghost story and had a very abrupt Climax and ending three stars

a cool premise presented in a way that didn't serve it I think it needed to be extended to be novel length to really be able to explore this fascinating world and dive into the Thematic content in a satisfying way two stars

a sloppily written Thriller with poor character development messy plot structure a laughable number of red herrings a deeply unconvincing villain and a therapist main character who is terrible at reading people one Star

an entertaining and engaging mystery that kept me guessing until the final reveal even though I had an inkling early on and I'm proud of myself five stars

a book that focuses on the Myriad ridiculous ways we search for meaning within our capitalistic hellscape including constantly striving to better ourselves and reveal the new version of ourselves that didn't quite land for me three stars

a generational exploration of reluctant mothers and their fraught relationships with their daughters four stars

an exhausting grueling intense and terrifying Journey that moved me to tears more than once this book will stay with me for a very long time five stars

entertaining dark humor with engaging themes that slowly ramped up to a genuinely disturbing and horrifying climax a haunted house as a metaphor that I found fascinating with a main character that I struggle to connect to three stars

a prequel that delivers just as much heart as the original tragically beautiful in its exploration of what makes us human four stars

a violent and unsettling yet beautifully written exploration of a toxic relationship between two young gay men marked by their trauma loss pain and fear of vulnerability delving into themes of grief love loss and identity four stars

a thriller that started with a bang and ended with a fizzle two stars

a sequel that sadly lost the spark of the original by getting caught up in the minutia and focusing on the wrong characters I'm still going to read on in this series but my hopes have been tempered two stars

an inventive imagining of a dystopian future where happiness and freedom are in opposition resulting in a world diametrically opposed to individuality three stars

a heartbreaking and surreal exploration of cycles of abuse five stars

a dreamy hazy slow paced vampire story exploring themes of self-worth loneliness and purpose three stars

a ya slasher with a promising start that slowly devolved into cartoonish villainy and had a very questionable ending three stars