Booksthatburn book blogger
I co-host the podcast Books That Burn where we discuss fictional depiction of trauma in books. On the blog Reviews That Burn I focus on books by queer authors and authors of color, or books featuring queer characters (regardless of the public identity of the author).
https://reviews.booksthatburn.com/
Reviews
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How to Bare Your Neck and Save a Wreck by D.N. Bryn
Worldbuilding: Piqued curiosity
Plot: Straightforward Characters: Roles are clear
Storytelling: Descriptive
Immersion: Didn’t want to put the book down Emotional Response: Strong emotions
Thought Provoking: New ideas came up
Cover: Matches the story well Content Warnings: Sexual content, confinement, blood, violence, death. Review posts December 25th, 2024. |
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Consecrated Ground by Virginia Black
Worldbuilding: Aided the story
Plot: Mostly clear Characters: Some more thought out than others
Storytelling: Balanced
Immersion: Didn’t want to put the book down Emotional Response: Engaging
Thought Provoking: New ideas came up
Cover: Adequately represents the story |
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The Reanimator's Remains by Kara Jorgensen
Worldbuilding: Aided the story
Plot: Mostly clear Characters: Roles are clear
Storytelling: Balanced
Immersion: Didn’t want to put the book down Emotional Response: Strong emotions
Thought Provoking: New ideas came up
Cover: Matches the story well |
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A Necessary Chaos by Brett Lambert
Worldbuilding: Piqued curiosity
Plot: Mostly clear Characters: Some more thought out than others
Storytelling: Descriptive
Immersion: Satisfying, fulfilling experience Emotional Response: Engaging
Thought Provoking: Focus on the story solely
Cover: Adequately represents the story Content Warnings: CW for sexual content, alcohol, drug use, blood, gore, violence, child abuse, war, murder, death. Review posts November 24th, 2024. |
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In Which a Demon King Does Not Have a Romantic Interest in His Human Gardener by Rori Thornton
Worldbuilding: Piqued curiosity
Plot: Mostly clear Characters: Roles are clear
Storytelling: Balanced
Immersion: Satisfying, fulfilling experience Emotional Response: Engaging
Thought Provoking: New ideas came up
Cover: Adequately represents the story Content Warnings: Moderate CW for grief, sexual content, blood. |
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The Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard
Worldbuilding: Aided the story
Plot: Mostly clear Characters: Roles are clear
Storytelling: Balanced
Immersion: Didn’t want to put the book down Emotional Response: Engaging
Thought Provoking: New ideas came up
Cover: Adequately represents the story Review posts November 17th, 2024 |
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Spells of Summer (Inheritance, 8) by AK Faulkner
Worldbuilding: Aided the story
Plot: Mostly clear Characters: Roles are clear
Storytelling: Descriptive
Immersion: Didn’t want to put the book down Emotional Response: Strong emotions
Thought Provoking: New ideas came up
Cover: Adequately represents the story Content Warnings: Graphic/Explicit CW for memory loss. Moderate CW for sexual content, panic attacks, blood, violence, medical content, medical trauma, murder, death. |
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Rites of Winter (Inheritance, 6) by AK Faulkner
Worldbuilding: Aided the story
Plot: Straightforward Characters: Roles are clear
Storytelling: Descriptive
Immersion: Didn’t want to put the book down Emotional Response: Strong emotions
Thought Provoking: New ideas came up
Cover: Matches the story well Content Warnings: Graphic/Explicit CW for panic attacks/disorders, violence, death. Moderate CW for grief, body horror, kidnapping. |
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Sigils of Spring (Inheritance, 7) by AK Faulkner
Worldbuilding: Aided the story
Plot: Straightforward Characters: Roles are clear
Storytelling: Descriptive
Immersion: Didn’t want to put the book down Emotional Response: Strong emotions
Thought Provoking: Did some research after reading
Cover: Adequately represents the story Content Warnings: Graphic/Explicit CW for kidnapping, confinement, disassociation, stalking, emotional abuse, physical abuse, torture. |
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Page of Tricks (Inheritance, 5) by AK Faulkner
Worldbuilding: Aided the story
Plot: Mostly clear Characters: Roles are clear
Storytelling: Balanced
Immersion: Didn’t want to put the book down Emotional Response: Strong emotions
Thought Provoking: Did some research after reading
Cover: Matches the story well Content Warnings: Graphic/Explicit CW for grief, sexual content, drug use, drug abuse, emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, disassociation, panic attacks, blood, gore, violence, sexual assault, rape, child abuse, kidnapping, confinement, intrusive thoughts, torture. |
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Dreams of the Dying by Nicolas Lietzau
Worldbuilding: Piqued curiosity
Plot: Mostly clear Characters: Some more thought out than others
Storytelling: Balanced
Immersion: Easy to switch to other tasks Emotional Response: Engaging
Thought Provoking: New ideas came up
Cover: Matches the story well Content Warnings: Graphic/Explicit CW for gore, body horror, fire/fire injury, violence, war, murder, death. Moderate CW for cursing, classism, infidelity, racism, drug use, sexual assault, rape, child abuse, mental illness, ableism, panic attacks, emotional abuse, physical abuse, domestic abuse, terminal illness, medical content, colonization, torture, suicide attempt, murder, child death, animal death. |
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10 Things That Never Happened by Alexis Hall
Worldbuilding: Piqued curiosity
Plot: Straightforward Characters: Roles are clear
Storytelling: Descriptive
Immersion: Didn’t want to put the book down Emotional Response: Strong emotions
Thought Provoking: New ideas came up
Cover: Matches the story well Full review posts June 12th, 2024. |
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Disobedience by Daniel Sarah Karasik
Worldbuilding: Aided the story
Plot: Mostly clear Characters: Roles are clear
Storytelling: Balanced
Immersion: Easy to switch to other tasks Emotional Response: Strong emotions
Thought Provoking: Did some research after reading
Cover: Unrelated to the story Received an ARC through Netgalley. |
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Their Heart A Hive by Fox N. Locke
Worldbuilding: Piqued curiosity
Plot: Mostly clear Characters: Some more thought out than others
Storytelling: Balanced
Immersion: Easy to switch to other tasks Emotional Response: Engaging
Thought Provoking: New ideas came up
Cover: Adequately represents the story |
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Waiting for the Flood by Alexis Hall
Worldbuilding: Aided the story
Plot: Straightforward Characters: Roles are clear
Storytelling: Descriptive
Immersion: Didn’t want to put the book down Emotional Response: Strong emotions
Thought Provoking: Did some research after reading
Cover: Matches the story well Review posts June 7th, 2024. |
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Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall
Worldbuilding: Piqued curiosity
Plot: Mostly clear Characters: Roles are clear
Storytelling: Descriptive
Immersion: Didn’t want to put the book down Emotional Response: Strong emotions
Thought Provoking: Did some research after reading
Cover: Matches the story well Review publishes May 29th, 2024 |
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How to Bite Your Neighbor and Win a Wager by D.N. Bryn
Worldbuilding: Aided the story
Plot: Straightforward Characters: Roles are clear
Storytelling: Descriptive
Immersion: Didn’t want to put the book down Emotional Response: Strong emotions
Thought Provoking: Did some research after reading
Cover: Matches the story well |
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The Forgotten Lyric by Carolina Cruz
Worldbuilding: Aided the story
Plot: Mostly clear Characters: Roles are clear
Storytelling: Descriptive
Immersion: Didn’t want to put the book down Emotional Response: Strong emotions
Thought Provoking: Did some research after reading
Cover: Matches the story well Content Warnings: Graphic/Explicit CW for blood, violence, torture, murder, death. Moderate CW for grief, alcohol, vomit, injury detail. Minor CW for sexual content, child death. |
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The Unwanted Prophet by Carolina Cruz
Worldbuilding: Aided the story
Plot: Mostly clear Characters: Roles are clear
Storytelling: Balanced
Immersion: Didn’t want to put the book down Emotional Response: Strong emotions
Thought Provoking: Did some research after reading
Cover: Matches the story well Content Warnings: Graphic/Explicit CW for classism, religious bigotry, grief, confinement, drug use, emotional abuse, blood, physical abuse, violence, torture, murder, death. Moderate CW for alcohol, ableism, vomit, injury detail, self harm, suicide attempt, animal death. Fantastic! |
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A Lake of Feathers and Moonbeams by Dax Murray
Worldbuilding: Piqued curiosity
Plot: Mostly clear Characters: Some more thought out than others
Storytelling: Balanced
Immersion: Easy to switch to other tasks Emotional Response: Engaging
Thought Provoking: Focus on the story solely
Cover: Matches the story well Content Warnings: Moderate CW for blood, violence, murder, death. Minor CW for sexual content, animal death. |
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The Beast of Loughby Island by Matt Doyle
Worldbuilding: Piqued curiosity
Plot: Mostly clear Characters: Some more thought out than others
Storytelling: Balanced
Immersion: Satisfying, fulfilling experience Emotional Response: Engaging
Thought Provoking: New ideas came up
Cover: Matches the story well |
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Tales of Mundane Magic: Volume One by Shaina Krevat
Worldbuilding: Aided the story
Plot: Mostly clear Characters: Some more thought out than others
Storytelling: Balanced
Immersion: Satisfying, fulfilling experience Emotional Response: Strong emotions
Thought Provoking: New ideas came up
Cover: Matches the story well Content Warnings: Death |
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Caroline's Heart by Austin Chant
Worldbuilding: Piqued curiosity
Plot: Straightforward Characters: Roles are clear
Storytelling: Descriptive
Immersion: Didn’t want to put the book down Emotional Response: Strong emotions
Thought Provoking: New ideas came up
Cover: Matches the story well |
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Blind Man's Wolf by Amelia Faulkner
Worldbuilding: Aided the story
Plot: Straightforward Characters: Roles are clear
Storytelling: Balanced
Immersion: Didn’t want to put the book down Emotional Response: Strong emotions
Thought Provoking: Did some research after reading
Cover: Matches the story well |
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Shades and Silver by Dax Murray
Worldbuilding: Aided the story
Plot: Mostly clear Characters: Roles are clear
Storytelling: Balanced
Immersion: Didn’t want to put the book down Emotional Response: Engaging
Thought Provoking: New ideas came up
Cover: Matches the story well Content Warnings: Minor CW for injury detail, emotional abuse. Full review posts 04/03/2024. I'm also working on an essay about how this story uses disability, identity, and allegorical gender. |
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The Fall That Saved Us by Tamara Jerée
Worldbuilding: Piqued curiosity
Plot: Mostly clear Characters: Roles are clear
Storytelling: Balanced
Immersion: Satisfying, fulfilling experience Emotional Response: Engaging
Thought Provoking: New ideas came up
Cover: Matches the story well Content Warnings: Moderate CW for sexual content, emotional abuse, physical abuse, child abuse, blood, violence, injury detail, self harm. |
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Soultaming the Serpent by Tar Atore
Worldbuilding: Aided the story
Plot: Straightforward Characters: Roles are clear
Storytelling: Descriptive
Immersion: Satisfying, fulfilling experience Emotional Response: Strong emotions
Thought Provoking: Did some research after reading
Cover: Matches the story well Content Warnings: Moderate CW for grief, confinement, blood, violence, injury detail, medical content, torture, death. |
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A Case of Madness by Yvonne Knop
Worldbuilding: Aided the story
Plot: Mostly clear Characters: Roles are clear
Storytelling: Balanced
Immersion: Satisfying, fulfilling experience Emotional Response: Engaging
Thought Provoking: Did some research after reading
Cover: Matches the story well Content Warnings: Graphic/Explicit CW for cancer, homophobia, hate crime, mental illness, violence, suicide attempt. Moderate CW for cursing, alcohol, drug use, toxic relationship, blood, terminal illness, car accident, medical content. |
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How To Sell Your Blood and Fall In Love by D.N. Bryn
Worldbuilding: Aided the story
Plot: Straightforward Characters: Roles are clear
Storytelling: Descriptive
Immersion: Didn’t want to put the book down Emotional Response: Strong emotions
Thought Provoking: Did some research after reading
Cover: Matches the story well Content Warnings: Graphic/Explicit CW for grief, sexual content, blood, violence, chronic pain. Moderate CW for drug use, bullying, kidnapping, fire, emotional abuse, physical abuse, panic attacks/disorders, stalking, gun violence, injury detail, murder, death. Review posts 4/28/24 |
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The Thirteenth Hour by Trudie Skies
Worldbuilding: Aided the story
Plot: Straightforward Characters: Roles are clear
Storytelling: Descriptive
Immersion: Didn’t want to put the book down Emotional Response: Strong emotions
Thought Provoking: Did some research after reading
Cover: Matches the story well Content Warnings: Graphic CW for grief, classism, religious bigotry, death. CW for cursing, toxic relationship, emotional abuse, physical abuse, kidnapping, confinement, institutionalization, mental illness, fire, injury detail, rape, torture, slavery, genocide. Review posts on 4/14/2024 |
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The Reanimator's Heart by Kara Jorgensen
Worldbuilding: Aided the story
Plot: Straightforward Characters: Roles are clear
Storytelling: Balanced
Immersion: Didn’t want to put the book down Emotional Response: Engaging
Thought Provoking: New ideas came up
Cover: Matches the story well Content Warnings: Graphic/Explicit CW for grief, blood, violence, murder, death. Moderate CW for ableism, mental illness, sexism, misogyny, panic attacks/disorders, cannibalism. Minor CW for alcohol, self harm. |
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The Reanimator's Soul by Kara Jorgensen
Worldbuilding: Aided the story
Plot: Straightforward Characters: Roles are clear
Storytelling: Balanced
Immersion: Didn’t want to put the book down Emotional Response: Engaging
Thought Provoking: New ideas came up
Cover: Matches the story well Content Warnings: Graphic CW for sexual content. CW for ableism, gore, blood, violence, medical content, medical abuse, conversion therapy, panic attacks, torture, murder, death. Minor CW for sexual assault, forced institutionalization, alcohol, homophobia, child abuse. |