i'd say okay

The Macabre, Kosoko Jackson

The premise of this book had me hooked instantly, but so far I'm not enjoying it as much as I'd like. It's art and horror and magic and time travel. The plot is good and I like the pace and the prose! While I'm not enamoured with the characters, I do like them/find them interesting; weirdly I think the way the characters interact with each other is where it falls flat, which isn't something I've come across before. Again, I'm only halfway through, so something might change, but so far the characters are bringing things down for me.

The Cruel Prince, Holly Black

I actually read the whole trilogy because it was free and I was bored! I attempted ACOTAR once and really was not a fan, and this felt like a young adult version of it, so I was surprised to enjoy it. I've heard people describe it as a political fantasy rather than a true romantasy, and I can see why; the romance isn't the true meat of the material, although it does play a big part, but I would say it's family-focused. I also really wanted to kick a lot of the characters in the shins, which I think was the point. Good writing, fun plot, really infuriating sister characters, I liked it.

Operation Bounce House, Matt Dinniman

I did like this, but the thing is, Dungeon Crawler Carl is an ongoing series written by the same author with a male main character whose point of view and voice feel very distinct. It might be because I recently finished the most recent Dungeon Crawler Carl book, but it was kind of hard to read this book without just reading it in Carl's voice. It's the same genre, similiar stakes, very similiar everything, and I feel like it could have shone on its own if it had waited a while before it hit the shelves, or the characters/POV had been switched up a little bit.

Godkiller, Hannah Kaner

I loved this book. I love books with multiple POV's, especially when they all have pieces of the puzzle, but the fault of things not aligning doesn't lie in the miscommunication trope. There's a lot of world-building in the background here, so many interesting and cool characters, lots of charged scenes and tension that doesn't detract from the relationships forming naturally, growing on the page. I know there are sequels, although I don't know if I'll read them because I actually really liked where it ended, so I think it could work as a standalone.

What Moves The Dead, T Kingfisher

Oh, I really liked this. I love anything horror with a more spooky/creepy feel rather than gorey, and this fit the brief perfectly. It's a novella, so a shorter read and in my opinion, it's best read in the evening. I don't want to spoil things, but it's based on The Fall of the House of Usher, and it shines a light on the original characters.

Project Hail Mary, Andy Weir

This was a reread, which I don't often do because I have a terrible attention span. But the film came out and we managed to go to an early screening of it, and it was so beautifully translated from page to screen, so I wanted to read it again. I remember loving it the first time I read it, and the love hasn't lessened; it's a very good book about hope and humanity, and I can't wait to watch the film again. I did picture Ryan Gosling throughout the whole reread, but that doesn't feel like a bad thing.