Me and my friend have a sketchbook together called "shared custody" and we swap him back and forth between us and draw. these are some of my favorite spreads so far.
I highly recommend doing this with an artist friend it's really fun. RIP @crustystation get ur phone back and post on tumblr more
These are some of my favorite junk pages and spreads from my sketchbook these past years. I love putting trash and pamphlets and all sorts of things in here. I even have some shoelaces and a butterfly wing!
If I was to describe this book in two words, it would be:
Utterly Insufferable!
I was so excited for this book. I rushed out to purchase. Spending $35AUD on this garbage just 3 days ago. Today I sat down to read it, and my cat decided to spill a whole 1L bottle of my hydrolyte drink on it. Absolutely soaking the back half of the book. I should have took this as a sign and thanked him for his service. Unfortunately, I had no clue what absurdity he was saving me from. If only I'd just thrown the book away.
The book follows Iris, but it also follows Lucy...and vampire Lucy. Iris' events is set in 2024 - 2025. Lucy, the vampire, is followed by tape recordings following her life as a vampire and how her past human life had impacted it. As well as human Lucy in the form of journal entries. At first I was intrigued at how this would play out. As I love different media in books. Unfortunately, the POV's were all over the place. The voice recordings would give away spoilers to the journal entries, completely taking away the element of surprise, holding no suspense what so ever. Making the proceeding chapters boring as you'd already know what was to happen.
Iris...Iris, Iris, Iris. Girl you are absolutely intolerable. 20% through the book, and she's mad at life, her mum, her dad, her past. But the reader has no idea as to why. Making her frustrating to read about as she is always angry. The author also repeats every chapter over and over and over that she needs to sell items in her mothers property in England. Every chapter with Iris' POV, these same words are repeated over and over again. Like yes, thank you, I've read the other chapters. I get it. Also why are all rich people in stories the same? So desperate to be away from the money and wealth of their family, but actively try to benefit at the same time from their families wealth.....but repeat over and over again they want nothing to do with it. I don't understand.
Other issues I had with the book involved the usage of the word queer, and the obvious declaration that the author has no clue to the history, original meaning, and modern usage of the word. It honestly felt like an insult. Two examples of the words usage, both used in a 1890's journal, frustrated me to no end. The first example, the author used the word queer as a quirky cool thing to be. Like how "wonderful" it is for me to be using the word queer in a 1890s view point (Obviously sarcasm on my behalf). I read the word in this usage and wanted to scream. This word historically was not something you wanted to be called. It had such a negative connotation and literally meant weird, strange, abnormal. But White used the modern day usage and connotation in this journal. Then, only a few chapters later, for example 2, in another 1890s journal, she used the old meaning of the word. Lucy describing herself as queer and strange, like something is wrong with her. Does White actually know much about this word? Cause it truly feels like they don't.
The book felt like a fanfiction. Written purely for self fulfilment, and not actually intending for a wider audience.
Also, was the modern day American politics necessary to mention?? Personal gripe, mentions like this in books automatically centres American audiences as the only intended audience. It's incredibly frustrating. Not everything has to involve American centralist mindsets. But apparently we non American's can't escape it. Even in fictional world's.
The 2024 references also made me cringe to my soul. 'The Last of Us' as a reference?? Really?? This is just a perfect way to age a book. Especially since the most recent editions of that game made audiences furious. Not a good look.
I'm seriously disappointed. The cover was gorgeous. It's a real shame the cover is the only good quality about this book.
Star rating. 1/5.
Wish I could label it 0. But good reads won't allow that.
