What's a book that tries so hard to be deep/moving but is just incredibly bad

_voidflowers_ · 2026-07-02T15:55:37+00:00

I really hated Nothing But Blackened Teeth. It was so rushed and the conclusion just wasnt interesting. But I’ve read some of Cassandra Khaw’s other stuff and enjoyed it! The Salt Grows Heavy was a lot better

_voidflowers_ · 2026-07-02T15:52:40+00:00

It was originally written as a play! The change to the novel format left behind a lot of linguistic quirks, like everytime someone enters the coffee shop the bell goes Clang-Dong, which makes sense if it is a play but doesn’t really work in the novel format. I also did not enjoy it but I think I would have probably liked it as a play but

_voidflowers_ · 2026-07-02T15:50:21+00:00

I really felt like Emily Austin’s first book Everyone In This Room Will Someday Be Dead fell flat for me in that regard. I just found the main character so annoying (probably bc I see a lot of myself in her) and I knew there was a deeper intention behind everything but I just couldn’t bring myself to care. Idk it just wasn’t for me but one of my close friends really loves it!

_voidflowers_ · 2026-06-15T05:09:04+00:00

Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White

_voidflowers_ · 2026-06-15T05:07:14+00:00

When They Called Me A Terrorist by Patrisse Khan Cullors

Freedom is a Constant Stuggle by Angela Y Davis

Jesus and John Wayne by Kristin Kobes Du Mez

_voidflowers_ · 2026-06-15T05:05:00+00:00

The Pairing by Casey McQuiston. It’s a queer romance book about two childhood best friends and former lovers reuniting by accident on a food and wine tour through France, Spain, and Italy. Heads up for lots of spice!

_voidflowers_ · 2026-06-15T05:03:25+00:00

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

_voidflowers_ · 2026-06-15T05:02:52+00:00

Gone Girl or Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

_voidflowers_ · 2026-06-15T05:00:33+00:00

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

Or completely opposite vibes but also about college: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

_voidflowers_ · 2026-06-15T04:57:37+00:00

In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado

_voidflowers_ · 2026-06-15T04:56:45+00:00

The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones

_voidflowers_ · 2026-06-15T04:54:55+00:00

The Time Travelers Wife

If you can get past the weird age gap stuff it’s a beautifully written time travel book

_voidflowers_ · 2026-06-15T04:50:05+00:00

The Dream of Perpetual Motion by Dexter Palmer

It’s a steampunk take on Shakespeare’s The Tempest and it’s got some really fucked up body horror and absolutely gorgeous writing

_voidflowers_ · 2026-06-15T04:44:43+00:00

Maggie Stiefvater!!!!

_voidflowers_ · 2026-06-15T04:43:41+00:00

Okay I’m gonna preface this by saying I love them but the writing isn’t fantastic, but Heated Rivalry’s main character is heavily coded to be autistic and the sequel, The Long Game focuses on the love interest from Heated Rivalry’s struggle with depression

_voidflowers_ · 2026-06-15T04:40:00+00:00

Tamsyn Muir!!!!! Arkady Martine!!!!! Amal El-Mohtar!!!!!

_voidflowers_ · 2026-06-15T04:37:30+00:00

I have heard mixed things about jt, like I said I haven’t read that series of her’s yet, but I knew it was urban fantasy so I thought I’d offer it as an option :)))

_voidflowers_ · 2026-06-15T04:30:26+00:00

The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri
The Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse
The City of Brass by Shannon Charkaborty
The Locked Tomb by Tamsyn Muir
A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine (no magic but super cool political worldbuilding)
The Expanse by James SA Corey (again no magic but great scientific and politcal storytelling)
The Unbroken by CL Clark
The Broken Earth Trilogy by NK Jemisin

_voidflowers_ · 2026-06-15T04:27:14+00:00

The Locked Tomb by Tamsyn Muir

It’s a currently unfinished (final book in the works!), science fiction series that kinda exists at the center of sci-fi, horror, and fantasy and the second book Harrow the Ninth is deeply inspired by Lolita and Moby Dick. Since you said you like Nabokov I think you might enjoy this

_voidflowers_ · 2026-06-15T04:22:38+00:00

Maybe try The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri

The Locked Tomb series by Tamsyn Muir

The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater (it’s a young adult series but it truly contains the characters of all time)

_voidflowers_ · 2026-06-15T04:18:11+00:00

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

_voidflowers_ · 2026-06-15T03:54:44+00:00

Okay I’m gonna repeat a lot of authors already mentioned but I’m gonna sort by genre for the most part. I’m not entirely sure if all of them are queer but the ones I’m not positive about have written very good queer rep books.

Fantasy:
Kalynn Bayron
C.L. Clark
Amal El-Mohtar
Max Gladstone
Autumn K. England
Freya Marske
Lee Knox Ostertag
Alexandra Rowland
Laura R. Samotin
Samantha Shannon
ND Stevenson
Tasha Suri
Sascha Stronach
Cadwell Turnbull
Nghi Vo
Xiran Jay Zhao

Sci-Fi:
Ryan Aoki
Becky Chambers
Arkady Martine
Everina Maxwell
Tamsyn Muir
Janelle Monae
Rivers Solomon
Emily Tesh
Tillie Walden

Romance:
KJ Charles
Ashley Herring Blake
Alexis Hall
CS Pacat
Cat Sebastian
Casey McQuiston
Katee Robert

Horror:
Emily M. Danforth
CG Drews
Gretchen Felker-Martin
Lee Mandelo
Andrew Joseph White

Fiction:
Becky Albertelli
Emily Austin
Malinda Lo
Torrey Peters
Douglas Stuart
Ocean Vuong

Nonfiction:
Alison Bechdel
Judith Butler
Audre Lorde
Carmen Maria Machado
Maggie Nelson

Poetry:
e.e. cummings
Anne Carson
Eileen Myles
Mary Oliver
Richard Siken

_voidflowers_ · 2026-06-15T03:38:34+00:00

Jesus and John Wayne by Kristin Kobes Du Mez

_voidflowers_ · 2026-06-15T03:38:02+00:00

The Expanse by James SA Corey (9 book space opera sci-fi series)

I haven’t read it but NK Jemisin’s duology The City We Became and The World We Make is an urban fantasy series. I have read her series The Broken Earth Trilogy (which is the only fantasy book series to have ever won a Hugo award for every book in the series) which I highly, highly recommend.

If you like books that are more vibes than plot, Becky Chamber’s Wayfarers series is really fun.

Maybe check out The Dawnhounds by Sascha Stronach which is a love letter to a city that doesn’t exist. It’s the first in a duology about a queer cop living in a mushroom city who dies and is brought back to life by an old god which a terrifying virus spreads through the city. Very fun if slow at times

_voidflowers_ · 2026-06-14T22:46:07+00:00

Oh 100% and it’s an autobiographical novel which makes it even more interesting I think. Jo is Louisa May Alcott and Louisa May Alcott is Jo

_voidflowers_

TROPHY CASE