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valerina_13's review against another edition
I really wanted to like this one, but for my own personal reasons- I have to put it down.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Eating disorder, Fatphobia, and Body shaming
collegeoflores's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs
Moderate: Fatphobia and Racism
Minor: Misogyny
calaqua's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Knocking off a star because there were some aspects of the book that irked me. Also check content warnings, I was caught off guard by the gritty content.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Blood, and Torture
Minor: Cancer, Grief, Fatphobia, and Death of parent
purplequeen's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
My first reaction is I loved this book.
A few things bugged me on a personal level. Sadly, some of those things I have come to expect to from male authors. I will address those first. If a woman having self-esteem issues or body issues does not actively influence the story, and get solved or addressed then leave it out. Some language even when from a villainous character is going to bother some people. Some of the descriptive writing is a bit graphic on the violence front. Be warned.
With that addressed, I will now talk about what I loved. A book about books always hits the spot for me. I thought this was another interesting way to incorporate magic into a world. That any door is every door was an interesting concept. Where it takes us is amazing. I found the beginning when they were testing it to be a little silly and like many friendships one is brave and the other hesitant.
I like when we start to have different timelines and the switch in POVs. The further in the more invested I got. I wasn't expecting some of the twists, but others were a bit predictable. The timeline when things were revealed seemed well paced for the most part.
I think the other reason I really identify with the main female character is the way her grief affected her. I have been through some very close and tough losses. This book did make me cry, but because I related to the feelings and how grief can change your personality. It was nice how this theme was included, and the main character had the chance to address her grief head on eventually.
This will be one some people dive into head first, and devour. Others will get stuck on the things that offend and not see the positives. I hope if you decide to read it you enjoy the experience like I did.
A few things bugged me on a personal level. Sadly, some of those things I have come to expect to from male authors. I will address those first. If a woman having self-esteem issues or body issues does not actively influence the story, and get solved or addressed then leave it out. Some language even when from a villainous character is going to bother some people. Some of the descriptive writing is a bit graphic on the violence front. Be warned.
With that addressed, I will now talk about what I loved. A book about books always hits the spot for me. I thought this was another interesting way to incorporate magic into a world. That any door is every door was an interesting concept. Where it takes us is amazing. I found the beginning when they were testing it to be a little silly and like many friendships one is brave and the other hesitant.
I like when we start to have different timelines and the switch in POVs. The further in the more invested I got. I wasn't expecting some of the twists, but others were a bit predictable. The timeline when things were revealed seemed well paced for the most part.
I think the other reason I really identify with the main female character is the way her grief affected her. I have been through some very close and tough losses. This book did make me cry, but because I related to the feelings and how grief can change your personality. It was nice how this theme was included, and the main character had the chance to address her grief head on eventually.
This will be one some people dive into head first, and devour. Others will get stuck on the things that offend and not see the positives. I hope if you decide to read it you enjoy the experience like I did.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Gore
Minor: Racial slurs and Fatphobia
words_and_pages's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Misogyny, Torture, Sexism, Suicide, and Gun violence
Minor: Fatphobia
tonisecelecticlibrary's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
This book could best be described as a contemporary fantasy/ magical realism thriller. Ever since reading Ink Blood Sister Scribe I have loved the idea of books as magic. This book’s fantasy and magical books were so well thought out and crafted and so completely unique I loved it.
Other things I loved:
The realness of some of most of the characters being driven by basic human emotions- particularly greed. It was infuriating but a pretty good picture of humanity.
The way everything comes together at the end and all starts to make sense was just amazing. I applaud the author on that.
Good vs evil trope with some morally gray in between. The bad guys in this book were really bad and pretty masterful on the part of the author.
Unfortunately, this book is only 3 stars for me because there were some aspects I just did not like.
Unfortunately, this book is only 3 stars for me because there were some aspects I just did not like.
Things I didn’t like:
As much as I said I liked the characters being real and driven by emotion, the FMC was so intelligent I thought she’d be a little past that. Her impulsive decisions without thinking through the consequences were the catalyst for most of the plot in the book. Even her well thought out actions were still sometimes problematic.
The pacing. Some chapters spanned years, others not even an hour. While that is common in fantasy books, I feel as though it could’ve been done differently to be more cohesive.
While realistic to see, the racism from the “bad” characters, fat comments, and low self-esteem in the FMC were cringey at times.
There was no need for the hints of romance in this book. The book was described as being full of “adventure, magic, and romance.” The romance was slim to none and did not add to the book at all.
I also had a really hard time getting into the book. It wasn’t until about 60% through I started wanting to pick it up. I think it was my frustration with the FMC but also I may just be in a bit of a book hangover, so I’m not holding that one against the author.
Overall a good book. I would recommend it to fans of Ink Blood Sister Scribe, people who like reading about other people with a love of books, or other magical realism/ contemporary fantasy readers. This is Gareth Brown’s debut novel and I think there will be a lot more good things from him in the future.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC of this book. This review is given voluntarily.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, and Gore
Moderate: Racial slurs
Minor: Fatphobia and Misogyny
traceyreads2's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Thank you to Netgalley for a digital ARC copy of this book.
I was surprised by the constant labeling of characters in this book only to pigeon hold them into tropes that are harmful and often not true. Why mention a character is a certain gender or ethnicity only to have them immediately be a ruthless murderer?
I really had high hopes for this book and was hoping to enjoy it more than I did, but I instead I could barely finish it.
I was surprised by the constant labeling of characters in this book only to pigeon hold them into tropes that are harmful and often not true. Why mention a character is a certain gender or ethnicity only to have them immediately be a ruthless murderer?
I really had high hopes for this book and was hoping to enjoy it more than I did, but I instead I could barely finish it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming, Death of parent, Misogyny, Racism, Fatphobia, and Xenophobia
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