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A review by chemwitch
Daughter of the Burning City by Amanda Foody
4.0
It has been a month since I read this book. 4 weeks. 30 days. A ton of hours.
And I remember it?
Before you inevitably say, yeah, no big deal, I read books in high school I still remember years later, let me clarify. I do not remember books.I can sometimes read 3-4 books in a single night at work. I read quickly and I move on. By the end of eight hours I sometimes can't remember the first book I read that night.
But I remember this... pretty clearly? And that kind of sums up what I liked about it, I think. It was so original. I hadn't read another book like it (not to say they don't exist). The things other reviewers have mentioned nagging at them just didn't sit with me, and I actually liked Sorina. I usually enjoy more explanation and world-building but in this book the lack of information really worked for me. I see why people wouldn't like this book. I just happened to enjoy it.
Here's what I didn't like:
-Luca
-predictable murder mystery narrative
-the thing with the "chests" and how she could make her illusions disappear? I didn't get that?
-as others have mentioned, that confusing way that she can "see"
Note: I liked Luca because he was an asexual (demisexual?) love interest and obviously diversity is important and I liked seeing representation in the book but I did not love his overall character. I was more... lukewarm on him. Didn't really care one way or the other.
Here's what I did like:
-Sorina
There are a lot of complaints that she has no personality but I kind of related to her? I didn't have many friends and felt like I was kind of a personality-less teenager and felt crushed under expectations like Sorina. That's all. I acknowledge a lot of people saw her as a character with little personality of her own but I personally liked her.
-Gomorrah
The unexplained stuff did not bother me. Again, I acknowledge it was there but I just didn't notice it during my read. I was stoked to read about Gomorrah every time descriptions came up.
-the illusions + diverse set of characters
-
So, yeah, the book had a lot of issues but I just had fun reading it and enjoyed myself. Solid 3.75/4 stars! (Yeah, I'm quarter-star trash.)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I don't even know if I'm gonna truly review this book bc it's so hard for me to review books I liked?
But yeah most of the people I follow didn't like this book but I (surprisingly) did like it quite a bit. So you know.... i don't know.
And I remember it?
Before you inevitably say, yeah, no big deal, I read books in high school I still remember years later, let me clarify. I do not remember books.I can sometimes read 3-4 books in a single night at work. I read quickly and I move on. By the end of eight hours I sometimes can't remember the first book I read that night.
But I remember this... pretty clearly? And that kind of sums up what I liked about it, I think. It was so original. I hadn't read another book like it (not to say they don't exist). The things other reviewers have mentioned nagging at them just didn't sit with me, and I actually liked Sorina. I usually enjoy more explanation and world-building but in this book the lack of information really worked for me. I see why people wouldn't like this book. I just happened to enjoy it.
Here's what I didn't like:
-Luca
-predictable murder mystery narrative
-the thing with the "chests" and how she could make her illusions disappear? I didn't get that?
-as others have mentioned, that confusing way that she can "see"
Note: I liked Luca because he was an asexual (demisexual?) love interest and obviously diversity is important and I liked seeing representation in the book but I did not love his overall character. I was more... lukewarm on him. Didn't really care one way or the other.
Here's what I did like:
-Sorina
There are a lot of complaints that she has no personality but I kind of related to her? I didn't have many friends and felt like I was kind of a personality-less teenager and felt crushed under expectations like Sorina. That's all. I acknowledge a lot of people saw her as a character with little personality of her own but I personally liked her.
-Gomorrah
The unexplained stuff did not bother me. Again, I acknowledge it was there but I just didn't notice it during my read. I was stoked to read about Gomorrah every time descriptions came up.
-the illusions + diverse set of characters
-
Spoiler
that scene where she believes her father over Luca bc that felt really believable to me and the emotions she experienced afterwards felt realSo, yeah, the book had a lot of issues but I just had fun reading it and enjoyed myself. Solid 3.75/4 stars! (Yeah, I'm quarter-star trash.)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I don't even know if I'm gonna truly review this book bc it's so hard for me to review books I liked?
But yeah most of the people I follow didn't like this book but I (surprisingly) did like it quite a bit. So you know.... i don't know.