10000bees's reviews
347 reviews

Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

This is I Can Fix Him, the book. The first half was ROUGH, especially the first few chapters when names were getting thrown around like crazy. If you're going to have a cute little character list, please include all the minor characters too and not just the core cast. But things got a bit better in the second half and things picked up the pace and Violet and Xaden's circular arguments mostly came to an end. Is this growth?

Their relationship is just so frustrating to me. I would have much rather have two badass dragon riders try to save the world together rather than two badass dragon riders struggle to save their doomed romance. But I do appreciate how supportive they are of each other.

I do wish that the stakes felt as high as they were made out to be, but everything about this series feels incredibly convenient. Violet and Xaden are great at everything until it would be dramatic if they weren't.

And I'm still not a fan of the writing style at all, but I think there has been improvements in some places. It's pretty clear to me that the author reads feedback (there's one line that I'm sure was written because of a common complaint from Iron Flame), and it makes me feel a little weird. I'm sure some people love knowing that, but I'm more worried that the plot might subtly change to fit more fan theories into it.

All that being said, this was definitely an improvement from Iron Flame and that cliffhanger has me almost looking forward to the next book.

A History of My Brief Body by Billy-Ray Belcourt

emotional reflective medium-paced

5.0

A poignant and impactful collection of essays. Though there are reflections on life experiences, it's not quite a memoir. The writing is absolutely gorgeous, and there were some lines and sections that I read a few times just because the prose and topics were such a perfect mixture of poetic and heart wrenching.

All of the essays were great, but my personal favorites were Fragments from a Half-Existence, Please Keep Loving: Reflections on Unlivability, and To Hang Our Grief Up to Dry.

Severance by Ling Ma

dark reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The mix of dreary capitalistic reality and a pandemic that too many people don't take seriously enough until it's too late made me feel a dread I haven't felt in quite a while. It's not a dramatic zombie story, but an eerie reflection on modern capitalistic society and the feeling of being nothing more than a cog in a machine. Why do we continue to spin even when it threatens to break us down? At what point will this all collapse, and what then? 

Heavenly Bodies by Imani Erriu

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

It's not super groundbreaking and is definitely tropey, but I had a lot of fun reading this! The writing and characters just kind of grabbed me, and I absolutely flew through it, which was a nice change of pace compared to some of the other things I've read recently. I thought Enzo was a fun mmc and liked him and I do appreciate that the fmc had the shadow powers for once. 

The big weakness was definitely the pacing. This book was too long and had too many conflicts that resolved too quickly (including some mental health things that made me raise an eyebrow). The end was also a little messy and I got a little confused with what was literal and what was metaphorical. In the same vein, the world concept was interesting, but I don't know if it was utilized to its fullest potential.

All that, but I still cannot deny I was kicking my feet a little bit.

So Sang the Riverman by Alixander Florian Dietrich

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

The purplest of prose. The gayest of yearning. This is definitely a vibes-based read, and the vibes were fantastic. The events of the plot weren't always super clear to me even as they were happening, especially in the first half, but I still found the experience of reading this enjoyable. Every chapter has gorgeous and evocative lines that depict a yearning so intense it destroys the world, and the subsequent love that will remake it.

Mother of Death and Dawn by Carissa Broadbent

adventurous dark emotional

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I feel kind of sad rating this book lower than the rest of the series. It's not bad, but I'm just not a fan of how it all came together at the end. The magic system grew soft and loose over the course of the series, and the way everyone's power progressed felt very convenient. Almost every battle scene is described to be huge and massively destructive, but the consequences of all these battles are very repetitive to the point where the stakes didn't feel substantial.

The highlight of this story (and the whole series) is the emotional beats it tackles. I like Tisaanah and Max and their relationship. Aefe and Caduan acted as really good narrative foils and I was very interested to see their arc by the end. I can't say I loved it tbh, but I understand it. I guess I just wanted more from them, but that would have meant an even longer book and this was already too long.

The audiobooks may have hindered my enjoyment as well. Tisanaah/Aefe's narrator was fine, but Max's... I was not a fan. I would have probably liked this more if I'd read it with my eyes, but alas. In summary: I like the characters and the romances, not so much the fantasy. The first book in the series was definitely my favorite.

Lights Out by Navessa Allen

dark funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Listen, I'm not a dark romance girlie and I've never pretended otherwise. Hell, I'm not even a big romance reader. But I am also not immune to duet narration, I fear. So, yes, I was blushing and kicking my feet a little at this. I do appreciate that this was generally lighthearted and had a mmc that wasn't completely insufferable. The back half lost its charm a little bit because it really didn't need that extra plot. But I had fun while listening 🤷‍♀️

The Songbird & the Heart of Stone by Carissa Broadbent

adventurous dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Conceptually, I love this. A necromancer and a priestess travel to hell to resurrect a dead god. Yes please! And I will not lie, I flew through this book. Something about Broadbent's writing is just so readable for me. And Luce! I am not immune to an animal companion, and I am even less immune to a man who loves his dog. Sorry!

I liked Mische as a protagonist and seeing her come to terms with her toxic relationship with her god and religion. Asar felt a little underdeveloped, but I'm sure that'll at least try to be fixed in the next book, where I assume we'll get his POV.

But the pacing didn't work for me. This book takes place over months but it doesn't feel like that at all. I might believe a week or two. And the challenges they faced felt incredibly repetitive to the point of frustration. The side characters had basically no personality and were just... there.

And yet. I ate it up. Especially towards the end. Broadbent knows how to do a cliffhanger, I tell you what. I don't know if it completely makes up for the somewhat lackluster beginning, but I'm absolutely interested in seeing what happens in the next book.

Immortal by Sue Lynn Tan
Did not finish book. Stopped at 17%.

I really didn't get along with this writing unfortunately

The Dallergut Dream Department Store by Miye Lee

lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

Maybe it's unfair for me to rate this since I only read it to complete a prompt for a reading challenge, but whatever. Cozy fantasy has missed for me once again. This one wasn't bad, it was just boring. Penny was one of the most nothing characters I've ever read. The world was conceptually interesting, but it didn't have enough substance to make me care. Every question could be waved away with mystical dream logic. There really wasn't much of a plot, and the conclusions the story drew drew were fine.