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_readwithash's reviews
177 reviews
The Things We Do to Our Friends by Heather Darwent
3.5
Dark Academia lovers will love this one.
It's sort of like Saltburn, but replace the weirdness with some female rage.
Personally I found the middle section to be a bit tedious, I wish it was like 100 pages shorter, and I think I would have absolutely loved it. As is, I found the first and last parts to be super compelling but the middle to drag down the story considerably.
It's sort of like Saltburn, but replace the weirdness with some female rage.
Personally I found the middle section to be a bit tedious, I wish it was like 100 pages shorter, and I think I would have absolutely loved it. As is, I found the first and last parts to be super compelling but the middle to drag down the story considerably.
The Constant Rabbit by Jasper Fforde
4.5
Okay was this one real weird? Yes. Most definitely.
But it is also a book that will stay with me for awhile.
Worth the read, and worth jumping into without much explanation. Give it a go.
But it is also a book that will stay with me for awhile.
Worth the read, and worth jumping into without much explanation. Give it a go.
Briar Rose by Jane Yolen
3.0
I read this while on a journey though the Nebula shortlist winners, and it was the first book I intentionally read because of that challenge I set for myself.
This was certainly not what I expected from SFF award winners. This was a holocaust story, of a woman trying to find her grandmother's history under the Nazi regime. Interlaced though that story is her grandmother's story of Briar Rose, with just enough changes from the more familiar tale to realize that there might be more to her story than just a simple fairytale.
Overall, I found this book to be enjoyable enough to read, despite the obviously very harrowing content, but it didn't move me. Ultimately it was a fairly direct story with nothing surprising or particularly interesting.
Still, I'm happy to have read it, and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a story about the Holocaust that is a bit different than most of the others I've read.
This was certainly not what I expected from SFF award winners. This was a holocaust story, of a woman trying to find her grandmother's history under the Nazi regime. Interlaced though that story is her grandmother's story of Briar Rose, with just enough changes from the more familiar tale to realize that there might be more to her story than just a simple fairytale.
Overall, I found this book to be enjoyable enough to read, despite the obviously very harrowing content, but it didn't move me. Ultimately it was a fairly direct story with nothing surprising or particularly interesting.
Still, I'm happy to have read it, and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a story about the Holocaust that is a bit different than most of the others I've read.
Jade War by Fonda Lee
5.0
I'm gonna be real, I hate reviewing individual books in a series. Especially the middle book. The first one I can review because it's all new and shiny and fun. The last book I can review because now I've gotten the whole story, but the middle? That's just a part of the story.
Anyway, you should read this one.
Anyway, you should read this one.
Infinite Country by Patricia Engel
5.0
I was really surprised by this book. It really packs a punch for being so short.
The story opens with teenager Talia escaping from a juvenile detention school. We're immediately brought in on the action in a vibrant way, as we follow this girl through Colombia, as she tries to make it back home in time to get on a plane back to the US.
Then, though flashbacks, we see Talia's parents as they immigrate from Colombia to the United States, as they're faced with the decision of returning home or overstaying their visa, and then as they're forced into tenuous circumstances again and again as they try to find their place in a country where they're considered illegal for merely existing.
If nothing else, this story offers perspective on the so called "border crisis" in the US, that would offer even the staunchest anti-immigration voters a space to explore the complications of immigration with empathy and care.
More than that though, this is a story about family and love, and how to hold a family together. It's a story that is challenging at times, beautiful at others, and wholly incredible.
The story opens with teenager Talia escaping from a juvenile detention school. We're immediately brought in on the action in a vibrant way, as we follow this girl through Colombia, as she tries to make it back home in time to get on a plane back to the US.
Then, though flashbacks, we see Talia's parents as they immigrate from Colombia to the United States, as they're faced with the decision of returning home or overstaying their visa, and then as they're forced into tenuous circumstances again and again as they try to find their place in a country where they're considered illegal for merely existing.
If nothing else, this story offers perspective on the so called "border crisis" in the US, that would offer even the staunchest anti-immigration voters a space to explore the complications of immigration with empathy and care.
More than that though, this is a story about family and love, and how to hold a family together. It's a story that is challenging at times, beautiful at others, and wholly incredible.
Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty
3.0
I'm not typically a middle grade reader, but I wanted to read this one before gifting it to a child in my life.
The story explored scary themes in a way that seemed fun and interesting, without being too scary. However, I found the plot and the characters to be lacking. The former felt more like each moment was crafted for entertainment rather than cohesiveness, and the latter felt shallow and underdeveloped.
Still, I chose to pass it on to the young one as I think she will enjoy it.
The story explored scary themes in a way that seemed fun and interesting, without being too scary. However, I found the plot and the characters to be lacking. The former felt more like each moment was crafted for entertainment rather than cohesiveness, and the latter felt shallow and underdeveloped.
Still, I chose to pass it on to the young one as I think she will enjoy it.
Buried Deep and Other Stories by Naomi Novik
4.5
Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing a review copy in exchange for an honest review.
I always love Naomi Novik, and this collection was largely the same. Like many anthologies, there were stories I liked a lot (the one following the events of The Scholomance had me smitten) and ones I liked a lot less (I've never been a Pride and Predjuice person so Lizzy Bennet as a dragon rider just didn't do it for me).
If you too love Novik's works, you definitely need to pick this up. Be smart about your reading though, because there are some instances of spoilers for her other works, and even if they don't contain spoilers, many of the stories require and understanding of her novels to best understand the stories. S0 while I am confident many people will love this, I recommend picking it up after you've read some of Novik's other works.
I always love Naomi Novik, and this collection was largely the same. Like many anthologies, there were stories I liked a lot (the one following the events of The Scholomance had me smitten) and ones I liked a lot less (I've never been a Pride and Predjuice person so Lizzy Bennet as a dragon rider just didn't do it for me).
If you too love Novik's works, you definitely need to pick this up. Be smart about your reading though, because there are some instances of spoilers for her other works, and even if they don't contain spoilers, many of the stories require and understanding of her novels to best understand the stories. S0 while I am confident many people will love this, I recommend picking it up after you've read some of Novik's other works.
Alien Clay by Adrian Tchaikovsky
3.5
Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing a review copy in exchange for an honest review.
This is a book about humans who have suffered under, and resisted, a dystopian world on Earth, and are subsequently sent to an alien planet to work as prison labor. The story opens with the MC being resuscitated after a 30 year life suspension, and then plunging toward the new to him planet. Soon we find out that many of the folks sent to this planet were sent there because of their revolutionary and heretical works on Earth, as their new home is host to structures that were built by intelligent beings of some type, who are no where to be found.
While reading this, I never quite knew where the story was heading, in the best way. It was constantly unfolding one step at a time, while I was following along one step behind. This worked really well in some moments, as I frantically turned pages eager to find out what happened next. In other situations I felt a little left behind, which led to disinterest.
Still, overall, I found this to be a fascinating novel that moved in places and addressed concepts I would have never expected. It was a vibrant world with a strong story to tell.
This is a book about humans who have suffered under, and resisted, a dystopian world on Earth, and are subsequently sent to an alien planet to work as prison labor. The story opens with the MC being resuscitated after a 30 year life suspension, and then plunging toward the new to him planet. Soon we find out that many of the folks sent to this planet were sent there because of their revolutionary and heretical works on Earth, as their new home is host to structures that were built by intelligent beings of some type, who are no where to be found.
While reading this, I never quite knew where the story was heading, in the best way. It was constantly unfolding one step at a time, while I was following along one step behind. This worked really well in some moments, as I frantically turned pages eager to find out what happened next. In other situations I felt a little left behind, which led to disinterest.
Still, overall, I found this to be a fascinating novel that moved in places and addressed concepts I would have never expected. It was a vibrant world with a strong story to tell.
Nine of Swords by Brooklyn Quintana
2.5
Thank you to the author for the review copy.
This is a tough review to write, because this book is almost 800 pages, and if I had written the review anywhere within the first 400-500 pages it would have been scathing. Now that I've finished it, I can admit that the characters wormed their way into my heart and the story finally became compelling.
The reason for why I did not enjoy the beginning is simple: nothing makes sense. Well, more specifically, nothing makes sense within the world of the novel, it makes sense as a reader.
That probably doesn't make a lot of sense, so to boil it down, there are no good motivations in the beginning of this book. Finn, the protagonist, has a bitter rivalry with his cousin Hollyn. Why? Well there's no in-text reason, it's just that it makes the story a little more interesting for the reader.
Everyone seems to be in on the "big secret" but won't reveal it to Fynn (including the trickster character who would thrive on sowing that particular chaos). Why won't they tell him? Well the revel is going to be cooler as a climax.
The kids get sent to war school, where they're told that the incoming students will be going through an expedited program (four years instead of 6 iirc) because the country is anticipating going to war soon. But instead of properly preparing these children, they throw them into war game after war game, that often times leaves them dead. Why are we killing and or gravely injuring our own soldiers when we're on the brink of war? Well that makes it more interesting for the reader!
I could list example after example of this, but ultimately the specifics do not matter all that much. And the important part is that IT GETS BETTER. Once this shaky foundation has been laid, the story starts to build on itself, and this particular issue fixes itself. Which leaves me intrigued by the second book, because now Quintana has figured it out. (Except for the magic? There's definitely magic in this world, Fynn seems to run into it all the time, but everyone seems to act like it doesn't exist? I get it, magic systems are very hard to write, but I wish there was some clarification on that particular one.)
There is definitely an interesting concept here, and the world is broad and has a lot going for it, the characters are lovable in a trope-y way, so you know exactly what you're going to get from them. I simply wish it had been reworked with a more aggressive writing group/partner, because this book has so much potential, but it falls short of it.
Ultimately, I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to experience or re-experience fantasy the way it was in the early 2000s. (Seriously, the number of HP references in this are astronomical, if you're somehow still look at that series with fondness, you'll eat this right up.)
This is a tough review to write, because this book is almost 800 pages, and if I had written the review anywhere within the first 400-500 pages it would have been scathing. Now that I've finished it, I can admit that the characters wormed their way into my heart and the story finally became compelling.
The reason for why I did not enjoy the beginning is simple: nothing makes sense. Well, more specifically, nothing makes sense within the world of the novel, it makes sense as a reader.
That probably doesn't make a lot of sense, so to boil it down, there are no good motivations in the beginning of this book. Finn, the protagonist, has a bitter rivalry with his cousin Hollyn. Why? Well there's no in-text reason, it's just that it makes the story a little more interesting for the reader.
Everyone seems to be in on the "big secret" but won't reveal it to Fynn (including the trickster character who would thrive on sowing that particular chaos). Why won't they tell him? Well the revel is going to be cooler as a climax.
The kids get sent to war school, where they're told that the incoming students will be going through an expedited program (four years instead of 6 iirc) because the country is anticipating going to war soon. But instead of properly preparing these children, they throw them into war game after war game, that often times leaves them dead. Why are we killing and or gravely injuring our own soldiers when we're on the brink of war? Well that makes it more interesting for the reader!
I could list example after example of this, but ultimately the specifics do not matter all that much. And the important part is that IT GETS BETTER. Once this shaky foundation has been laid, the story starts to build on itself, and this particular issue fixes itself. Which leaves me intrigued by the second book, because now Quintana has figured it out. (Except for the magic? There's definitely magic in this world, Fynn seems to run into it all the time, but everyone seems to act like it doesn't exist? I get it, magic systems are very hard to write, but I wish there was some clarification on that particular one.)
There is definitely an interesting concept here, and the world is broad and has a lot going for it, the characters are lovable in a trope-y way, so you know exactly what you're going to get from them. I simply wish it had been reworked with a more aggressive writing group/partner, because this book has so much potential, but it falls short of it.
Ultimately, I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to experience or re-experience fantasy the way it was in the early 2000s. (Seriously, the number of HP references in this are astronomical, if you're somehow still look at that series with fondness, you'll eat this right up.)
Even Though I Knew the End by C.L. Polk
5.0
This little novella captured my heart. A story of a damned queer love, the power struggle between angels and demons, and all set 1940s Chicago: a recipe for a perfect story that I never knew I needed.
I don't want to say too much more, because this is so short, so I don't want to risk revealing too much, but if any of those things appeal to you, you should read this.
I don't want to say too much more, because this is so short, so I don't want to risk revealing too much, but if any of those things appeal to you, you should read this.