acinonyx's reviews
30 reviews

Sunbringer by Hannah Kaner

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense fast-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

5.0

Somehow even better than the first! There was never a dull moment but nothing was rushed. Every character got their time in the sun (hehe), and all the space they needed think and grieve and show us who they are and what the story has done to them. Their arcs were equal parts bitter and sweet and hard fought, and I’m on the edge of my seat wondering how they will all resolve now that everyone’s together again!

The Last Phi Hunter by Salinee Goldenberg

adventurous dark emotional lighthearted tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Essentially a South Asian Witcher, this story’s greatest strength was its world and magic system. There is soooo much potential here, and I would be psyched to read more stories in this setting. The devas, guardians, spirits, phi, and politics were all so interesting and fresh compared to most things I’ve read, and I'm desperate to know more. 

Perhaps because it’s the authors first novel, the writing, pacing, and character work were all a bit lack luster for me. Some of the prose was clumsy and confusing at points; though I was grateful the dialogue did not suffer the same. The pacing was a little jarring, ramping up very quickly to a climax and then ending even more suddenly, and taking off again in a new direction. 

The characters were somewhat interesting, but didn’t have the spark that made me really feel like I knew them well, even by the end. Although we were in Ex’s head for most of the novel, his motivations seemed shallow and incomplete. Arinya was immediately likable, but her actions later into the book seemed unsupported by our  knowledge of her to that point, even though she explained her reasoning afterward. 

I think overall the book suffered most from the lack of character development, which inevitably bled into other components of the story. Despite this, I do hope the author continues to write in this world because I think they’ve created something very unique and there are so many ideas and themes here that deserve to be thoroughly explored!

The Dark Elf Trilogy Collector's Edition by R.A. Salvatore

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

I was a little hesitant going into this series due to its age and the canon of D&D lore generally not holding up to modern social standards, but I was so pleasantly surprised! While Drizzt can be considered a classic Gary Stew in terms of fighting prowess and difference from his kin, his genuinely kind and introspective nature is so endearing that the specialness feels deserved. His relationships are rich and truly the highlight of each book, the whole series being a slow and steady character study. I can’t say I’ll read the entire series (39 total novels???) but I certainly can’t stop yet. 

The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense 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

5.0

What a beautiful finish to an unforgettable story. Every single character is so real and raw and flawed and just trying to survive. A true masterclass on visceral motivations, mistakes, and emotions. I can’t believe that’s the last I get to see of them, as satisfying and fitting an ending as it was. Not happy, but hopeful. I’m going to miss them so much. 🥺

The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense 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

5.0

Another stunner in the series, I’m so blown away. The character arcs are immaculate and I continue to tear up at points I’m not expecting to. Every character is fully realized, even if they’re still a bit mysterious, and have a clear relationship and opinion of everyone around them. These ladies are so powerful and flawed and I can’t wait to see how they come together in the end, because it’s going to be messy! 

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

This deserves all the splendid praise it gets. The first chapter was more than enough to hook me, and every chapter after that moved the plot and character development forward in a way that made it hard to put down. The world building was dosed with a measured hand in between character moments and never felt forced. The characters themselves were all so interesting, there wasn’t a single POV I was reluctant to start reading, and their interactions with one another were always full of emotion. I can’t wait to see what’s next!

Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious tense 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

5.0

Every one of these absurd installments is instantly the most ridiculous and intoxicating thing I’ve ever read. Nona is an absolute joy, but so is literally everyone else. There’s no distance between the reader and even the tiniest side character; everyone is rendered in exquisite humanity.

As someone who needs to know and understand and pick apart everything around me, I’ve never been so blissfully confused. The puzzle this series presents has me in a chokehold and shows no sign of letting up. It was truly insane of me to read Nona when we don’t even have a whisper of a release date for Alecto, but here I am, nonetheless, vibrating in the afterglow of another masterpiece. This will perhaps be the only series worthy of, not only rereading, but doing so as soon as I reach the final page of the story; an accolade I never thought possible to bestow. 

Until then. 💀⚔️🩸

Death's End by Cixin Liu

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

I really didn’t know where they were going to go with the plot after the second book… and then the fire nation attacked! Although overall there’s still a lot of dense science and/or deep contemplation through most of the chapters, the plot did move forward a bit faster than the previous books, for reasons I won’t spoil. Chang Xin was a delightful character to follow, and her trials and growth were some of the best in the series; along with Lou Ji, as much as I disliked him in book two. The ending was not satisfying in the way I’m used to, but I can appreciate that the story had to end somewhere. Despite the ambiguity, it did allow for a small sliver of hope to peek through the endless dark abyss of space. For such a hard sci-fi series, I think that’s enough. 

The Dark Forest by Cixin Liu

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.25

Another wild ride of a book. The scope of the authors understanding is continually impressive. Strangely, this ending seemed to wrap up very neatly, without much sense of a plot forward. Curious what the hook of the next one will be!

Edit: I completely forgot about this one glaring criticism I have for a part of this book! Without spoiling anything, there is an entire subplot that stretches on for several chapters about a male character’s “dream woman”, and I’ve never in my life read something more cringey. If it had any purpose at all it had to have been to highlight how much of a weird loser this character was to the reader, but his misogynistic obsession not only goes unchecked, but is actually rewarded in an absurd way. You’d think that if there was this much time paid to this subplot, it would come up later as being somehow relevant to the overarching plot, or important to the character’s development; and you would be wrong. Aside from some visual and emotional callbacks and minor character decisions that could have been handled in any number of different ways, this soliloquy of a man’s unhealthy view of women is completely pointless to the very end of the book. Maybe it somehow develops more relevance in the last book, but I would be shocked if even then I would consider it justified. A sad stain on an otherwise great book.

The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu

challenging dark informative mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.0

I feel simultaneously smarter and dumber having read this, and I’m delighted about it. The scope and depth of this world is incredible and, while slow and confusing at times, the mystery of the plot had a death grip on me. May have preferred reading the physical book instead of listening to the audiobook, only because the Chinese names and military locations were a little confusing to keep track of. But the audiobook itself was great!