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ahmay's reviews
13 reviews
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
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
4.0
I wish to belong to someone too.
And I’d walk the length of Fjerda to Shu Han to be with Nikolai. (He’s not even in this book.)
Look, is this the best book ever? Certainly not. Did I still give it a 4 because I’m deeply attached to this world and its characters? Yes.
And I’d walk the length of Fjerda to Shu Han to be with Nikolai. (He’s not even in this book.)
Look, is this the best book ever? Certainly not. Did I still give it a 4 because I’m deeply attached to this world and its characters? Yes.
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Interesting concept, however, the execution was lacking. I get that it’s supposed to be mysterious and weird but a lot of things are just told and not shown or explained—the irony being that I find a lot of details to be over explained.
It’s just the way it is.
Boring. At times, awkward. It feels like the narrator is trying to be deeper than they actually are.
The book is set in the 50s, but the dialogue isn’t very characteristic of this time period, ruining the immersion for me.
Now, I’m a sucker for romance, so Francis and Noemí was mostly the only thing that kept me turning the page.
Also lots of grossness, very much horror ! But as I said, the over-explaining annoys me to no end.
I don’t get how Great Uncle Howard had so much influence on everyone else? I suppose they were deeply infected by the spores and whatnot, but the portrayal of him as a godly figure is lacking. To me, he’s just some creepy old guy. And I get that I’m an “outsider,” so I can’t completely understand. But I’m sure there was a much better way of showing his power and control.
I’m sure I have more to say (and a better way of wording my review) because I cannot shut up for the life of me, but that’s all for now. :)
It’s just the way it is.
Boring. At times, awkward. It feels like the narrator is trying to be deeper than they actually are.
The book is set in the 50s, but the dialogue isn’t very characteristic of this time period, ruining the immersion for me.
Also lots of grossness, very much horror ! But as I said, the over-explaining annoys me to no end.
I don’t get how Great Uncle Howard had so much influence on everyone else? I suppose they were deeply infected by the spores and whatnot, but the portrayal of him as a godly figure is lacking. To me, he’s just some creepy old guy. And I get that I’m an “outsider,” so I can’t completely understand. But I’m sure there was a much better way of showing his power and control.
I’m sure I have more to say (and a better way of wording my review) because I cannot shut up for the life of me, but that’s all for now. :)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Murder, and Incest
Moderate: Cannibalism, Xenophobia, and Sexual assault
Minor: Rape, Gun violence, Classism, Child abuse, and Colonisation
Our Missing Hearts: A Novel by Celeste Ng
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Kind of hurts to read as an Asian-American, but it’s supposed to.
Didn’t really connect with the characters. The world feels pretty believable, but these twelve-year-olds don’t. Pretty jarring switch from a kid’s perspective to several references to sex. I was just sitting there thinking, What book am I reading again?
Nobody is fleshed out enough, and there is not much character development. At least, it’s not very prominent. I suppose Margaret changes a lot , but does she really?
I don’t think I was in the mood to read from a kid’s perspective, so perhaps it just wasn’t the right time for me to read it. Wish I enjoyed it more.
I enjoyed the tender moments between Margaret and Ethan though. Wish there was more of them, but I understand that they weren’t the focus of the book.
The ending is very open ended, which is fine, but like… not so much for me.
Didn’t really connect with the characters. The world feels pretty believable, but these twelve-year-olds don’t. Pretty jarring switch from a kid’s perspective to several references to sex. I was just sitting there thinking, What book am I reading again?
Nobody is fleshed out enough, and there is not much character development. At least, it’s not very prominent. I suppose Margaret changes a lot , but does she really?
I don’t think I was in the mood to read from a kid’s perspective, so perhaps it just wasn’t the right time for me to read it. Wish I enjoyed it more.
I enjoyed the tender moments between Margaret and Ethan though. Wish there was more of them, but I understand that they weren’t the focus of the book.
The ending is very open ended, which is fine, but like… not so much for me.
Babel: An Arcane History by R.F. Kuang
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
To be frank, I find the last 10-15ish chapters unsatisfactory. I appreciated all the stuff about how colonialism works and whatever—but Babel, or the Necessity of Violence, ironically did not contain enough violence for me. I felt like I should’ve watched the world burn like Robin wanted at some point, but we got stagnant towards the end. The last chapter, however—the one where it all ends—really did capture my heart and squeezed it in its hands.
I enjoyed this book for what it was and what it tried to be. The character and relationship development could’ve certainly benefitted from being fleshed out better since R. F. Kuang really seems to prefer summarizing over developing actual scenes between the characters that really show the audience who Robin, Ramy, Victoire, and Letty are.
This book is by no means awful in my opinion—my 4 star rating, of course, proves that. And I know Babel is raved about by others. I totally get why!
I did cry, in fact. I cried when Victoire said she wanted to live and have a moment of happiness for herself. Her will to not only survive but live really hit home.
‘That’s just what translation is, I think. That’s all speaking is. Listening to the other and trying to see past your own biases to glimpse what they’re trying to say. Showing yourself to the world, and hoping someone else understands.’
I wish Robin and Ramy’s relationship was developed more. Obviously, we all knew Robin was in love with Ramy, but we saw little of them actually falling in love.
I read this book over the course of 3 months, which is absolutely absurd, but I was unfortunately swept up in a thing called life. So, I wish I had more to say, but I really do not remember most of what happened in this book, which feels like its own issue.
I did have a few ? moments where the logic of reasoning just seemed too… misplaced? Illogical? I am not so sure.
Ultimately, I did appreciate the characters, but even though I consider myself easily attached, I don’t think I was able to appreciate them enough. I wanted more.
Babel, like a painting, is quite beautiful. But also, like a painting, quite flat. I can still enjoy a painting though.
I enjoyed this book for what it was and what it tried to be. The character and relationship development could’ve certainly benefitted from being fleshed out better since R. F. Kuang really seems to prefer summarizing over developing actual scenes between the characters that really show the audience who Robin, Ramy, Victoire, and Letty are.
This book is by no means awful in my opinion—my 4 star rating, of course, proves that. And I know Babel is raved about by others. I totally get why!
I wish Robin and Ramy’s relationship was developed more. Obviously, we all knew Robin was in love with Ramy, but we saw little of them actually falling in love.
I read this book over the course of 3 months, which is absolutely absurd, but I was unfortunately swept up in a thing called life. So, I wish I had more to say, but I really do not remember most of what happened in this book, which feels like its own issue.
I did have a few ? moments where the logic of reasoning just seemed too… misplaced? Illogical? I am not so sure.
Ultimately, I did appreciate the characters, but even though I consider myself easily attached, I don’t think I was able to appreciate them enough. I wanted more.
Babel, like a painting, is quite beautiful. But also, like a painting, quite flat. I can still enjoy a painting though.
The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Alex and Eliza by Melissa de la Cruz
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
2.5
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
5.0
Does the name make the person, or does the person make the name?
. . .
Rip me apart. I know nothing but Patroclus and Achilles as they know nothing but each other.
Miller’s prose never ceases to amaze me, wound me, and put me back together all in one sentence. I have always told people that I am not a fan of romance, but apparently I was a liar!
Patroclus. Patroclus. Patroclus.
This is one of those books where you do not come out the same person you once were. When I get my hands on a pretty new copy, I will be annotating the hell out of it.
(Also, I have cried several times just thinking about them.)
I have never been left so empty after a book. I quite literally do not know what to do with my life anymore.
. . .
Rip me apart. I know nothing but Patroclus and Achilles as they know nothing but each other.
Miller’s prose never ceases to amaze me, wound me, and put me back together all in one sentence. I have always told people that I am not a fan of romance, but apparently I was a liar!
Patroclus. Patroclus. Patroclus.
This is one of those books where you do not come out the same person you once were. When I get my hands on a pretty new copy, I will be annotating the hell out of it.
(Also, I have cried several times just thinking about them.)
I have never been left so empty after a book. I quite literally do not know what to do with my life anymore.
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Richard is quite the plain protagonist as he’s supposed to be the Unlikely Hero. I empathized with him more than I did with most of the supporting characters (which I believe says a lot when Door’s entire family got murdered ) since, well, they’re not exactly all that fleshed out. I do realize that it’s Richard’s story mostly, but I didn’t really care to see any of them succeed.
A predictable, quite unoriginal ending. The tension was not all that tense to me. The reveal of the antagonist was not really shocking either. This was my first Neil Gaiman book (I adore both the shows Good Omens and the Sandman), so I’m quite disappointed to say that I don’t like this book very much.
The humor is mostly enjoyable (I laughed out loud a few times) and the prose is alright too, but after a while all the wit and the crypticness of the world becomes dull and slightly frustrating. I’m okay with things just being, but please at least explain something well. Or anything for that matter. And not in the “it just can” way.
I see that quite the number of people enjoyed reading this book. The majority of reviews are very positive. But how much of it is because it’s Gaiman?
I guess dark urban fantasies just aren’t my thing? Sorry.
A predictable, quite unoriginal ending. The tension was not all that tense to me. The reveal of the antagonist was not really shocking either. This was my first Neil Gaiman book (I adore both the shows Good Omens and the Sandman), so I’m quite disappointed to say that I don’t like this book very much.
The humor is mostly enjoyable (I laughed out loud a few times) and the prose is alright too, but after a while all the wit and the crypticness of the world becomes dull and slightly frustrating. I’m okay with things just being, but please at least explain something well. Or anything for that matter. And not in the “it just can” way.
I see that quite the number of people enjoyed reading this book. The majority of reviews are very positive. But how much of it is because it’s Gaiman?
I guess dark urban fantasies just aren’t my thing? Sorry.