alexblackreads's reviews
846 reviews

Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews

4.0

Super fun, great vibes, love the characters and the writing. I find myself not caring quite as much about Kate's backstory as I feel like I need to. It feels like it's going to be very important to the overarching story and I'm preferring the smaller cases that Kate investigates. But even that being said, I'm having a great time.

Magic Strikes by Ilona Andrews

4.0

This book was so much fun, and definitely better written than the first two books. I'm really enjoyed the development of the series. The mythology is a little bit much for me, though. I just get bored when they go into the lengthy descriptions of magical backstories and I've taken to skimming. But I had a fabulous time. Love the characters and all their dramas.

The Other Side of Dawn by John Marsden

3.0

Finally, a truly worthwhile book in the series. Overall, I've not been the biggest fan, but this book made reading the whole series worth it. It was fun and exciting and I loved some of the choices Marsden made. It almost got four stars, but the ending felt way to rushed and contrived, and it just left a not amazing taste in my mouth.

I think this series has a lot of structural issues. I've mentioned this before, but books 4, 5, and 6 all felt like placeholders. Like Marsden knew he had to get to this point in the series to have this great climax, but needed to waste a lot of time for that to happen. It was unfortunate because he could have done so much more with the world building and character development in that time.

I also found these books to be pretty repetitive. Each one followed a similar plotline- hang out in home base, find a target, explode target, run. And it did get a bit tiresome. There were a number of bright points in the series, Robin being a pretty big one, but also the majority of this final book.

I had fun, but this isn't a series I'd recommend. It's just not worth it overall, even with a cool idea and fun climax.

The Night Is for Hunting by John Marsden

3.0

This was a weird choice of plot that feels more like a side quest than the main story. The main characters come across some feral children and basically act as nannies for 150 pages. But again, I didn't hate it. It just feels like the author spent books 4-6 stalling for the climax in book seven. Still, a super quick fun read. I read it in one sitting.

Burning For Revenge by John Marsden

3.0

The second half of this series is so weirdly paced. I'm not certain the author had a plan beyond drawing it out and getting them from point A to point B. It's just structurally so odd. I didn't hate this book, though. It was quick and entertaining and I had plenty of fun. 

Darkness, Be My Friend by John Marsden

2.0

This was my least favorite book of the series by a longshot. I just don't understand what he was trying to accomplish with this one. Nothing happens, but he also doesn't do a good job dealing with the trauma from the war. A quiet book about their PTSD would have been wonderful, but this felt more like a reset than anything else. Like he wrote himself into a corner and then just found the easiest way to send them right back to the beginning. Nothing about it worked and I was so bored and annoyed the whole time.

The Bridge by Iain Banks
Did not finish book. Stopped at 68%.

 "It leads from nowhere to nowhere" is a brilliant description of the book. I got to 195 pages and couldn't do it to myself anymore. I don't like the weird stream of consciousness bits, I don't understand what's happening, and I really don't care to make an effort to understand.

Beyond Reach by Karin Slaughter

4.0

What a fantastic end to a great series. That blew me away. I literally couldn't have asked for more. I love Karin Slaughter and this is her at her best. I obviously don't want to say much here, but this book had all the elements I love from her- Lena Adams being a screw up, Jeffrey and Sara bringing their own drama, small town racists and conspiracies. Just so much fun and such a good time.

That ending, though. Peak literature.

Faithless by Karin Slaughter

4.0

Great writing, great characters. I kind of got tired of the story, but I read this directly after another book about a religious cult, so I think I was just a little burned out on that in general. But I enjoyed this so much. My thoughts on Grant County are a little more detailed in other reviews, but I love this series. I love (or love to hate) Sara and Jeffrey. And Karin Slaughter's writing is always fantastic. It was a great addition after a couple weak middle books.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

4.0

I loved this book. It was so lovely and cozy and real. I love a book that has such a strong sense of reality. So much of this is inspired by Smith's own life and it was beautifully crafted. The character development was absolutely wonderful. I loved the sense of place and time. It was all so visceral. I loved the sadness, but also the joy. It was fantastic. It did take me a little while to get into this, but I enjoyed it immensely.

I would recommend this to people who like slow, quiet books. It was lovely, but there was no plot at all, so definitely not for everyone.