blessing_aj's reviews
410 reviews

Lucky Girl by Irene Muchemi-Ndiritu

adventurous dark hopeful informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

Soila could be said to be a lucky girl because she was born into wealth, raised by a mother that loves her, a grandmother that adores her and aunts that dote on her. However, suffocated by the weight of her mother’s expectations and the truth of the circumstances surrounding her father’s death, all Soila wants is to run away from home and start a new life in America.

Soila’s journey to achieving the freedom she yearned for throughout the book was fraught with so many challenges that I was surprised she was only 27, when the book was about to wrap up. 

I think the author made a wise decision in setting this book in the era that she did because it helped to explain why a lot in the plot unraveled the way it did. But I hated some of it all the same.

For instance, while it may have been unpopular for a child raised in an African country and under strict religious and cultural practices to rebel against excessive parental control, I hated that Soila let her need for her mother’s approval dictate the terms of living for her for so long. Yet I am sure that there are people who find themselves in this situation IRL so maybe this was for them.

Conversely, I felt strangely satisfied with the idea of a compelling female protagonist whose voice is not often sure and dissenting but is rather careful and questioning about things she doesn’t understand. Not many strong female characters in women’s fiction are built like her.

I liked the close knit relationship between the sisters and the fact that Soila was absorbed into the fold. Yet I feel they could have done so much more to protect her from her mother’s excesses in the earlier stages of her life. Because while her mother could certainly have made better choices, I found it hard to judge her for what her actions were truly worth, because I recognize that she was carrying a lot of unresolved trauma around and ‘hurt people, hurt people’.

Having gone through everything in this book, it makes sense that the ending is a happy one, but I didn’t like that some of the resolutions came right out of the blue.

That said, I cringed every time Soila said things like ‘the African sun’ or “African drums’, and every other time she made some generalized statement about Africans.

Tokyo Ueno Station by Yu Miri

challenging dark informative mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

This book is really short but it packs a punch, some of which I am sure was beyond my comprehension given that I lack the knowledge of Japanese culture and history to provide context, but I believe I got the gist. 

The writing style is not conventional, but it makes sense given that the story is being narrated by a ghost. Conversations will filter into his stream of thoughts that make no sense to him or the reader because he is simply an observer. He will notice things about the atmosphere that he wouldn’t have had the luxury to observe as a living being. In addition to these, the constant references to historical events also served like some sort of palette cleanser in between the real story which is about an unlucky protagonist who worked as hard as he deemed it appropriate to do, but ended up living out his days with little or nothing to show for it and homeless in a public park.

I honestly can’t say I had a great reading experience with the narrative style, but I appreciate the book for what it is.

Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

adventurous hopeful tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Did I have high hopes for this? Not really. Yet it fell short of the average expectations I did have. 

Firstly, the pacing was so uneven that it feels like I read this book over several months instead of the actual two weeks and some, that I actually spent on it. I honestly think there were a lot of unnecessary scenes and dialogue that should have been cut at the editing stage.

Secondly, if we still don’t have a clear understanding of how the magic system works, in book two, then I’m wondering at what point in the series that would happen.

Thirdly, I love that we got better character development here, but it’s still not what it should be, both for the main characters and the dragons. I also hate that we get to see the reasoning behind certain decisions way after the fact. 

Fourthly, I have always known that Yarros understands stakes and suspense. It’s at the core of my endearment to Fourth Wing and she applied it well here, but not as often as I would have appreciated. Unfortunately, action scenes seem to be her Achilles heel because while they are quite dramatic and suspenseful, they are equally vague and you can’t quite picture exactly what is going on.

Lastly, I know that frequent squabbles are part of relationships, even the healthiest ones have their bad days, but I am honestly tired of Vi and Xaden going back and forth on the exact same issue.

Now that all that has been said, there’s no denying that Yarros knows how to end an installment, because what in the cliff hanger was that ending?

I know better than to hope that the next book will be any better, structure wise and at sentence level. From what I have seen, I can tell that it’s definitely not shorter  which is a shame.

But I’m really curious to see what becomes of the newly created villain, so I just might attempt book no. 3 someday.

The Lantern of Lost Memories by Sanaka Hiiragi

adventurous dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

3.5

As a guide to people who recently lost their lives, Mr. Hirusaka eases their transition between the earthly realm and the afterlife by welcoming them into his photo-studio. Here, he offers some orientation and helps them prepare for the last stage of their lives by instructing them to pick a photo for each year that they have been alive. Photos which will then be loaded into the lantern of memories for a final private show.

This was a good read. It made me reflect on how much of our lives end up as memories and made me consider just how much photographs can preserve captured moments better than our memories ever can.

I enjoyed the narrative of the first two guests better than I did the last one, but by the time I was done reading I understood that this was a deliberate move by the author. Unfortunately, I still don’t understand how it ended the way it did, unless it was a butterfly effect phenomenon.

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

In an attempt to flee from the cops, a bank robber stumbles into an apartment where an estate agent is hosting a viewing with eight people in attendance. After several hours of holding them hostage, the hostages are released but no one can say for sure what happened to the robber. The police officers investigating the crime are befuddled as to how the robber could have escaped under their noses and the younger one is determined to resolve this mystery. But how can he do that, when nothing about the case makes sense?

At first impact, the plot is chaotic, but even moreso is the narrative which goes back and forth in time, releasing useful information that could help the reader and by implication the police officers resolve this mystery bit by bit. However when much of the necessary credible facts are established, the story quickly morphs into something incredibly heartwarming and ends on the happiest note I have ever encountered in contemporary fiction.

Of course, it is Frederick Backman so I anticipated the presence of humor and empathy before I even started and he did not disappoint because there’s a certainly a lot of it here. But more importantly, Anxious People touches on the true nature of humanity and why it’s important that we never forget that we have more in common than the things that divide us. 

Could it have been shorter? Yes. But even I can see that it just wouldn’t have felt the same if it were.

These Letters End in Tears by Musih Tedji Xaviere

dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-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

Beautifully written and devastatingly evocative. It would be a mistake to disregard the warning in the title because these letters really do end in tears, as well as anger and frustration.

Set in Cameroon, against the backdrop of political tension between the Francophone and Anglophone speaking parts and at a time when the anti-LGBTQ legislations has complicated the lives of queer people living in the country; Bessem, a thirty-something year old professor begins her quest to find her wife Fatima who has been missing for a number of years. 

Through the letters that make up this novel, Bessem takes the reader on this quest as well as back in time, to her past to experience the pivotal moments of her life before Fatima, during  their relationship, at their separation and the aftermath.

The storytelling in this novel is outstanding. To read it is to understand this. Somehow, Xaviere managed to capture the challenges that various classes of queer people have to deal with in Cameroon, whether they are open about their sexuality or not.

Despite holding a contrary opinion for the better part of the book, I think that the decision to have told this story in the first person narrative, was spot on, because it takes the reader through a range of emotions and brings us right where the author wants us to be, by the time she makes her big reveal at the end.

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

adventurous dark mysterious reflective 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

4.0

This was a very fun read. I don’t know the last time I enjoyed a book and its characters so much strictly for what it is and what they are, before reading this. I mean, I didn’t even need to piece together what the political structure outside Navarre could be outside the propaganda of the current administration. That’s how much into this book, I was.

This book is 518 pages long and for all the drama and tension that exists between them Violet and Xaden are perfect MCs. Flawed, brave and - imo - fated. I love that they are so young yet very smart and focused.  Unfortunately, there was so much emphasis on the budding romance that the character development and world building took such terrible hits. Although this is nothing that cannot be remedied in book 2.

Tairn, Adrana and Sgyael are stars. I look forward to seeing more of them in Iron Flame. Hopefully, Yarros will also reveal why Gen. Sorrengail is so hard on Vi.

The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

A befitting finale to a grand adventure. The suspense was everything and the ending was beautifully done. Love that it was my last read for the year.

The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious reflective tense 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

What an adventure! Such thrill!

The God of Good Looks by Breanne Mc Ivor

adventurous dark emotional informative reflective fast-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

3.75

I love me an author that understands satire and knows just what to do with it. I loved Breanne’s critique of the beauty industry as well as gender politics in the society, through Bianca and Obadiah’s lenses. However, as much as I was rooting for both MC’s to find love, I wasn’t necessarily feeling how it turned out.