bookedbymadeline's reviews
918 reviews

The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden

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adventurous dark emotional sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

4.5

What a great way to end the series!! It could slump at times but that partially could have been due to my being sick while in the middle of the book. I loved getting to know more about Vaysa and her family, Russian history, and the magical folklore of this world!

The blurb on the back about having your heart ripped out, filled with snow and Magic, then ripped out again is very accurate 😭🤭 I was sobbing at times from beginning to end so buckle up for one hell of a final book slash emotional rollercoaster; but damn also such a great story and one that makes me want to read more fantasy!!

Highly recommend if you want a fantasy series with an atmospheric setting, complex well written characters, and a magical world torn between religious belief and pagan folklore!
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Vantage Point by Sara Sligar

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 6%.
Labeled as a mystery/thriller and the synopsis also calls it a “gothic mystery”….gurl where?! It’s so painfully slow and overly descriptive. The writing style is not at all my taste and for a mystery or thriller there should be something to grab you but it’s all meandering thoughts. I couldn’t care less about these people despite being excited to read about a cursed family many reviews say it doesn’t really place much of a role.

Thanks to NetGalley and Farrar, Strauss, Giroux for the eARC 
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Happy to Help: Adventures of a People Pleaser by Amy Wilson

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 33%.
The essays are not at all concise or on theme? The beginning was relatable and definitely reflected being a people pleaser but then it sort of devolved into so many other topics. I found myself speed reading to try and understand what the point was until I realized I should just DNF. A collection that is not focused on being a people pleaser or the authors road to moving past that, which is what I went in expecting. Lots of reflections and rambling thoughts on adolescence, faith, and physical health that often left me confused, bored, and rolling my eyes.
City of Night Birds by Juhea Kim

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 8%.
I was so excited for this because I love ballet stories especially as someone who did ballet for 4.5 years. Sadly this fell flat with the writing style. It was overly descriptive, with too many similes and metaphors. I was often bored and then the deciding factor to DNF was the timeline switch; it happens with no transition and took me 2 or 3 pages to figure out that the events were set in the past.
The Wedding Party by Rebecca Heath

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dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Thank you to Netgalley and Head of Zeus for the eARC! 

Told from 3 different character POVs-2 in first person and 1 in third person-we follow a group of characters celebrating an upcoming wedding but everyone is hiding something. I was intrigued by the mystery with the first chapter but it did take me a little while to feel fully engaged.

While I do usually enjoy unlikeable characters, I need them to be complex and have depth to them. These characters were so cliche and over the top dramatic that they were just completely unlikeable and I rooted for no one 😂 Repetitive in terms of character’s actions and inner dialogue-we learn no new information about most of them so I can’t say there was any development or depth to anyone; and at times in the middle I started to feel annoyed at their constant inability to make a change or communicate.

The writing could be a bit cliche and oversimplified, not to mention I choked on my water when the author seems to imply that calling someone a Viking is “racist” bffr 🙃 And there was one minor plot point that was never resolved and it has been bothering me ever since I finished the book.
Fiona was working with Jason and she was threatening to expose him but what has kept her from doing all this time? Was he paying her campaign money? Helping things get pushed through the council? She had to have something to gain for keeping the SA of Sophie a secret for a decade! Also really the SA was the only secret she had on him-it was alluded to that there were multiple complaints against him so what else did she know that she threatened him with? If it was “only” the SA from 12 years ago it seems unlikely Jason would stoop so low to stop Fiona as it’s something that can be labeled as “he said she said”

However all that being said it was still an entertaining, easy, and quick read! While the plot and characters were cliche and the writing could be a bit over the top, I still had a good time. Plus the plot twists were so surprising for me (as someone who guesses 99% of the twists in the first quarter of most thrillers)!

I’d recommend if you want an entertaining domestic thriller that’s easy to read, and don’t mind unlikeable rich people 😄

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Spirit Rising: My Life, My Music by Angelique Kidjo

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emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

4.0

I loved learning about Angelique’s passion for music, as well as the culture and beliefs of Benin! The book does a beautiful job of explaining the musical traditions of Benin but also Africa in general. You get a feel for Kidjo’s passion for music and how music has the power to connect people!

I learned a lot about jazz music and West African music traditions. Kidjo also explores other countries around the world and their music traditions to create traditional music mixed with the new. She crossed the West African traditions of her childhood in Benin with elements of American R&B, funk and jazz, as well as influences from Europe and Latin America.

I also loved hearing about her advocacy work and how passionate she is about social justice. I had never heard of Kidjo before but the book introduced me to a whole new world of music to explore! The book also contains photos of her performances, her family, and the people she’s worked with. Plus in the back of the book are delicious recipes 🤤 

Now the technical writing style aspects are the only reason this wasn’t 5 stars. The chapters were too long for my taste and writing style wise the stories kept bouncing all over the places and often times left me confused. I also felt like the epilogue was cut off the way it ended.

Overall it was a passionate memoir about Kidjo’s music and advocacy! I learned a lot and I’m very glad to have read this for Benin 🇧🇯 

“My dad was a Fon, which is the main ethnic group in Benin, and my mom is a Yoruba, another important one with roots in Nigeria. The Fon and Yoruba have very similar gods, but with different names.”

“Parakou is the biggest city in the north of Benin, but having grown up in the south, I had never set foot in the north of my country. In order to maintain power, the colonizers made sure that we stayed divided. When Benin gained independence, tensions grew between the south and the north. Just as in many other African countries where one ethnic group has been favored, the people in the north didn't have political power, so their interests weren't taken into account.”

“This conflict between tradition and modernity is felt all over the continent. The question is always how we can we find a third path-one where tradition is adapted to today's world without losing its identity.”
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The Enchanted Sonata by Heather Dixon Wallwork

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 21%.
Repetitive, telling over showing writing style. It’s listed as YA but it reads waaaay younger like middle grade level and I just wasn’t vibing with it. I love the nutcracker and retellings of it but this was so annoying 

TW/CW: death of parent (off page)
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The Dead of Winter: The Witches, Demons and Monsters of Christmas by Sarah Clegg

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dark funny informative medium-paced

4.5

“Behind every tale of Christmas monsters lurks the true darkness of Christmas - the solstice, and the longest night of the year….Christmas is still spent deep in the shadows.”

Every year my husband and I exchange books on Christmas Eve, following the Icelandic tradition of JĂłlabĂłkaflóð! This year I got The Dead of Winter by Sarah Clegg and it’s so short that I’ve already finished it ❄️ 

I love Clegg’s writing! She tells us the history of Christmas monsters/folklore and how traditions have evolved over the centuries in an informative yet fun way. I was laughing at some of her side comments in the footnotes! 

I adored her debut (Woman’s Lore) and after loving this one, she’s definitely an auto buy author now! I was engaged the whole way through, with enough information to learn new things without being dry or feeling overwhelmed. I especially loved learning the connections between folklore of the demons, witches, and ghosts and how these tales are often shared (if slightly different ways) across Europe! 

The one reason this is not 5 stars is her conflation of the German and Dutch celebrations of St Nicholas; Clegg claims that both in the Netherlands and Germany, people exchange presents on the 5th of December (true) but that the shoes for gifts from St Nicholas (Sinterklaas) takes place on the 6th of December. The Netherlands (as I’ve been told by my Dutch family) does the shoe thing in November upon his arrival, everything has ended for us by the 6th unlike in Germany where it is actually celebrated with the shoes on St Nicholas’ Saint’s Day. So for the minor misinformation on that I deducted half a star 🥲

Overall it was a perfect read for Christmas and so intriguing to learn more about folklore traditions surrounding the winter holidays! 
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Free: Coming of Age at the End of History by Lea Ypi

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emotional informative sad medium-paced

4.5

Interesting perspective as we see Albanian transition away from socialism through a child’s eyes. The book ranges from 1985 to the late 1990s. We see in part 1, Ypi is younger so she is more “naive” and unaware of what’s happening around her. Whereas part 2 has more action/a lot of things going on as she gets older and starts to be faced with politics more.

I don’t know why some blurbs for this book call it “funny” because it’s so sad. While yes there are maybe some “funny” moments it’s more “oh this child is so sweet and innocent not understanding” but even then it’s more sad than funny?

I learned so much about this part of Albania’s history and culture! I was too young (and also not born yet) for most of what Ypi recalls and I don’t think we learned about any of this in school. Overall it was an engaging memoir that I’d definitely recommend!
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The Girl in The Tower by Katherine Arden

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adventurous dark fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated

5.0

Wow what an excellent second book!! The world building is so vivid and atmospheric, as we continue this adventure steeped in Russian Folklore. I loved getting back into this world and found the pacing to be even better than book 1! I was on the edge of my seat, equal measures reading as quickly as I could to see what happened next and wanting to slow down to savor the story. As someone relatively new to fantasy, I cannot recommend this series enough!!

I read this as a buddy read and had the best time. Can’t wait for book 3 (even though I also don’t want to leave this world) 🩷 Also this book has reignited my obsession with Morozko 🤭
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