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bookishjournal1's reviews
52 reviews
The Apothecary Diaries, Volume 1 by Itsuki Nanao, Nekokurage, Natsu Hyuuga
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
4.0
Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Tomo-Chan Is a Girl! Vol. 2 by Fumita Yanagida
funny
lighthearted
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
Dauntless by Elisa A. Bonnin
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I received this book as an e-ARC on Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
Dauntless is a lush and beautiful of example of fantasy world-building that drops readers immediately into the action. We are not being handheld through this world, rather we are expected to immerse ourselves and learn along the way.
I really enjoyed the way Eliasa Bonnin writes their characters. Seri, Tsana, and Eshai are such interesting and complicated people and I liked getting the multiple viewpoints to see what each of them were thinking and feeling. I loved that there is sapphic representation in this book but I did feel like Tsana was slightly underdeveloped compared to Seri and Eshai. However I did enjoy seeing the push and pull of Seri and Tsana's own version of history and lore and when they come to a head, they are both trying to desperately hold on to their version whole grappling with a different truth. I think that will always be a fascinating conflict to have in a story.
This book has been marketed as being inspired by Filipino folklore and mythology and while I did see some traces of inspiration I think it might be difficult to spot for some others. My other gripe with this book is the pacing. For me, it does start off too slow but then speed runs through some of the plot so it felt uneven in some places. However the battle sequences in this book are really well-written and vivid which I appreciated.
I think this book does a good job of being an action packed and emotional entry that will satisfy a lot of reader's desire for a diverse YA story. I really enjoyed Bonnin's writing and look forward to their future works!
Dauntless is a lush and beautiful of example of fantasy world-building that drops readers immediately into the action. We are not being handheld through this world, rather we are expected to immerse ourselves and learn along the way.
I really enjoyed the way Eliasa Bonnin writes their characters. Seri, Tsana, and Eshai are such interesting and complicated people and I liked getting the multiple viewpoints to see what each of them were thinking and feeling. I loved that there is sapphic representation in this book but I did feel like Tsana was slightly underdeveloped compared to Seri and Eshai. However I did enjoy seeing the push and pull of Seri and Tsana's own version of history and lore and when they come to a head, they are both trying to desperately hold on to their version whole grappling with a different truth. I think that will always be a fascinating conflict to have in a story.
This book has been marketed as being inspired by Filipino folklore and mythology and while I did see some traces of inspiration I think it might be difficult to spot for some others. My other gripe with this book is the pacing. For me, it does start off too slow but then speed runs through some of the plot so it felt uneven in some places. However the battle sequences in this book are really well-written and vivid which I appreciated.
I think this book does a good job of being an action packed and emotional entry that will satisfy a lot of reader's desire for a diverse YA story. I really enjoyed Bonnin's writing and look forward to their future works!
Sweat and Soap, Vol. 11 by Kintetsu Yamada
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
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? No
4.5
Where the Drowned Girls Go by Seanan McGuire
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri
adventurous
challenging
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
Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Certain Dark Things is a master class in atmospheric world building. This book is about Domingo, a young man just trying to survive the streets of Mexico City by collecting garbage and Atl, a vampire on the run from a rival gang. Both of them are trying to find their place in a world determined to bring them down but find solace in each other and their newfound relationship.
What I really enjoyed about this book was how immersed I felt in the setting. I feel like the author's prose really elevated my experience by making me feel like I was in a walled off version of Mexico City, walking the streets trying to avoid being caught between this war between vampires and humans and everyone in between. I also loved how deeply connected Aztec tradition and lore was built into this world because it provides an amazing background for a lot of character motivations.
I appreciated seeing the relationship between Atl and Domingo develop. They both have this vulnerability yet fierce strength to protect one another even though they haven't known each other that long. I think that's such a strength of the author to make the reader feel for these 2 in such a short amount of time and I just really recommend this book to anyone looking for a tense yet tender noir vampire story.
I was given an e-ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
What I really enjoyed about this book was how immersed I felt in the setting. I feel like the author's prose really elevated my experience by making me feel like I was in a walled off version of Mexico City, walking the streets trying to avoid being caught between this war between vampires and humans and everyone in between. I also loved how deeply connected Aztec tradition and lore was built into this world because it provides an amazing background for a lot of character motivations.
I appreciated seeing the relationship between Atl and Domingo develop. They both have this vulnerability yet fierce strength to protect one another even though they haven't known each other that long. I think that's such a strength of the author to make the reader feel for these 2 in such a short amount of time and I just really recommend this book to anyone looking for a tense yet tender noir vampire story.
I was given an e-ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
The All-Consuming World by Cassandra Khaw
The All-Consuming World by Cassandra Khaw was a roller coaster of a read for me. The book is about a group of women who were once part of a criminal group called The Dirty Dozen. They spent years together being able to reincarnate into cyborg bodies before their last mission went horribly wrong and the group disbanded. Years later they have to reunite to save one of their own and to return to the place where their last mission went wrong.
I really enjoyed the premise of this book and was looking forward to diving into the world that Cassandra Khaw built. The world building in this book is incredible and I felt completely immersed because of the descriptive writing style. I also enjoyed reading about this group of women and how their grief and anger has been handled in different ways and seeing all the messiness that comes when you have clashing personalities and agendas. I also really liked how diverse the characters are and always enjoy seeing POC and queer representation in any book.
At first, it was rather difficult for me to get into this book. The writing style is pretty intense and I did feel like it was getting bogged down by the amount of adjectives being used while it almost made me feel like I was reading a bunch of SAT words strung together when simpler terms could have conveyed the point across. After about 80 pages I did want to put the book down but I kept going and found myself enjoying the pacing and the writing style a lot better in the back half of the book. I know some people are going to enjoy the kind of over descriptive prose found in this novel but it didn't really work for me for most of this book.
Overall, I think Cassandra Khaw has written a very sumptuous books with the kind of science-fiction world building others can only dream of and filled it with characters that fascinating, infuriating, and realistic all at the same time.
I was given an e-ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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
The All-Consuming World by Cassandra Khaw was a roller coaster of a read for me. The book is about a group of women who were once part of a criminal group called The Dirty Dozen. They spent years together being able to reincarnate into cyborg bodies before their last mission went horribly wrong and the group disbanded. Years later they have to reunite to save one of their own and to return to the place where their last mission went wrong.
I really enjoyed the premise of this book and was looking forward to diving into the world that Cassandra Khaw built. The world building in this book is incredible and I felt completely immersed because of the descriptive writing style. I also enjoyed reading about this group of women and how their grief and anger has been handled in different ways and seeing all the messiness that comes when you have clashing personalities and agendas. I also really liked how diverse the characters are and always enjoy seeing POC and queer representation in any book.
At first, it was rather difficult for me to get into this book. The writing style is pretty intense and I did feel like it was getting bogged down by the amount of adjectives being used while it almost made me feel like I was reading a bunch of SAT words strung together when simpler terms could have conveyed the point across. After about 80 pages I did want to put the book down but I kept going and found myself enjoying the pacing and the writing style a lot better in the back half of the book. I know some people are going to enjoy the kind of over descriptive prose found in this novel but it didn't really work for me for most of this book.
Overall, I think Cassandra Khaw has written a very sumptuous books with the kind of science-fiction world building others can only dream of and filled it with characters that fascinating, infuriating, and realistic all at the same time.
I was given an e-ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Violence