bookwoods's reviews
708 reviews

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston

3.0

Red, White and Royal Blue is probably my favorite romance of the whole year so my expectations for One Last Stop were high. Unfortunately, as delightful as the cast is and as happy as the relationship made me, the poorly executed supernatural aspect pulled me out of the story. The premise is this: August moves to New York and falls in love with a woman who’s been stuck in the subway for more than forty years. Cute, but the explanations were silly. 

Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski

3.0

Finally a Witcher book with a novel-like structure! I was loving Blood of Elves in the beginning, when I got to spend more time with the characters in mundane settings. But I didn’t like how fragmentary this ended up feeling - I wish we could have just followed the storyline we start off with instead of awkwardly switching back and forth to things I didn’t care about. Despite enjoying the characters a lot, I think I’m not going to continue with the books and instead focus on the Netflix series. 

Animal by Lisa Taddeo

4.0

 This really was something different and I can certainly see why Lisa Taddeo is known for her explicit way of exploring female sexuality in modern society. Animal was a particularly interesting book because I never liked what I was reading, yet I couldn’t stop turning the pages. There’s truly something addictive in the prose and in the slowly unfurling extent of what the main character, Joan, is prepared to do. The book sets off when an older, rich, married man Joan’s been seeing for years commits suicide and she moves to go after a woman she’s obsessed with. Sex plays is a big part, but in the end female friendship feels like the main theme. 

It’s been weeks since I finished this yet I still can’t quite figure out how I feel in terms of liking the book. Still, Taddeo’s earlier acclaimed novel Three Women has been added to my TBR.

 

Redemptor by Jordan Ifueko

5.0

Brilliant continuation to the brilliant Raybearer. I really can’t tell which I prefer, they are so even in quality and complete a fully fleshed out storyline. I wish more fantasy series were duologies! 

Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko

5.0

This is the best YA fantasy I have ever read. I didn’t have super high expectations as I'm usually much more into adult fantasy, but I ended up feeling like this is a perfect mix - the characters are teenagers yet the tone and relationships feel mature and the themes are incredibly complex. Also, Ifueko’s prose and world building are lighter than in epic fantasy, which made Raybearer (and Redemptor) such a delightful escapist dream to immerse into when I didn't really have the mental capacity for more demanding books. 

I’ve struggled with describing the world and the story, but here’s some key points: the story focuses on the ruling caste and politics of a large empire, the magic is mostly mental in nature, the mythology is influenced by West African culture and the underworld plays a big part. I was highly impressed by how realistically feelings of responsibility, duty and morality were tackled, and I could understand why the characters acted like they acted even if I didn’t always agree. I’ve already finished the other part of the duology, Redemptor, and that’s just as good!

Bunny by Mona Awad

4.0

Disturbing, addictive and weird in a highly unique manner, Bunny by Mona Awad really took me by surprise! Set in an elitist grad school for artists, the name ‘Bunny’ refers to a clique of rich students who seem to never be apart and who call each other bunnies. The main character, Samantha, hates the bunnies: their overly positive attitude, their manic behaviour, their slang and looks. Regardless, when an invitation arrives to their so called ‘Smut Salon’, she can’t help but be intrigued, and eventually pulled into the circle. Things take a turn to the magical when Samantha finds out what exactly it is that the bunnies do with bunnies, and I love how twisted and dark the tone gets towards the ending. 

The writing really is stellar as well - from the occasionally very silly dialogue to Samantha’s inner sarcastic and pessimistic view of the world. But there’s always a hint of humor in the tone. The pacing was perhaps too slow for my liking at some points, but other than that, I really enjoyed this the whole way through. And I did not see the end coming!

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

4.0

 Piranesi* is such a unique exploration of loneliness and memory, using elements of fantasy to deliver an academic mystery. The blurb calls it hypnotic and clever, and those are well chosen words indeed! Susanna Clarke’s skill at describing a setting, in this case a mesmerizing labyrinth of endless statue filled halls and stairways, is truly impressive! I read the Finnish translation by Helene Bützow and I think my native language helped to feel deeply immersed - as much as I do read in English, Finnish is more effortless. 

I don’t want to say anything about the plot though, as I personally tried not to get spoiled and loved being surprised by the nature of the story. The plot gets a little bit predictable, but not in an annoying way. It was just nice to figure out the twists a little ahead of the narration.

*received from the publisher, wsoy

The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin

4.0

 The Broken Earth by N.K Jemisin is a fantasy series I’d only heard fantastic things about - how environmental themes run through it, how it’s inspired by African culture, how brilliant the twists are, how unique the world etc., and I knew I needed to read it myself. I absolutely adored the first book (The Fifth Season), the second (The Obelisk Gate) felt like a filler and this one, the finale, starts to set the scene for the big ending which was cool, yet it still didn’t have the same pull as The Fifth Season did. 

Wanderers: A History of Women Walking by Kerri Andrews

2.0

I probably should have known that this book wouldn’t be to my taste, but I really wanted to believe I could adore historical biographies. Because that’s what Wanderers essentially is: a collection of biographies about women who walked and wrote, the first feeding the latter. Kerri Andrews has chosen people from the 18th all the way to the 21st century. Most names sounded familiar, but there wasn’t anyone I had actually read something from. And I’m sorry to say Wanderers didn’t make me want to change that. 

The writing, although concise and fluent, felt boring and filled to the brim with quotes. Just so many quotes. Andrews ends each chapter with her own summaries and experiences trying to retrace the writers’ steps in some way, yet I didn’t care. And I guess that’s the main issue. Maybe I feel slightly more inspired to take walks, but the central message of how instrumental walking is for writers, men and women alike, didn’t offer anything particularly new. 

“For some women walkers, the pedestrian body becomes a conduit through which past, present and future are connected. The physical self is a medium through which time, stories, lives, all intersect.”

 

Don't You Forget About Me by Mhairi McFarlane

3.0

Don’t You Forget About Me is a completely fine and fun romcom, but nothing particularly special. I don’t really have anything to say about it other than that - it did what I needed it to do and I’ll likely pick up another of McFarlane’s novels when I encounter a similar need.