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bookwormpersephone's reviews
154 reviews
From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout
1.0
It has a lot of modern terms unfit for a high-fantasy genre (and if it is indeed set in modern times, its many indications of being "medival" almost overshadows it). It jumps between saying phrases like, "What the hell" or "whatever" to terms like "quite" or "indeed".
Pick an identity, please.
Too many ellipses.
If these get fixed, FB&A would have been better off as a guilty pleasure read. Sadly, I just get thrown off everytime I encounter them, which makes this a drag to finish (but I did, for the sake of making this review). Read at your own risk.
Pick an identity, please.
Too many ellipses.
If these get fixed, FB&A would have been better off as a guilty pleasure read. Sadly, I just get thrown off everytime I encounter them, which makes this a drag to finish (but I did, for the sake of making this review). Read at your own risk.
Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson
5.0
I gave up thinking of what to say and just decided to briefly tell you why this book is good.
1. Nathaniel Thorn is a softie boy who loves his demon servant to bits and understands the struggle he has been through to stay beside him. He's witty, intelligent, and makes meme-tier jokes
2. Elisabeth is strong, independent, and would cross mountains and oceans for the ones she loves. She also loves said meme-tier jokes Nathaniel cracks
3. Silas. My baby boy. My white-haired livery-wearing boy. He's precious. You'll love him.
4. World-building isn't as complex as cosmere but cmon, that's not the focus here. The focus lies more on the journey Elisabeth takes and the libraries (which are given ample spotlight). Still, magic-system is simple and easy to understand.
Now go read it. Right now. Fantasy lover with a reading slump? This will get you out of it. Cheers
1. Nathaniel Thorn is a softie boy who loves his demon servant to bits and understands the struggle he has been through to stay beside him. He's witty, intelligent, and makes meme-tier jokes
2. Elisabeth is strong, independent, and would cross mountains and oceans for the ones she loves. She also loves said meme-tier jokes Nathaniel cracks
3. Silas. My baby boy. My white-haired livery-wearing boy. He's precious. You'll love him.
4. World-building isn't as complex as cosmere but cmon, that's not the focus here. The focus lies more on the journey Elisabeth takes and the libraries (which are given ample spotlight). Still, magic-system is simple and easy to understand.
Now go read it. Right now. Fantasy lover with a reading slump? This will get you out of it. Cheers
The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi
3.0
The prose was beautiful, but it was a bit of a drag sometimes. I do admit I skimmed some parts due to impatience, especially when the mini-arc for Gauri came, but I lugged through this book. Took me 2 weeks to finish.
It lacked interaction between Maya and Amar, needed a bit of tension and romance as well.
It's not *that* bad, but I had high expectations (due to the story being a re-telling of Hades&Persephone). Still a book you should pick up as it is beautifully written, it just wasn't for me.
It lacked interaction between Maya and Amar, needed a bit of tension and romance as well.
It's not *that* bad, but I had high expectations (due to the story being a re-telling of Hades&Persephone). Still a book you should pick up as it is beautifully written, it just wasn't for me.
Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto
4.0
Do you still remember your days as a kid being around adults as they discuss adult topics your kid brain can't even begin to comprehend? Poilitics, war, the old days, budgeting, poverty, etc.
This is what I felt tackling Banana Yoshimoto's Kitchen.
The novel follows Mikage Sakurai who lost her only living blood relative: her grandmother. She plunges into a state of depression, listelessnes, and a feeling of time stopping all around her. Her mental health and sleeping habits decline, so much so that the only reprieve she has from her nightly struggles is by sleeping beside a refrigerator, inside her kitchen.
One day, a boy who had connected with Mikage's grandmother in the local flowers hop swings by and asks Mikage if she has a place to move in already, to which she replies no. After convincing her to move in with him, a loner who has trouble expressing his feelings and his transgender father (mother) who exuded life and warmth, the story of Mikage's journey in life, filled with love and loss, began.
As someone who had never experienced a significant loss of a loved one before, this story was like looking into someone's home through a window. The scenes were intimate, alien, and most of all: very private. As I read it, I had a distinct feeling that this wasn't meant to be read by me. Like a diary I had unwittingly opened, it spilled forth something I want to understand, but ultimately can't.
However, I am not saying this is a poorly written book. It is phenomenal. If read by someone who wishes to know if someone out there feels their particular taste of loss as well, the book will be beyond 5 stars. For me, someone who has yet to discover how deep the tendrils of loss go, I can only bestow 4 stars out of respect and awe.
This is what I felt tackling Banana Yoshimoto's Kitchen.
The novel follows Mikage Sakurai who lost her only living blood relative: her grandmother. She plunges into a state of depression, listelessnes, and a feeling of time stopping all around her. Her mental health and sleeping habits decline, so much so that the only reprieve she has from her nightly struggles is by sleeping beside a refrigerator, inside her kitchen.
One day, a boy who had connected with Mikage's grandmother in the local flowers hop swings by and asks Mikage if she has a place to move in already, to which she replies no. After convincing her to move in with him, a loner who has trouble expressing his feelings and his transgender father (mother) who exuded life and warmth, the story of Mikage's journey in life, filled with love and loss, began.
As someone who had never experienced a significant loss of a loved one before, this story was like looking into someone's home through a window. The scenes were intimate, alien, and most of all: very private. As I read it, I had a distinct feeling that this wasn't meant to be read by me. Like a diary I had unwittingly opened, it spilled forth something I want to understand, but ultimately can't.
However, I am not saying this is a poorly written book. It is phenomenal. If read by someone who wishes to know if someone out there feels their particular taste of loss as well, the book will be beyond 5 stars. For me, someone who has yet to discover how deep the tendrils of loss go, I can only bestow 4 stars out of respect and awe.
Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young
4.0
After much thought, I decided to put this book in 4 stars instead of a 4.5. Let me explain.
This book is phenomenal. After reading a heavy book (The Star-touched Queen) alongside a much heavier read (Spinning silver, I've yet to finish) this felt like a breath of fresh air. If I'm not mistaken, it took me only 2 days to finish this book, and without regrets. However, I've encountered one significant problem that I'd like to point out.
Myra, Eelyn's best friend.
She's feisty, loyal, and an amazing battle partner. Her heart is with the Aska, her tribesmen, and her loyalty to Sigr, her patron god. She loves Eelyn to death, respects her father, fiercely feels the loss of Iri, Eelyn's brother... And that's it. She disappears after the first quarter of the book, and doesn't reappear until the last quarter.
We completely skipped her character development and settled with a cheap, quick transition from "I'll kill ALL Riki on sight" to "Hurt Eelyn and you'll find yourself dead" to the Male Lead. And this happened after one brawl with Eelyn. One. I get it, it was THE brawl all characters have to gain a new perspective, but with all the bloodshed that the Riki and Aska had between them? It would take at least a chapter or so more to convince me Myra would easily hand her beloved best friend over to the other side.
Plus, there was no such interaction between the Male Lead and Myra that actually counts as her accepting him. I would have loved a scenario where Myra was deigned helpless against a certain danger on Eelyn's life, to which the Male Lead will show Myra (and Eelyn's father too) how much he loves her by saving her life (at the risk of his own, or not.) it just bummed me out. Myra is such a great character with a lot of potential to become more than just Eelyn's best friend. She could have been a more complex character that would have to struggled with the unification of two enemy tribes, and her own feelings, too.
I don't know. Myra and her lack of character build-up didn't necessarily bother me when I was reading. But that's the point, and the realization that came after. She didn't bother me because I /barely/ noticed her. Heck, Inge and Runa had changed compared the start of the novel. I wish Myra's time wasn't so rushed as well.
Other than that, Sky In The Deep was enchanting, awe-inspiring, and enjoyable. I recommend 100% to pick up the book if you haven't already. The romance is sizzling and definitely a slow-burn. The pay-off is so worth it, despite the lack of descriptive smut (which is a preference, MY preference yall!) Eelyn's slow progress and development is definitely something to read and experience.
===
4.5
This book is phenomenal. After reading a heavy book (The Star-touched Queen) alongside a much heavier read (Spinning silver, I've yet to finish) this felt like a breath of fresh air. If I'm not mistaken, it took me only 2 days to finish this book, and without regrets. However, I've encountered one significant problem that I'd like to point out.
Myra, Eelyn's best friend.
She's feisty, loyal, and an amazing battle partner. Her heart is with the Aska, her tribesmen, and her loyalty to Sigr, her patron god. She loves Eelyn to death, respects her father, fiercely feels the loss of Iri, Eelyn's brother... And that's it. She disappears after the first quarter of the book, and doesn't reappear until the last quarter.
We completely skipped her character development and settled with a cheap, quick transition from "I'll kill ALL Riki on sight" to "Hurt Eelyn and you'll find yourself dead" to the Male Lead. And this happened after one brawl with Eelyn. One. I get it, it was THE brawl all characters have to gain a new perspective, but with all the bloodshed that the Riki and Aska had between them? It would take at least a chapter or so more to convince me Myra would easily hand her beloved best friend over to the other side.
Plus, there was no such interaction between the Male Lead and Myra that actually counts as her accepting him. I would have loved a scenario where Myra was deigned helpless against a certain danger on Eelyn's life, to which the Male Lead will show Myra (and Eelyn's father too) how much he loves her by saving her life (at the risk of his own, or not.) it just bummed me out. Myra is such a great character with a lot of potential to become more than just Eelyn's best friend. She could have been a more complex character that would have to struggled with the unification of two enemy tribes, and her own feelings, too.
I don't know. Myra and her lack of character build-up didn't necessarily bother me when I was reading. But that's the point, and the realization that came after. She didn't bother me because I /barely/ noticed her. Heck, Inge and Runa had changed compared the start of the novel. I wish Myra's time wasn't so rushed as well.
Other than that, Sky In The Deep was enchanting, awe-inspiring, and enjoyable. I recommend 100% to pick up the book if you haven't already. The romance is sizzling and definitely a slow-burn. The pay-off is so worth it, despite the lack of descriptive smut (which is a preference, MY preference yall!) Eelyn's slow progress and development is definitely something to read and experience.
===
4.5