brimelick's reviews
351 reviews

Girl Mary by Petru Popescu

2.0

Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this book as much as I was expecting I would. I did not hate it but I did not love it. I think that even though I a, fascinated by religion and Mary herself is an amazing character to study, I think to fully grasp this book you need to be more spiritual than I am. It is an interesting read about the relationship between Mary, Joseph, and Pilate. It was something that I definitely did not expect to see in a novel about Mary's life.

Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo

5.0

First thought, Stunning. I love everything about Leigh Bardugo's writing and the Grishaverse is one of my top five fictional worlds. I really liked how she was able to finish the story in a way that didn't rush it and left you feeling like you know what will happen after but there is also room for thinking. I'll be the first to admit that I usually go for the villainous and morally gray characters and as much as I simp for Ben Barnes I think that Alina really did need to end up with Mal. I was not his biggest fan until I re-read the series a few times and now that I'm 23 and not in middle school, he's grown on me. Absolutely love David and Genya's characters in this book and I really started to like Zoya more this time I read it. But let's be honest, Oncat is the best character in the book hands-down. I know a lot of people are not huge fans of Alina losing her power and leaving the world of the Grisha entirely but I honestly think it was the best choice that Leigh could've made. I think she would have been miserable if she had to stay and lose Mal in exchange for keeping her power and staying with Nikolai (as much as I love him). I just wish she would've been able to keep some of her powers. All in all, this is a fantastic book. Amazing conclusion to a wonderful story and I cannot wait to re-read the Six of Crows duology and begin the King of Scars series.

The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan

4.0

Something about the month of January made me feel really nostalgic. So I began finishing my re-read of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series that I started at the end of last year. I'm hyping myself up for the new series and manifesting new updates on the daily. This was one of my favorite book series in middle school and that hasn't really changed. I love the dynamics between the characters and Rick writes the found family trope in a way that just works (same as Leigh Bardugo with her Grishaverse). I love a good-found family and the Camp Half-Blood family is just *chefs' kiss*. This series definitely inspired me to get my degree in Classics and it's given me such a different view when re-reading the books. The research that went into this is just amazing. Uncle Rick writes well for middle grade so it was pretty quick to get through, not too strenuous, just a nice little nostalgic trip. And I'll say it now as I said it when I was younger. Thalia and Annabeth woulda have been such a power couple. (I still love Percy tho.)

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

3.0

As a fan of Tudor History, I was interested to see that there was a trilogy written with Thomas Cromwell as the main character rather than a female character. I have read a lot of novels about this period but they were all focusing on the female side. From my experience with books and shows like the Tudors that are all done to show the rise and fall of his wives you really only see sympathy for Katherine and Anne but you don't get to focus on the players in the background. I've read a lot that shows Thomas More like the good guy and Thomas Cromwell as a power-hungry man who just cares for himself but I think Hilary did a phenomenal job introducing us to what his life was like and how easy it was for things to change for men as well as women. No one was safe in the Tudor court. It definitely took a bit to get into but once I got the hang of what was happening in King Henry's timeline it was really easy to follow. I loved getting to see all of what happens within a royal court and how people rose and fell in their positions, and just how easy it was to fall and fall hard. I am very interested to see what happens in the next two books as Henry begins to stray from Anne and how Cromwell handles the backlash for being on both sides of her rise and fall and his massive failure with his support of Anne of Cleves. Also being a massive fan of Hans Holbein's art especially those he did for Henry and his wives, it was fantastic being able to see him in action as a painter and scholar. He was EXACTLY how i'd picture him being.

This Poison Heart by Kalynn Bayron

4.0

I received this book in my Owlcrate box this year and I have just been waiting for it to be pulled out of my mystery tbr jar. I just recently moved to Virginia and needed a little bit of home this book takes place in Upstate NY and it was a perfect reminder of home. It was also cool to have the nickname of a character be the same as mine. This was just all in all a great book. It took me a minute to get into it to the point where I couldn't put it down but trust me, it gets there. I love the diverse group of characters and the mystery just kept getting more mysterious. I think the second book is just going to get better. There was a great mix of humor and angst when it gets to the later parts. I highly recommend this to anyone who likes YA and mystery but doesn't want either of those genres to overload the other. I loved the mix of both.

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

5.0

I was never interested in reading these books when they came out but decided to try them. My friend turned me onto them by telling me about the worldbuilding elements which I love in books. I'm reading this series while I am reading the Mortal Instruments and my god this is the way to do it. Every character is fantastic, the foreshadowing and layers involved in every character were amazing. This book grabbed me and did not let me go even when it ended. There is so much intrigue and mystery that goes so well with the fantastical world of Victorian England. Clare did a fantastic job with her research and makes it so easy to immerse yourself in the story. I will absolutely be buying the next two and most likely have a book hangover after. You do not need to read the Mortal Instruments or any of the other books to start this, but like my friend, I absolutely recommend it.

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

5.0

If understanding this book completely is the only thing that I ever use for my Bachelor's degree in Classics, I will be very okay with it. I bought this second-hand after hearing a lot about it in booktok and I was terrified to read it. I spend four years in school studying the ancient world and began by reading the Iliad in English and ended in translating it from Homeric Greek. After the over five times I read it I still didn't quite understand every aspect of it. Miller, being a Classics professor has such an amazing grasp on the history, the myth, the people, and the places that make this one of the best modern retellings of the story. When I was reading it, it was like I picked up another version from Homer that he hadn't published. By the end of the book I was sobbing, it was so real, so heartbreaking, and so beautiful at the same time. Even if you aren't a fan of Greek mythology, I still recommend this book to everyone.

Book Lovers by Emily Henry

5.0

Okay, did I run to Target and have the worker find me the last copy in the back because I was so excited and determined to get a copy? Yes, I did. Was it worth it? Absolutely it was. I enjoyed People We Meet on Vacation, but I LOVED this book. So yes I will be going to the store to get Beach Read as soon as I get paid. Every character was lovable and even more so since this was more of a 'professional adversary to lovers' and I never knew I needed it. It's a spoof on Hallmark movies and the main characters make some incredible jokes about that. Growing up in a small town I totally get the vides of Sunshine Falls and I think that is what makes this book relate to me more. I would love to be able to experience the magic of what NYC means to Nora. Her dedication to her sister and her siblings becomes her fault and she uses it as a way to find her perfect ending. As someone who grew up knowing that I wasn't going to date until I really vetted a person like Nora, I related to her in more ways than I thought. This is a perfect story for a woman who is incredibly career-driven yet also dedicated to family find her perfect ending without having to sacrifice her personal goals. Nora and Charlie are now in my top ten list of favorite book couples.

Realm Breaker by Victoria Aveyard

4.0

As a fan of Red Queen, I knew this book would be good but damn, it was better than good. I loved the worldbuilding and deep descriptions of each of the different landmarks and people within Allward. The ragtag group of people this follows are all going from different backgrounds and are all of the varying ages which I really enjoyed. This group makes up the heroes of the story, when in fact they are only the heroes because the first group of heroes failed, I have never read a book like that before. The humor was layered on top of tension and that just made it perfect. Aveyard has given us a more easily understood version of the Lord of the Rings and it is an ode to Tolkien's masterpiece, showing just how far the Fantasy genre has grown.

Beautiful Darkness by Margaret Stohl, Kami Garcia

3.0

Ethan and Lena are one of my favorite fictional couples in YA fiction. The world of the Casters and mortals in Gatlin, SC is one that I can go back to again and again. As much as I love the series, in this re-read, this is not my favorite in the series. It is a solid sequel that expanded on the world, answered many questions, and introduced more questions. The authors have created a fantastic combination of civil war history and magic systems to make a cohesive plot filled with lovable and hatable characters.