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coralinejones's reviews
373 reviews
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
3.5
Don't quite understand the hype of this book. Don't get me wrong, it's a good book, it tells a pretty warm, though bittersweet story, but Cameron... He truly rots the good this novel has to offer. I'd even argue he's the reason I'm giving this 3 stars and not 5; the only real negative critique I have to give about this novel.
Considering such a huge chunk of this story takes place in his point-of-view, and he in question is a giant man-child, it makes readers like myself eager to skip every time Cameron's chapters appear and move on to the other characters, particularly Marcellus (<3).
If Cameron was, I don't know, 16-18, I could excuse his personality. But finding out he was a 30 year old man?! And he acts like a whiny brat unable to take accountability for ANYTHING? Yeah, I could not stand that. I did not care about him. Not even a little bit.
I wish this story was just about Tova and Marcellus... Or just a book through Marcellus' point of view. That would've been interesting. That would've been a 5 star book for sure.
All-in-all, we needed more octopus and less humans.
Considering such a huge chunk of this story takes place in his point-of-view, and he in question is a giant man-child, it makes readers like myself eager to skip every time Cameron's chapters appear and move on to the other characters, particularly Marcellus (<3).
If Cameron was, I don't know, 16-18, I could excuse his personality. But finding out he was a 30 year old man?! And he acts like a whiny brat unable to take accountability for ANYTHING? Yeah, I could not stand that. I did not care about him. Not even a little bit.
I wish this story was just about Tova and Marcellus... Or just a book through Marcellus' point of view. That would've been interesting. That would've been a 5 star book for sure.
All-in-all, we needed more octopus and less humans.
The Emperor and the Endless Palace by Justinian Huang
3.5
"I pounded his pink plum." Is quite literally one of the silliest lines in a novel I have ever read.
I'm so conflicted here. Both entertaining enough, but also a bit disappointing. There was admittedly a lot going on between the three timelines and only two of the three were interesting to me. The smut felt purposeful to the story, until the very end at least, but the verbiage used was getting on my last nerve. "He wrapped his length around my influence." YOUR INFLUENCE?
I also wouldn't consider this a "romance" story by any means. Technically there's romance in here but it doesn't follow the genres typical heresay. Which is not necessarily an issue! But, again, the romance in this novel didn't feel like romance. Not to mention trying to follow along with who was who from the different timelines was not a fun task.
I'm so conflicted here. Both entertaining enough, but also a bit disappointing. There was admittedly a lot going on between the three timelines and only two of the three were interesting to me. The smut felt purposeful to the story, until the very end at least, but the verbiage used was getting on my last nerve. "He wrapped his length around my influence." YOUR INFLUENCE?
I also wouldn't consider this a "romance" story by any means. Technically there's romance in here but it doesn't follow the genres typical heresay. Which is not necessarily an issue! But, again, the romance in this novel didn't feel like romance. Not to mention trying to follow along with who was who from the different timelines was not a fun task.
Misery by Stephen King
5.0
I usually really dislike King's writing but I enjoyed this story so much I overlooked how much he enjoys unnecessary descriptive words. Maybe It's because I'm already familiar with the movie but... Wow.
Zodiac Academy: The Awakening by Caroline Peckham, Susanne Valenti
3.0
This was the most dog water, poorly written, misogynistic, wannabe Harry Potter ass shit ai have ever read in my entire life. Zodiac Academy is literally horrific and full of tropes I absolutely despise. These characters are deplorable, including Tory and Darcy.
However, this was fun in a terrible supernatural CW, early 2010s MTV teen drama kind of way. Zodiac Academy reminded me heavily of Pretty Little Liars, Teen Wolf, Twilight, and of course Harry Potter, in the worst ways imaginable. Is the book good? No. Not even a little bit. Is it overwhelmingly entertaining? Well, yes!
It helps that I read this through GraphicAudio, a style of audiobooks that implements sound effect and a full cast to stylize the story being told. They say it's "a movie for your ears" and I couldn't agree more. These type of audiobooks happen to be my favorite, utilizing radio theater from the 1950s / 1960s, making this read not as bad as it truly could've been. Had I read this fully on my own I would probably rate Zodiac Academy a 0-2 stars instead of 3. But, personal enjoyment over literary substance took over.
There are so many negative things to note about this book.
The main male leads are horrible. They're not "bullies", they're straight up abusive and unlikeable. They're cocky, overpowered pricks who get away with entirely too much. Why did one of them strip Tory bare in front of everyone? Why did one of them post nude pictures of her publicly? Why does everyone sexually abuse them verbally throughout the novel? Talking about twincest and having sex with them all the time? Give me a break.
The faculty treating Tory and Darcy the way they do is unacceptable. This aspect reminded me of Pretty Little Liars, especially. IYKYK. "You're mine." Get a GRIP!
It's tiring how many negative events happen to the twins throughout the duration of this novel. There's no room to breathe. Nobody gets reprimanded for their actions. It's one shit event after the other. These twins are begging for mercy and they either get laughed at, ignored, or provoked further. Is this Degrassi?
Zodiac Academy is supposed to be for adults, given the sex scenes, but it feels painfully YA. Corny 2011 Wattpad YA. Just learning how to be a teenager YA. Assuming what college would be like based off TV YA. Experiencing adulthood through fiction and Facebook YA. Growing up on the internet unsupervised YA. This was not good. I cannot say this enough.
What's unfortunate is that had the male leads been nonexistent this would've been genuinely enjoyable. I hate the term, "turn your brain off" but... Yeah, just that. Silly slop to laugh at in between your more serious reads. Low grade, Disney fantasy, nonsense. A show that would premiere on Teen Nick for a season or two before getting cancelled. You get what I'm saying.
I am curious as to what happens next but I cannot overstate how TERRIBLE this is. Three stars for being entertaining and nothing else.
However, this was fun in a terrible supernatural CW, early 2010s MTV teen drama kind of way. Zodiac Academy reminded me heavily of Pretty Little Liars, Teen Wolf, Twilight, and of course Harry Potter, in the worst ways imaginable. Is the book good? No. Not even a little bit. Is it overwhelmingly entertaining? Well, yes!
It helps that I read this through GraphicAudio, a style of audiobooks that implements sound effect and a full cast to stylize the story being told. They say it's "a movie for your ears" and I couldn't agree more. These type of audiobooks happen to be my favorite, utilizing radio theater from the 1950s / 1960s, making this read not as bad as it truly could've been. Had I read this fully on my own I would probably rate Zodiac Academy a 0-2 stars instead of 3. But, personal enjoyment over literary substance took over.
There are so many negative things to note about this book.
The main male leads are horrible. They're not "bullies", they're straight up abusive and unlikeable. They're cocky, overpowered pricks who get away with entirely too much. Why did one of them strip Tory bare in front of everyone? Why did one of them post nude pictures of her publicly? Why does everyone sexually abuse them verbally throughout the novel? Talking about twincest and having sex with them all the time? Give me a break.
The faculty treating Tory and Darcy the way they do is unacceptable. This aspect reminded me of Pretty Little Liars, especially. IYKYK. "You're mine." Get a GRIP!
It's tiring how many negative events happen to the twins throughout the duration of this novel. There's no room to breathe. Nobody gets reprimanded for their actions. It's one shit event after the other. These twins are begging for mercy and they either get laughed at, ignored, or provoked further. Is this Degrassi?
Zodiac Academy is supposed to be for adults, given the sex scenes, but it feels painfully YA. Corny 2011 Wattpad YA. Just learning how to be a teenager YA. Assuming what college would be like based off TV YA. Experiencing adulthood through fiction and Facebook YA. Growing up on the internet unsupervised YA. This was not good. I cannot say this enough.
What's unfortunate is that had the male leads been nonexistent this would've been genuinely enjoyable. I hate the term, "turn your brain off" but... Yeah, just that. Silly slop to laugh at in between your more serious reads. Low grade, Disney fantasy, nonsense. A show that would premiere on Teen Nick for a season or two before getting cancelled. You get what I'm saying.
I am curious as to what happens next but I cannot overstate how TERRIBLE this is. Three stars for being entertaining and nothing else.
A Botanical Daughter by Noah Medlock
4.0
How pleasantly strange. A little flat, but atmospheric and beautifully horrific. Mary Shelley you have moved mountains.
I will admit there are many flaws within his novel; often was my interest swaying from REALLY loving A Botanical Daughter to simply finding it okay at best. (At one point, I loved where I thought this novel was going, more than what was actually occurring). Despite the awkward pacing, unsatisfying conclusion, and some of the off-putting character developments, I thoroughly enjoyed this!
I will admit there are many flaws within his novel; often was my interest swaying from REALLY loving A Botanical Daughter to simply finding it okay at best. (At one point, I loved where I thought this novel was going, more than what was actually occurring). Despite the awkward pacing, unsatisfying conclusion, and some of the off-putting character developments, I thoroughly enjoyed this!
The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas
3.5
Despite the unexpected middle grade tone, I had fun, and I'm willing to continue to book two. I'm someone who doesn't mind an adolescent genre read here and there, as they most often give me the same feeling as watching a film such as Monster House or Coraline. These are nice palette cleansers. Books friendly enough to give you the vibe of the genre you're reading without having to worry about some of the heavier, adult, topics that may trigger some unwanted emotion in you. That said...
The Sunbearer Trials is marketed as a YA fantasy. I've read enough YA novels to tell the difference in writing style for the author's intended audience; I think this fell a little short. I understand the comparisons to Percy Jackson, and the tone matched that perfectly aside from the random, out of place swearing sprinkled throughout the novel, but not so much the one for The Hunger Games? I'm about to rant a bit here so feel free to move onto the next paragraph but, everybody wants to bite off The Hunger Games but not everyone can be The Hunger Games! I'm sick of YA novels being marketed as "Like The Hunger Games" when all they mean is some sort of battle royale-esq plotline with no stakes as high as Suzanne Collins' masterpiece! These are stories that can lead to anywhere. THG did not invent the narrative genre. I don't care how popular it is! Stop saying a book is like THG when it isn't!
Anyway. The stakes were a bit too low for THG comparison.
The world-building is WEAK. Enjoyable! But nothing to rave about. Again, comparing this to Percy Jackson, at least we know that's a low-fantasy novel that takes place within our own, contemporary, world just with superhuman / supernatural / mythological beings roaming around. The difference between that and this novel is... They're supposed to be in a completely different world from what I understand? New politics, animals that don't exist in our world, etc, but then had many pop culture references that felt out of place and odd? Like the faux-titles for social media and "furry" mentions. Not my thing, not my age range. I can't acknowledge that. Still didn't like it.
Rants aside, the book is genuinely very fun and I think a younger audience would get a KICK out of this. I even wrote in my notes how if I was fifteen I would've ate this up like The Raven Cycle all over again. I'd probably join the fandom and do everything in my power to campaign for this book. But as a 25 year old who reads anything, I will simply pass this onto the youngins with a smile on my face.
There's good representation, a bit of humor, fast pace action scenes that have impact, and genuine character dynamics that didn't feel faulty or forced.
The Sunbearer Trials is marketed as a YA fantasy. I've read enough YA novels to tell the difference in writing style for the author's intended audience; I think this fell a little short. I understand the comparisons to Percy Jackson, and the tone matched that perfectly aside from the random, out of place swearing sprinkled throughout the novel, but not so much the one for The Hunger Games? I'm about to rant a bit here so feel free to move onto the next paragraph but, everybody wants to bite off The Hunger Games but not everyone can be The Hunger Games! I'm sick of YA novels being marketed as "Like The Hunger Games" when all they mean is some sort of battle royale-esq plotline with no stakes as high as Suzanne Collins' masterpiece! These are stories that can lead to anywhere. THG did not invent the narrative genre. I don't care how popular it is! Stop saying a book is like THG when it isn't!
Anyway. The stakes were a bit too low for THG comparison.
The world-building is WEAK. Enjoyable! But nothing to rave about. Again, comparing this to Percy Jackson, at least we know that's a low-fantasy novel that takes place within our own, contemporary, world just with superhuman / supernatural / mythological beings roaming around. The difference between that and this novel is... They're supposed to be in a completely different world from what I understand? New politics, animals that don't exist in our world, etc, but then had many pop culture references that felt out of place and odd? Like the faux-titles for social media and "furry" mentions. Not my thing, not my age range. I can't acknowledge that. Still didn't like it.
Rants aside, the book is genuinely very fun and I think a younger audience would get a KICK out of this. I even wrote in my notes how if I was fifteen I would've ate this up like The Raven Cycle all over again. I'd probably join the fandom and do everything in my power to campaign for this book. But as a 25 year old who reads anything, I will simply pass this onto the youngins with a smile on my face.
There's good representation, a bit of humor, fast pace action scenes that have impact, and genuine character dynamics that didn't feel faulty or forced.
Stolen Tongues by Felix Blackwell
1.0
Repitive. Poorly written. Not scary or horrific in any capacity. Terrible characters. Terrible dynamic between Felix and Fae. Fae is written as stereotypical as it gets. Entire story is written in a "tell not show" style that gets boring quickly.
The author wrote a white savior garbage fest that uses Native folklore to tell a story not worth reading
The author wrote a white savior garbage fest that uses Native folklore to tell a story not worth reading