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divineauthor's reviews
324 reviews
Poems to Night by Rainer Maria Rilke
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
“Nothing is so mute / as a god’s mouth.” —page 48
from the bottom of my heart, i actually don’t know how to rate this. i struggled with this a little—many of these poems resist any interpretation—and found the theme of night to be overwhelming to the point of vagueness. maybe it’s a translation issue, or maybe i just like rilke’s other works better, but this was a middling read. honestly, i’m not sure! some verses / lines were really good (see above quote), but the whole piece . . . idk!
from the bottom of my heart, i actually don’t know how to rate this. i struggled with this a little—many of these poems resist any interpretation—and found the theme of night to be overwhelming to the point of vagueness. maybe it’s a translation issue, or maybe i just like rilke’s other works better, but this was a middling read. honestly, i’m not sure! some verses / lines were really good (see above quote), but the whole piece . . . idk!
Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
“Sometimes I’m scared that I imagined you. Sometimes I think you’re only in my head.” —Nolan Sawyer, page 255
this was enjoyable! hazelwood writes rivals in a way that actually feels fun and i never really thought about chess tournaments before so that was a interesting thing to read! mal, as an eldest daughter, is so real to me i was holding her lovingly in my hands, and nolan is insane the way he says some of the most romantic lines very directly and with such sincerity. anyway, i also have a soft spot for couples who have a ‘maybe i made you up inside my head’ type of dialogue. it gets to me Personally. anyway this was fun! maybe it’ll be a 4-star book if i let it marinate (but the .25 is every mention of like . . . ao3 and and the likes 😭 i was curling away from it)
this was enjoyable! hazelwood writes rivals in a way that actually feels fun and i never really thought about chess tournaments before so that was a interesting thing to read! mal, as an eldest daughter, is so real to me i was holding her lovingly in my hands, and nolan is insane the way he says some of the most romantic lines very directly and with such sincerity. anyway, i also have a soft spot for couples who have a ‘maybe i made you up inside my head’ type of dialogue. it gets to me Personally. anyway this was fun! maybe it’ll be a 4-star book if i let it marinate (but the .25 is every mention of like . . . ao3 and and the likes 😭 i was curling away from it)
You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
“I feel like the world wanted to remind me that it loves me, and so it gave me him.” —Feyi Adekola
it’s interesting to me that this is marketed as a romance, rather than contemporary literary fiction. i know this is emezi’s fifth genre to write in and, in their own words, said that, ‘genre is a loose concept for me [. . .] it feels natural to write across them as well,’ because it doesn’t really feel like a romance. the love interest doesn’t appear until a quarter of the way through and it’s anything but conventional. not that romance has to be conventional, but this story—feyi’s story—feels more focused on her grief than anything. she gets into messy relationships because of it, she self-destructs because of it, etc. this would work so so so well as contemp litfic. the prose lends itself to that particular genre, the deep complexities of feyi’s grief and how it shapes her every relationship, and so on. yeah, i don’t know. this book really felt like something i should’ve enjoyed more fully but didn’t.
well, to be fair, i hate instalove. so. godspeed!
it’s interesting to me that this is marketed as a romance, rather than contemporary literary fiction. i know this is emezi’s fifth genre to write in and, in their own words, said that, ‘genre is a loose concept for me [. . .] it feels natural to write across them as well,’ because it doesn’t really feel like a romance. the love interest doesn’t appear until a quarter of the way through and it’s anything but conventional. not that romance has to be conventional, but this story—feyi’s story—feels more focused on her grief than anything. she gets into messy relationships because of it, she self-destructs because of it, etc. this would work so so so well as contemp litfic. the prose lends itself to that particular genre, the deep complexities of feyi’s grief and how it shapes her every relationship, and so on. yeah, i don’t know. this book really felt like something i should’ve enjoyed more fully but didn’t.
well, to be fair, i hate instalove. so. godspeed!
A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
“Did you ever know, dear, how much you took away with you when you left?” —page 61
this was so brutal to read. i have nothing to say, really. it was just that beautifully written and poignant.
this was so brutal to read. i have nothing to say, really. it was just that beautifully written and poignant.
If I'm Being Honest by Emily Wibberley, Austin Siegemund-Broka
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
“It’s not hard to be with someone you love. It’s the most natural thing in the world.” —Cameron Bright, page 287
i have a preternatural disinclination towards THE TAMING OF THE SHREW adaptations and this is my second one of the year, oddly enough. this wasn’t a bad book, but some of the references had me cringing so hard that i was unintentionally scowling for the rest of the chapter. cameron is unlikeable, but she’s lovable—you just have to get through the first quarter of the book to really feel it. other than that . . . well this book was fine! i liked it less than the authors’ others that i’ve read!
i have a preternatural disinclination towards THE TAMING OF THE SHREW adaptations and this is my second one of the year, oddly enough. this wasn’t a bad book, but some of the references had me cringing so hard that i was unintentionally scowling for the rest of the chapter. cameron is unlikeable, but she’s lovable—you just have to get through the first quarter of the book to really feel it. other than that . . . well this book was fine! i liked it less than the authors’ others that i’ve read!
Royal Holiday by Jasmine Guillory
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.0
“But what if it was all worth it?” —Malcolm Hudson, page 286
this was boring to me unfortunately. guillory makes perfectly average contemporary romances, but i liked this less than the first three in the series.
this was boring to me unfortunately. guillory makes perfectly average contemporary romances, but i liked this less than the first three in the series.
Do I Know You? by Emily Wibberley, Austin Siegemund-Broka
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
“Fuck the distance. I’ve never loved anyone like I’ve loved Graham. We’re worth fighting for.” —Eliza Cutler, page 22
in my memory, i don’t think i’ve ever read a romance where the couple is already married which is funny considering the number of romances i’ve consumed over the years. anyway, eliza and graham’s “married in trouble” trope didn’t feel like a trope to me—it felt very real. they’re navigating the mundanities of life while trying to keep a spark alive and, because i can practically feel the love between them, i wanted them them to work through it! this was enjoyable fr
in my memory, i don’t think i’ve ever read a romance where the couple is already married which is funny considering the number of romances i’ve consumed over the years. anyway, eliza and graham’s “married in trouble” trope didn’t feel like a trope to me—it felt very real. they’re navigating the mundanities of life while trying to keep a spark alive and, because i can practically feel the love between them, i wanted them them to work through it! this was enjoyable fr
Queen Charlotte by Shonda Rhimes, Julia Quinn
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
“I will stand with you between the heavens and the earth. I will tell you where you are.” —Queen Charlotte
one thing i will say: this is better than most of the quinn histroms i’ve read, but i’m pinning that on rhimes. this was good in the sense that it was like rewatching the show, but funnily enough i did enjoy the show more!
one thing i will say: this is better than most of the quinn histroms i’ve read, but i’m pinning that on rhimes. this was good in the sense that it was like rewatching the show, but funnily enough i did enjoy the show more!
The Blonde Identity by Ally Carter
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.75
“But the past stayed blank, and the present stayed cold, and the future loomed before her, totally empty.” —Zoe, page 7
there are two wolves in me: one is that i love spies and the other is my inherent hatred of government intelligence agencies. i was reading and enjoying the fun, punchy tropes and the main characters’ (albeit very fast but it gets a pass) romance and then i’m reading a chapter and it hits me. whatever. it’s fine. reading this made me nostalgic for a middle school book series i haven’t touched in a decade AND i was laughing aloud because zoe really is so funny sometimes. yeah. vibes
there are two wolves in me: one is that i love spies and the other is my inherent hatred of government intelligence agencies. i was reading and enjoying the fun, punchy tropes and the main characters’ (albeit very fast but it gets a pass) romance and then i’m reading a chapter and it hits me. whatever. it’s fine. reading this made me nostalgic for a middle school book series i haven’t touched in a decade AND i was laughing aloud because zoe really is so funny sometimes. yeah. vibes
The Atlas Complex by Olivie Blake
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
“Power did nothing to soften a grave. It also did nothing to keep a promise.” —Sef Hassan, page 409
so i’ll be so real: i was struck by such intense despair of the Not Knowing What Will Happen that, on the morning of release day, i opened up the audiobook to find out exactly where everyone ends up. i listened to the last pages before even glimpsing at the first word, and it did ruin things for me. even without context i knew it was bad.
outside of you know who kicking the bucket, no writing can be good enough to justify the way this book is structured. there’s an art to leaving the reader in suspense about something by cutting from a tense scene and then there’s just . . . ripping the tension away to something unnecessary and honestly boring. i excuse blake’s tendency to overwrite and i can do it again, but it’s just so odd to me to insert these povs at the times they’re there. anyway. yeah. like do i understand how blake got to this point and why she wrote this book and the series the way she did? yes. it’s unfathomable to me, but i get it. do i like it though? now that’s a different story.
anyway. blake stuffers from stiefvaterisms in the way that her characters / character dynamics / prose are so insane, but the plots leave much to be desired. and i stand by this. wholeheartedly.
so i’ll be so real: i was struck by such intense despair of the Not Knowing What Will Happen that, on the morning of release day, i opened up the audiobook to find out exactly where everyone ends up. i listened to the last pages before even glimpsing at the first word, and it did ruin things for me. even without context i knew it was bad.
outside of you know who kicking the bucket, no writing can be good enough to justify the way this book is structured. there’s an art to leaving the reader in suspense about something by cutting from a tense scene and then there’s just . . . ripping the tension away to something unnecessary and honestly boring. i excuse blake’s tendency to overwrite and i can do it again, but it’s just so odd to me to insert these povs at the times they’re there. anyway. yeah. like do i understand how blake got to this point and why she wrote this book and the series the way she did? yes. it’s unfathomable to me, but i get it. do i like it though? now that’s a different story.
anyway. blake stuffers from stiefvaterisms in the way that her characters / character dynamics / prose are so insane, but the plots leave much to be desired. and i stand by this. wholeheartedly.