elenap's reviews
460 reviews

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

fast-paced

2.5

As a non romance reader, I was still extremely curious about this series. This is probably my second fae book after An Enchantment of Ravens, which is my least favourite Margaret Rodgerson book.

ACOTAR is... fine. It's just fine. There is no character depth, the writing is on the weaker side, it's low on fantasy, but you know, we have pining, it's very readable, and it does leave a lot of unanswered questions so you'd want to read more. It did not help at all that the main character is dull and so damn stupid and survives the entire book with sheer plot armor.

It was surprisingly pretty low on spice which I loved. The characters I actually want to know more about are, surprisingly, Nesta and the fox guy, he was funny. Tamlin is fine and Rhys is an asshole.

I've heard that the second book is much better, so I will give it a go only out of curiosity to see if

that double take Rhys did at the end was him imprinting on Feyre like Jacob did with Renaissance 

because ugh if yes 

Jade City by Fonda Lee

adventurous medium-paced

3.75

Finally dug into this famous series!

Right off the bat, I must say that I'm not into gang/mafia stories and paired with the slow beginning and the modern world almost made me dnf this. I was lucky I was part of a reading group and seeing all the other people excited about the middle and end got me through.

It was a different type of fantasy book for sure. Most of the book I didn't get particularly attached to any of the characters except for Anden

(well, I did like Lan, and it took me 3 chapters to understand that he really is dead, I was sure he's gonna get revived in some way)

and the pacing was a bit sloppy, but I will read the second book at some point later this year, especially since people have been saying that the series gets better with each book.

3.5-3.75, rounded to a 4, and I'm still salty about chapter 32. 

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

adventurous emotional funny inspiring mysterious medium-paced

5.0

Finally a book that lived up to its hype! I am blown away by the character work, I got very attached to all of them and can't wait to dig into the next chapter.

It helped a lot that Kaladin reminded me of Raoden from my other favourite Sanderson book, Elantris. You can clearly see his writing ability improved tremendously, yet the way he breathes life and soul into each character stayed the same. I didn't feel the need to get to the end and find out what is going to happen because I enjoyed the journey immensely and didn't think in any way that it was going slow.

My only minor complaint is just the usual Sanderson magic systems shenanigans where they tend to get repetitive (we had 20 pushings and pullings per page in Mistborn, and now we have 20 lashings).

Solid fantasy read!

The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

4.5

Although it’s slightly less atmospheric than the first book and more focused on action (gone are the small village vibes), we are still getting lost in the vastness of Russian winter landscape, its lush folklore, and watch Vasya expand her worldview, make mistakes, learn from them, and simply discover who she is and how the world around her functions. I’m no romance girlie, but the type of romance we encounter here will always work for me.

Although I liked the first book a little bit better, I have still fully enjoyed this one, and will read absolutely everything Katherine Arden comes up with because her penmanship really is magical.

Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger

funny reflective medium-paced

2.75

I tried this one twice before, and I always gave up after finishing Franny's part. That one was easily a 5 star. Zooey on the other hand... that was a lot of useless and annoying text with sprinkles of interesting ideas and funny moments in between. Maybe a 2-2.5 star?

Basically this was a pretty big letdown as I've heard others praise this so damn much, yet I don't regret reading it, especially for that first part that I will reread in this lifetime.

Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

I did try my best not to cry and managed to do so up until I got to the afterword.

Beautifully written, reminding me in some way of Steinbeck with a simple prose that offers so much to the reader. Incredibly heartbreaking and sad with a hopeful undertone which is, I guess, an Irish thing. It's incredible how many atrocities were committed by the Catholic Church, and we don't even know about all of them.

I will be thinking about this for a while. And I'm already looking for what to read next from Claire Keegan.

A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark

adventurous informative mysterious medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes

4.25

I finally got to this lovely little book, and it took me completely by surprise! The best news is that even if it seems to be a part of a series, it can be read as a standalone, there is no cliffhanger at the end.

It was a really fun Egyptian steampunk alternate history fantasy book with djinns, something I really didn’t encounter before. Filled with adventures, it follows our main character Fatma who works at the ministry and has to deal with supernatural entities. There was a cute saphic romance that didn’t take too much space and the other character had agency, wasn’t just a love interest. Guessed the main twist halfway through, but it was still fun.

What I didn’t like: I am not a big fan of over the top character descriptions and I really do not care about what clothes the person wears each time we meet them (even though I understand it’s a big part of the main character, I just don’t care).

Overall, I recommend this to everyone, it was a fun adventure. Strong 4.25 

Down the Drain by Julia Fox

adventurous dark funny fast-paced

4.25

 This was an absolutely insane read, and at times it felt like reading fiction, to be honest. She is an unexpectedly strong writer, if I do say so myself.

5 stars for the entertainment and honesty, but I will lower it to a 4.25 because it got tiring at one point and I really can't imagine how someone could remember all of those details through the drug and alcohol haze, some of those things were added for effect for sure (although I appreciate the effort).

I'm a Julia Fox stan now.

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke

funny mysterious slow-paced

4.0

This is the type of book that takes a long time to finish, and you get all proud when you're done because it is a drag at times. Yet overall, I'm glad I read it, and I did enjoy myself. The writing was beautiful (reminiscent of Dickens), albeit it took a while to get used to, and funny (dry humour). The characters were flawed (god I hated them at times) and relatable at the same time (yes, I'd rather not let you borrow any of my pretty expensive books just like Norrell).

I cannot give it 5 stars because at times I was reading through sheer will, as the plot was almost non-existent and everything felt like filler. I love character-driven stories, but in those moments even characters weren't interesting.

That being said, the ending was satisfying, and this magical world Clarke created will stay with me for a while.

The Woman in Me by Britney Spears

dark emotional sad fast-paced

My heart breaks for my childhood idol. I used to absolutely adore Britney, had almost 30 posters of her in my room at one time and notebooks filled with magazine clippings and stickers.

You know, I usually comment on the writing style of a memoir and if I think it wasn't in-depth enough here and there. But you know what, I won't here and that's my prerogative (wink wink). Yes, I am not objective at all, but who cares? Do I wish I got more insight and introspection on certain moments? Of course. But I'm still very happy that I got what I got. Did tear up a few times as well, it was hard not to.

Wishing her all the best, and I can't wait to read the other memoir she's working on at the moment because I still have so many questions. Even if the book feels scattered, I do think the ghost author did a pretty good job, as it reads in Britney's voice.

PS: I always disliked Justin, screw that guy. I also hope her family rots.