Scan barcode
fauna_n_fiction's reviews
40 reviews
Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Overall I think this story was pretty ordinary. It's not a book I would have picked up if not for a book club.
I found it to be very unrealistic (not the magic but the relationships.) I found that once someone found someone they were interested in the immediately became overwhelmed and obsessed and I found it ridiculous. I know it comes from "the curse" (which isn't really spoilers) but it was explained too well in the book so.
Characters
I felt like everyone was a caricature. Everyone was the most extreme of whatever it is they were and it was pretty off-putting at times.
The only man in the book I liked was Michael. Every other ones was rude, disgusting, obsessive and downright creepy at some points
Atmosphere
Since it was set in real life I don't have too much to say on the setting. I felt the setting was best at the beginning at the aunt's house but most of the book was average.
Writing
While I really enjoy this writing style, it does distance you from the characters. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. There was not anything particularly bad or particularly spectacular about the writing.
I found it to be very unrealistic (not the magic but the relationships.) I found that once someone found someone they were interested in the immediately became overwhelmed and obsessed and I found it ridiculous. I know it comes from "the curse" (which isn't really spoilers) but it was explained too well in the book so.
Characters
I felt like everyone was a caricature. Everyone was the most extreme of whatever it is they were and it was pretty off-putting at times.
The only man in the book I liked was Michael. Every other ones was rude, disgusting, obsessive and downright creepy at some points
Atmosphere
Since it was set in real life I don't have too much to say on the setting. I felt the setting was best at the beginning at the aunt's house but most of the book was average.
Writing
While I really enjoy this writing style, it does distance you from the characters. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. There was not anything particularly bad or particularly spectacular about the writing.
Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire
adventurous
fast-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
5.0
This is an all time favourite book. This is the first time I have felt so strongly for a book. I almost cried when it was over and I immediately want to reread it! This is heaps and bounds better than the first book (the first book was not by any means bad - I gave it a 4 star - but this had such amazing writing, and atmosphere and touched on many more topics that are important to be discussed.)
One criticism of this book - way too short. *crying* I would have read a 500 page book of this story.
Characters
Because this is a novella, it's expected that the characters are flat and surface level. However, even with such a short time with these characters, I genuinely feel like both Jack and Jill were very well developed and, although a lot of it happened off-page, there character arcs were satisfying.
Jack (Jacqueline) - Jack is whole heartedly my favourite of the two. I enjoyed her so much in the first installment of this series and that love was fully amplified in this book (especially chapter 8.) I LOVED the interactions with Alexis. I fully related to her confusing and broken love for her sister, as I have a sister of my own. I love the complexity of her germaphobia and how it genuinely affects her life. I love her.
Jill (Jillian) - I genuinely wish we would have gotten more of Jill. Although this story follows the twins, Jack if very obviously the main character. I would have LOVED more development and focus on her and her relationship with Master. During the first half of the book, I genuinely felt for Jillian more than Jacqueline. I felt like the parents influence over the girls was very prevalent in Jill, even with Jack's germaphobia, and throughout the whole book I felt super empathetic towards her.
Atmosphere
The atmosphere was specifically something that made me apprehensive to read this book. I am not a Halloween lover and I have never really been into "spoopy" which is something I have heard this story described as. But I LIVED for this atmosphere. While not overbearingly scary, it was clear that the surroundings played a major impact on the citizens of this world and on our main characters.
While the setting wasn't so much a "character" itself in the book, it definitely fed into the personalities each girl grew into because they were living in this dreary dark and creepy world where monsters run rampant.
Writing
I LOVE Seanan McGuire's writing. While distinctly for adults, it still holds this childlike whimsy and poetic nature that makes me feel like I am reading a middle grade but still about topics I enjoy and find intriguing.
I loved the omniscient narrator who explained things without fully spelling stuff out for us. None of the toxic things happening in the story were romanticized. All the horrible stuff was very clearly described as horrible and very wrong.
This is probably the first book in a while that made me laugh out loud. It was super intriguing, funny and beautifully written. I also read this right after reading a book with very average writing so this was even more enjoyable with such stunning, poetic and whimsical writing.
Plot
While not exactly shocking and surprising, I enjoyed it. I was not expecting to get Jack and Jill's FULL backstory. I was expecting, and lowkey hoping, for what happened after their journey in the first installment.
I don't have a lot to say on the plot, as it is a novella, it is quick paced and I enjoyed it. I wish we would have gotten more between the skipped years but that feeds into my desire for this story to be much longer.
Conversations Had
Seanan McGuire touched on a few topics in this novella that I truly loved and enjoyed how they were discussed and explored.
There is a large discussion about parental influence on personalities and the toxicity of enforcing your own ideals onto your children without giving them a choice to be their own person.
Another strong topic was the idea of gender stereotypes and roles. One twin was forced into typical femininity, while the other was forced into tom-boy masculinity and then judged for it.
There's also discussions about sibling and familial love and how complicated and complex those relationships can be.
One criticism of this book - way too short. *crying* I would have read a 500 page book of this story.
Characters
Because this is a novella, it's expected that the characters are flat and surface level. However, even with such a short time with these characters, I genuinely feel like both Jack and Jill were very well developed and, although a lot of it happened off-page, there character arcs were satisfying.
Jack (Jacqueline) - Jack is whole heartedly my favourite of the two. I enjoyed her so much in the first installment of this series and that love was fully amplified in this book (especially chapter 8.) I LOVED the interactions with Alexis. I fully related to her confusing and broken love for her sister, as I have a sister of my own. I love the complexity of her germaphobia and how it genuinely affects her life. I love her.
Jill (Jillian) - I genuinely wish we would have gotten more of Jill. Although this story follows the twins, Jack if very obviously the main character. I would have LOVED more development and focus on her and her relationship with Master. During the first half of the book, I genuinely felt for Jillian more than Jacqueline. I felt like the parents influence over the girls was very prevalent in Jill, even with Jack's germaphobia, and throughout the whole book I felt super empathetic towards her.
Atmosphere
The atmosphere was specifically something that made me apprehensive to read this book. I am not a Halloween lover and I have never really been into "spoopy" which is something I have heard this story described as. But I LIVED for this atmosphere. While not overbearingly scary, it was clear that the surroundings played a major impact on the citizens of this world and on our main characters.
While the setting wasn't so much a "character" itself in the book, it definitely fed into the personalities each girl grew into because they were living in this dreary dark and creepy world where monsters run rampant.
Writing
I LOVE Seanan McGuire's writing. While distinctly for adults, it still holds this childlike whimsy and poetic nature that makes me feel like I am reading a middle grade but still about topics I enjoy and find intriguing.
I loved the omniscient narrator who explained things without fully spelling stuff out for us. None of the toxic things happening in the story were romanticized. All the horrible stuff was very clearly described as horrible and very wrong.
This is probably the first book in a while that made me laugh out loud. It was super intriguing, funny and beautifully written. I also read this right after reading a book with very average writing so this was even more enjoyable with such stunning, poetic and whimsical writing.
Plot
While not exactly shocking and surprising, I enjoyed it. I was not expecting to get Jack and Jill's FULL backstory. I was expecting, and lowkey hoping, for what happened after their journey in the first installment.
I don't have a lot to say on the plot, as it is a novella, it is quick paced and I enjoyed it. I wish we would have gotten more between the skipped years but that feeds into my desire for this story to be much longer.
Conversations Had
Seanan McGuire touched on a few topics in this novella that I truly loved and enjoyed how they were discussed and explored.
There is a large discussion about parental influence on personalities and the toxicity of enforcing your own ideals onto your children without giving them a choice to be their own person.
Another strong topic was the idea of gender stereotypes and roles. One twin was forced into typical femininity, while the other was forced into tom-boy masculinity and then judged for it.
There's also discussions about sibling and familial love and how complicated and complex those relationships can be.
Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Almost DNF'd at around 50% - I continued as I was reading this for a book club... Very glad to be finished and able to move on
Characters
The writing very much held the characters at bay. We never got to know any of the characters deeper than surface level, even our MC was only skin deep.
Xingyin - While I enjoyed Xingyin strong sense of her own morals and values, I was so often frustrated with the writing style that the frustration transferred to our main character. I felt like she was very oblivious to very obvious things and, especially near the beginning, I found her to be melodramatic. Another thing to mention was that things often just happened to Xingyin with no other reason than she was our MC. She would easily survive in situations just so the plot could progress. She was extremely oblivious to certain things that were common sense, however, when the plot called for it she was suddenly a master mind with unimaginable insight and wisdom.
Liwei - I liked Liwei quite a bit. I enjoyed the banter he shared with Xingyin and I found him to be genuine and authentic all the way through. He's a human and he acted like it. If anything, I found him to be a bit much at times, however, I find I didn't mind it too much.
Wenzhi - I was very much neutral towards Wenzhi for a majority of the book. In part three, my love for him very much rose and then came back down once again. But as with all the other characters, he was very surface deep and we didn't get to explore him thoroughly.
Atmosphere
I loved the atmosphere of the book. It was very surreal and elegant. I found myself picturing very bright colours and pastels... Despite the writing, I was still able to envision the settings and found them to be beautiful.
The descriptions of surroundings was very thoroughly described, if a little too much at times. But it did invoke a lot of imagery which set the scene quite beautifully.
Writing
The writing did NOT sit well with me. I did not enjoy the writing style at all and spent a lot of the time irritated or frustrated with how things were explained. So often I found things to be very obvious and plain and yet they were explained.
Very clear and obvious things were "revealed" as if they were meant to be a surprise. We would spend pages (sometimes several chapters) exploring and going through an event only for it to be summed up and explained as if we hadn't been along for the journey the whole time.
And while so many extremely obvious things were spelled out for us, other things were purely given to us through the internal monologue. Stuff would happen and the internal monologue would open up these questions which I never would have asked and then those questions would turn out to be the truth behind the matter. I felt like certain could have been laid out for us instead of outright spelled out.
Plot
I found the pacing to be odd. While I was reading, I found the book hard to put down, yet when I did put it down, it was nearly impossible to pick back up. I was not invested enough in the characters to care much about the story. Along with the situation of hating the writing, I was often so frustrated that I couldn't fully dive into the story.
However, I didn't mind the adventures we went on. They were interesting, even if the intrigue was spelled out for us. I appreciated that the author never spent more time on something than she deemed necessary and skipped over needless information (even if I was hungry for the drama those scenes would have brought.)
Characters
The writing very much held the characters at bay. We never got to know any of the characters deeper than surface level, even our MC was only skin deep.
Xingyin - While I enjoyed Xingyin strong sense of her own morals and values, I was so often frustrated with the writing style that the frustration transferred to our main character. I felt like she was very oblivious to very obvious things and, especially near the beginning, I found her to be melodramatic. Another thing to mention was that things often just happened to Xingyin with no other reason than she was our MC. She would easily survive in situations just so the plot could progress. She was extremely oblivious to certain things that were common sense, however, when the plot called for it she was suddenly a master mind with unimaginable insight and wisdom.
Liwei - I liked Liwei quite a bit. I enjoyed the banter he shared with Xingyin and I found him to be genuine and authentic all the way through. He's a human and he acted like it. If anything, I found him to be a bit much at times, however, I find I didn't mind it too much.
Wenzhi - I was very much neutral towards Wenzhi for a majority of the book. In part three, my love for him very much rose and then came back down once again. But as with all the other characters, he was very surface deep and we didn't get to explore him thoroughly.
Atmosphere
I loved the atmosphere of the book. It was very surreal and elegant. I found myself picturing very bright colours and pastels... Despite the writing, I was still able to envision the settings and found them to be beautiful.
The descriptions of surroundings was very thoroughly described, if a little too much at times. But it did invoke a lot of imagery which set the scene quite beautifully.
Writing
The writing did NOT sit well with me. I did not enjoy the writing style at all and spent a lot of the time irritated or frustrated with how things were explained. So often I found things to be very obvious and plain and yet they were explained.
Very clear and obvious things were "revealed" as if they were meant to be a surprise. We would spend pages (sometimes several chapters) exploring and going through an event only for it to be summed up and explained as if we hadn't been along for the journey the whole time.
And while so many extremely obvious things were spelled out for us, other things were purely given to us through the internal monologue. Stuff would happen and the internal monologue would open up these questions which I never would have asked and then those questions would turn out to be the truth behind the matter. I felt like certain could have been laid out for us instead of outright spelled out.
Plot
I found the pacing to be odd. While I was reading, I found the book hard to put down, yet when I did put it down, it was nearly impossible to pick back up. I was not invested enough in the characters to care much about the story. Along with the situation of hating the writing, I was often so frustrated that I couldn't fully dive into the story.
However, I didn't mind the adventures we went on. They were interesting, even if the intrigue was spelled out for us. I appreciated that the author never spent more time on something than she deemed necessary and skipped over needless information (even if I was hungry for the drama those scenes would have brought.)
Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I quite enjoyed this read. It was quick and easy to get through and was intriguing the whole way through.
I wouldn't say this was particularly brilliant and not particularly bad in any way. I didn't feel strongly one way or the other about the story at all.
I enjoyed the characters introduced quite a bit however, they did seem slightly flat but I'm sure that might be remedied in the following books.
I wouldn't say this was particularly brilliant and not particularly bad in any way. I didn't feel strongly one way or the other about the story at all.
I enjoyed the characters introduced quite a bit however, they did seem slightly flat but I'm sure that might be remedied in the following books.
Jade City by Fonda Lee
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Forgive me while I go off about this amazing book. This is the first time I've had more than "it good" to say about something I love.
Let's start with my favourite character: Kaul Lan-jen. As the oldest sibling and the Pillar of No Peak Clan, I ADORED how intricate and genuinely authentic and complex this character was. Every move was calculated and thought through; and even when it was a difficult action to take, he took it for the good of the clan! Let the gods recognise him.
All the characters in this book were superbly written. Each character was so real and complex. There was such an authenticity about each doubt and decision.
This story was set in a very effective setting where events and characters made it clear that the consequences were real and the stakes were high. When a character is in trouble, you are worried for their life. You are worried for the consequences for the clan.
This book was a beautifully complex exploration of addiction and how it effects your, your decisions, your life and those around you. So many different interactions with jade could be linked to real life addiction and it was done beautifully.
The only con: Doru. Enough said.
I have heard that many people stan Ayt Mada and think the Kaul children are leaning on their lineage and are not at Ayt's level. I think this was done on purpose. I read this with the knowledge that it's a series and believe we'll see more of Ayt in following books, so I loved the introduction we had of her here. And I think the Kaul's obligation to their "blood right" and responsibilities.
Let's start with my favourite character: Kaul Lan-jen. As the oldest sibling and the Pillar of No Peak Clan, I ADORED how intricate and genuinely authentic and complex this character was. Every move was calculated and thought through; and even when it was a difficult action to take, he took it for the good of the clan! Let the gods recognise him.
All the characters in this book were superbly written. Each character was so real and complex. There was such an authenticity about each doubt and decision.
This story was set in a very effective setting where events and characters made it clear that the consequences were real and the stakes were high. When a character is in trouble, you are worried for their life. You are worried for the consequences for the clan.
This book was a beautifully complex exploration of addiction and how it effects your, your decisions, your life and those around you. So many different interactions with jade could be linked to real life addiction and it was done beautifully.
The only con: Doru. Enough said.
I have heard that many people stan Ayt Mada and think the Kaul children are leaning on their lineage and are not at Ayt's level. I think this was done on purpose. I read this with the knowledge that it's a series and believe we'll see more of Ayt in following books, so I loved the introduction we had of her here. And I think the Kaul's obligation to their "blood right" and responsibilities.
Beautiful Darkness by Fabien Vehlmann
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
This is a anti-fairytale meets Lord of the Flies. A bunch of insect-sized children start living in and around the dead body of a life-sized seven or eight year old girl.
This story explores the childlike naivety surrounding morals and what is good or bad. It explores children's capacity for sympathy and empathy as well as the theme of insignificance. The children in this act wild and savage but with a childlike innocence and naivety that is difficult to ignore.
Brutal and savage scenes are brushed over with complete lack of consequence. It really drives home that theme of "am I significant enough for people to notice when I am gone?" And this is a huge topic that is divulged into throughout the book.
This story explores the childlike naivety surrounding morals and what is good or bad. It explores children's capacity for sympathy and empathy as well as the theme of insignificance. The children in this act wild and savage but with a childlike innocence and naivety that is difficult to ignore.
Brutal and savage scenes are brushed over with complete lack of consequence. It really drives home that theme of "am I significant enough for people to notice when I am gone?" And this is a huge topic that is divulged into throughout the book.
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
PLEASE CHECK THE TRIGGER WARNINGS BEFORE READING THIS BOOK. I personally would not have marketed this book as a YA as it deals with very dark subject matter within the first 12 chapters.
... ...
I really didn't like the main character of this book. While I appreciated her motivations and reasoning for doing certain things, I personally couldn't relate to the brutal and extremist ways she achieved her goals. While I realise that she is a product of her society and her abusive situation, I am a thorough believer in "having been abused does not give you a free pass to be an abuser." I despised the way she treated Li Shimin, ESPECIALLY in his darkest moment and I felt like she only ever brought out the worst in him and encouraged the darkest sides of him instead of accepting his true nature. I enjoyed Li Shimin and Gao Yizhi's characters, however I found them both to be pretty flat. For a "feminist" book, this book has only four named female characters, one of whom is our MC, another who is dead and two who are both "against" her in different ways.
NONE of the characters had any development. Everyone either started out has horrid and stayed horrid or started out as good and stayed good. An argument could be made for Li Shimin, however, it's only that we view him as bad and learn that he is good.
As for the romance in this book, I LOVED the idea of a polyamorous relationship and I LOVED the tiny bit we got of Yizhi's and Shimin's relationship however, I felt like all the romances were rushed and baseless. I would have very much loved to get more of Shimin and Yizhi's development other than "they held hands."
I loved the atmosphere of this book, however, I think the worldbuilding is pretty shallow. We know this is a patriarchal society, there are beasts that we are fighting with a piloting system that is rigged against women. That's it.
I was not a fan of the writing style in this book. While I think there is an audience for this style of writing, I prefer a more formal, slightly lyrical form of writing. Considering the setting I feel like there was way too much slang and colloquialisms used unnecessarily where changing a single word would have elevated the language to a more mature level.
I think the plot and pacing we good but not great. I picked up this book and read through it very quickly because it moved along nicely and I was eager to see what happens.
... ...
I really didn't like the main character of this book. While I appreciated her motivations and reasoning for doing certain things, I personally couldn't relate to the brutal and extremist ways she achieved her goals. While I realise that she is a product of her society and her abusive situation, I am a thorough believer in "having been abused does not give you a free pass to be an abuser." I despised the way she treated Li Shimin, ESPECIALLY in his darkest moment and I felt like she only ever brought out the worst in him and encouraged the darkest sides of him instead of accepting his true nature. I enjoyed Li Shimin and Gao Yizhi's characters, however I found them both to be pretty flat. For a "feminist" book, this book has only four named female characters, one of whom is our MC, another who is dead and two who are both "against" her in different ways.
NONE of the characters had any development. Everyone either started out has horrid and stayed horrid or started out as good and stayed good. An argument could be made for Li Shimin, however, it's only that we view him as bad and learn that he is good.
As for the romance in this book, I LOVED the idea of a polyamorous relationship and I LOVED the tiny bit we got of Yizhi's and Shimin's relationship however, I felt like all the romances were rushed and baseless. I would have very much loved to get more of Shimin and Yizhi's development other than "they held hands."
I loved the atmosphere of this book, however, I think the worldbuilding is pretty shallow. We know this is a patriarchal society, there are beasts that we are fighting with a piloting system that is rigged against women. That's it.
I was not a fan of the writing style in this book. While I think there is an audience for this style of writing, I prefer a more formal, slightly lyrical form of writing. Considering the setting I feel like there was way too much slang and colloquialisms used unnecessarily where changing a single word would have elevated the language to a more mature level.
I think the plot and pacing we good but not great. I picked up this book and read through it very quickly because it moved along nicely and I was eager to see what happens.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Murder, Physical abuse, and Child death
She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan
adventurous
challenging
dark
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
5.0
I have no words to describe this book. It was so poetic and enthralling. I loved out cast of main characters . My expectations for the end were subverted big time and in an amazing way. Even some explicit scenes were written in such a classy and poetic style that everything was just beautiful.
While there are a lot of names and locations to take in, the author does a good job at guiding us through everything in a very rhythmic way. I enjoyed the pace of the story and the plot points hit their mark every time.
I loved our main characters and the complicated relationships in this book. The characters were easy to follow, understand and empathize with.
While there are a lot of names and locations to take in, the author does a good job at guiding us through everything in a very rhythmic way. I enjoyed the pace of the story and the plot points hit their mark every time.
I loved our main characters and the complicated relationships in this book. The characters were easy to follow, understand and empathize with.
Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Although this was marked as a YA novel, it very much read like a middle grade (albeit a mature middle grade.) The plot moved by very quickly and we weren't left with much time to process the events happening. Certain aspects were laid out for the reader unnecessarily, certain things were explained unnecessarily and I felt like some time, we were being told exactly how to feel or think about certain characters or events.
I loved Nathaniel and Silas in this story, however, I wasn't a fan of Elisabeth herself. I felt like she was melodramatic, immature and made decisions that sabotaged her own cause. I think this book wouldn't have lost anything by aging the characters up a few years, as I see no reason why they had to be so young.
Without spoilers, I will say that I wasn't super satisfied with the ending, especially the ending.
SPOILER:
I didn't think bringing Silas back was necessary at all and I feel like it completely cheapened his sacrifice. Both times. I loved Silas a lot and was very hurt but satisfied with his ending only for him to once again be brought back.</spoiler
I loved Nathaniel and Silas in this story, however, I wasn't a fan of Elisabeth herself. I felt like she was melodramatic, immature and made decisions that sabotaged her own cause. I think this book wouldn't have lost anything by aging the characters up a few years, as I see no reason why they had to be so young.
Without spoilers, I will say that I wasn't super satisfied with the ending, especially the ending.
SPOILER:
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This book was like putting together a puzzle. Slow at first, finding pieces and slowly putting things together. Until parts of the image come together and start making sense. And the closer you get to the end, the more of the picture you can see until you know exactly how it will end. But the end being so near is overwhelming. And when you're finished, and the final puzzle piece is in place... The image is so beautiful that it's difficult to comprehend.
This was my last read of 2021. And my favourite. This book had so many interesting and unique stories and characters and when those stories and characters started weaving together and becoming one story, it was so satisfying and beautiful. The writing is so amazingly beautiful.
The end of this book prepares you for the ending. I was crying for the last 40 pages of this, just because of the influx of emotion. The imagery in this book was STUNNING! Especially since my favourite animals are both bees and whales - bees and honey play a big role in this book and the Starless Sea is a place where I imagine the largest whales to swim and sing their stories.
This was my last read of 2021. And my favourite. This book had so many interesting and unique stories and characters and when those stories and characters started weaving together and becoming one story, it was so satisfying and beautiful. The writing is so amazingly beautiful.
The end of this book prepares you for the ending. I was crying for the last 40 pages of this, just because of the influx of emotion. The imagery in this book was STUNNING! Especially since my favourite animals are both bees and whales - bees and honey play a big role in this book and the Starless Sea is a place where I imagine the largest whales to swim and sing their stories.