festive_fossil's reviews
170 reviews

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

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adventurous emotional sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear

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Did not finish book.
informative inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

5.0

If you struggle to build habits, you need to read this book. I would hesitate to say a one approach would work for ANYone, but this was a concise, well-researched, and clear book on the science behind habit building. After battling for years to establish certain habits, I am already finding success with incorporating some of Clear's recommendations.
Tales of Moonlight and Rain by Anthony H. Chambers, Ueda Akinari

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adventurous dark mysterious relaxing sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

This may not be the most coherent or detailed review, just because I got so caught up while reading that I didn't end up taking a ton of notes. Overall I really enjoyed this YA fantasy, which feels so good to say because it has been a while since I've really liked one. Idk if I am just aging out of the genre or what, but YA fantasy has been tough for me lately. Legendborn was a breath of fresh air. If you were at all obsessed with the legend of King Arthur as a child (that would be me), then this is a must-read, though I'd say it is a must-read for anyone interested in urban fantasy or just general fantasy. That isn't to say I thought this was the perfect book, but I found it to be an original and innovative interpretation of old themes and stories. 

Here are some of the things I really liked:
  • Ooooh boy the themes this book was tackling! Racism, grief, mental health, intergenerational trauma - just some big, heavy stuff and I loved it.
  • The worldbuilding was so interesting and unique. Obviously, King Arthur is nothing new in fantasy, but how the legend was interpreted in this book, and how Deonn mixed it with other magical traditions was just so cool. I can't wait to explore this world more in the next book.
  • I loved Bree as a protagonist. She is strong, smart, brave, and experiences a lot of growth through the story.
  • The supporting characters in this world were really well done, no one felt one-dimensional or shallow or just there to forward a plot point. Diversity was also effortlessly blended in.

Here are some of the things I didn't like as much:
  • The worldbuilding. Notice it is on both lists? There is a LOT going on in Legendborn. You have barely started to get the hand of one new worldbuilding element before five others are tacked on. And while I appreciated all the elements on their own, this book tended to be quite info-dumpy and messy in places. To me, it seemed that the execution was a little off here.
  • The speed with which romance happens in YA books (or regular romance for that matter) bothers me.   There is actually some justification given for this in the story, but I have always rolled my eyes at insta-love or anything that comes close. I've just always been a cynic at heart I suppose! This is more a personal opinion and I did not factor this into my star rating for this book.

Overall would highly recommend Legendborn and I'll probably be nagging my friends and family to read this one for a while.
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First Comes Like by Alisha Rai

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funny lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

Just to preface this review: I am not a romance reader generally. Syrupy-sweet dialogue makes me cringe and having an audiobook read sex scenes aloud to me was a little more than my lil ace heart could take. So there were definitely portions of this book that I was just the wrong audience for. That being said, this book was cute. I have not read the rest of Alisha Rai's Modern Love series, but you definitely don't need to to pick up First Comes Like. Overall this was a solid three stars for me. Jia and Dev are adorable together, if the expression of romance itself was a little cliche. 

Here are a few things that I did like:
  • Jia and Dev handle their own professional problems outside of the relationship. I like me some independent characters and it was refreshing that their love interest was not the magical key to solve every problem. They both face some career obstacles in this book, and they figure things out on their own with some healthy emotional support from their partner - which I believe is part of a healthy relationship.
  • Jia experiences character growth in a way that is near and dear to my heart: beginning the journey of learning how to not care what other people think of you. It was so sad to see how Jia had internalized some criticism and how it was affecting her self-confidence and sense of self-worth. So a nice touch to have that addressed in the story.
  • How the characters' background and cultures influenced the romance. Jia is a practicing Muslim and Dev is the grandson of Bollywood royalty. The expectations of their families and Dev's fanbase play very heavily into the story and how the characters, especially Jia, navigate their relationship. 
  • Dev's relationship with his niece: just so sweet.

Some things I did not like:
  • Just a pet peeve of mine when the problems within a romance relationship come from lack of communication. I understand many people do not communicate well lol but I just want them to tALK TO EACH OTHER.
  • Not a huge fan that Dev has many random thoughts throughout the story that reflect diet culture (having to 'earn' a cookie with exercise, avoiding 'fattening' foods, not eating dinner, etc.) but are not addressed later. Obviously Dev is an actor and this comes with huge pressures to maintain a very particular physical appearance, so it makes total sense that he would have these thoughts. However, we are just left with those and no larger condemnation of diet culture or personal growth past these harmful behaviors.
  • There are justifications for why the romance moved so quickly, but I always just cringe when characters are ready to launch the ship after two days. That is more a personal problem than any sort of reflection on this book.

Would definitely recommend this book if you are looking for a light contemporary romance that features a diverse female and male lead who I believe (this is NOT an own voices review, so I may be wrong) are treated sensitively. Be advised, if you are looking for something extra *spicy*, this book may not fit the bill for you.
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We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

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funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

4.75

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Stakes Is High: Life After the American Dream by Mychal Denzel Smith

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hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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We Are the Weather: Saving the Planet Begins at Breakfast by Jonathan Safran Foer

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challenging dark informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

5.0

This is one of the best books I've ever read. It was not at all what I was expecting. I thought this was going to be like documentaries I have watched on climate change or industrial animal agriculture where there are a lot of hard facts and some emotional appeals. This book had those, too, but it was also philosophical, an inner journey of the author trying to understand his own apathy over something he knows definitively is an existential threat.  This was an emotional one for me because it hit so close to home, perfectly articulating the cognitive dissonance of knowing you can, in fact, do something to halt climate change and yet...not doing what is necessary. This set of essays (I hesitate to use narrative for the whole) tips back and forth between despair and hope and leaves you only with the knowledge that we can only do this collectively. I just finished this today so my thoughts are still scattered, but I will be reading through a second time and may be able to update this review with more. However, what I can say is that I will be recommending this to everyone I know.
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The Nordic Theory of Everything: In Search of a Better Life by Anu Partanen

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challenging informative inspiring slow-paced

4.25

I think we've all heard in recent years that Norway or Denmark or Sweden were some of the best places on earth to live. It has nothing to do with the weather, which in the winter is probably undesirable to most, but due to the high quality of education, healthcare, and overall happiness of the populations. You may notice these are all Nordic countries, but why??

As an American with only the foggiest of understandings of how Nordic nations operate, I found Partanen's book to be extremely informative. Inspired her own discoveries after moving to New York from Finland, Partanen has constructed a fascinating narrative illuminating the differences between the US and Nordic countries when it comes to everything from childcare to retirement - and frankly the US has quite a bit of catching up to do if it wants to offer every citizen a high quality of life.

The book was repetitive in places, and there were points where my interest flagged, though I was listening to an audiobook and that is more common for me in that format. Overall I found this to be very engaging even when addressing topics that normally put me to sleep (taxes I am looking at you). I would highly recommend if you are interested in learning more about how Nordic countries operate, the answers may surprise you.