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halefa's reviews
192 reviews
Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman, Jay Kristoff
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
TL;DR:
- Star Trek
- Nice world building
- Interesting story
- Main characters at times very stereotypical and boring
- Language easy to read and very YA at times
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It's funny, I started watching Star Trek Deep Space Nine shortly before reading this book and thus I developed a strong theory that the author of this book was heavily influenced by Star Trek. 😁
The different roles of a squad, descriptions of the aliens, the type alien being described later in the back that even quotes a specific motto of an alien type in Star Trek (no details to avoid spoilers). I actually just watched the episode with the alien coming from a low-grav planet who needs an exosuite to move in higher gravity. A part of the ship is called "Engineering". Ships are con tantly "hailing" each other and the weapons - disruptors - can be set to either stun or kill. All very star trekky.
Overall, I enjoyed the book and am looking forward to the next. I enjoy the setting and the complex world building.
What annoyed me the most was how quickly (especially the main) characters were described in a stereotypical matter and how often that was highlighted instead of letting their personality develop and shine through through the plot and their actions. While I don't have anything against the dialogue, dialogues that only served the purpose to show people's personality felt flat, boring and forced.
Also, what's up with having a diplomat on board who's obviously a gorgeous looking woman that basically flirts with everyone. That's not what diplomacy is about.
(Also annoyed by the repetitive use of their roles and ranks - "our alpha", "my gearhead", "my ace" - but that is probably just a personal issue of mine.)
- Star Trek
- Nice world building
- Interesting story
- Main characters at times very stereotypical and boring
- Language easy to read and very YA at times
--------
It's funny, I started watching Star Trek Deep Space Nine shortly before reading this book and thus I developed a strong theory that the author of this book was heavily influenced by Star Trek. 😁
The different roles of a squad, descriptions of the aliens, the type alien being described later in the back that even quotes a specific motto of an alien type in Star Trek (no details to avoid spoilers). I actually just watched the episode with the alien coming from a low-grav planet who needs an exosuite to move in higher gravity. A part of the ship is called "Engineering". Ships are con tantly "hailing" each other and the weapons - disruptors - can be set to either stun or kill. All very star trekky.
Overall, I enjoyed the book and am looking forward to the next. I enjoy the setting and the complex world building.
What annoyed me the most was how quickly (especially the main) characters were described in a stereotypical matter and how often that was highlighted instead of letting their personality develop and shine through through the plot and their actions. While I don't have anything against the dialogue, dialogues that only served the purpose to show people's personality felt flat, boring and forced.
Also, what's up with having a diplomat on board who's obviously a gorgeous looking woman that basically flirts with everyone. That's not what diplomacy is about.
(Also annoyed by the repetitive use of their roles and ranks - "our alpha", "my gearhead", "my ace" - but that is probably just a personal issue of mine.)
Untamed: Stop Pleasing, Start Living by Glennon Doyle
challenging
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Racism, Religious bigotry, Outing, and Alcohol
The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
This was an interesting reading experience!
- 1st third of the book, I struggled.
- 2nd third of the book, I accepted it for what it was and could enjoy it somewhat.
- 3rd third of the book I struggled - when is it eeeendiiiiing?
The reason I struggled:
I expected the book to be different. It's written very much like historic chronicles. A historic text looking back at what empired and describes it in bold strokes. It's like the Silmarillion.
The narrator is kinda distanced, only roughly and generally describing how the characters how feeling and how they always immediately jump to action.
The story jumps from milestone to milestone to milestone - stuff in-between is only referenced in a single sentence. Sometimes, it feels like the author couldn't be bothered to actually describe a milestone, so a chapter starts with "Character won that easily and now two months later this is happening" - excuse me, the chapter before all was about this one thing and now you just write "won it easily"??
Every time a new character is introduced, you first get a full summary of their life until now to not keep any mystery in regards to their motivation and reasoning. Often, these characters also die pretty quickly - again you get the feeling that this is more a book describing the lifes of people involved in historic events, trying to document and log all the important parts, but less write a *story* where the reader should feel with the characters and discover and develop *with* the characters (this might be a fault of mine expecting that, though).
Also, I liked none of the characters. They're all arsehole with questionable personalities. This might be the goal of the author, which I could respect as it's more authentic - but it didn't make my reading struggle easier. 😆 Also, especially in the beginning, the descriptions and what happened to the main characters felt a bit mary-suey.
The characters are not diverse, most characters are men. One female character more towards the end sticks more out as being strong and different .
The end just drags out and out and out.
I will not be continuing the series.
- 1st third of the book, I struggled.
- 2nd third of the book, I accepted it for what it was and could enjoy it somewhat.
- 3rd third of the book I struggled - when is it eeeendiiiiing?
The reason I struggled:
I expected the book to be different. It's written very much like historic chronicles. A historic text looking back at what empired and describes it in bold strokes. It's like the Silmarillion.
The narrator is kinda distanced, only roughly and generally describing how the characters how feeling and how they always immediately jump to action.
The story jumps from milestone to milestone to milestone - stuff in-between is only referenced in a single sentence. Sometimes, it feels like the author couldn't be bothered to actually describe a milestone, so a chapter starts with "Character won that easily and now two months later this is happening" - excuse me, the chapter before all was about this one thing and now you just write "won it easily"??
Every time a new character is introduced, you first get a full summary of their life until now to not keep any mystery in regards to their motivation and reasoning. Often, these characters also die pretty quickly - again you get the feeling that this is more a book describing the lifes of people involved in historic events, trying to document and log all the important parts, but less write a *story* where the reader should feel with the characters and discover and develop *with* the characters (this might be a fault of mine expecting that, though).
Also, I liked none of the characters. They're all arsehole with questionable personalities. This might be the goal of the author, which I could respect as it's more authentic - but it didn't make my reading struggle easier. 😆 Also, especially in the beginning, the descriptions and what happened to the main characters felt a bit mary-suey.
The characters are not diverse, most characters are men. One female character more towards the end sticks more out as being strong and different .
The end just drags out and out and out.
I will not be continuing the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, and War
Minor: Drug use, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Gaslighting
Daindreth's Assassin by Elisabeth Wheatley
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Yet another YA fantasy novel with a toxic romance story. Men that can make others do whatever they want - how does that not fuck a person up and how can a person fall in love with someone who has that power over them? Stockholm Syndrome, I guess.
I was kinda fascinated by the universe and story, but when this problem was never discussed the book lost my favour.
I was kinda fascinated by the universe and story, but when this problem was never discussed the book lost my favour.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Slavery, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
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
4.75
Went in barely knowing anything and enjoying it a lot! Some parts felt rather slow, some very emotional. I have no scientific qualifications, but enjoyed the scientific discussions and reasoning anyways (I learned a about science through reading The Expanse, I wonder how much will stick from this book 😆).
I also enjoyed the character's humour and the focus on details.
If I were to put a finger on something, I'd say that memories probably wouldn't come back in chronological order but totally random and crazy which would make the storytelling much harder, though. But sometimes I was mildly annoyed about those memories and how they were always relevant and perfect.
I also enjoyed the character's humour and the focus on details.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement and Abandonment
Minor: Death, Emotional abuse, Medical content, and Grief
The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Overall, I kinda liked the book. However, i would split it in two: I definitely liked the first half more than the second half, and the end dragged out a bit in my eyes.
I enjoyed the setting, even though the correct Spanish pronunciations if Spanish words in the studio book did throw me out quite a bit on the beginning and it took me a while to consistently map names to characters.
I did not hate the main character, but she was also not the most fascinating main character I've ever read. She reminded me of Alex Stern in "Ninth House". What bothered me was how it was highlighted again and again how plain and simple and poor she is and how all society judges her, it at the same time the author highlights again and again and again how beautiful and smart and funny she is to her love interest.
Speaking of - this is my main gripe with the book. This is yet another lovestory between an immortal hundreds of years old man and a young girl, and somehow that young girl becomes the absolute world-turning love for him. It's being talked a lot about that he might be the devil and thus not suited for her, but never is the age and power gap being discussed by anyone in the story.
So overall it was an entertaining story to listen to, but nothing more.
I enjoyed the setting, even though the correct Spanish pronunciations if Spanish words in the studio book did throw me out quite a bit on the beginning and it took me a while to consistently map names to characters.
I did not hate the main character, but she was also not the most fascinating main character I've ever read. She reminded me of Alex Stern in "Ninth House". What bothered me was how it was highlighted again and again how plain and simple and poor she is and how all society judges her, it at the same time the author highlights again and again and again how beautiful and smart and funny she is to her love interest.
Speaking of - this is my main gripe with the book. This is yet another lovestory between an immortal hundreds of years old man and a young girl, and somehow that young girl becomes the absolute world-turning love for him. It's being talked a lot about that he might be the devil and thus not suited for her, but never is the age and power gap being discussed by anyone in the story.
So overall it was an entertaining story to listen to, but nothing more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Violence, Antisemitism, and Classism
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Infertility, Misogyny, and Toxic relationship
The Mercy of Gods by James S.A. Corey
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I enjoyed the narrator and audio quality is the audio book.
In my position now when I finished the book and being able to look back, I rated it higher than I probably would have at times during the reading process.
While quite a lot happens in the plot regarding time and impact of events, but the way it is written it feels rather slow. The plot is described through the eyes of different characters with a lot of focus on their thoughts and feelings and memories which can make the writing style feel slow - this actually reminds me a lot of "Station Eleven" which gave me very similar vibes even though it is a different genre.
Looking back, I am appreciative of this writing style and I think it's the preparation for upcoming books and events.
So far, there is no real hero in the story and they all have questionable character traits. However, I didn't find it very frustrating as they in my eyes aren't very annoying character traits, but felt authentic and like real humans.
Maybe a bit weird, but a big shout-out to describing the disgusting reality of a postapokalyptic life with oily hair, poop mats and menstruation hygiene. XD
In my position now when I finished the book and being able to look back, I rated it higher than I probably would have at times during the reading process.
While quite a lot happens in the plot regarding time and impact of events, but the way it is written it feels rather slow. The plot is described through the eyes of different characters with a lot of focus on their thoughts and feelings and memories which can make the writing style feel slow - this actually reminds me a lot of "Station Eleven" which gave me very similar vibes even though it is a different genre.
Looking back, I am appreciative of this writing style and I think it's the preparation for upcoming books and events.
So far, there is no real hero in the story and they all have questionable character traits. However, I didn't find it very frustrating as they in my eyes aren't very annoying character traits, but felt authentic and like real humans.
Maybe a bit weird, but a big shout-out to describing the disgusting reality of a postapokalyptic life with oily hair, poop mats and menstruation hygiene. XD
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Genocide, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, and Grief
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Xenophobia
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I started reading the book knowing absolutely nothing but the title (it was recommended to me), so oh boy were the first pages an interesting experience! 😅
Especially as I didn't know anything, it took me a while to seriously warm up. I would constantly expect one thing that I know to expect from the genre I thought this book was, only for it to not happen. In the beginning I felt a bit lost.
But looking back, I am so glad I read this book. It's very character focused and reflective and showing humans in their multi dimensions and layers with different experiences and motivations.
While the context of the book sounds like an action story, it is absolutely not! The story is about the experience of a society altering event. Even though one sometimes feels like there is a bad guy or a solution to be found, that is only a minor aspect of the book. Mainly it's about what it does to people when the world and their life siddenly changes.
Overall, I really like that.
BUT there are a few plotlines that are more of the typical action type that feel like they are important - and then they are not. They end a bit abrupt and disappointingly.
Especially as I didn't know anything, it took me a while to seriously warm up. I would constantly expect one thing that I know to expect from the genre I thought this book was, only for it to not happen. In the beginning I felt a bit lost.
But looking back, I am so glad I read this book. It's very character focused and reflective and showing humans in their multi dimensions and layers with different experiences and motivations.
While the context of the book sounds like an action story, it is absolutely not! The story is about the experience of a society altering event. Even though one sometimes feels like there is a bad guy or a solution to be found, that is only a minor aspect of the book. Mainly it's about what it does to people when the world and their life siddenly changes.
Overall, I really like that.
BUT there are a few plotlines that are more of the typical action type that feel like they are important - and then they are not. They end a bit abrupt and disappointingly.
The Will of the World by M.J. Lindemann
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I finally came around to read this book and overall quite enjoyed it.
It wasn't a book I was burning through in one session, but I happily came back to it every day for some pages. There also weren't many things that annoyed me, so definitely a recommendation from me for a good, solid fantasy book. 😁
The world building is solid, while mostly simple. The magic system is described, however maybe a bit vague at times. The story is told from different point of views and I enjoyed the diversity and depth of the characters - they're the great asset of this book!
Sometimes, time jumps a bit weirdly without it really being mentioned which can be a bit confusing if one prefers to build a solid mental timeline and then gets thrown off by a sudden mention that months have gone by after the last events.
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Review copy provided by NetGalley
It wasn't a book I was burning through in one session, but I happily came back to it every day for some pages. There also weren't many things that annoyed me, so definitely a recommendation from me for a good, solid fantasy book. 😁
The world building is solid, while mostly simple. The magic system is described, however maybe a bit vague at times. The story is told from different point of views and I enjoyed the diversity and depth of the characters - they're the great asset of this book!
Sometimes, time jumps a bit weirdly without it really being mentioned which can be a bit confusing if one prefers to build a solid mental timeline and then gets thrown off by a sudden mention that months have gone by after the last events.
------
Review copy provided by NetGalley
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Toxic relationship
Assassin's Apprentice - Illustrated Edition by Robin Hobb
adventurous
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
3.25
The first part - maybe the first 60-70% - I would give a rating of 2,5/2,75.
The second part of the book I would give a rating of 3,75/4.
The beginning of the book is an incredible slow burn.
I don't particularly enjoy stories written from children's perspective, and that might be the reason for me disliking that part so much. Unfortunately for me, the main character is a child (6-12 years old) for most of the book.
Most of the book is also focused only on that child and various things that happen to him. There is no general thread or story arc yet, and the main character is rather passive and unopioniated (I mean - he's a child!).
The second half of the book luckily picksup pace. Now a teenager, the main character makes more decisions and takes actions. Also, a general plot develops giving the world more authenticity and relevance. A generic evil shows up and different characters' agendas to deal with it are revealed.
This part was far more engaging and interesting to read.
And then there are the last couple of chapters happen where the pace quadruples and everything explodes.
Apart from being of the opinion that the book stays in the childage era for far too long, I am sad we didn't get to know more about the aspect of the story that is actually in the title: "Assassin's Apprentice".
We only get vague hints and weak side sentences once in a while about what the assassin education included and I would have wished for more details and creativity here.
(Also I don't get Chade. Really weird mentor vibe.)
I noticed that the book contained barely any positive descriptions of women and the language used to describe female characters is often heavily inspired by the idea of stereotypical medieval terms.
The second part of the book I would give a rating of 3,75/4.
The beginning of the book is an incredible slow burn.
I don't particularly enjoy stories written from children's perspective, and that might be the reason for me disliking that part so much. Unfortunately for me, the main character is a child (6-12 years old) for most of the book.
Most of the book is also focused only on that child and various things that happen to him. There is no general thread or story arc yet, and the main character is rather passive and unopioniated (I mean - he's a child!).
The second half of the book luckily picksup pace. Now a teenager, the main character makes more decisions and takes actions. Also, a general plot develops giving the world more authenticity and relevance. A generic evil shows up and different characters' agendas to deal with it are revealed.
This part was far more engaging and interesting to read.
And then there are the last couple of chapters happen where the pace quadruples and everything explodes.
Apart from being of the opinion that the book stays in the childage era for far too long, I am sad we didn't get to know more about the aspect of the story that is actually in the title: "Assassin's Apprentice".
We only get vague hints and weak side sentences once in a while about what the assassin education included and I would have wished for more details and creativity here.
(Also I don't get Chade. Really weird mentor vibe.)
I noticed that the book contained barely any positive descriptions of women and the language used to describe female characters is often heavily inspired by the idea of stereotypical medieval terms.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
Moderate: Animal death, Infertility, Grief, and Death of parent