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highleyginger's reviews
66 reviews
Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Don't read this book before reading Fourth Wing, you'll miss some major plot points.
Not sure how I feel about the cliffhanger of this book. It feels strange and hopeless. There was less conspiracy intrigue and more fighting amongst the groups, including Xaden & Violet. The lovers quarrels were taxing for me after a while even if it was understandable arguments.
I do like the lore building in this book and I'd like to see more of it now that the scribes are fully involved and the secret is out about the wyverns and venin.
Not sure how I feel about the cliffhanger of this book. It feels strange and hopeless. There was less conspiracy intrigue and more fighting amongst the groups, including Xaden & Violet. The lovers quarrels were taxing for me after a while even if it was understandable arguments.
I do like the lore building in this book and I'd like to see more of it now that the scribes are fully involved and the secret is out about the wyverns and venin.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
adventurous
challenging
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I appreciate that the autor provides trigger warnings for the book content.
Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas
dark
emotional
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? Yes
5.0
So emotional in so many ways. Literally a saga of giving everything you have and then some for an ideal and hope.
I know I'm a bit of a crybaby but I had to stop so many times because I was tearing up from all the emotions.
The strength in the bonds we have in others tethers us to the world we want to see is really a beautiful message. It's hopeful even if more than 75 % of this book is heavy as hell.
I know I'm a bit of a crybaby but I had to stop so many times because I was tearing up from all the emotions.
The strength in the bonds we have in others tethers us to the world we want to see is really a beautiful message. It's hopeful even if more than 75 % of this book is heavy as hell.
Tower of Dawn by Sarah J. Maas
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-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? It's complicated
3.5
3.5 stars
I do like that the southern content culture is essentially based off the Ottoman empire, even down to killing the siblings of the "Sultan"
An underappreciated bit of history she looped in that most don't research.
Anyway! Nesryn's story I'm here for. Chaol is still a thorn in my side... I still don't care for him but I'm glad that Irene could put him in his place but it was a pretty obvious enemies to lovers set up.
Nesryn, her story was beautiful. Reconnecting to her culture is a thread that was wonderful. Her finding her home in the culture of the people, her finding her extended family. Loved it. Chef's kiss.
Honestly, I wish the book would have been entirely her perspective. While the desert oasis find was interesting, it wasn't her level of bravery and epiphany. That was exciting and opened up a background that was slowly building but definitely more interlaced with the storyline in general.
If it was only her story, may have given in a 5 star round.
I do like that the southern content culture is essentially based off the Ottoman empire, even down to killing the siblings of the "Sultan"
An underappreciated bit of history she looped in that most don't research.
Anyway! Nesryn's story I'm here for. Chaol is still a thorn in my side... I still don't care for him but I'm glad that Irene could put him in his place but it was a pretty obvious enemies to lovers set up.
Nesryn, her story was beautiful. Reconnecting to her culture is a thread that was wonderful. Her finding her home in the culture of the people, her finding her extended family. Loved it. Chef's kiss.
Honestly, I wish the book would have been entirely her perspective. While the desert oasis find was interesting, it wasn't her level of bravery and epiphany. That was exciting and opened up a background that was slowly building but definitely more interlaced with the storyline in general.
If it was only her story, may have given in a 5 star round.
The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J. Maas
adventurous
dark
emotional
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? It's complicated
4.75
Daindreth's Sorceress by Elisabeth Wheatley
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The Way by Cary Groner
This book also contains cross species sex with Peau the raven and Cassie the cat. It's really fucking weird and honestly that almost knocked it down to 3 stars but it was a short blip that I chose to overlook because it literally made no sense and should have been cut out of the final script. My book was an advanced readers copy so it may not be in the final print if enough people complained but in the chance it is still in the book, the warning is here.
adventurous
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Firstly, thank you to S&G for the book giveaway that I received my copy from. It was a very pleasant surprise.
As the story begins, you get a strong feeling that Will has spent much of his time in this apocalyptic world, by living quiet, simply, and by reading. His mind is always running, which seems uncharacteristic of a monk type man who's been living at a Gonpa for what seems like before the mass chaos of this world, but more indicative of someone who's anxiously trying to hold onto humanity, to language, and to sense of self by holding on to every word like a walking thesaurus.
Writing letters for ghosts of his past, his loyal corvid friend Peau, and the quite persnickety Cassie the cat, are his lifelines to sanity when he often is alone on this quest to potentially give humanity hope again. Peau often "chatters" at him, leaving Will to interpret much of the communications his feathered friend. Cassie is the typical cat, most of the interactions are much like that of a cat and the owner sassing each other. He comes across the rare settlement on occasion, and manages to still find kindness in what seems to be a continually cruel world.
However, the pack of men at his heels reminds him that it's not always easy to fight the conundrum of his position, to choose between his principles or his life. Without principles, we are much like animals. (Which doesn't seem like such a bad thing considering his chosen company.) Without life, it's pretty hard to maintain your principles
The book starts on a hugh adventurous note, takes a dip in the middle but once on the road again it picks up. The ending is left up to interpretation, but it seems to show that things larger than the immediate world can guide our actions but in the end, it takes action to see reaction. This book does have the rare apocalyptic happy ending. Will gets his answers, and to some degree Sophie will get agency in choice of what answers she wants.
CONS: Half way through the book he gets Sophie and it is way too much of in common with The Last of Us plot, the sass, the love of older pop culture magazines, even down to not being able to swim, that started sapping the joy from the book. Will is a great character but Sofie is way to much like Ellie to actually soak in their interactions. It knocked me out of the book towards the middle.
She does have different aspects to her but nothing specifically sticks out but the similarities really knocked it out of a 5 star book for me.
As the story begins, you get a strong feeling that Will has spent much of his time in this apocalyptic world, by living quiet, simply, and by reading. His mind is always running, which seems uncharacteristic of a monk type man who's been living at a Gonpa for what seems like before the mass chaos of this world, but more indicative of someone who's anxiously trying to hold onto humanity, to language, and to sense of self by holding on to every word like a walking thesaurus.
Writing letters for ghosts of his past, his loyal corvid friend Peau, and the quite persnickety Cassie the cat, are his lifelines to sanity when he often is alone on this quest to potentially give humanity hope again. Peau often "chatters" at him, leaving Will to interpret much of the communications his feathered friend. Cassie is the typical cat, most of the interactions are much like that of a cat and the owner sassing each other. He comes across the rare settlement on occasion, and manages to still find kindness in what seems to be a continually cruel world.
However, the pack of men at his heels reminds him that it's not always easy to fight the conundrum of his position, to choose between his principles or his life. Without principles, we are much like animals. (Which doesn't seem like such a bad thing considering his chosen company.) Without life, it's pretty hard to maintain your principles
The book starts on a hugh adventurous note, takes a dip in the middle but once on the road again it picks up. The ending is left up to interpretation, but it seems to show that things larger than the immediate world can guide our actions but in the end, it takes action to see reaction. This book does have the rare apocalyptic happy ending. Will gets his answers, and to some degree Sophie will get agency in choice of what answers she wants.
CONS: Half way through the book he gets Sophie and it is way too much of in common with The Last of Us plot, the sass, the love of older pop culture magazines, even down to not being able to swim, that started sapping the joy from the book. Will is a great character but Sofie is way to much like Ellie to actually soak in their interactions. It knocked me out of the book towards the middle.
She does have different aspects to her but nothing specifically sticks out but the similarities really knocked it out of a 5 star book for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Death and Grief
Minor: Misogyny, Trafficking, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Alcohol
The Scary Book of Christmas Lore by Tim Rayborn
dark
informative
fast-paced
3.0
When I read the title, scary book of Christmas lore, I expected there to be the tales that were told in times of yore, but it reads more like an encyclopedia of lore, much of it bleeding into other stories, which is to be expected with old lore if you are looking at origins but it gets repetitive.
It's very informative but not as entertaining as I had hoped. I was looking for more of a collection of lore stories, with a small historical context portion for each story.
If you enjoy the historical aspects and roots of the lore, this is perfect for you. It is not much of a story book as it is an encyclopedia of Christmas lore.
It's very informative but not as entertaining as I had hoped. I was looking for more of a collection of lore stories, with a small historical context portion for each story.
If you enjoy the historical aspects and roots of the lore, this is perfect for you. It is not much of a story book as it is an encyclopedia of Christmas lore.
The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick
dark
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
2.0
There are a lot of intriguing possibilities that this book could have taken and didn't. Travel to alternate worlds, the Oracle, so much could have been done and in the end we are left with a majorly disappointing portrayal of women, which felt like he was playing into the trope of women using men or just straight up being too dumb to notice what's happening. Which is so disappointing.
The other characters seemed either obsessive or flat, so for the plot to end in a nothing sandwich after bringing forth such amazing scifi topics is a big let down.
Especially when thinking of his other works that he's done. Maybe shorter stories are where PKD really shines? This is low on my enjoyment of his works though.
The other characters seemed either obsessive or flat, so for the plot to end in a nothing sandwich after bringing forth such amazing scifi topics is a big let down.
Especially when thinking of his other works that he's done. Maybe shorter stories are where PKD really shines? This is low on my enjoyment of his works though.