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jaedia's reviews
101 reviews
The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I was a little tentative starting this one. I've heard such wonderful things but I'm not big on the mystery genre so I wasn't sure if this would hit or not. Still, hearing such wonderful things and knowing it's fantasy, when new friends in a Discord wanted to buddy read, I jumped at the chance. Buddy reads are fabulous for getting you to read those backlist books you've been putting off!
And I loved it.
So the mystery genre on its own is extremely not enough for me to stay intrigued. The mystery on offer in The Tainted Cup is great (with a couple pieces of evidence that I was screaming "IT'S STARING YOU IN THE FACE" but I don't know if I just happened to pick up on things that most would look past as irrelevant as Din did so, it fine), and really sets the ground for what I truly love here: the characters. Oh my lordy I love these characters. Dinios Kol the dyslexic engraver (picture perfect memory), assistant investigator to... Ana Dobrana the autistic Iudex investigator. This is how I read them, and UGH I love them dearly. And the mystery truly lets their brilliance shine. Ana is sassy and an absolute genius, but she remains in her rooms, blindfolded to over-stimulation. Din? Well he's a young lad fresh out of training unsure of well... anything aside from his dedication to the Khanum empire and his role. What a precious bean. The side characters are great as well and .. yeah I read entirely for these guys. I wanted to know they'd all be okay!
The writing of the whole thing, too, was masterfully done. Not too purple or flowery for my fatigued brain, but did a great job of setting the tone of the Khanum empire and Din's perspective of events as he moved through the story. It really takes a great writer to manage this, create characters you can really root for, things to really hate, and present a mystery intriguing and surprising. With a backdrop of more that doesn't overshadow the main plot, despite being SUPER interesting.
I just had a great time reading The Tainted Cup and I'm so happy book two comes out in like, 2 days! So I don't have to wait forever for more. I'm currently attempting to push this on my husband because I'm sure he will adore this. And if you're unsure like I was, I highly encourage you to give it a go! Unless you KNOW you despise mysteries, corruption in power systems, single-perspective narration, and/or body horror/dead bodies are a major trigger for you. 'Cus of course, not everything is for everyone. But this one sure is for a lot of people!
Bring on A Drop of Corruption.
And I loved it.
So the mystery genre on its own is extremely not enough for me to stay intrigued. The mystery on offer in The Tainted Cup is great (with a couple pieces of evidence that I was screaming "IT'S STARING YOU IN THE FACE" but I don't know if I just happened to pick up on things that most would look past as irrelevant as Din did so, it fine), and really sets the ground for what I truly love here: the characters. Oh my lordy I love these characters. Dinios Kol the dyslexic engraver (picture perfect memory), assistant investigator to... Ana Dobrana the autistic Iudex investigator. This is how I read them, and UGH I love them dearly. And the mystery truly lets their brilliance shine. Ana is sassy and an absolute genius, but she remains in her rooms, blindfolded to over-stimulation. Din? Well he's a young lad fresh out of training unsure of well... anything aside from his dedication to the Khanum empire and his role. What a precious bean. The side characters are great as well and .. yeah I read entirely for these guys. I wanted to know they'd all be okay!
The writing of the whole thing, too, was masterfully done. Not too purple or flowery for my fatigued brain, but did a great job of setting the tone of the Khanum empire and Din's perspective of events as he moved through the story. It really takes a great writer to manage this, create characters you can really root for, things to really hate, and present a mystery intriguing and surprising. With a backdrop of more that doesn't overshadow the main plot, despite being SUPER interesting.
I just had a great time reading The Tainted Cup and I'm so happy book two comes out in like, 2 days! So I don't have to wait forever for more. I'm currently attempting to push this on my husband because I'm sure he will adore this. And if you're unsure like I was, I highly encourage you to give it a go! Unless you KNOW you despise mysteries, corruption in power systems, single-perspective narration, and/or body horror/dead bodies are a major trigger for you. 'Cus of course, not everything is for everyone. But this one sure is for a lot of people!
Bring on A Drop of Corruption.
Edgedancer by Brandon Sanderson
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I wasn't sure if I'd be into this novella and have been putting it off for a few months because I hated Lift's chapter in Words of Radiance. Not generally a fan of child protagonists and she was annoying, it felt too silly and quirky for my tastes, so a whole novella? Oh boy. But I'm determined not to skip things, especially with Stormlight, and I'm real glad I didn't!
Edgedancer is definitely a must read once you're done with Words of Radiance. Lift is such an interesting character in this and it gives you a look into the western side of Roshar, Azir and Tashikk, aaaand offers some VITAL background for main series lore!
I am so surprised I loved this so much, snd here i am, feet kicky giddy. The lore reveals and extra development for the world and story here was frankly off the charts and feels kinda vital! I can't imagine missing out on this one and then continuing into Oathrbinger.
So yeeah, Stormlight friendos, don't skip the side novellas! So worthwhile.
Edgedancer is definitely a must read once you're done with Words of Radiance. Lift is such an interesting character in this and it gives you a look into the western side of Roshar, Azir and Tashikk, aaaand offers some VITAL background for main series lore!
I am so surprised I loved this so much, snd here i am, feet kicky giddy. The lore reveals and extra development for the world and story here was frankly off the charts and feels kinda vital! I can't imagine missing out on this one and then continuing into Oathrbinger.
So yeeah, Stormlight friendos, don't skip the side novellas! So worthwhile.
A Palace Near the Wind by Ai Jiang
challenging
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
A Palace Near the Wind is a decent enough read, but I had a lot of struggles with it, personally. As such I think my rating is more of a 2.5 or 2.75, but I've rounded up for this one as there were pieces of it I enjoyed.
Once I worked out the dreamy prose style, it was easier to feel somewhat immersed. The overall atmosphere was pretty ethereal, like a living dream, which in some parts was nice but for the entire novella I felt it lost a lot of depth. The story began very much like a Fern Gully or Pocahontas and around midway it gets a little more Black Mirror, a lot more sci-fi than you're led to believe at first. Which while interesting and I think was done okay, definitely felt a little odd, tonally.
This is where I had the most trouble: as the dreamy quality of the prose wasn't immediately clear to me, everything felt a little lacking in depth. I couldn't get hold of a scale, stakes, much of anything. I think the author was going for the vibe of this is just how Lufeng sees the world, right? But it came across like a fairy tale written for young adults. Very little depth, a little bombastic with it's style in areas with characters and settings that felt cartoonish, and very hard to grapple onto. You really have to give yourself into the dreamy quality for this one. It's very strange.
The characters felt too flat for me, though colourful. A little like 2d animation or a comic book.
The pacing of the story was okay, though it lacked in areas. We're told months pass and very little happens and then everything happens, and then very little again. It felt odd. There were so many points where I just wanted more depth (apologies to keep repeating myself but this really is the sticking point for me, sadly). I wanted to see Lufeng working through her plans, connecting with others, but it just never quite goes there and that made it so difficult to connect to the story and what was going on. Sadly. Because there's a really solid story and world in here, beautiful, even, I just couldn't get invested like I wanted to.
Things just feel too unclear. I could grasp that her plans were flawed because she had no prior experience with needing to act calculated and murderous, or education or information about how things are and what's really going on, but that was a deduction I made, it's not made that clear in the writing. The characters do act the way I'd expect them to act, (except for the mysterious teleporting jade necklace at the end), but yeah it's just... disappointing.
Overall I didn't love this one the way I hoped I would. The concept is incredible, there's a world in here I could really latch onto, and it is beautiful and ethereal, certainly sad, but sadly it reads too young for my personal tastes and it lacks in the depth I like in my books. There certainly is depth here, I'm not saying it's entirely lacking, I wouldn't have been able to finish if there was none, but it just didn't do what I need a book to do. The 'promise' wasn't there to connect to the 'progress', and the 'payoff' never felt like it made it.
I do think if you're down for a Fern Gully meets 1984 (how up-to-date are my references!) young adult dreamy science-fantasy with a lot of elemental magic trying to survive in a world that wants to crush and use them for its own means, you might love this one, but it wasn't quite for me.
Once I worked out the dreamy prose style, it was easier to feel somewhat immersed. The overall atmosphere was pretty ethereal, like a living dream, which in some parts was nice but for the entire novella I felt it lost a lot of depth. The story began very much like a Fern Gully or Pocahontas and around midway it gets a little more Black Mirror, a lot more sci-fi than you're led to believe at first. Which while interesting and I think was done okay, definitely felt a little odd, tonally.
This is where I had the most trouble: as the dreamy quality of the prose wasn't immediately clear to me, everything felt a little lacking in depth. I couldn't get hold of a scale, stakes, much of anything. I think the author was going for the vibe of this is just how Lufeng sees the world, right? But it came across like a fairy tale written for young adults. Very little depth, a little bombastic with it's style in areas with characters and settings that felt cartoonish, and very hard to grapple onto. You really have to give yourself into the dreamy quality for this one. It's very strange.
The characters felt too flat for me, though colourful. A little like 2d animation or a comic book.
The pacing of the story was okay, though it lacked in areas. We're told months pass and very little happens and then everything happens, and then very little again. It felt odd. There were so many points where I just wanted more depth (apologies to keep repeating myself but this really is the sticking point for me, sadly). I wanted to see Lufeng working through her plans, connecting with others, but it just never quite goes there and that made it so difficult to connect to the story and what was going on. Sadly. Because there's a really solid story and world in here, beautiful, even, I just couldn't get invested like I wanted to.
Things just feel too unclear. I could grasp that her plans were flawed because she had no prior experience with needing to act calculated and murderous, or education or information about how things are and what's really going on, but that was a deduction I made, it's not made that clear in the writing. The characters do act the way I'd expect them to act, (except for the mysterious teleporting jade necklace at the end), but yeah it's just... disappointing.
Overall I didn't love this one the way I hoped I would. The concept is incredible, there's a world in here I could really latch onto, and it is beautiful and ethereal, certainly sad, but sadly it reads too young for my personal tastes and it lacks in the depth I like in my books. There certainly is depth here, I'm not saying it's entirely lacking, I wouldn't have been able to finish if there was none, but it just didn't do what I need a book to do. The 'promise' wasn't there to connect to the 'progress', and the 'payoff' never felt like it made it.
I do think if you're down for a Fern Gully meets 1984 (how up-to-date are my references!) young adult dreamy science-fantasy with a lot of elemental magic trying to survive in a world that wants to crush and use them for its own means, you might love this one, but it wasn't quite for me.
A Song of Legends Lost by M.H. Ayinde
adventurous
dark
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-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? It's complicated
5.0
Now this was great! I went in with no expectations, honestly, I just knew it sounded neat when I first preordered it (I try to preorder the most intriguing fantasy/horror books throughout the year, within my budget of course) so when I requested it on NetGalley I just knew it was on my preorder list. Well anyway, allow me to offer you some quick expectations: A Song of Legends Lost is the first in a new epic fantasy trilogy by British author M.H. Ayinde. This is very West-African inspired (with a bit of a mix! I certainly noticed a little Indian culture in areas), it's a multi-POV story with four parts, and each character offers the story something different.
This is a world with a lost people, the Scathed, wiped out millenia ago by their own creations: the greybloods. These are kind of mechanical people, made out of the cursed techwork people are told to keep away from, and humanity has been at war with them for as long as they can remember. Here in the Nine Lands, humans are ruled over by the Royal Ahiki clan, the golden clan with golden eyes painful to look upon. And within this world, only those called upon through specialised rituals within the Nine Clans can invoke their ancestors, a power used to defend against the attacking greyblood armies. Only... Temi begins hearing a voice in her mind, somebody who is not her ancestor, and the ancestors turn away from those who do not use the gifts they are given. Sounds good right?
So we've got a kind of arcane techwork that must be "cleansed" by a Royal Monk, it is forbidden for anybody but them to touch it as it is allegedly cursed. There are ... oh there are just so many moving parts to this book I couldn't even begin to explain it to you, just trust me. Each perspective moves the story along in its own way, and by the end paints a whole picture, and the way everything comes together, man, I couldn't stop reading. I have read the most I've read all year so far over the past 3 days because of this book. It's so unique, complex in a very good and satisfying way, and I loved all the characters. I wish I could dive right into the next book! But I will have to be patient.
I can however urge you to consider checking this one out! Especially if you're looking for queernormative epic fantasy written by an amazing black woman. It releases on the 8th April 2025, and I cannot wait to see how the rest of this trilogy pans out and yes I was naughty and went off and preordered the special edition from Goldsboro Books. Hey I may want to revisit this one, may as well do it in style, right?
This is a world with a lost people, the Scathed, wiped out millenia ago by their own creations: the greybloods. These are kind of mechanical people, made out of the cursed techwork people are told to keep away from, and humanity has been at war with them for as long as they can remember. Here in the Nine Lands, humans are ruled over by the Royal Ahiki clan, the golden clan with golden eyes painful to look upon. And within this world, only those called upon through specialised rituals within the Nine Clans can invoke their ancestors, a power used to defend against the attacking greyblood armies. Only... Temi begins hearing a voice in her mind, somebody who is not her ancestor, and the ancestors turn away from those who do not use the gifts they are given. Sounds good right?
So we've got a kind of arcane techwork that must be "cleansed" by a Royal Monk, it is forbidden for anybody but them to touch it as it is allegedly cursed. There are ... oh there are just so many moving parts to this book I couldn't even begin to explain it to you, just trust me. Each perspective moves the story along in its own way, and by the end paints a whole picture, and the way everything comes together, man, I couldn't stop reading. I have read the most I've read all year so far over the past 3 days because of this book. It's so unique, complex in a very good and satisfying way, and I loved all the characters. I wish I could dive right into the next book! But I will have to be patient.
I can however urge you to consider checking this one out! Especially if you're looking for queernormative epic fantasy written by an amazing black woman. It releases on the 8th April 2025, and I cannot wait to see how the rest of this trilogy pans out and yes I was naughty and went off and preordered the special edition from Goldsboro Books. Hey I may want to revisit this one, may as well do it in style, right?
Dragonfly Falling by Adrian Tchaikovsky
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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
The Watchers by A.M. Shine
Did not finish book. Stopped at 53%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 53%.
The characters were wooden, the narrator was boring, and while I was mildly intrigued by the Watchers themselves, I didn't care what was going on, why, or how. Just bored.
The Dead Cat Tail Assassins by P. Djèlí Clark
adventurous
funny
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Classism
Minor: Gore, Torture
Sea of Souls by N.C. Scrimgeour
Did not finish book. Stopped at 40%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 40%.
Great worldbuilding, magic and lore, plot, and prose sadly let down by poor execution of tension, character actions, and a couple odd writing devices.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Xenophobia, Death of parent
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Blood, Abandonment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail
Shattered Spirits: The Fall of Ishcairn by Cal Black
adventurous
dark
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Genocide, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, War
Minor: Gore, Self harm, Blood, Vomit, Medical content
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Suicide, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, Alcohol