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justabookishreader's reviews
157 reviews
Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth
I've read her novels in admittedly, a bit of an odd order. I believe many that stayed reading her novels after the conclusion of the Divergent books likely then read this duology, and then moved onto her adult books. I of course started with Divergent in 2012 at eleven years old (will be doing a reread in the near future), read the whole series, and then while I owned both Carve the Mark and The Fates Divide, I didn't read either of them. The next book I read was her debut Adult novel: The Chosen Ones, then the rest of her adult books that I knew about, and now we're here.
I think that had I read this when I initially got it, at 16 years old, I would not have enjoyed it or appreciated it as much as I did. The morally grey character that Cyra is, nor the layers and political conversations and complexity. At that age I had yet to read a single space opera. Now, in 2023, I've read one adult space opera stand alone, (Some Desperate Glory) and while there are always differences between any two novels, in any given genre or sub-genre, there is a reason that space operas are their own sub-genre of the overarching Science Fiction genre. In that way, I knew a little bit of what I could expect to see, so I wasn't going in truly blind.
This novel expertly combined both first and third person perspectives, depending on the character. While I don't know why Veronica Roth chose to give Cyra a first person perspective, and Akos a third person perspective (it could be as simple as it being easier for her to write in the male perspective if writing from a distance, or there could be a deeper reason that is unknown), this felt like the perfect balance of being pulled in close to Cyra for a set amount of pages, then switching over to the more distantly written chapters in Akos' perspective. Cyra's chapters feel more personable, casual, whereas Akos' almost seem more mature and somewhat more professional and certainly closed off.
Unsurprisingly, there are a handful of witty and laugh-out-loud lines. In the Divergent series, one of my favorites was in Insurgent: "'Got that gun?' Peter says to Tobias. 'No,' says Tobias. 'I figured I would shoot the bullets out of my nostrils, so I left it upstairs,'" and again in Chosen Ones: "'Indoor voices, please,' Sloane called out. 'Slo's gonna vom.' 'And what? If we're too loud we'll miss it?' Ines said, raising an eyebrow. 'Yes,' Sloan said. 'I require an audience.'" So thankfully Carve the Mark is not an exception to the witty one liners with my favorite being:
"'Was he actually a child, or did he just sort of appear one day as a fully grown adult, full of angst?'"
With an interesting blend of fantasy-esque elements in a space opera science fiction novel, I was hooked by the immediate non-info dumping world building and stayed for everything else. I truly look forward to picking up The Fates Divide in April.
3.75
I've read her novels in admittedly, a bit of an odd order. I believe many that stayed reading her novels after the conclusion of the Divergent books likely then read this duology, and then moved onto her adult books. I of course started with Divergent in 2012 at eleven years old (will be doing a reread in the near future), read the whole series, and then while I owned both Carve the Mark and The Fates Divide, I didn't read either of them. The next book I read was her debut Adult novel: The Chosen Ones, then the rest of her adult books that I knew about, and now we're here.
I think that had I read this when I initially got it, at 16 years old, I would not have enjoyed it or appreciated it as much as I did. The morally grey character that Cyra is, nor the layers and political conversations and complexity. At that age I had yet to read a single space opera. Now, in 2023, I've read one adult space opera stand alone, (Some Desperate Glory) and while there are always differences between any two novels, in any given genre or sub-genre, there is a reason that space operas are their own sub-genre of the overarching Science Fiction genre. In that way, I knew a little bit of what I could expect to see, so I wasn't going in truly blind.
This novel expertly combined both first and third person perspectives, depending on the character. While I don't know why Veronica Roth chose to give Cyra a first person perspective, and Akos a third person perspective (it could be as simple as it being easier for her to write in the male perspective if writing from a distance, or there could be a deeper reason that is unknown), this felt like the perfect balance of being pulled in close to Cyra for a set amount of pages, then switching over to the more distantly written chapters in Akos' perspective. Cyra's chapters feel more personable, casual, whereas Akos' almost seem more mature and somewhat more professional and certainly closed off.
Unsurprisingly, there are a handful of witty and laugh-out-loud lines. In the Divergent series, one of my favorites was in Insurgent: "'Got that gun?' Peter says to Tobias. 'No,' says Tobias. 'I figured I would shoot the bullets out of my nostrils, so I left it upstairs,'" and again in Chosen Ones: "'Indoor voices, please,' Sloane called out. 'Slo's gonna vom.' 'And what? If we're too loud we'll miss it?' Ines said, raising an eyebrow. 'Yes,' Sloan said. 'I require an audience.'" So thankfully Carve the Mark is not an exception to the witty one liners with my favorite being:
"'Was he actually a child, or did he just sort of appear one day as a fully grown adult, full of angst?'"
With an interesting blend of fantasy-esque elements in a space opera science fiction novel, I was hooked by the immediate non-info dumping world building and stayed for everything else. I truly look forward to picking up The Fates Divide in April.
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
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? No
5.0
I don't even know what to say. This is such a delightful book, it truly is. I honestly fear I have become a broken record (or soon will have become one) when it comes to my rereads of Gail Carson Levine's magical work, as I feel that there is something to gain in each and every reading of this brilliant novel, no matter your age.
My own parents likely would have adored Lucinda's gift of obedience. That was one thing I could not stop thinking about the entire time I was rereading it. The father was awful - tantamount to an ogre himself, and I will forever be disappointed in how the film botched virtually every single thing about this brilliant and original piece of fiction and masterful storytelling.
Who knows, maybe someday we'll get a second attempt at an adaptation, but for now I'm content with pretending it has no connection to the book, because the book is too good for such a horrible film to be in connection with it. (No offense to the lovely Anne Hathaway and the talented Hugh Dancy, but truly this was just a perversion of spectacular fiction)
Anyway, this novel deserves every award known to the publishing world - including the Newberry that it was bestowed so early on. If I should be lucky enough to have children of my own someday (whether birthed or adopted) this shall be the first book I ever read aloud to them.
My own parents likely would have adored Lucinda's gift of obedience. That was one thing I could not stop thinking about the entire time I was rereading it. The father was awful - tantamount to an ogre himself, and I will forever be disappointed in how the film botched virtually every single thing about this brilliant and original piece of fiction and masterful storytelling.
Who knows, maybe someday we'll get a second attempt at an adaptation, but for now I'm content with pretending it has no connection to the book, because the book is too good for such a horrible film to be in connection with it. (No offense to the lovely Anne Hathaway and the talented Hugh Dancy, but truly this was just a perversion of spectacular fiction)
Anyway, this novel deserves every award known to the publishing world - including the Newberry that it was bestowed so early on. If I should be lucky enough to have children of my own someday (whether birthed or adopted) this shall be the first book I ever read aloud to them.
Because You Love to Hate Me: 13 Tales of Villainy by Amerie
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-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? No
3.5
This anthology was.... ok. I really wish I could have enjoyed each of the stories but I will specify which ones I really enjoyed and wanted more of:
Death Knell by Victoria Schwab
Marigold by Samantha Shannon
Indigo and Shade by April Genevive Tucholke
Everything else was fine or I strongly disliked. Funnily enough I've only read (well specifically listened to) one book of Victoria Schwab's and have yet to read either of the remaining authors on this small list.
I was surprised it took me so long to catch onto the fact that Indigo and Shade was a Gaston's POV Beauty and the Beast story and was even more surprised to nearly find myself crying at the end of the story. Marigold was just the kind of story I love and I found it hauntingly beautiful and brilliant at the same time. Death Knell was honestly simply fascinating.
If I were reviewing this book based on these three stories alone, five stars. But alas, I'm reviewing ten others alongside them and these were the ones that stood out.
Death Knell by Victoria Schwab
Marigold by Samantha Shannon
Indigo and Shade by April Genevive Tucholke
Everything else was fine or I strongly disliked. Funnily enough I've only read (well specifically listened to) one book of Victoria Schwab's and have yet to read either of the remaining authors on this small list.
I was surprised it took me so long to catch onto the fact that Indigo and Shade was a Gaston's POV Beauty and the Beast story and was even more surprised to nearly find myself crying at the end of the story. Marigold was just the kind of story I love and I found it hauntingly beautiful and brilliant at the same time. Death Knell was honestly simply fascinating.
If I were reviewing this book based on these three stories alone, five stars. But alas, I'm reviewing ten others alongside them and these were the ones that stood out.
One Dark Throne by Kendare Blake
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic by Leigh Bardugo
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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? No
4.5
A fantastical collection of short stories rooted in the grishaverse, each with its own further roots in distinct countries from the fictional world, some stories are longer than they needed to be but most are just the perfect length. Either way, this Grishaverse anthology is a perfect way to showcase more details from within the world of the Grisha, almost acting as a sort of world building supplement to the rest of the series, ever-so perfectly.
An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
So, to start, I still can't believe this was her debut?! I even made an entire twitter account because I loved so many quotes from this book - so I can tweet out quotes I love from the books I read. I. The emotions folks. A lot of my review is gonna be based on my annotations throughout reading! And I suppose I'll be jumping all over the place with my review. The ending. That ending. Ugh I loved it. I'm so shocked to say that I like this book even better than the first beauty and the beast retelling I'd ever read - which was my favorite until now - which is Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge (although it is a very close second). I'm sad that I have to wait til 2023 for another book from this magical author! I find it amazing how for a debut, the author was able to so perfectly describe the world from the characters eyes - from her hobbies - using the vocabulary in painting and artistry to describe her surroundings among other things. Also random ass theory/idea - fair folk/fae/fairies are just magical autistic people. (I'm autistic myself.) I say this because there's the idea that autistic people can't lie, can't use sarcasm, and can't detect either one themselves. I am astonished at how this book magically got better and better the longer I read it and I was in awe the entire time, and still am. Anyway I highly recommend this book to any and all of my goodreads friends and anyone who stumbles upon my account, and I may or may not be spending upwards of over $100 on custom funko pops of all of this author's main characters on etsy...