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kathlyn's reviews
116 reviews
Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett
4.5
This was a great sequel. I continue to enjoy Emily’s character. I love seeing a scholar being a badass and utilizing her knowledge in tough situations. I also continue to love her relationship with Wendell. It’s much less creepy to see an immortal + human relationship when the human is not a naive 17 year old girl and instead is an incredibly smart and mature fully grown woman. I liked the addition of Adriane and Rose as characters. I can’t wait for the next one!
The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White
4.25
The best part of this story is the main character and the trans, autistic representation. So many lines in the book brought me to tears. The setting and plot were also interesting and kept me reading. The book is fast paced and I was able to get through it in one sitting. I do wish there had been some slower moments to allow even more focus on characters and character development. Just like the author’s other book, I felt like aspects like worldbuilding were rushed and not as well developed as I hoped. Also, just like the other book the third act was so fast, which I felt undermined the tension that built through the rest of the book. I do think the elements of gore and horror were well balanced in this book. It was just enough to really show you how scary Silas’s situation was, but it wasn’t too overwhelming to read. I will continue to read this author’s work.
The Will of the Many by James Islington
5.0
This book was so good! The story sucks you in. The author does an amazing job building the world and explaining the magic system. You learn what you need to as you need it instead of info dumps. There’s also a constant sense that so much more is going on than you're being shown. By the end of the book, I feel like I had even less of an idea of what’s happening than I did at the beginning but in a frustratingly good way. I cannot wait for the story to continue. I also really liked the MC. While I will say he doesn’t make mistakes as often as I would’ve liked, he is a really complex and interesting character. His situation seems impossible, and it was interesting to see his motivations and his approaches to problems shift as the story went on. The author also does an amazing job building tension. The last act of the book was impossible to put down.
The book also has a lot of great politicking, which I always love in a fantasy. I think the next book will have even more and I can’t wait.
The book also has a lot of great politicking, which I always love in a fantasy. I think the next book will have even more and I can’t wait.
Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie
4.0
This is a true epic sci-fi. I thought the worldbuilding was so interesting. I loved the huge scale of the universe and timeline. I thought the mechanics behind AI and the main character were super unique and intriguing. I liked One Esk as a narrator, but I do think it would be interesting to have gotten even more insight into the Justice of Toren’s point of view. I also liked the books’ take on gender. It was interesting to see how different peoples had different views on gender. I don’t know if I’ve read a book where one culture basically has no concept of gender at all. I thought that was really interesting. I also liked the Radch culture a lot. I think the big bad sci fi empires are often all written the same with every villainous, colonialist stereotype, but the Radch were complex. I thought their religion was interesting. I also liked the details about their jewelry and their social welfare system. This book was great, but it was a slow read for me. Sometimes the sentence structure was difficult to follow and all of the military positions and house titles were a lot to comprehend. I’ll definitely continue the series, but I might take a break before.
Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
5.0
This book was such a good blend of fantasy and academia vibes. I am a sucker for a book with footnotes, and I loved getting to learn so much about the faeries of this world. I loved Emily as a main character. I thought her awkwardness was so relatable to read, and I loved how she used her knowledge and cleverness to defeat beings much stronger than her. I thought her voice was really well developed. I also loved Bambleby. The romance elements were so fun to read, and I loved Emily’s reaction to everything. I hope there is more focus on the romance in the second one. This is a great wintery read as well. I can’t wait until the next one.
Dark Water Daughter by H.M. Long
4.75
This book was so good and fun to read. I thought the magic systems were so interesting, and I loved how the sinister goals of the villain were slowly revealed. I liked the elements of creepiness and gore. It was just enough for me.
The only thing that keeps me from giving the book five stars is I felt like Mary’s motivations were a little muddy sometimes. I didn’t understand why she made a lot of the decisions she did in the first half of the book, and I think it was because I didn’t learn enough about her past in the early part of the book.
I cannot wait for the next book!
The only thing that keeps me from giving the book five stars is I felt like Mary’s motivations were a little muddy sometimes. I didn’t understand why she made a lot of the decisions she did in the first half of the book, and I think it was because I didn’t learn enough about her past in the early part of the book.
I cannot wait for the next book!
Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson
4.5
This was somehow the first book I read by Brandon Sanderson. I really enjoyed it! The funny, but also endearing tone made the book feel a bit like a fairytale but it wasn’t immature. Sanderson himself cites the Princess Bride and Good Omens as inspiration, and I would say those are perfect comparisons for the vibes and tone of the book. The world itself was super interesting and original. I loved reading more about the spores and how they worked. While I enjoyed Tress’s character, the narrative style of the book made me feel a little less invested in her. I will say that I predicted the twist about Huck being Charlie. I saw it coming about 1/2 through the book, but that also meant that there was enough foreshadowing that the twist made sense. I really liked this book overall and will seek out more Sanderson books, especially these secret project ones.
The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi
4.0
This book was super compelling and a fast read. While the prose and tone of the story felt like I fantasy, I don’t know if I would classify the book as a fantasy. I wasn’t really hooked by the story until after I got to Azure’s first chapter, and the first few chapters of the book are from the Bridegroom’s perspective which I found a bit boring at first. I am not a fan of the super hot, mysterious, cryptic but sexy woman trope. But once Azure was telling most of the story and his chapters were quicker and higher in tension I was much more interested. I though the ending was super interesting. The whole book feels fantastical and magical, and I believed Indigo and Azure were accessing some sort of magic but as the end of her chapters approached you get the sinking feeling that nothing magical is happening at all. It’s super creepy and dark. It made it so hard to put the book down towards the end. I thought this book was great and will definitely seek out more by this author. Read content warnings though!