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307 reviews
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
1.5
This ain't it, sis.
To say I'm disappointed is an understatement. I had heard and read nothing but good things about this book. As I had seen one of it's main characters is an octopus (!) AND that it featured a murder mystery element I thought it would be right up my alley.
Apparently that wasn't the case. Not only was there very little mystery to this murder, the actual octopus BARELY features within the story. Instead, we're treated to 300 pages of either a semi-delightful old woman mourning the loss of her husband and child OR a 30 year old man-child with mummy issues. Cameron was easily my least liked character by a LARGE margin. He's introduced to us as an serial unemployed loser who IS smart, but chooses to pull the 'my mum abandoned me' card instead of taking any responsibility for his actions. Cameron ends the book with a much undeserved 'redemption' arc that barely makes it into the story.
Tova is the true main character of this story. Usually, I do love older main characters and to give the author credit, I did enjoy certain parts of Tova's story. Her battle with grief and determination not to be a burden to those around her was a relatable and something we could easily empathise with. Her overall story and eventual end to the story is a heartfelt one, if overshadowed by the rest of the schlock.
Marcellus (the octopus) had some fantastic scenes but as stated above, barely played a role in the story. It ended with me feeling as though his whole role in the story could be removed and the book would end up being no different for it.
So, yea. I almost DNF'd at multiple points but ended up reading to the end just to see how Tova and Marcellus ended up.
I would not recommend.
To say I'm disappointed is an understatement. I had heard and read nothing but good things about this book. As I had seen one of it's main characters is an octopus (!) AND that it featured a murder mystery element I thought it would be right up my alley.
Apparently that wasn't the case. Not only was there very little mystery to this murder, the actual octopus BARELY features within the story. Instead, we're treated to 300 pages of either a semi-delightful old woman mourning the loss of her husband and child OR a 30 year old man-child with mummy issues. Cameron was easily my least liked character by a LARGE margin. He's introduced to us as an serial unemployed loser who IS smart, but chooses to pull the 'my mum abandoned me' card instead of taking any responsibility for his actions. Cameron ends the book with a much undeserved 'redemption' arc that barely makes it into the story.
Tova is the true main character of this story. Usually, I do love older main characters and to give the author credit, I did enjoy certain parts of Tova's story. Her battle with grief and determination not to be a burden to those around her was a relatable and something we could easily empathise with. Her overall story and eventual end to the story is a heartfelt one, if overshadowed by the rest of the schlock.
Marcellus (the octopus) had some fantastic scenes but as stated above, barely played a role in the story. It ended with me feeling as though his whole role in the story could be removed and the book would end up being no different for it.
So, yea. I almost DNF'd at multiple points but ended up reading to the end just to see how Tova and Marcellus ended up.
I would not recommend.
The Book That Broke the World by Mark Lawrence
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
3.0
This is book 2 to The Book That Wouldn't Burn, if you don't already know. Though my review shouldn't contain spoilers it may hint at certain things.
As I said for book 1, this is another book I have very mixed feelings on. I keep feeling as though I should be enjoying more than I am. The characters, their relationships to one another, and their intertwining stories are done in such a unique and thoughtful way. There's so much to love, and so much that feels it's close to being a great series but overall book 2 just leaves me with a feeling of 'eh'.
The series over arching plot surrounding the library, it's books, and the cyclical nature of time sounds great when stripped to it's core. Sadly, this book doesn't manage to create a compelling or meaningful addition to the series. While I loved the new focus on certain characters, I found myself wondering where this was going or how it added to the plot points we'd already seen/would see more of.
In the end, the book feels as though it ends almost exactly where it started. Very little about the library itself is revealed throughout this book as well as some of the more compelling character work feels almost undone in the final few chapters. This book left me disappointed, even though I didn't have high hopes going in. I rated book 1 with 3 stars and I think I'll be rating this book the same, as the author is clearly a skilled author when it comes to characters. He just may be slightly too ambitious or unclear when it comes to world building.
As I said for book 1, this is another book I have very mixed feelings on. I keep feeling as though I should be enjoying more than I am. The characters, their relationships to one another, and their intertwining stories are done in such a unique and thoughtful way. There's so much to love, and so much that feels it's close to being a great series but overall book 2 just leaves me with a feeling of 'eh'.
The series over arching plot surrounding the library, it's books, and the cyclical nature of time sounds great when stripped to it's core. Sadly, this book doesn't manage to create a compelling or meaningful addition to the series. While I loved the new focus on certain characters, I found myself wondering where this was going or how it added to the plot points we'd already seen/would see more of.
In the end, the book feels as though it ends almost exactly where it started. Very little about the library itself is revealed throughout this book as well as some of the more compelling character work feels almost undone in the final few chapters. This book left me disappointed, even though I didn't have high hopes going in. I rated book 1 with 3 stars and I think I'll be rating this book the same, as the author is clearly a skilled author when it comes to characters. He just may be slightly too ambitious or unclear when it comes to world building.
Nice Dragons Finish Last by Rachel Aaron
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book was such a fantastic surprise. I genuinely can't stop eyeing up book 2 in shops!
I can't for the life of me remember where I heard about this book, but when a friend also had it on their TBR, we decided a buddy read was in order! I'm not sure I would have ever gotten to this book, so I'm VERY happy to have done this, buddy read.
The book follows our main character of Julius, a dragon who, unlike his siblings, sucks at being a typical dragon. At the beginning of the novel he's trust out of his comfort zone (both literally and physically) and is forced to confront the realities of a rich and unique sci-fi meets magics-return world.
To say I enjoyed this would be an understatement. Every new plot, character, and world detail we would meet I'd have to come to terms with just how well thoughtout and intriuging this world is. I felt like this book barely brushed the surface, and I'm already clammering for more.
That isn't to say that the characters aren't equally delightful to follow along. Our main characters of Julius and Marci are a treat both in their own stories and in their eventual teamwork! While this book could have easily leaned into tropey and more basic character dynamics, instead, it has a fresh and more nuanced approach to more than just our main duo.
As soon as I lift my book buying ban, I'll have my hands on book 2!!
I can't for the life of me remember where I heard about this book, but when a friend also had it on their TBR, we decided a buddy read was in order! I'm not sure I would have ever gotten to this book, so I'm VERY happy to have done this, buddy read.
The book follows our main character of Julius, a dragon who, unlike his siblings, sucks at being a typical dragon. At the beginning of the novel he's trust out of his comfort zone (both literally and physically) and is forced to confront the realities of a rich and unique sci-fi meets magics-return world.
To say I enjoyed this would be an understatement. Every new plot, character, and world detail we would meet I'd have to come to terms with just how well thoughtout and intriuging this world is. I felt like this book barely brushed the surface, and I'm already clammering for more.
That isn't to say that the characters aren't equally delightful to follow along. Our main characters of Julius and Marci are a treat both in their own stories and in their eventual teamwork! While this book could have easily leaned into tropey and more basic character dynamics, instead, it has a fresh and more nuanced approach to more than just our main duo.
As soon as I lift my book buying ban, I'll have my hands on book 2!!
The Will of the Many by James Islington
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
4.5
This is an author I've been meaning to read for a while now. When I saw this, his most recent release, being so highly regarded (and with such a gorgeous cover) I decided 'ah, what the hell?' and reserved a copy from my library without reading much else into it.
God, am I glad I did! I had a FANTASTIC time with this book. I had practically no clue what it was about going in so reading the first chapter and having our author set up not only the character motivations, world, but magic system with 0 info dumping had me HOOKED. Even then, I didn't want to get myself too hyped up over a good first chapter... except for the fact that I loved pretty much every other chapters too.
This book has over 700 pages but they breezed by as I got more and more into the story, the mystery, the characters. I'm so happy to say that, while I loved Vis, the secondary characters are no less intriguing or fun to follow. This book takes place from first person POV, and while I know some readers don't enjoy that format, I had no qualms with it here. If anything, it lent perfectly into the character Vis' lies and motives throughout the book. He's a smart and intuitive main character but never felt unenjoyably so.
The world and the story is fantastic. This story takes place in a post-catalytic roman-inspired world with what is one of my favourite tropes: lost artefacts. I am very happy we get to see various locations and classes (and their treatment) throughout the Hierarchy. This gives us a wider breadth of knowledge of both the world and our characters struggles which is something I loved.
I'd love to say I understand everything we were shown, especially with that final epilogue, yet I remain blissfully confounded. I cannot wait for book 2!!
God, am I glad I did! I had a FANTASTIC time with this book. I had practically no clue what it was about going in so reading the first chapter and having our author set up not only the character motivations, world, but magic system with 0 info dumping had me HOOKED. Even then, I didn't want to get myself too hyped up over a good first chapter... except for the fact that I loved pretty much every other chapters too.
This book has over 700 pages but they breezed by as I got more and more into the story, the mystery, the characters. I'm so happy to say that, while I loved Vis, the secondary characters are no less intriguing or fun to follow. This book takes place from first person POV, and while I know some readers don't enjoy that format, I had no qualms with it here. If anything, it lent perfectly into the character Vis' lies and motives throughout the book. He's a smart and intuitive main character but never felt unenjoyably so.
The world and the story is fantastic. This story takes place in a post-catalytic roman-inspired world with what is one of my favourite tropes: lost artefacts. I am very happy we get to see various locations and classes (and their treatment) throughout the Hierarchy. This gives us a wider breadth of knowledge of both the world and our characters struggles which is something I loved.
I'd love to say I understand everything we were shown, especially with that final epilogue, yet I remain blissfully confounded. I cannot wait for book 2!!
When We Cease to Understand the World by Benjamín Labatut
informative
reflective
3.0
This is another book I read for Storygraph Reads the World Challenge, another surprisingly enjoyable book to listen to (I had the audiobook version).
When We Cease to Understand the World takes a look at various major scientific discoveries throughout the years and builds up both context and characters surrounding their forming. It deals heavily in the fine line between genius and madness while adding fictional elements (based on the knowledge we have) around the scientists involved.
Overall, I love science-based books. This one especially deals with very complex scientific descriptions, which I didn't always understand, but appreciated that the books author clearly understood more than I did and didn't dumb it down. I felt a lot of the bits I struggled to understand only added to the themes presented throughout the book. While some of the later stories I did not enjoy as much, the general premise of the novel was one I immensely enjoyed.
When We Cease to Understand the World takes a look at various major scientific discoveries throughout the years and builds up both context and characters surrounding their forming. It deals heavily in the fine line between genius and madness while adding fictional elements (based on the knowledge we have) around the scientists involved.
Overall, I love science-based books. This one especially deals with very complex scientific descriptions, which I didn't always understand, but appreciated that the books author clearly understood more than I did and didn't dumb it down. I felt a lot of the bits I struggled to understand only added to the themes presented throughout the book. While some of the later stories I did not enjoy as much, the general premise of the novel was one I immensely enjoyed.
Skin Folk by Nalo Hopkinson
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
3.75
Another choice for this years Storygraph Reads the World challenge. This pick is for the country of Jamaica.
I manged to snag the audiobook version of this from libby and found it fantastic. Each story is it's own unique but, surprisingly, realised world. I definitely found myself liking some more than others, but the over arching themes of culture, self love, and community were some of my favourite aspects. This author has a clear passion and skill when it comes to adding fantastical or sci-fi elements to her short stories. Each one managed to surprise or impress (or often both) me!
My only minor gripe (or rather personal taste) is that I didn't enjoy more sexual leaning-stories. Especially as the book ends on quite a long and particularly graphic one. But, again, this is just a personal preference and not a comment on the authors skill regarding it.
Overall a lovely collection of short stories that I mostly loved!
I manged to snag the audiobook version of this from libby and found it fantastic. Each story is it's own unique but, surprisingly, realised world. I definitely found myself liking some more than others, but the over arching themes of culture, self love, and community were some of my favourite aspects. This author has a clear passion and skill when it comes to adding fantastical or sci-fi elements to her short stories. Each one managed to surprise or impress (or often both) me!
My only minor gripe (or rather personal taste) is that I didn't enjoy more sexual leaning-stories. Especially as the book ends on quite a long and particularly graphic one. But, again, this is just a personal preference and not a comment on the authors skill regarding it.
Overall a lovely collection of short stories that I mostly loved!
The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka
slow-paced
4.0
The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida was such a surprisingly fantastic book.
I was drawn to the book, let's be real, by the gorgeous cover art initially. After reading the blurb and learning, it had both mystery and fantastical elements, it sounded like a perfect choice for my 'Storygraph Reads the World' for the country of Sri Lanka.
Shehan Karunatilaka does such an impressive job of making you care about Maali and his plight throughout the story, even when it quickly becomes apparent that Almeida isn't the most kindhearted of main characters. The rich descriptions, fantastical weaving of both mythological, after life, and real world political corruption, come together into this singularly impressive book.
While I wouldn't say I had immense joy in reading this, the topic and details the book gets into is both dark and upsetting realities of Shri Lanka's political climate at the time, I did find the book impressive.
I was drawn to the book, let's be real, by the gorgeous cover art initially. After reading the blurb and learning, it had both mystery and fantastical elements, it sounded like a perfect choice for my 'Storygraph Reads the World' for the country of Sri Lanka.
Shehan Karunatilaka does such an impressive job of making you care about Maali and his plight throughout the story, even when it quickly becomes apparent that Almeida isn't the most kindhearted of main characters. The rich descriptions, fantastical weaving of both mythological, after life, and real world political corruption, come together into this singularly impressive book.
While I wouldn't say I had immense joy in reading this, the topic and details the book gets into is both dark and upsetting realities of Shri Lanka's political climate at the time, I did find the book impressive.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Religious bigotry, and Murder
Moderate: Death and Blood
The Gathering Storm by Brandon Sanderson, Robert Jordan
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
4.75
A fantastic addition to the series!
This is the first book in the Wheel of Time series that is written by Brandon Sanderson after the untimely death of Robert Jordan. While I have immense respect for Sanderson as an author, I haven't always found myself enjoying his method of writing. Thankfully, all my fears were misplaced as Sanderson does not only a fantastic job of capturing the magic of Jordans writing & characters, but continuing the many interwoven stories in a natural way.
Obviously, I can't talk about any narratively specific due to spoilers but I loved this installment immensely, especially as my favourite two characters got a lot of screen (book?) time. Egwene and Rand are truly the highlights of this book, with Nyneave coming in close 2nd. Each story is given it's chance to advance, though some more than others, which ends with the book on a satisfying high ready for the next installment.
All round, this is definitely one of my favourite installments, mainly as a lot of fantastic narratives come to a satisfying culmination. I can not wait to continue with this series as I'm for SURE finishing it in 2024!
This is the first book in the Wheel of Time series that is written by Brandon Sanderson after the untimely death of Robert Jordan. While I have immense respect for Sanderson as an author, I haven't always found myself enjoying his method of writing. Thankfully, all my fears were misplaced as Sanderson does not only a fantastic job of capturing the magic of Jordans writing & characters, but continuing the many interwoven stories in a natural way.
Obviously, I can't talk about any narratively specific due to spoilers but I loved this installment immensely, especially as my favourite two characters got a lot of screen (book?) time. Egwene and Rand are truly the highlights of this book, with Nyneave coming in close 2nd. Each story is given it's chance to advance, though some more than others, which ends with the book on a satisfying high ready for the next installment.
All round, this is definitely one of my favourite installments, mainly as a lot of fantastic narratives come to a satisfying culmination. I can not wait to continue with this series as I'm for SURE finishing it in 2024!
Axiom's End by Lindsay Ellis
medium-paced
3.0
Axiom's End is Lindsay Ellis' (yes, the video essay creator) debut book which is an ambitious and unique take on first-contact set in modern day America.
I hadn't heard much about this book, other than it being compared to other media I've previously enjoyed, and that it follows a translator as a main character.
Minor Spoilers:
This book follows the main character of Cora as she takes on the role of alien translator. Instead of being a well respected and earning of her role (as I was lead to believe by the blurb), it turns out she is actually a college dropout. To say this was a disappointment was a bit of an understatement. Ellis' writing, while not offensively bad, did initially feel more juvenile than I was expecting. This fact doubled with the fact that I felt mislead on the crux of our main link to the first-contact story, did have me judging the book harsher than I should have for the first half. While Cora isn't a compelling character, the way she is written does feel refreshingly real. She doesn't go from college dropout to alien-hero. She's a young adult who spends most of the book in way over her head and I appreciated the reality of it all.
The aliens themselves are the best part of this book. It's clear Ellis has spent a lot of time and effort crafting both a unique biology, but also society that functions VASTLY different from our own. Having the creatures be so close to our understanding, only to whip that rug from underneath us with every new reveal of their culture and alien-ness was well done. Though, sadly, this also had (maybe intended) effect of confusing the hell out of me. I'd often find myself relying upon our main characters' ability to explain information we had just been presented. Otherwise, I would barely understand it. This may just be my bad reading comprehension, or it may be a debuted authors flaw with such an ambitious project.
Overall, the story was mostly anti-climatic. While I did enjoy the story by the end, I did find myself expecting more in a lot of scenes. I may continue with the series just to see how Ellis' style progresses as it has major potential!
I hadn't heard much about this book, other than it being compared to other media I've previously enjoyed, and that it follows a translator as a main character.
Minor Spoilers:
This book follows the main character of Cora as she takes on the role of alien translator. Instead of being a well respected and earning of her role (as I was lead to believe by the blurb), it turns out she is actually a college dropout. To say this was a disappointment was a bit of an understatement. Ellis' writing, while not offensively bad, did initially feel more juvenile than I was expecting. This fact doubled with the fact that I felt mislead on the crux of our main link to the first-contact story, did have me judging the book harsher than I should have for the first half. While Cora isn't a compelling character, the way she is written does feel refreshingly real. She doesn't go from college dropout to alien-hero. She's a young adult who spends most of the book in way over her head and I appreciated the reality of it all.
The aliens themselves are the best part of this book. It's clear Ellis has spent a lot of time and effort crafting both a unique biology, but also society that functions VASTLY different from our own. Having the creatures be so close to our understanding, only to whip that rug from underneath us with every new reveal of their culture and alien-ness was well done. Though, sadly, this also had (maybe intended) effect of confusing the hell out of me. I'd often find myself relying upon our main characters' ability to explain information we had just been presented. Otherwise, I would barely understand it. This may just be my bad reading comprehension, or it may be a debuted authors flaw with such an ambitious project.
Overall, the story was mostly anti-climatic. While I did enjoy the story by the end, I did find myself expecting more in a lot of scenes. I may continue with the series just to see how Ellis' style progresses as it has major potential!
Solaris by Stanisław Lem
emotional
informative
mysterious
slow-paced
3.5
Solaris is a fascinatingly horrifying read which touches on the most thought provoking aspects of humanity and what it is to be human. I both listened to the BBC audio show and then went on to listen to the full audiobook as it struck me so thoroughly. I found myself morbidly absorbed within the plight of the main characters that I was desperate for any small addition of information surrounding this world.
In brief, Solaris is about our main character visiting the research institute on the planet of Solaris. The institute itself has been built upon years of research into a mysterious alien body, an ocean covering the surface of Solaris. This is no normal ocean, but nor is it anything like humanity has ever seen before. Our main character is quickly drawn into the mystery of Solaris and the torment of researchers who have been living on Solaris for months.
I am VERY glad I went into this book almost completely blind and would recommend you do the same if my mini blurb sounds at all interesting.
Lem does a fantastic job of capturing complex and unique takes on both sci-fi and alien concepts. This book truly is like no other sci-fi I've ever read.
My one minor gripe is this book DOES get very tedious in the middle sections. While the characters themselves are fantastically done, the science and mystery surrounding Solaris' ocean is almost TOO well explained. I felt that the BBC program, while being a fraction of the length, was still able to capture most of the magic that makes up Lem's core concept. I did find myself going ''wait, the main character is STILL monologuing?!'' after a good 2 hours audio time.
Other than that, it was fascinating! Despite my low rating.
In brief, Solaris is about our main character visiting the research institute on the planet of Solaris. The institute itself has been built upon years of research into a mysterious alien body, an ocean covering the surface of Solaris. This is no normal ocean, but nor is it anything like humanity has ever seen before. Our main character is quickly drawn into the mystery of Solaris and the torment of researchers who have been living on Solaris for months.
I am VERY glad I went into this book almost completely blind and would recommend you do the same if my mini blurb sounds at all interesting.
Lem does a fantastic job of capturing complex and unique takes on both sci-fi and alien concepts. This book truly is like no other sci-fi I've ever read.
My one minor gripe is this book DOES get very tedious in the middle sections. While the characters themselves are fantastically done, the science and mystery surrounding Solaris' ocean is almost TOO well explained. I felt that the BBC program, while being a fraction of the length, was still able to capture most of the magic that makes up Lem's core concept. I did find myself going ''wait, the main character is STILL monologuing?!'' after a good 2 hours audio time.
Other than that, it was fascinating! Despite my low rating.