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342 reviews
The Sun and the Void by Gabriela Romero Lacruz
adventurous
dark
mysterious
2.0
I've taken a few days since finishing this book and have decided that it's a solid 2 stars (out of 5). Not terrible, but I definitely didn't connect with it as much as I hoped I would.
The book starts strong. The author introduces us to our main PoVs of Reina, an outcast who at the start of the book has been summoned by her well-known and powerful grandmother who she hasn't seen for years, and Eva, a different sort of outcast who is held at arms length by her family due to her mixed heritage giving her strange magic that the locals look upon as demonic. The world they both inhabit is post revolution so the countries and people we see are still reeling from the consequences from this tumultuous time.
The book eases us into the world, slowly introducing us to the various species, magic systems, and how they are thought of throughout the mapped world. I loved the different in flavouring to each magic system and the clearly well thought upon history to the world we're in. I enjoyed the different humanoid species and the way they're both woven into the story.
Sadly, despite all these positives I still found myself struggling to connect with any characters plight. Initially both were easy to root for but as the plot progresses and the pacing stretches it got harder to feel any meaningful affinity to either character. This also goes for their relationships between secondary characters, especially Reina. The book is constantly attempting a balancing act of nuance when it comes to impact of class division among two institutionally oppressed races within our main cast but kept only telling one side of this impact destroying all attempt at subtlety. By the end of the book, at the height of danger our characters are being put in, I couldn't find myself caring for the characters plight. Nor was the ending memorable enough for me to be interested in continuing the story.
Overall, I really did appreciate the use of a lesser known folklore to build this fantastical world upon but don't think the author quite stuck the landing in pacing or character work.
The book starts strong. The author introduces us to our main PoVs of Reina, an outcast who at the start of the book has been summoned by her well-known and powerful grandmother who she hasn't seen for years, and Eva, a different sort of outcast who is held at arms length by her family due to her mixed heritage giving her strange magic that the locals look upon as demonic. The world they both inhabit is post revolution so the countries and people we see are still reeling from the consequences from this tumultuous time.
The book eases us into the world, slowly introducing us to the various species, magic systems, and how they are thought of throughout the mapped world. I loved the different in flavouring to each magic system and the clearly well thought upon history to the world we're in. I enjoyed the different humanoid species and the way they're both woven into the story.
Sadly, despite all these positives I still found myself struggling to connect with any characters plight. Initially both were easy to root for but as the plot progresses and the pacing stretches it got harder to feel any meaningful affinity to either character. This also goes for their relationships between secondary characters, especially Reina. The book is constantly attempting a balancing act of nuance when it comes to impact of class division among two institutionally oppressed races within our main cast but kept only telling one side of this impact destroying all attempt at subtlety. By the end of the book, at the height of danger our characters are being put in, I couldn't find myself caring for the characters plight. Nor was the ending memorable enough for me to be interested in continuing the story.
Overall, I really did appreciate the use of a lesser known folklore to build this fantastical world upon but don't think the author quite stuck the landing in pacing or character work.
Towers of Midnight by Robert Jordan, Brandon Sanderson
adventurous
hopeful
3.0
This is yet another instalment to the fantastic Wheel of Time series. This book marks the 13th in the series and the 2nd book written by Brandon Sanderson.
SPOILER FREE:
While I do LOVE this series, this book definitely seemed to suffer from the 'middle book syndrome'... even though it's the 13th book! Let me explain:
So much of this book feels like build-up upon build-up, and while I found myself enjoying all the twists and turns, that's all it ended up amounting to. Storylines don't develop much further than where they stood in the last book, barring some like Matts (who, THANK GOD, finally got off his ass!). After leaving my feelings for a few weeks, I could not tell you what happened in this book, which probably means no single scene had a big impact on me.
Saying that, I did love the conclusion to the Matt storyline (I'm keeping it vague as I can not begin to explain 13 books' worth of build up) but this conclusion was long overdue. So, I am glad we finally got to see it on paper, and it gave us a pretty satisfying ending to that particular narrative. I also continue to love both Egwene and Perrin PoV chapters. I see my girls getting so much hate throughout the series, and I genuinely don't see what there is to dislike. Egwene has undergone such fantastic growth as a character over the last few books, and this book felt like the culmination of this growth. This same feeling goes towards Perrin as well. Seeing them both interact with other characters who haven't seen them since before this growth puts into perspective just how far both them and we as a reader have come.
Overall, I did really enjoy this book even if it didn't hit as hard as some of the others in the series. I'm still 1000% invested in both the characters and the narrative.
I am both scared and excited for the final book.
SPOILER FREE:
While I do LOVE this series, this book definitely seemed to suffer from the 'middle book syndrome'... even though it's the 13th book! Let me explain:
So much of this book feels like build-up upon build-up, and while I found myself enjoying all the twists and turns, that's all it ended up amounting to. Storylines don't develop much further than where they stood in the last book, barring some like Matts (who, THANK GOD, finally got off his ass!). After leaving my feelings for a few weeks, I could not tell you what happened in this book, which probably means no single scene had a big impact on me.
Saying that, I did love the conclusion to the Matt storyline (I'm keeping it vague as I can not begin to explain 13 books' worth of build up) but this conclusion was long overdue. So, I am glad we finally got to see it on paper, and it gave us a pretty satisfying ending to that particular narrative. I also continue to love both Egwene and Perrin PoV chapters. I see my girls getting so much hate throughout the series, and I genuinely don't see what there is to dislike. Egwene has undergone such fantastic growth as a character over the last few books, and this book felt like the culmination of this growth. This same feeling goes towards Perrin as well. Seeing them both interact with other characters who haven't seen them since before this growth puts into perspective just how far both them and we as a reader have come.
Overall, I did really enjoy this book even if it didn't hit as hard as some of the others in the series. I'm still 1000% invested in both the characters and the narrative.
I am both scared and excited for the final book.
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
5.0
Soooo, this is my second read of this book, and if (by some miracle) you've seen my previous review, you'd know I gave it a solid 3 stars.
BOY, do I love this on a reread. Somehow, knowing the twists and turns (and often forgetting the majority of them) let me truly enjoy the work Muir has put into this book. Rewatching Gideons and Harrows relationship develops, the world being slowly built up while still having an air of mystery to it, the magic system being barely explained yet still somehow working for me this time around.
The setting of Canaan House, an old decrepit mansion filled with locked rooms and mysterious staff who inhabit it, made for a fantastic introduction to the series. The confusion of settings, keys, murders (?!), big scary ghosts (???!!!), and whether or not Gideon can truly talk to the others made for endless entertainment.
I mostly reread this as I'm starting on book 2, but I'm more than glad I did. I pretty much regret donating my original paperback copy and may have to go out and buy a new one now that I love it. DAMN IT!!
BOY, do I love this on a reread. Somehow, knowing the twists and turns (and often forgetting the majority of them) let me truly enjoy the work Muir has put into this book. Rewatching Gideons and Harrows relationship develops, the world being slowly built up while still having an air of mystery to it, the magic system being barely explained yet still somehow working for me this time around.
The setting of Canaan House, an old decrepit mansion filled with locked rooms and mysterious staff who inhabit it, made for a fantastic introduction to the series. The confusion of settings, keys, murders (?!), big scary ghosts (???!!!), and whether or not Gideon can truly talk to the others made for endless entertainment.
I mostly reread this as I'm starting on book 2, but I'm more than glad I did. I pretty much regret donating my original paperback copy and may have to go out and buy a new one now that I love it. DAMN IT!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Murder
The Final Strife by Saara El-Arifi
dark
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
5.0
This is a book I've heard very little about before finding it for Storygraph Reads the World and found my local library had the audiobook to put on hold.
I don't know what I expected but this book was fantastic! I'm not the biggest fan of YA but not only is El-Arifi's characters enjoyable to follow, her world building, and the mystery surrounding the blood colours was marvelous. If you know anything about my reading habits, you'd know I LOVE a good world building mystery and this one had multiple going for it.
The main storyline initially seems pretty simple. The people in power are using their vast resources to further the gap between them and those weakest. Something must be done to change this. Enter stage left: Sylah. Dispite this, the author managed to make me question every twist and turn in the narrative. As soon as I felt confident I knew how this was going, El-Arifi would reveal a new piece of the puzzle that made us reinterprate the whole story so far. I loved the way this was done, and often found myself eating my own words at my initial dislike of the twist.
I loved our flawed yet good girl, Sylah but I ADORED Anoor. How the author chose to introduce this character and build upon our preconceptions, especially through the use of changing PoVs to recontextulise a scene, was fantastic. I literally have to hold myself back from borrowing book 2 as I have so many books I need to read. BUT I am 100% continuing with this series.
I don't know what I expected but this book was fantastic! I'm not the biggest fan of YA but not only is El-Arifi's characters enjoyable to follow, her world building, and the mystery surrounding the blood colours was marvelous. If you know anything about my reading habits, you'd know I LOVE a good world building mystery and this one had multiple going for it.
The main storyline initially seems pretty simple. The people in power are using their vast resources to further the gap between them and those weakest. Something must be done to change this. Enter stage left: Sylah. Dispite this, the author managed to make me question every twist and turn in the narrative. As soon as I felt confident I knew how this was going, El-Arifi would reveal a new piece of the puzzle that made us reinterprate the whole story so far. I loved the way this was done, and often found myself eating my own words at my initial dislike of the twist.
I loved our flawed yet good girl, Sylah but I ADORED Anoor. How the author chose to introduce this character and build upon our preconceptions, especially through the use of changing PoVs to recontextulise a scene, was fantastic. I literally have to hold myself back from borrowing book 2 as I have so many books I need to read. BUT I am 100% continuing with this series.
Prelude of Fire: The Gailean Quartet, Book 1 by Christine E. Schulze
adventurous
hopeful
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
This is an indie published book that i was approached to read by the lovely author, Christine E. Schulze. It being described as a high fantasy adventure with a found family had my attention!!
SPOILER FREE:
Christine does a fantastic job of introducing us to a vast array of characters. Her nuanced depictions of what it's like to be thrust into a hero's journey are both thoughtful and well done. I enjoyed the balance of characters and the rich world they lived within. As the book went on and we were introduced to many new locations, I found myself wishing that we got more vivid descriptions of the places these characters visit. We often saw just snap shots of creative and fantastical lands that the author has clearly put a lot of thought and effort into. The author refrains from more intricate descriptions of people, places, rooms, or objects, especially after these have been introduced or described once. I felt on the cusp of being fully immersed in the world only to have a minor detail be pointed out by a character, instead of being able to focus on these details before the character.
The characters spend so much of the book journeying from lavish location to the next that we don't get to see much of their day to day relationships develop. So much of the first half of the story characters like Ashlai and Aryl are on "not speaking terms" from various confusing arguments that they never really feel like friends. We're constantly told how characters feel about one another but aren't shown it. This is solved in the later part of the book, but I kept feeling like I should have cared about these characters sooner.
For all its imperfections, Prelude of Fire manages to make you truly come to care for each and every character. Nearing the end, I found myself tearing up more than once. Schulze's is a thoughtful author with a clear passion and creative mind to go along with it. While this book isn't perfect, there's so much potential in her writing that I'm excited to see where she takes us next, especially if it involves these characters. 🤩
SPOILER FREE:
Christine does a fantastic job of introducing us to a vast array of characters. Her nuanced depictions of what it's like to be thrust into a hero's journey are both thoughtful and well done. I enjoyed the balance of characters and the rich world they lived within. As the book went on and we were introduced to many new locations, I found myself wishing that we got more vivid descriptions of the places these characters visit. We often saw just snap shots of creative and fantastical lands that the author has clearly put a lot of thought and effort into. The author refrains from more intricate descriptions of people, places, rooms, or objects, especially after these have been introduced or described once. I felt on the cusp of being fully immersed in the world only to have a minor detail be pointed out by a character, instead of being able to focus on these details before the character.
The characters spend so much of the book journeying from lavish location to the next that we don't get to see much of their day to day relationships develop. So much of the first half of the story characters like Ashlai and Aryl are on "not speaking terms" from various confusing arguments that they never really feel like friends. We're constantly told how characters feel about one another but aren't shown it. This is solved in the later part of the book, but I kept feeling like I should have cared about these characters sooner.
For all its imperfections, Prelude of Fire manages to make you truly come to care for each and every character. Nearing the end, I found myself tearing up more than once. Schulze's is a thoughtful author with a clear passion and creative mind to go along with it. While this book isn't perfect, there's so much potential in her writing that I'm excited to see where she takes us next, especially if it involves these characters. 🤩
Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness by Peter Godfrey-Smith
informative
medium-paced
5.0
This was honestly a fantastic read.
The author sets out to explain a concept I've been very familiar with (animals' intelligence and perceptions differing from humans), but I hadn't managed to wrap my head around for years. He not only managed to explain it in a way that made sense but also managed to keep the complexity of the science being spoken about.
Both the authors' observations and tangential examples were introduced smoothly and added and helped immensley to better understand the complex science being referenced. I loved hearing anactodal evidence of his studies being lived out by the animals he managed to surround himself with. I didn't feel like I was just learning in a classroom but got to follow the author on field trips to better take in the information given.
I loved that the author was able to give octopuses the gravity of attention they deserve and made me all the more curious to learn even more! I would definitely recommend this to any octopus or animal fact fanatic such as myself.
The author sets out to explain a concept I've been very familiar with (animals' intelligence and perceptions differing from humans), but I hadn't managed to wrap my head around for years. He not only managed to explain it in a way that made sense but also managed to keep the complexity of the science being spoken about.
Both the authors' observations and tangential examples were introduced smoothly and added and helped immensley to better understand the complex science being referenced. I loved hearing anactodal evidence of his studies being lived out by the animals he managed to surround himself with. I didn't feel like I was just learning in a classroom but got to follow the author on field trips to better take in the information given.
I loved that the author was able to give octopuses the gravity of attention they deserve and made me all the more curious to learn even more! I would definitely recommend this to any octopus or animal fact fanatic such as myself.
Murtagh by Christopher Paolini
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
If anyone has known me for long, they would know one of my first (and still favourite) series in fantasy is The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini. To say I've been looking forward to another book in this world is an understatement, though due to his less than stellar interludes such as The Fork the Witch and the Worm I was a bit cautious on having my hopes too high.
While this book wasn't terrible, it definitely wasn't the book we were all waiting for. This book takes place a year after the final battle in the final book of the series and (of course) follows the lesser seen duo of the series, Thorn and Murtagh. I really did enjoy finally seen the world from their PoV. Seeing just how the trials and tribulations of the original series had long lasting and immense effects upon these characters make them all the more important. We have a lot of small flashbacks to the horrors experienced by both Thorn and Murtagh which give better understanding and nuance to why these characters are the way they are. Seeing the bond between Thorn and Murtagh on a micro scale makes these characters all the easier to root for as individuals, and not just for their tortured past.
Sooo, the story is really where this book fails for me. I see a lot of readers rating the first half as a bit too DnD side-quest-y and finding the second half a lot more compelling but I had the opposite opinion. I loved seeing Murtagh and Thorn navigating their way towards a clear goal with a clear moral core was fantastically done. I liked seeing Murtagh contrasted against the average joe, seeing both how far he's come from being a normal human, but still so far he is away from where Eragon ended up at the end of the previous series.
-SPOILERS FROM HERE ON-
The second half seems to do away with this and introduce a whole new world-ending threat we're never seen, heard, or predicted would exist. Having this 'big bad' be introduced in such a badly paced and not as the start of a new series felt like a poor decision, in my opinion. Not only that, but the big bad retcons a lot of the previous threats seen in this world and I did NOT like that. The fact Murtagh and Thorn not only go to this potentially dangerous village with minimal warning to their friends, they also decide to just hang out there for days on end with little explanation or reason to while being aware of the fact it's a stupid and dangerous decision. Having both these characters once again go through the same trauma of capture, torture, and being broken as we get hints of throughout the book just felt gross and unearned. For a series I grew up loving for it's hopeful narrative interwoven between magic and whimsy, this book barely felt a part of that series. I understand people take this as a more 'adult' approach to Paolini's writing but it reads as badly paced and poorly thought out... I did like the first half, though. :')
While this book wasn't terrible, it definitely wasn't the book we were all waiting for. This book takes place a year after the final battle in the final book of the series and (of course) follows the lesser seen duo of the series, Thorn and Murtagh. I really did enjoy finally seen the world from their PoV. Seeing just how the trials and tribulations of the original series had long lasting and immense effects upon these characters make them all the more important. We have a lot of small flashbacks to the horrors experienced by both Thorn and Murtagh which give better understanding and nuance to why these characters are the way they are. Seeing the bond between Thorn and Murtagh on a micro scale makes these characters all the easier to root for as individuals, and not just for their tortured past.
Sooo, the story is really where this book fails for me. I see a lot of readers rating the first half as a bit too DnD side-quest-y and finding the second half a lot more compelling but I had the opposite opinion. I loved seeing Murtagh and Thorn navigating their way towards a clear goal with a clear moral core was fantastically done. I liked seeing Murtagh contrasted against the average joe, seeing both how far he's come from being a normal human, but still so far he is away from where Eragon ended up at the end of the previous series.
-SPOILERS FROM HERE ON-
The second half seems to do away with this and introduce a whole new world-ending threat we're never seen, heard, or predicted would exist. Having this 'big bad' be introduced in such a badly paced and not as the start of a new series felt like a poor decision, in my opinion. Not only that, but the big bad retcons a lot of the previous threats seen in this world and I did NOT like that. The fact Murtagh and Thorn not only go to this potentially dangerous village with minimal warning to their friends, they also decide to just hang out there for days on end with little explanation or reason to while being aware of the fact it's a stupid and dangerous decision. Having both these characters once again go through the same trauma of capture, torture, and being broken as we get hints of throughout the book just felt gross and unearned. For a series I grew up loving for it's hopeful narrative interwoven between magic and whimsy, this book barely felt a part of that series. I understand people take this as a more 'adult' approach to Paolini's writing but it reads as badly paced and poorly thought out... I did like the first half, though. :')
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Slavery, Torture