Scan barcode
kloopo's reviews
130 reviews
Half a King by Joe Abercrombie
5.0
A gripping fantasy and an original twist on the genre - I couldn't put it down.
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
4.0
I enjoyed this book - it's set in a lovely, dark, fairy-tale world, in which a great wall separates humans from the fey. We've seen it before, of course, but not quite like this. The main character, Feyre, kills the wrong wolf and is condemned to live in the fairy world... which turns out to be little short of paradise. But a dark and mysterious menace looms ever larger, threatening to break apart her new-found heaven. And she finds love, of course.
The book got really good, I think, after the lengthy set-up ended: Feyre returns home for her safety, only to embark on a new journey of her own to save the one she loves. Here, she comes into her own as a character. In an under-mountain kingdom, she undergoes trials and changes - discovering a new (and, I think, particularly enticing...) ally.
On the downside, the set-up was slow and I didn't always feel Feyre's motivations were clear, especially in the first half. She's not the most empathetic of characters - perhaps until about halfway through. Overall, though, a really compelling read.
The book got really good, I think, after the lengthy set-up ended: Feyre returns home for her safety, only to embark on a new journey of her own to save the one she loves. Here, she comes into her own as a character. In an under-mountain kingdom, she undergoes trials and changes - discovering a new (and, I think, particularly enticing...) ally.
On the downside, the set-up was slow and I didn't always feel Feyre's motivations were clear, especially in the first half. She's not the most empathetic of characters - perhaps until about halfway through. Overall, though, a really compelling read.
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
4.0
I had very high - perhaps unfairly high! - expectations of Fangirl, given its huge popularity and incredible sales figures. I was a little surprised to find such a quiet story. A girl who writes fan fiction starts her first year of college: the story is all about how she finds her confidence, learning how continue to follow her passion for fanfiction as well as being an original writer, a good sister, a daughter and a girlfriend.
It's a touching story with wonderfully rendered characters, but I did have a few reservations. Some of the fanfiction quotations (from fictional Harry Potter-esque series, Simon Snow) were rather long, and I found myself skimming sometimes to return to the real-life story. I also found the ending a bit abrupt, and didn't feel all the loose ends had been tied up in a satisfactory way.
But I can totally see why it has so many ardent fans. Simply but beautifully written, well-plotted, with characters you can really believe in. And a touch of magic, too.
It's a touching story with wonderfully rendered characters, but I did have a few reservations. Some of the fanfiction quotations (from fictional Harry Potter-esque series, Simon Snow) were rather long, and I found myself skimming sometimes to return to the real-life story. I also found the ending a bit abrupt, and didn't feel all the loose ends had been tied up in a satisfactory way.
But I can totally see why it has so many ardent fans. Simply but beautifully written, well-plotted, with characters you can really believe in. And a touch of magic, too.
Seed by Lisa Heathfield
3.0
Overall, an enjoyable read about a girl brought up in a Nature-worshipping cult, but for me the intense and creepy set-up never quite reached a satisfying climax. Although I was happily reading along from beginning to end, in retrospect I feel a bit disappointed. The secrets revealed were earth-shattering, but the writing was somehow a tad distant and unemotional. On a practical level, I was repeatedly confused between the adult male characters and struggled to understand why the main characters - who eventually were all convinced they wanted to escape - couldn't simply walk away. Good, but not great.