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liseyp's reviews
1361 reviews
Goodbye Birdie Greenwing by Ericka Waller
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The Way of All Flesh by Ambrose Parry
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Medical student Will Raven and housemaid Sarah Parish are both keen to rise above their station. The debt and threats of violence for non-payment which hangs over Will and the societal barriers placed on Sarah by both her sex and class may however be insurmountable. But, Will and Sarah team up to uncover the truth behind a series of deaths.
Great characters, excellent plotting, and plenty of historical facts/context without it seeming like a lecture. I love Chris Brookmyre’s solo books, although I’ll admit to a certain amount of trepidation about how that would translate to historical crime fiction.
But, the balance between his plot and character development experience and his co-author Marisa Haetzman’s subject matter knowledge combine to make this debut novel by Ambrose Parry (their joint pen name) truly excellent.
Babel: An Arcane History by R.F. Kuang
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Oxford is the centre of the British Empire’s dominance. London may be where Parliament and industry is, but Oxford manages the silver and the magic of language that powers the silver industrial age. Students come from around the world using their knowledge of their native languages to fuel research at Babel.
I’ve commented on a recent review that I can have a hit or miss relationship with fantasy fiction. And, while I’ve heard many good reviews of Babel I was concerned that it would stray into the complex world building that overlooks the plotting that is common amongst fantasy novels I don’t get on with.
Actually the world building here is simple. So simple in fact that the fantastical element of silver imbued with magical features by translated word pairs is almost irrelevant. The story feels like it could have been told quite easily without this aspect at all and just worked as a straightforward reimagined historical novel to make a point about colonialism and privilege.
The language focus on where words come from and common ancestry was interesting initially, but overdone. I found my brain skipping large sections of this, and likewise I skipped over most of the footnotes because it felt they were just distracting from the story.
While it’s a very slow burner I did eventually feel engaged in the outcomes for the characters, although it took over halfway through the book before I felt like there was enough depth to care about them enough to be worth keeping reading. Until that point I was constantly fighting the temptation to just give up.
More worthy than enjoyable, and actually I think I’d have preferred to read non-fiction about the reality of colonialism, because I’d at least have gone into that expecting the experience to be more educational than entertaining.
The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Freeing the land of a dictator is not enough. The mists are staying longer and they’re killing people, and the Lord Ruler might have been in the right all along.
Character development, increased jeopardy, a treasure hunt. Great elements to round off this stage of the Mistborn story. I know there are another four books set in this world, but from what I can see there’s a big time jump until book four, and I don’t think I’m quite ready to open myself up to new characters, because Vin, El, TenSoon and Sazed will stay with me for some time to come.
The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The Lord Ruler’s time has ended, but in the words of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hit musical ‘Hamilton’ “Fighting is easy, young man, governing is harder”.
You know when you’ve landed on a great new series when you finish one 670 page novel and immediately pick up the 800 page sequel. Despite one of my favourite characters not surviving book one, I needed to known what happened next with the survivors and the world of Luthadel.
I was not disappointed. The characters are developing well, I love the depth to all of the crew members, their journey from revolution to governing. The widening of the understanding of this world. It’s well-paced, there are no info dumps, just perfect compelling reading.
The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson
adventurous
emotional
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Vin is the lowest member of her thieving crew. The voice in her head reminds her of the warnings from the brother who abandoned her to trust no one. But, to survive on the streets she can’t be alone so she hopes that her ‘luck’ will keep her safe by keeping her useful. Then she meets Kelsier and is drawn into his plan to overturn the Final Empire.
I can be hit or miss with fantasy. I’m here for the world-building, but hate it when the reader is expected to understand complex rules and magics with little context. I like relationships (platonic or romantic) that build and draw you in, but struggle with the kind of fantasy where the fantasy elements are secondary to an enemies to lovers or similar trope.
So starting a new fantasy novel is a bit of a moment for me. But, having re-read Robin Hobb’s Realm of the Elderlings back to back I wanted something with a similar character focus and immersive storytelling vibe. All of the BookTok recommendations were shouting Brandon Sanderson, but I was still apprehensive.
It took all of three pages for me to be convinced.
This is exactly the kind of fantasy fiction I love. It doesn’t try too hard to be fantasy, it’s a fantastic story first and the fantastical elements are just part of that story. And, it remains immensely readable. Great characters, doesn’t feel exploitative. This is a series I’m excited to continue.
The Kellerby Code by Jonny Sweet
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Thank you to the author, publishers Faber & Faber and NetGalley UK for access to this as an advance reader’s ebook. This is an honest and voluntary review.
Edward is desperate to fit in. He’s not as wealthy as the people he goes to university with and so he tries to ingratiate himself with them by acts of service. Even post-university he’s still running errands just to make himself feel like he belongs in a group with Robert and Stanza. And, when Robert wants his help with taking care of a personal problem, Edward’s desperation to belong has sinister consequences.
With elements of The Great Gatsby and The Talented Mr Ripley crossed with You, there’s a very particular tone to this book. It was a tone I didn’t really get along with. Very classist overtones with a cast of thoroughly unlikeable narcissists. The main character, Edward also didn’t strike enough of a contrast for me. While pitiable at times, he wasn’t ever likeable. I wasn’t cheering him on, I wasn’t shocked at what he did or thought about doing, I just largely wanted to reach the end.
Still See You Everywhere by Lisa Gardner
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
What We Did In The Storm by Tina Baker
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Thank you to the author, publisher Viper, and online book club The Pigeonhole for the chance to read this. This is an honest and voluntary review.
Island life seems idyllic, but there’s darkness behind the doors of the island pub and shop. Time share holidayers and residents alike have dark secrets which spill over into jealousy and violence leaving one death and injuries behind.
Tina Baker is great at creating characters who have unlikable traits, but which are still sympathetic. The complexities of family dynamics, marriages and socially unsuitable relationships are all explored.
The central mystery of which of the women who you meet in the book were the ones who were attacked and who is missing isn’t really the plot line that drives the book. It’s will Kit and Hannah stay together in the face of the opposition from his mother and a family friend who think the son of a wealthy family and the barmaid with a reputation are an unsuitable match. It’s will Thor act on his increasingly dark fantasies. It’s will Christie and Sam save their toxic marriage. Will Nurse Kelly ever keep patient confidentiality for more than five minutes. And is it rumour or reality that’s provided the motive for whatever happened to the missing woman?
Great for anyone who likes multi character relationship dramas with an edge of mystery/thriller context.