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lucybbookstuff's Reviews (392)
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Consider this an update to my 5 star review of a different edition in 2021.
Still a 5! On my 4th read of this series. I've read it every few years since I was 18 and it never disappoints or lessens in quality or hits home any less.
It's just an expertly crafted story. Such intelligent theme exploration. Perfectly laid-out worldbuilding. It never feels info-dumpy because she works it in so seamlessly. Very good character work with Katniss. I recognize even more now, as a full-fledged adult, how clearly we can see Katniss's traumatized brain working to protect itself.
I also like to think of this book in terms of how it works for its intended YA audience. I thought at 18 and still think now that it's perfectly written for the audience. Relatable teenage thoughts, easy prose, really engaging plotting. Practically every chapter ends on a cliffhanger. It's just so well done.
Always a little nervewracking to revisit old faves, but I'm thrilled to still give it 5 stars.
It's just an expertly crafted story. Such intelligent theme exploration. Perfectly laid-out worldbuilding. It never feels info-dumpy because she works it in so seamlessly. Very good character work with Katniss. I recognize even more now, as a full-fledged adult, how clearly we can see Katniss's traumatized brain working to protect itself.
I also like to think of this book in terms of how it works for its intended YA audience. I thought at 18 and still think now that it's perfectly written for the audience. Relatable teenage thoughts, easy prose, really engaging plotting. Practically every chapter ends on a cliffhanger. It's just so well done.
Always a little nervewracking to revisit old faves, but I'm thrilled to still give it 5 stars.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-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
This book was sitting at 4.75 for quite a while. Being so much longer than book 1, I really felt the slow pace this time around. And I got extremely frustrated with situations that seemingly did not have to get that bad.
But looking back at the major plot points, the character & relationship arcs, the emotional threads throughout (and the impact of the ending 😭), and Hobb's incredible prose and knowledge of humanity... the sum of the book's parts definitely deserves a full 5 stars.
I think I would say that I liked Assassin's Apprentice more, but they're still definitely both 5 stars. My introduction to Hobb'd writing and Fitz was so magical and perfect, I can't blame this book for not quite topping it.
As for the frustrating parts... I felt they could have realistically been resolved much more easily. But the way it went wasn't unrealistic. Unfortunately. 😑
I find myself needing another significant break after finishing this. These books are such undertakings - and I undertake them so gladly, but I don't think it will ever be a binge situation. And that's good, because I still want to draw it out and make the experience last.
That said, I'm so looking forward to seeing how this trilogy ends. I'm really excited to explore the world more, and it definitely sounds like we won't be stuck at Buckkeep. 👀 (Quite the opposite, in fact...)
But looking back at the major plot points, the character & relationship arcs, the emotional threads throughout (and the impact of the ending 😭), and Hobb's incredible prose and knowledge of humanity... the sum of the book's parts definitely deserves a full 5 stars.
I think I would say that I liked Assassin's Apprentice more, but they're still definitely both 5 stars. My introduction to Hobb'd writing and Fitz was so magical and perfect, I can't blame this book for not quite topping it.
As for the frustrating parts... I felt they could have realistically been resolved much more easily. But the way it went wasn't unrealistic. Unfortunately. 😑
I find myself needing another significant break after finishing this. These books are such undertakings - and I undertake them so gladly, but I don't think it will ever be a binge situation. And that's good, because I still want to draw it out and make the experience last.
That said, I'm so looking forward to seeing how this trilogy ends. I'm really excited to explore the world more, and it definitely sounds like we won't be stuck at Buckkeep. 👀 (Quite the opposite, in fact...)
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Romance is one of the only genres where I can rate something 3.5 and still say I had a marvelous time reading it. 😂
Absolutely nothing special about the writing here, and it was quite repetitive, but just such a fun time!
As always, Julia Quinn writes completely charming characters and excellent banter, and the perfect amount of spice for my taste.
It's just the right fluff for me when I need it. 🙌🏻
Absolutely nothing special about the writing here, and it was quite repetitive, but just such a fun time!
As always, Julia Quinn writes completely charming characters and excellent banter, and the perfect amount of spice for my taste.
It's just the right fluff for me when I need it. 🙌🏻
I was already wary of it being Reylo fanfic, but I was hoping I could ignore that. Turned out, she absolutely would not let me ignore it lol.
Pressed on anyway, found myself not really liking the main characters, but figuring they'd get some decent development.
Then had some conversations with people who said there is no character development at all, so...
Thought I'd give it a hate read... then I opened it back up and an overwhelming wave of apathy washed over me.
And here we are. 😂
Pressed on anyway, found myself not really liking the main characters, but figuring they'd get some decent development.
Then had some conversations with people who said there is no character development at all, so...
Thought I'd give it a hate read... then I opened it back up and an overwhelming wave of apathy washed over me.
And here we are. 😂
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Damn!!!
I really couldn't have chosen a better book to dive into scifi/space operas with!! Such an approachable entry point!
As a scifi novice, I was worried for a while that all the scifi worldbuilding would be too much for me, and it definitely threw me into the deep end, BUT it didn't end up being so convoluted that I couldn't follow. Honestly, I was surprised by how well I was able to follow everything, once I got the hang of it.
The prose of this book was nothing special; pretty basic and bare. But that's absolutely not a bad thing. Once again, as a novice, I was very grateful that, on top of all the new terminology and worldbuilding, it wasn't also flowery and pretentious.
Some of the inner monologues got quite repetitive. I'm not sure we needed to bounce back and forth SO much. But that is where my criticisms end. And I do somewhat understand this choice, too, for unfolding the mystery the way it did.
Speaking of the mystery. What an awesome cat-and-mouse thriller plot!! It kept me engaged from basically page 1. The use of POVs and time jumps was expertly done. I had caught on to a specific narrative choice that did eventually help me figure out one of the huge twists. But I only fully theorized it mere pages before it was revealed, so it was still exciting and not disappointing.
The worldbuilding was so well-done. Despite the prose using very few outward descriptors for anything or anyone, I still got a well-rounded idea of the planets in this star system, the government and bureacracy, the history and religion and culture, the technology, etc. There is more to be unveiled in future books, to be sure, but this was an excellent introduction.
One thing I absolutely loved about the worldbuilding is what I'm choosing to call the "casual queerness." Queerness was baked into the worldbuilding so seamlessly. It's almost as if... it's that easy. If humans would stop caring so much about each other's genitals. Queerness is really just a fact of life and not a problem. Jacobs imagined a flawed world, but queerness was not one of its flaws, and I appreciate her for it.
Lastly, the characters. Like I said, very few outward appearance descriptors for any of them. I could barely imagine what any of them look like. But I got SUCH a strong sense of all of their inner worlds. They were all multifaceted and flawed and so, so intriguing. I cannot wait to learn more about them all.And see how their relationships flourish, now that they've all met.
I'm going to wait as long as I can stand it to read book 2, just so I'm not waiting an interminable amount of time afterwards for book 3 to be published.I imagine we're going to be following POVs both on Capamame and in the Treble system and I'm so so excited.
I really couldn't have chosen a better book to dive into scifi/space operas with!! Such an approachable entry point!
As a scifi novice, I was worried for a while that all the scifi worldbuilding would be too much for me, and it definitely threw me into the deep end, BUT it didn't end up being so convoluted that I couldn't follow. Honestly, I was surprised by how well I was able to follow everything, once I got the hang of it.
The prose of this book was nothing special; pretty basic and bare. But that's absolutely not a bad thing. Once again, as a novice, I was very grateful that, on top of all the new terminology and worldbuilding, it wasn't also flowery and pretentious.
Some of the inner monologues got quite repetitive. I'm not sure we needed to bounce back and forth SO much. But that is where my criticisms end. And I do somewhat understand this choice, too, for unfolding the mystery the way it did.
Speaking of the mystery. What an awesome cat-and-mouse thriller plot!! It kept me engaged from basically page 1. The use of POVs and time jumps was expertly done. I had caught on to a specific narrative choice that did eventually help me figure out one of the huge twists. But I only fully theorized it mere pages before it was revealed, so it was still exciting and not disappointing.
The worldbuilding was so well-done. Despite the prose using very few outward descriptors for anything or anyone, I still got a well-rounded idea of the planets in this star system, the government and bureacracy, the history and religion and culture, the technology, etc. There is more to be unveiled in future books, to be sure, but this was an excellent introduction.
One thing I absolutely loved about the worldbuilding is what I'm choosing to call the "casual queerness." Queerness was baked into the worldbuilding so seamlessly. It's almost as if... it's that easy. If humans would stop caring so much about each other's genitals. Queerness is really just a fact of life and not a problem. Jacobs imagined a flawed world, but queerness was not one of its flaws, and I appreciate her for it.
Lastly, the characters. Like I said, very few outward appearance descriptors for any of them. I could barely imagine what any of them look like. But I got SUCH a strong sense of all of their inner worlds. They were all multifaceted and flawed and so, so intriguing. I cannot wait to learn more about them all.
I'm going to wait as long as I can stand it to read book 2, just so I'm not waiting an interminable amount of time afterwards for book 3 to be published.
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
This is undoubtedly an impressive work, both on its own and as a debut. This review may be a bit disjointed because I'm having a lot of thoughts and I just want to get them out.
I wanted to give it an even 4, but the more I think about it, the more flaws I notice.
This book kept me intrigued. I started it just before the 2024 election, and picking it back up afterwards was hard, but it immediately got me fired up with some of the political relevance it held.
I really like Rin as a main character and I enjoyed the story of her rise from the very bottom of society. I especially enjoyed the "training montage" part of the book with Jiang. And I really appreciate the themes of the book: anticolonialism, the dangers of revenge, seeing your enemies as people, etc.
However, I feel like this book could have benefited from being multi-POV. I felt disconnected from a lot of Rin's relationships. I didn't really get any of the emotional hits from her interactions with Altan. Everything was pretty surface level, and not explained very well. I feel like multi-POV could also have helped me understand the "why" behind a lot more things as well. It did a lot of telling, not showing regarding the history and worldbuilding.
Speaking of history, I didn't go into this knowing much about the massacre of Nanjing, BUT I did know that this book draws from those events directly. Now having read it, I'm not sure how I feel about just how much it directly lifted. Kuang acknowledges this, and I'm certain it was done with the utmost respect for the real history. But I do feel like this fictional story got kind of lost in those lifted historical details at times. On the other hand, it definitely makes me want to pay respect to the real history and read The Rape of Nanking.
I also feel that the pacing of this book was pretty wild. It covered SO much ground and introduced so many things... It felt like too much at times, and it didn't go into most of it nearly enough for me to understand it all. I'm sure some elaboration is forthcoming in the other books, but this confusion for now didn't seem necessary.
All that said, I do think this was a good book. A very impressive debut and a decent introduction. I will definitely continue the series and I look forward to seeing how it diverges from history.
I wanted to give it an even 4, but the more I think about it, the more flaws I notice.
This book kept me intrigued. I started it just before the 2024 election, and picking it back up afterwards was hard, but it immediately got me fired up with some of the political relevance it held.
I really like Rin as a main character and I enjoyed the story of her rise from the very bottom of society. I especially enjoyed the "training montage" part of the book with Jiang. And I really appreciate the themes of the book: anticolonialism, the dangers of revenge, seeing your enemies as people, etc.
However, I feel like this book could have benefited from being multi-POV. I felt disconnected from a lot of Rin's relationships. I didn't really get any of the emotional hits from her interactions with Altan. Everything was pretty surface level, and not explained very well. I feel like multi-POV could also have helped me understand the "why" behind a lot more things as well. It did a lot of telling, not showing regarding the history and worldbuilding.
Speaking of history, I didn't go into this knowing much about the massacre of Nanjing, BUT I did know that this book draws from those events directly. Now having read it, I'm not sure how I feel about just how much it directly lifted. Kuang acknowledges this, and I'm certain it was done with the utmost respect for the real history. But I do feel like this fictional story got kind of lost in those lifted historical details at times. On the other hand, it definitely makes me want to pay respect to the real history and read The Rape of Nanking.
I also feel that the pacing of this book was pretty wild. It covered SO much ground and introduced so many things... It felt like too much at times, and it didn't go into most of it nearly enough for me to understand it all. I'm sure some elaboration is forthcoming in the other books, but this confusion for now didn't seem necessary.
All that said, I do think this was a good book. A very impressive debut and a decent introduction. I will definitely continue the series and I look forward to seeing how it diverges from history.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
This was thoroughly disturbing. That is my prevailing thought. 😅
The narrative style was very unique and interesting. I liked that a lot. Crazy to see everyone's different perspectives. Pretty much nothing was as it seemed in the beginning.
It wasn't my favorite thriller ever. There was some eye-widening and a couple of "well, damn"s, but no real gasp-worthy shocking moments. Some absolutely wild events and thought processes, yes. It was very psychological. But I think I was expecting a bit more shock value. Not saying it needed that necessarily, just saying my expectations may have been misaligned.
Good book though, for sure. Audiobook was good, though I don't think it's an absolute must.
The narrative style was very unique and interesting. I liked that a lot. Crazy to see everyone's different perspectives. Pretty much nothing was as it seemed in the beginning.
It wasn't my favorite thriller ever. There was some eye-widening and a couple of "well, damn"s, but no real gasp-worthy shocking moments. Some absolutely wild events and thought processes, yes. It was very psychological. But I think I was expecting a bit more shock value. Not saying it needed that necessarily, just saying my expectations may have been misaligned.
Good book though, for sure. Audiobook was good, though I don't think it's an absolute must.
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
FINALLY A 5 STAR READ. One of those where I'm trying to think of any reason not to, and I'm coming up empty.
A perfect novella. It brought me back to a world I already know and love, there were exciting cameos from characters I already know, and some new characters, showcasing Fonda Lee's incredible character work in very few pages. She is the MASTER.
This also was just a thrilling mystery from start to finish and kept me engaged all the way through a 4 hour car ride.
And I have to say, days after the 2024 US election... I needed that ending. I'm so happy with how it went.I nearly cried when Lan appeared, because I just knew he'd be a kind and much-needed voice of reason. What I'd give to have leaders like him right now. 😭
Just excellent work, as always. Excited for Jade Shards, but I'm definitely going to put it off for a while. I don't want to part with this world yet.
A perfect novella. It brought me back to a world I already know and love, there were exciting cameos from characters I already know, and some new characters, showcasing Fonda Lee's incredible character work in very few pages. She is the MASTER.
This also was just a thrilling mystery from start to finish and kept me engaged all the way through a 4 hour car ride.
And I have to say, days after the 2024 US election... I needed that ending. I'm so happy with how it went.
Just excellent work, as always. Excited for Jade Shards, but I'm definitely going to put it off for a while. I don't want to part with this world yet.
informative
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
This is definitely the best book of the series!
The writing was still quite bland and I still never quite got emotionally invested in the characters, BUT I did binge this one and as always, found the historical elements exceptionally interesting.
Not gonna lie, I was kind of waiting around for the eruption of Vesuvius, so it was hard to get invested in the events leading up to it, knowing they'd end up being mostly pointless. But the eruption and the aftermath definitely made up for it.
Not gonna lie, I was expectingeveryone I'd met in this book to die, including our MC. I was surprised, but not disappointed by the way the story went. I may not have been emotionally invested, but I am still pleased by the idea of Amara/Timarete giving up on her dreams of status to live a life of love with her family. And very glad Philos got to be free.
I was also very pleasantly surprised by the epilogue. Getting this bit from Britannica's perspective made me realize how much I might have preferred a book about her instead. I feel like this also opened the door for a possible Britannica spinoff, which I would totally read.
Overall, even if these books didn't really make me feel, they most definitely made me think. Ideally, I'd experience both, but one is still pretty good.
The writing was still quite bland and I still never quite got emotionally invested in the characters, BUT I did binge this one and as always, found the historical elements exceptionally interesting.
Not gonna lie, I was kind of waiting around for the eruption of Vesuvius, so it was hard to get invested in the events leading up to it, knowing they'd end up being mostly pointless. But the eruption and the aftermath definitely made up for it.
Not gonna lie, I was expecting
I was also very pleasantly surprised by the epilogue. Getting this bit from Britannica's perspective made me realize how much I might have preferred a book about her instead. I feel like this also opened the door for a possible Britannica spinoff, which I would totally read.
Overall, even if these books didn't really make me feel, they most definitely made me think. Ideally, I'd experience both, but one is still pretty good.
Time travel is a tough sell for me. I didn't realize that's what this was about until it started happening. I just get way too confused with overlapping timelines, plus the opportunities for plot holes are way too plentiful. And I could already see so many here that I had a bad feeling would never be resolved.
I think that if I'm gonna read a book with time travel as a main device, it has to be AIRTIGHT and probably on the sci-fi side. Like paying respect to the actual theory of time travel.
I can't handle it as a cute device to tell a silly little magical realism story.
And that said, I often struggle with magical realism, too. I need answers and explanations, I REALLY don't like being expected to just go with the flow, especially when it makes no sense.
Which brings me to probably my biggest complaint and yet another plot device that I truly HATE: keeping the main character in the dark for literally no conceivable reason (other than plot device). And thus keeping ME in the dark. Everyone knows everything EXCEPT June apparently, and there is no good reason not to tell her. It's so stupid.
I may have been more willing to overlook some of this if I'd gotten a better introduction to June as a character. But I wasn't really given any reason to care about her before it launched into the mystery.
I really didn't want to DNF this because I was reading it for my local book club, but I just can't. I'm so bad at DNFing, I think I should honor the feeling when I actually get it. I did read a summary so I can still participate in and understand the discussion. I don't feel I missed out on anything, I feel quite confident that I would have been confused and annoyed the whole time, and I'm honestly breathing a sigh of relief.
I get the appeal, I really do. For magical realism and cozy story lovers, this is probably A+ material. It just happened to pile on several things that rarely work for me and it got to be too much.
I think that if I'm gonna read a book with time travel as a main device, it has to be AIRTIGHT and probably on the sci-fi side. Like paying respect to the actual theory of time travel.
I can't handle it as a cute device to tell a silly little magical realism story.
And that said, I often struggle with magical realism, too. I need answers and explanations, I REALLY don't like being expected to just go with the flow, especially when it makes no sense.
Which brings me to probably my biggest complaint and yet another plot device that I truly HATE: keeping the main character in the dark for literally no conceivable reason (other than plot device). And thus keeping ME in the dark. Everyone knows everything EXCEPT June apparently, and there is no good reason not to tell her. It's so stupid.
I may have been more willing to overlook some of this if I'd gotten a better introduction to June as a character. But I wasn't really given any reason to care about her before it launched into the mystery.
I really didn't want to DNF this because I was reading it for my local book club, but I just can't. I'm so bad at DNFing, I think I should honor the feeling when I actually get it. I did read a summary so I can still participate in and understand the discussion. I don't feel I missed out on anything, I feel quite confident that I would have been confused and annoyed the whole time, and I'm honestly breathing a sigh of relief.
I get the appeal, I really do. For magical realism and cozy story lovers, this is probably A+ material. It just happened to pile on several things that rarely work for me and it got to be too much.