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lucybbookstuff's Reviews (376)
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Once again... lots of words ahead. Spoilers throughout.
I fought my way through most of this book. It was a major slog. I'm so glad it's over and I can read something else lol.
In some ways, it was better than Fourth Wing. Mainly the technical writing. There weren't even a fraction of the same amount of grammar mistakes and annoying grammatical choices. That made it more readable in that way.
I was actually enjoying it at the beginning, and it had ups and downs throughout, but generally, I struggled to get through it. Hoping for answers to some of the mysteries is what kept me going. And I only got some in the end.
My biggest complaints:
1. The romance completely fell off. Xaden was such a bitch for so long, and their fighting was so fucking repetitive, I nearly lost my damn mind. It got resolved by the end, but it was too late for me.
2. So much of it makes so little sense. The venin especially are a completely nonsensical villain. The way their power works... if they take power from the earth and eviscerate everything they touch, eventually they will just run out of their power source. Wtf is their engame? Their hierarchy... what? I don't even know. If they are working with a finite amount of power, why do they want to turn more venin? Their timeline... if they're so fucking powerful, how has it taken hundreds of years to make their way to Navarre? And don't even get me started on Navarre lol, they had to have known it would come to this eventually, so what was the point of the whole fake war? I don't get it. The venin being so illogical made the stakes of Xaden turning totally nonexistent for me. I did not give a shit. I just rolled my eyes. Seemed like a lazy plot device to add more conflict into the romance.
3. Everything about the wards is so goddamn confusing. I could not follow the threads Yarros was supposedly dropping for us. Maybe I'm just dumb, but either way, so many of the stakes were lost on me because she was not explaining the wards situation well at all.
It's clear to me that Yarros came up with a big idea and outlined a very detailed plot and magic system (regardless of whether it is smart or well-researched). But the way she's conveying it to us is just not working at all (for me, at least). It's like she is making sure to check off all the points on her outline for her own benefit, while forgetting to actually make it remotely clear to us what the fuck she's trying to say. It also made this story happen on a very accelerated timeline. I feel like this story so far in 2 books could have benefited from being 4 books by a better author with better writing and worldbuilding skills.
Sigh. I'm just over it lol. Reading them back to back was a bad idea. By the time book 3 comes out, maybe I'll have cooled off enough to get it from the library (sigh, my fomo will probably force me to do it), but for now, I am fucking DONEZO.
I fought my way through most of this book. It was a major slog. I'm so glad it's over and I can read something else lol.
In some ways, it was better than Fourth Wing. Mainly the technical writing. There weren't even a fraction of the same amount of grammar mistakes and annoying grammatical choices. That made it more readable in that way.
I was actually enjoying it at the beginning, and it had ups and downs throughout, but generally, I struggled to get through it. Hoping for answers to some of the mysteries is what kept me going. And I only got some in the end.
My biggest complaints:
1. The romance completely fell off. Xaden was such a bitch for so long, and their fighting was so fucking repetitive, I nearly lost my damn mind. It got resolved by the end, but it was too late for me.
2. So much of it makes so little sense. The venin especially are a completely nonsensical villain. The way their power works... if they take power from the earth and eviscerate everything they touch, eventually they will just run out of their power source. Wtf is their engame? Their hierarchy... what? I don't even know. If they are working with a finite amount of power, why do they want to turn more venin? Their timeline... if they're so fucking powerful, how has it taken hundreds of years to make their way to Navarre? And don't even get me started on Navarre lol, they had to have known it would come to this eventually, so what was the point of the whole fake war? I don't get it. The venin being so illogical made the stakes of Xaden turning totally nonexistent for me. I did not give a shit. I just rolled my eyes. Seemed like a lazy plot device to add more conflict into the romance.
3. Everything about the wards is so goddamn confusing. I could not follow the threads Yarros was supposedly dropping for us. Maybe I'm just dumb, but either way, so many of the stakes were lost on me because she was not explaining the wards situation well at all.
It's clear to me that Yarros came up with a big idea and outlined a very detailed plot and magic system (regardless of whether it is smart or well-researched). But the way she's conveying it to us is just not working at all (for me, at least). It's like she is making sure to check off all the points on her outline for her own benefit, while forgetting to actually make it remotely clear to us what the fuck she's trying to say. It also made this story happen on a very accelerated timeline. I feel like this story so far in 2 books could have benefited from being 4 books by a better author with better writing and worldbuilding skills.
Sigh. I'm just over it lol. Reading them back to back was a bad idea. By the time book 3 comes out, maybe I'll have cooled off enough to get it from the library (sigh, my fomo will probably force me to do it), but for now, I am fucking DONEZO.
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
fast-paced
Quite devastating listening to this 2 weeks after he passed. Would have been sad anyway, but that obviously added to it. Especially since he was so damn hopeful at the end of it and had finally beat his addiction into submission, just to die 2 years later.
At times, it felt like being beaten over the head with his addiction... but I imagine that is the point. If I feel that way just hearing about it, I cannot even imagine how horrendous it must have been for him, fighting this over and over for 30 years.
Ugh. Just rough. But it was, of course, entertaining and endearing. Not always the most amazing writing, and I felt like his sexual escapades didn't matter nearly as much as he thought they did. But overall, I'd recommend to anyone who loves a good memoir, and/or who wants to honor this man's life and struggle.
At times, it felt like being beaten over the head with his addiction... but I imagine that is the point. If I feel that way just hearing about it, I cannot even imagine how horrendous it must have been for him, fighting this over and over for 30 years.
Ugh. Just rough. But it was, of course, entertaining and endearing. Not always the most amazing writing, and I felt like his sexual escapades didn't matter nearly as much as he thought they did. But overall, I'd recommend to anyone who loves a good memoir, and/or who wants to honor this man's life and struggle.
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
[Fair warning, this will be long and there will be unmarked spoilers throughout.]
Lort... It is hard to rate this book, because I mostly have criticisms for it, yet I still found the plot intriguing enough that I'm going to go through with my Iron Flame preorder (yes, I was dumb enough to preorder it before I even read this). But once I've read that, I may drop this series for the future. We'll see.
Anyway... where to begin? 💀
I'll start with why I was so confident that I'd like it. Basically, it sounded very similar to SJM's work, of which I recently finished everything published. Not to mention, the incredible amount of hype it was getting on booktok. And I've been on booktok long enough to mostly be getting good recommendations now, so I trusted what I was seeing. As for SJM - I have mostly really enjoyed her work. I have a healthy dose of criticism for her writing, but she creates loveable characters with growth journeys that I can't get enough of, so overall, I like it.
Welp. I can confidently say that the quality of this book was so much WORSE than the worst of SJM.
The worldbuilding was clunky as hell. The world itself and the rules of said world are almost nonsensical. Clearly very little research went into constructing the world. The characters are okay, but idiotic. And the literal technical WRITING was just horrendous. Like, the grammar was so bad that it distracted me throughout. Usually something as basic as grammar is not a problem with published literature because, um, editors?? Did this book even have any??? Even if it did, and they just sucked, the quality of what was put before me does not inspire confidence in Yarros's literal ability to use the English language. I'm astounded by how poorly the book was written from a technical standpoint. It is supposedly an "adult" book, but the writing was more juvenile than most YA I've read.
Back to the world... I have so many questions.
- Where do the names come from? The dragons have these cool names lifted from Scots Gaelic (more on that later), but the humans have seemingly no actual naming/language system.
- Why did Tairn choose dragon sexy time as the right time to start channeling his power to Violet??
- If Violet's mother was planning to put her in the riders' quadrant all along, why not have her start training the moment her father died? Unless she just wanted an excuse to kill her, which is possible... but still. 🙄
- If the traitors' kids are so "dangerous," why give them the chance to become top military officials?
- If y'all are so desperate for soldiers, WHY ARE YOU MURDERING SO MANY CADETS and facilitating a culture where murder is acceptable??
I think that if I'm going to have a book that's basically about the military industrial complex, I would want more commentary on how it's, you know... BAD. I went in with a little bit of knowledge of Yarros's actual life, and how she's a military wife. Not that there is anything inherently wrong with that, but I do think she leans more towards glorifying the military than questioning it, which doesn't really work for my sensibilities.
As for the main character... we're told repeatedly that she's sooooo smart, but as far as I can tell, she's just good at memorizing facts. And fine with physical training and playing through the pain. Otherwise, she's so unobservant and distractible, it's ridiculous. Girl, PAY ATTENTION, you're literally being hunted???
And the male love interest is... big? And sexy? And dark (and brown) and mysterious. How novel.
Lastly for criticisms, I also just want to touch on how annoying it is that Yarros (and many other fantasy writers do this, too, including SJM) stole words directly from a minority language (Scots Gaelic) with no real acknowledgment of it or respect for it. She even pronounces the words wrong and doesn't encourage pronouncing them right. This is something fantasy writers need to stop doing in general. Creating a world and language based off a culture? Fine. Just stealing words and putting them in a nonsensical context? Gross.
Okay... now for why I'll continue. I like the dragons. They were fun. The romance was... just compelling enough for me to want to know how it goes. And the ending was actually interesting and I'm curious how the story will go. That is about it, though. This serves the same purpose for me that trash reality tv does. It is TRASH, but it's entertaining. And I will drop it like a hot potato the second it stops being entertaining.
Lort... It is hard to rate this book, because I mostly have criticisms for it, yet I still found the plot intriguing enough that I'm going to go through with my Iron Flame preorder (yes, I was dumb enough to preorder it before I even read this). But once I've read that, I may drop this series for the future. We'll see.
Anyway... where to begin? 💀
I'll start with why I was so confident that I'd like it. Basically, it sounded very similar to SJM's work, of which I recently finished everything published. Not to mention, the incredible amount of hype it was getting on booktok. And I've been on booktok long enough to mostly be getting good recommendations now, so I trusted what I was seeing. As for SJM - I have mostly really enjoyed her work. I have a healthy dose of criticism for her writing, but she creates loveable characters with growth journeys that I can't get enough of, so overall, I like it.
Welp. I can confidently say that the quality of this book was so much WORSE than the worst of SJM.
The worldbuilding was clunky as hell. The world itself and the rules of said world are almost nonsensical. Clearly very little research went into constructing the world. The characters are okay, but idiotic. And the literal technical WRITING was just horrendous. Like, the grammar was so bad that it distracted me throughout. Usually something as basic as grammar is not a problem with published literature because, um, editors?? Did this book even have any??? Even if it did, and they just sucked, the quality of what was put before me does not inspire confidence in Yarros's literal ability to use the English language. I'm astounded by how poorly the book was written from a technical standpoint. It is supposedly an "adult" book, but the writing was more juvenile than most YA I've read.
Back to the world... I have so many questions.
- Where do the names come from? The dragons have these cool names lifted from Scots Gaelic (more on that later), but the humans have seemingly no actual naming/language system.
- Why did Tairn choose dragon sexy time as the right time to start channeling his power to Violet??
- If Violet's mother was planning to put her in the riders' quadrant all along, why not have her start training the moment her father died? Unless she just wanted an excuse to kill her, which is possible... but still. 🙄
- If the traitors' kids are so "dangerous," why give them the chance to become top military officials?
- If y'all are so desperate for soldiers, WHY ARE YOU MURDERING SO MANY CADETS and facilitating a culture where murder is acceptable??
I think that if I'm going to have a book that's basically about the military industrial complex, I would want more commentary on how it's, you know... BAD. I went in with a little bit of knowledge of Yarros's actual life, and how she's a military wife. Not that there is anything inherently wrong with that, but I do think she leans more towards glorifying the military than questioning it, which doesn't really work for my sensibilities.
As for the main character... we're told repeatedly that she's sooooo smart, but as far as I can tell, she's just good at memorizing facts. And fine with physical training and playing through the pain. Otherwise, she's so unobservant and distractible, it's ridiculous. Girl, PAY ATTENTION, you're literally being hunted???
And the male love interest is... big? And sexy? And dark (and brown) and mysterious. How novel.
Lastly for criticisms, I also just want to touch on how annoying it is that Yarros (and many other fantasy writers do this, too, including SJM) stole words directly from a minority language (Scots Gaelic) with no real acknowledgment of it or respect for it. She even pronounces the words wrong and doesn't encourage pronouncing them right. This is something fantasy writers need to stop doing in general. Creating a world and language based off a culture? Fine. Just stealing words and putting them in a nonsensical context? Gross.
Okay... now for why I'll continue. I like the dragons. They were fun. The romance was... just compelling enough for me to want to know how it goes. And the ending was actually interesting and I'm curious how the story will go. That is about it, though. This serves the same purpose for me that trash reality tv does. It is TRASH, but it's entertaining. And I will drop it like a hot potato the second it stops being entertaining.
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Enjoyable, a decent mystery, and not poorly written. But FILLED with cliches, seriously used every single feminist cliche known to man. And kind of a disappointing ending.
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Finally got to this!
Six of Crows changed my life back in 2021 (only semi-hyperbole), so I was excited to give this a try, but also worried it wouldn't measure up. So I put it off for quite a while, even after buying it.
I'm glad I saved it for a spooky season, because it really delivered the vibe!! It was creepy and witchy, but not so scary that I was afraid to sleep. A nice middle ground.
I liked the characters, and the mystery really kept me guessing. I think this was my first dark academia read, and was very into that vibe. So different from other fantasy/mystery/magic books I've read. The magic system was so cool and I'd like to learn more about it.
Some of the plot points were a little goofy, and at times it verged close to trauma porn territory, but nothing unreadable or terribly graphic.
Excited to read Hellbent eventually!!
Six of Crows changed my life back in 2021 (only semi-hyperbole), so I was excited to give this a try, but also worried it wouldn't measure up. So I put it off for quite a while, even after buying it.
I'm glad I saved it for a spooky season, because it really delivered the vibe!! It was creepy and witchy, but not so scary that I was afraid to sleep. A nice middle ground.
I liked the characters, and the mystery really kept me guessing. I think this was my first dark academia read, and was very into that vibe. So different from other fantasy/mystery/magic books I've read. The magic system was so cool and I'd like to learn more about it.
Some of the plot points were a little goofy, and at times it verged close to trauma porn territory, but nothing unreadable or terribly graphic.
Excited to read Hellbent eventually!!
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Holy unsatisfying ending, Batman.
Sigh. Okay, well. I didn't hate this book. It was my first procedural mystery (rather than a campy one), and once the mystery actually got going, I was quite interested and enjoyed the format. I think I'll keep giving the Dublin Murder Squad a try. But definitely on the page rather than audio because christ, that got tedious, and I found the narrator to be quite miscast.
But yeah. Two main flaws:
1) as I already said... the ending was SO unsatisfying. I know this is more real life than campy mysteries, but jesus.If she had to take the happy ending of the new case away from us, she could have at least given us some answers to the old case??? But no. We got NOTHING. We LOSE. Good day, sir. 😒
2) The main character was insufferable. I wanted to strangle him so many different times. What a pathetic, stupid loser. I suppose French might have done this on purpose, but god. I just hated him. It's unbelievable to me that this guy ever became a detective at all, let alone was chosen for an elite squad. It also seems crazy that his trauma didn't affect his life more, but I can dismiss that more easily. The brain does a lot to protect itself, and this was the 2000s. Times change. But it's also wild to me that no one he ever ran into on the job recognized him. Sheesh.
Lol those pretty big complaints aside, I think it was written well enough, and I'll probably like her writing more a) on the page and b) with a more tolerable main character.
ETA: I just remembered, I also HATED the tacky old trope of "men and women can't just be friends" and making the platonic MCs "accidentally" have sex and then the idiotic man overthinks it and ruins their entire friendship for no good reason. Just the fucking worst, and completely unnecessary.
Edit a few years later: Lol I'm rereading this review and wondering how on earth I awarded it 3.5 stars 😂 downgrading to 3.
Sigh. Okay, well. I didn't hate this book. It was my first procedural mystery (rather than a campy one), and once the mystery actually got going, I was quite interested and enjoyed the format. I think I'll keep giving the Dublin Murder Squad a try. But definitely on the page rather than audio because christ, that got tedious, and I found the narrator to be quite miscast.
But yeah. Two main flaws:
1) as I already said... the ending was SO unsatisfying. I know this is more real life than campy mysteries, but jesus.
2) The main character was insufferable. I wanted to strangle him so many different times. What a pathetic, stupid loser. I suppose French might have done this on purpose, but god. I just hated him. It's unbelievable to me that this guy ever became a detective at all, let alone was chosen for an elite squad. It also seems crazy that his trauma didn't affect his life more, but I can dismiss that more easily. The brain does a lot to protect itself, and this was the 2000s. Times change. But it's also wild to me that no one he ever ran into on the job recognized him. Sheesh.
Lol those pretty big complaints aside, I think it was written well enough, and I'll probably like her writing more a) on the page and b) with a more tolerable main character.
ETA:
Edit a few years later: Lol I'm rereading this review and wondering how on earth I awarded it 3.5 stars 😂 downgrading to 3.
adventurous
funny
mysterious
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:
Complicated
Still a bit silly for my tastes, but I liked it more than Payback's A Witch. Probably thanks to the enemies to lovers intrigue and the fun mystery. Catch me reading book 3 next October!
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Sigh. I don't think this book was bad.
The inspiration behind it, the concept, and the writing (from a technical standpoint) were all fine. Good, even. But the execution didn't work for me.
I was incredibly bored throughout. The buildup was SO slow and took SO long and did not draw me in. The reveal was so insane and wacky, I just rolled my eyes. I didn't really care for the main character. I think more time could have been dedicated to her relationship with her cousin; it was very underdeveloped and thus didn't feel like a good enough reason for her to make the trip, let alone stick around.
Like I said, not a bad book, and I totally get the draw for some people. It could just be that heavily atmospheric writing isn't my bag. Whatever the case, it didn't do it for me.
The inspiration behind it, the concept, and the writing (from a technical standpoint) were all fine. Good, even. But the execution didn't work for me.
I was incredibly bored throughout. The buildup was SO slow and took SO long and did not draw me in. The reveal was so insane and wacky, I just rolled my eyes. I didn't really care for the main character. I think more time could have been dedicated to her relationship with her cousin; it was very underdeveloped and thus didn't feel like a good enough reason for her to make the trip, let alone stick around.
Like I said, not a bad book, and I totally get the draw for some people. It could just be that heavily atmospheric writing isn't my bag. Whatever the case, it didn't do it for me.
dark
mysterious
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
A nice, if not a bit wacky, finale.
I'm not as much into YA since the time I read the last one almost 2 years ago. But still an enjoyable series.
I'm not as much into YA since the time I read the last one almost 2 years ago. But still an enjoyable series.
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Oh my god 😭😭😭😭 this is without a doubt my favorite one.
Gregory is the best Bridgerton man and the best of all the husbands. Not gross at all, just an adorable simp. Lucy is amazing and not just because she has my name. The way she learns to stand up for herself and take what she wants and not settle for less had me so emotional. Their slow burn was fucking exquisite. The "she fell first, he fell harder" vibes had me squealing without end. The ending was absolutely unhinged and I loved every second. The second epilogue tried to kill me though, jesus christ. 😭😭
A solid #1 in my ranking of the series. I honestly don't know when I'll get over it. 🥲❤️
Gregory is the best Bridgerton man and the best of all the husbands. Not gross at all, just an adorable simp. Lucy is amazing and not just because she has my name. The way she learns to stand up for herself and take what she wants and not settle for less had me so emotional. Their slow burn was fucking exquisite. The "she fell first, he fell harder" vibes had me squealing without end. The ending was absolutely unhinged and I loved every second. The second epilogue tried to kill me though, jesus christ. 😭😭
A solid #1 in my ranking of the series. I honestly don't know when I'll get over it. 🥲❤️