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mermaird's reviews
325 reviews
Deeplight by Frances Hardinge
5.0
Deeplight is a strange yet mysteriously beautiful story of the wonders that the sea can offer, and the dangers lurking deep beneath the surface of the waves.
The story is set in a place where the Gods have died; the Gods all lived in the sea. Hark, the boy that I felt should be older than he was supposed to be, was a boy who was enchanted by tales and stories about the Gods, despite never living during the time when they were still around. He struggles to make a living through the visitors of their island, but I would say that his biggest trouble source was Jelt, his best friend. Greed and manipulative relationships were some of the main points of the story; it somehow hurt me beyond the core of they way Hark and Jelt's friendship folded out. It made me question myself about my own treatment towards my friends, for fear that I have this manipulative trait in me as well.
Hark's character development was truly something that I enjoyed through reading this book. In the early parts of the story, he seemed to me to be a lost boy, who yearned for the Gods without knowing exactly the meaning of his life. But as the story progresses, he grew more mature and was able to stand on his own. I love the friendship he formed unwillingly with Selphin–a very badass and strong character, who's not afraid of expressing what she feels–and how they worked together to make things right. Quest is also another character that I liked reading about; he has this charm despite being an old priest, and he too was not afraid to say what he wanted to say.
The way each God was carved out in the story were astounding, and just as I had titled this post, the breathe in your fear. The more you fear them, the stronger they become—which is how things actually worked in reality. If you don't face your fears, they will eat you alive.
Deeplight is the kind of book that is hard to be put in words, there are just too many things to say about it. It's complex; it's beautiful; it's eye-opening in regards of what creatures that could be lurking deep down on the ocean floor—or way beneath that; it's a book that I don't think I'll ever read again, but it will stay in my mind for a very long time.
Many thanks to Pansing for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Deeplight is now available in all good bookstores!
The story is set in a place where the Gods have died; the Gods all lived in the sea. Hark, the boy that I felt should be older than he was supposed to be, was a boy who was enchanted by tales and stories about the Gods, despite never living during the time when they were still around. He struggles to make a living through the visitors of their island, but I would say that his biggest trouble source was Jelt, his best friend. Greed and manipulative relationships were some of the main points of the story; it somehow hurt me beyond the core of they way Hark and Jelt's friendship folded out. It made me question myself about my own treatment towards my friends, for fear that I have this manipulative trait in me as well.
Hark's character development was truly something that I enjoyed through reading this book. In the early parts of the story, he seemed to me to be a lost boy, who yearned for the Gods without knowing exactly the meaning of his life. But as the story progresses, he grew more mature and was able to stand on his own. I love the friendship he formed unwillingly with Selphin–a very badass and strong character, who's not afraid of expressing what she feels–and how they worked together to make things right. Quest is also another character that I liked reading about; he has this charm despite being an old priest, and he too was not afraid to say what he wanted to say.
The way each God was carved out in the story were astounding, and just as I had titled this post, the breathe in your fear. The more you fear them, the stronger they become—which is how things actually worked in reality. If you don't face your fears, they will eat you alive.
Deeplight is the kind of book that is hard to be put in words, there are just too many things to say about it. It's complex; it's beautiful; it's eye-opening in regards of what creatures that could be lurking deep down on the ocean floor—or way beneath that; it's a book that I don't think I'll ever read again, but it will stay in my mind for a very long time.
Many thanks to Pansing for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Deeplight is now available in all good bookstores!
The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic by Leigh Bardugo
5.0
Fairy tales with a touch of darkness, definitely the most wonderful thing I ever encountered ♡
I've always wanted to read something written by Leigh Bardugo (Six of Crows is still in my top TBR list), and since the others are a series of books, I decided to try her stand-alone book first, The Language of Thorns. And oh, I am absolutely, indefinitely in love with it! 4.95/5 (★)
I don't normally read short stories, I've read only a handful of them (and mostly they're fan fictions). That's because in short stories, most of the time, we don't really get to know very deeply about a character, which I am not quite fond of because I like to get to know in-depth about a character and emphatise with them. But in this case, The Language of Thorns proved me wrong. There can be so much more in short stories, to the point that when I placed this book down, tears were falling down my cheeks (excuse me, but I am an emotional person).
There's a total of six short stories in the book, and what can I say? All of them are magical in their own way. I'm a sucker for any kind of fairy tales, and it delights me that Leigh Bardugo brought a touch of darkness into them. Her stories portray that not all beauty are filled with kindness and compassion, and a beast may actually be more humane than a real human. They may be a collection of stories inspired by fairy tales, myths and folklore, yet at the same time, they are much more than just that.
The first story (Ayama and the Thorn Wood) and the last story (When Water Sang Fire) particularly left a large impact to me. Ayama had no beautiful look, but her heart was beautiful. And the beast prince only needed a sincere heart to accept him. In When Water Sang Fire, it teaches a lot about friendship, but in the end, bad love can destroy everything. This is the very story that brought tears to me. Ulla was a beautiful in her own way, yet the others notice nothing but her unnaturally strong melody. She was betrayed just because of that, and it pained me a lot.
Can we just admire the artwork bordering the pages, by Sara Kipin? At the start of each story, a small artwork appears, and it grew and grew until it filled around the pages, and by the end, it became a full two-pages of beautiful artwork. I was, and still am enthralled by the artworks, it made the experience of reading a lot more fun! You'd find yourself trying to figure what new thing will appear in the next page.
As for the usage of language, I have absolutely no complaints. Each and every word were written very beautifully, and instead of just reading through the words, I felt like it was being read aloud to me. The words seem to speak on their own, and I have this image of me sitting comfortably on a bed, and someone was reading the stories to me like bedtime stories. I never had that experience, but through this book, I felt like it was a real experience to me.
Overall, The Language of Thorns is just a perfection. I have no other words to describe it other than being utterly magnificent. I learned a lot through it, and the biggest thing would be: be careful of who you trust and love.
I've always wanted to read something written by Leigh Bardugo (Six of Crows is still in my top TBR list), and since the others are a series of books, I decided to try her stand-alone book first, The Language of Thorns. And oh, I am absolutely, indefinitely in love with it! 4.95/5 (★)
I don't normally read short stories, I've read only a handful of them (and mostly they're fan fictions). That's because in short stories, most of the time, we don't really get to know very deeply about a character, which I am not quite fond of because I like to get to know in-depth about a character and emphatise with them. But in this case, The Language of Thorns proved me wrong. There can be so much more in short stories, to the point that when I placed this book down, tears were falling down my cheeks (excuse me, but I am an emotional person).
There's a total of six short stories in the book, and what can I say? All of them are magical in their own way. I'm a sucker for any kind of fairy tales, and it delights me that Leigh Bardugo brought a touch of darkness into them. Her stories portray that not all beauty are filled with kindness and compassion, and a beast may actually be more humane than a real human. They may be a collection of stories inspired by fairy tales, myths and folklore, yet at the same time, they are much more than just that.
The first story (Ayama and the Thorn Wood) and the last story (When Water Sang Fire) particularly left a large impact to me. Ayama had no beautiful look, but her heart was beautiful. And the beast prince only needed a sincere heart to accept him. In When Water Sang Fire, it teaches a lot about friendship, but in the end, bad love can destroy everything. This is the very story that brought tears to me. Ulla was a beautiful in her own way, yet the others notice nothing but her unnaturally strong melody. She was betrayed just because of that, and it pained me a lot.
Can we just admire the artwork bordering the pages, by Sara Kipin? At the start of each story, a small artwork appears, and it grew and grew until it filled around the pages, and by the end, it became a full two-pages of beautiful artwork. I was, and still am enthralled by the artworks, it made the experience of reading a lot more fun! You'd find yourself trying to figure what new thing will appear in the next page.
As for the usage of language, I have absolutely no complaints. Each and every word were written very beautifully, and instead of just reading through the words, I felt like it was being read aloud to me. The words seem to speak on their own, and I have this image of me sitting comfortably on a bed, and someone was reading the stories to me like bedtime stories. I never had that experience, but through this book, I felt like it was a real experience to me.
Overall, The Language of Thorns is just a perfection. I have no other words to describe it other than being utterly magnificent. I learned a lot through it, and the biggest thing would be: be careful of who you trust and love.
The Distance Between Me and the Cherry Tree by Paola Peretti
5.0
The Distance Between Me and the Cherry Tree is about little Mafalda who has been diagnosed with the Stargardt disease and how she struggles to get used to her progressively vision loss. It's hard to swallow that people as young as Mafalda had to go through such a rough journey, and the fact that this story is inspired by the author's own experience made it more genuine and sincere.
Nine years old Mafalda is a sweet girl, but due to her condition, she had no best friend. It breaks my heart to see how lonely she feels, and how she longed to have someone next to her now that the darkness is taking over her. Her "talks" with a fiction character, Cosimo, is enough to make me tear up. So, when Filippo comes along with his own merry spirit and curiousity, and both children simply connect. The same goes for Estella, one of the school caretaker that befriends Mafalda. Her character plays a rather large role in shaping Mafalda to be stronger.
Thank you Pansing for providing me with a review copy of this book. The full review is available on my blog ♡
Nine years old Mafalda is a sweet girl, but due to her condition, she had no best friend. It breaks my heart to see how lonely she feels, and how she longed to have someone next to her now that the darkness is taking over her. Her "talks" with a fiction character, Cosimo, is enough to make me tear up. So, when Filippo comes along with his own merry spirit and curiousity, and both children simply connect. The same goes for Estella, one of the school caretaker that befriends Mafalda. Her character plays a rather large role in shaping Mafalda to be stronger.
Thank you Pansing for providing me with a review copy of this book. The full review is available on my blog ♡
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
5.0
This took me so long to review because I found myself loving it more than I expected! I love Zelie’s ferocity and tempers, and I absolutely enjoyed the interactions between her, Tzain and Amari.
The amount of blood shed and the deaths following the story broke my heart, and the forbidden love between Zelie and Inan was controversial, perhaps too “insta”, but thrilling nonetheless ✨
A full review is now available in my BLOG!
The amount of blood shed and the deaths following the story broke my heart, and the forbidden love between Zelie and Inan was controversial, perhaps too “insta”, but thrilling nonetheless ✨
A full review is now available in my BLOG!
The Winner's Kiss by Marie Rutkoski
5.0
Spent my day finishing The Winner’s Kiss, and now I’m so torn over the fact that this is the end of The Winner’s Curse trilogy