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mystralstorm's reviews
35 reviews
Goddess of the River by Vaishnavi Patel
adventurous
emotional
informative
reflective
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
4.5
Thank you for the eARC NetGalley, Orbit books US, Redhook. All opinions provided are my own.
This is the first book I have read from Vaishnavi Patel and the first exposure to the story of Mahabharata. As someone who has had no experience with the original epic, Vaishnavi did a wonderful job of weaving the retelling into a beautiful new story. I could not put the book down; each time I thought about taking a break, the anticipation of the next section of Ganga’s life kept me going.
Goddess of the River is the reimagining of the story of Mahabharata, an epic that revolves around Bhishma, the son of the river goddess Ganga, and the conflicts of ancient India. Goddess of the River follows the journey of Ganga as she leaves the Heavens and the consequences of interacting with the mortal realm. The two main points of views are Ganga and her son Bhishma. The ripple effects of Ganga’s actions can be seen through Bhishma’s point of view. The actions of the divine and the consequences of men is one of the focus points of the story. For every action taken, good or evil, there is some kind of consequence to the characters.
I think one of my favorite parts of the story is how Ganga never stops acting like a goddess. Even when she is cursed to a mortal body, she still thinks of herself as a goddess. Being a mortal is temporary and every action she takes is working her way to breaking the curse. She doesn’t really try to blend in with civilization, which does cause her some trouble down the road. While she doesn’t struggle with mortality, she does struggle with her behavior as a goddess. It was fun watching her journey from a raging goddess, hating being trapped and separated from her heavenly family, to someone who accepts the nature of mortals and finds her place among them.
While I did enjoy the story, it did not take long for me to get lost with all the characters introduced. Even now I can only really remember four or five in the sea of characters. I also lost track of who was related to who. The eARC did not come with the family tree and I didn’t see the Goodreads one in time; if I was reread with a physical copy later, I’m sure the availability to reference the characters would make keeping track easier.
Overall, Goddess of the River borders on 4.5 stars for me. It might be bumped up to a 5 once I have the family tree in my hand.
PS: Screw Shiva and his actions. I wanted to drown him in the river multiple times. Without his interference there would be no story but his arrogance made me want to scream. I get he is supposed to be a foil of some kind to Ganga but I hated him even at the end of the story.
This is the first book I have read from Vaishnavi Patel and the first exposure to the story of Mahabharata. As someone who has had no experience with the original epic, Vaishnavi did a wonderful job of weaving the retelling into a beautiful new story. I could not put the book down; each time I thought about taking a break, the anticipation of the next section of Ganga’s life kept me going.
Goddess of the River is the reimagining of the story of Mahabharata, an epic that revolves around Bhishma, the son of the river goddess Ganga, and the conflicts of ancient India. Goddess of the River follows the journey of Ganga as she leaves the Heavens and the consequences of interacting with the mortal realm. The two main points of views are Ganga and her son Bhishma. The ripple effects of Ganga’s actions can be seen through Bhishma’s point of view. The actions of the divine and the consequences of men is one of the focus points of the story. For every action taken, good or evil, there is some kind of consequence to the characters.
I think one of my favorite parts of the story is how Ganga never stops acting like a goddess. Even when she is cursed to a mortal body, she still thinks of herself as a goddess. Being a mortal is temporary and every action she takes is working her way to breaking the curse. She doesn’t really try to blend in with civilization, which does cause her some trouble down the road. While she doesn’t struggle with mortality, she does struggle with her behavior as a goddess. It was fun watching her journey from a raging goddess, hating being trapped and separated from her heavenly family, to someone who accepts the nature of mortals and finds her place among them.
While I did enjoy the story, it did not take long for me to get lost with all the characters introduced. Even now I can only really remember four or five in the sea of characters. I also lost track of who was related to who. The eARC did not come with the family tree and I didn’t see the Goodreads one in time; if I was reread with a physical copy later, I’m sure the availability to reference the characters would make keeping track easier.
Overall, Goddess of the River borders on 4.5 stars for me. It might be bumped up to a 5 once I have the family tree in my hand.
PS: Screw Shiva and his actions. I wanted to drown him in the river multiple times. Without his interference there would be no story but his arrogance made me want to scream. I get he is supposed to be a foil of some kind to Ganga but I hated him even at the end of the story.
Lost Boy: The True Story of Captain Hook by Christina Henry
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
4.5
House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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? Yes
4.0
Red Rising by Pierce Brown
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
5.0
None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
I ended up DNF around 55%. I could not get into the book and some of the subjects of the novel was not vibing with me. I figured since I made it pass 50% I could mark it as read. I know the author is trying to make us doubt everything Josie is saying but there is no way to pretty up grooming and pedophilia.
Trigger warning: pedophilia, grooming, underage trauma
Trigger warning: pedophilia, grooming, underage trauma
Hollow by Karina Halle
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan
adventurous
funny
hopeful
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
4.5
Forging Divinity by Andrew Rowe
adventurous
funny
mysterious
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? No
4.0
📖4| 🎧 5
➤ Publisher: Podium Audio
➤ Narrators: Nick Podehl
➤ Standard Listening Length: 12 hours and 10 minutes
➤ Listen Via: Audible
This is my first book from Andrew Rowe and I’ll be checking his other series out. I started out listening to the audiobook but switched to the kindle version for the last few chapters ( Ever since I’ve moved, my listening time has decreased) (the book is currently on KU which is nice).
“Some say that in the city of Orlyn, godhood is on sale to the highest bidder. Thousands flock to the city each year, hoping for a chance at immortality.” I will admit the blurb for the book caught my eyes and made me very curious to see what the story was about. Godhood for sale? Nothing ever good happens when divinity is being sold to the highest bidder. How does that even work?
Forging Divinity is a very classic fantasy story with the usual but loveable tropes and characters. You have the swordsman (Taelien), the knowledgeable sorceress (Lydia), and the quirky side character (sorry Jonan, I know you're not really a side character but you kinda fit the bill). Well, if this was D&D, I'm pretty sure Jonan would be the rogue. Maybe.
Pro’s
♦︎All three main characters were interesting and likable. I usually don’t care for multiple POV in a story but it worked for this story due to all the angles being played. Also, each character’s inner thoughts were written so differently, it was easy to keep track of whose point of view I was with.
♦︎The magic system was unique and I liked the concept of it. One of the aspects of the magic system I really liked was the consequences of using the magic. Every spell had a cost- big or small. I’m so used to seeing people in fantasy just throwing spells around with little to no backlash. Not in this story. An example would be using a fire spell. Trying to light something or someone would draw from your own body temperature. Too much fire and you risked the chance of going into hyperthermia. There was always a physical or mental cost for a spell.
♦︎The fight scenes were fun to read. There weren't many but it was easy to visualize what was going on based on the scene I was reading.
Con's
♦︎I feel like the burb didn’t really match the story. The “godhood” was never really for sale. It didn’t really matter until the end.
♦︎Information was repeated multiple times. I think the author was trying to keep it in our minds but I didn’t feel like I needed to be reminded about the Rethri and their bonds every other chapter. Once or twice would have been fine.
♦︎I would have liked to see more “Gods” action. We really didn’t see much until the end.
Overall I enjoyed Forging Divinity and I'm looking forward to reading the other books in the series.
➤ Publisher: Podium Audio
➤ Narrators: Nick Podehl
➤ Standard Listening Length: 12 hours and 10 minutes
➤ Listen Via: Audible
This is my first book from Andrew Rowe and I’ll be checking his other series out. I started out listening to the audiobook but switched to the kindle version for the last few chapters ( Ever since I’ve moved, my listening time has decreased) (the book is currently on KU which is nice).
“Some say that in the city of Orlyn, godhood is on sale to the highest bidder. Thousands flock to the city each year, hoping for a chance at immortality.” I will admit the blurb for the book caught my eyes and made me very curious to see what the story was about. Godhood for sale? Nothing ever good happens when divinity is being sold to the highest bidder. How does that even work?
Forging Divinity is a very classic fantasy story with the usual but loveable tropes and characters. You have the swordsman (Taelien), the knowledgeable sorceress (Lydia), and the quirky side character (sorry Jonan, I know you're not really a side character but you kinda fit the bill). Well, if this was D&D, I'm pretty sure Jonan would be the rogue. Maybe.
Pro’s
♦︎All three main characters were interesting and likable. I usually don’t care for multiple POV in a story but it worked for this story due to all the angles being played. Also, each character’s inner thoughts were written so differently, it was easy to keep track of whose point of view I was with.
♦︎The magic system was unique and I liked the concept of it. One of the aspects of the magic system I really liked was the consequences of using the magic. Every spell had a cost- big or small. I’m so used to seeing people in fantasy just throwing spells around with little to no backlash. Not in this story. An example would be using a fire spell. Trying to light something or someone would draw from your own body temperature. Too much fire and you risked the chance of going into hyperthermia. There was always a physical or mental cost for a spell.
♦︎The fight scenes were fun to read. There weren't many but it was easy to visualize what was going on based on the scene I was reading.
Con's
♦︎I feel like the burb didn’t really match the story. The “godhood” was never really for sale. It didn’t really matter until the end.
♦︎Information was repeated multiple times. I think the author was trying to keep it in our minds but I didn’t feel like I needed to be reminded about the Rethri and their bonds every other chapter. Once or twice would have been fine.
♦︎I would have liked to see more “Gods” action. We really didn’t see much until the end.
Overall I enjoyed Forging Divinity and I'm looking forward to reading the other books in the series.
Babel by R.F. Kuang
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
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
4.0