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nikolinaza's reviews
526 reviews
Penyatuan by Eve Aulyta, Yuu Sasih
5.0
Trigger warnings: sexual harassment, sexual abuse, self-harm, arson, murder attempt, usage of drugs.
Ketika mimpi buruk Aga semakin parah dan nyaris merenggut kewarasannya, Wara meminta bantuan Lingga--seorang profesor yang terobsesi dengan sejarah terlebih kisah masa lalu Wara dan kerisnya sekaligus sahabatnya--untuk mencari asal-usul keris misterius itu. Sementara Wara mencoba mengulik masa lalunya di Yogya bersama Aga, Lingga pergi ke Jawa Timur bersama Yono, pemilik kedai kopi langganannya yang belakangan ini makin kerap mencuri perhatiannya. Namun, kekuatan keris itu seolah semakin besar, dan ditambah dengan pihak lain yang mencoba mencari jawaban atas misteri keris bertuah itu, hidup keempatnya terancam bahaya.
Dibanding buku sebelumnya, 'Penyatuan' memiliki alur dan misteri yang lebih kompleks. Benang merah yang mengikat keenam tokoh sentral dalam cerita--Aga, Wara, Lingga, Yono, Aru, Kei--sedikit demi sedikit menjadi semakin jelas, meski di belakang itu semua masih tersimpan entah berapa juta keruwetan lagi. Aku suka bagaimana Kak Yuu meramu semua klu, menempatkannya di posisi-posisi yang tepat sehingga mudah untuk diikuti dan diingat.
Lingga dan Yono. Dibanding Aga dan Wara, kisah mereka berdua tidak terlalu manis dan cenderung angsty. Masa lalu Yono berhasil menambah kedalaman dimensi cerita mereka berdua, sehingga tidak semata adegan 21+ saja. Jujur, sayang banget rasanya sama Yono. He's incredibly strong despite every hell he's gone through, dan meski punya struggle sendiri, masih bisa meladeni Lingga yang rada-rada berengsek (sesuai sama makna namanya, memang. Hah!). Untungnya, Pak Dosen berhasil menyelamatkan harga dirinya sebagai lelaki sejati di akhir.
Sumpah yo Ling, macem-macem maneh karo Yono, tak sleding ndhasmu.
Dan ending-nya... HARUS BEGITU BANGET KAH????????
Dahlah, mari kita en route ke 'Pencapaian'. Enggak sabar mau baca kelanjutan pasangan Aga-Wara, Lingga-Yono, dan pasangan baru Tosan-Aji :D
Ketika mimpi buruk Aga semakin parah dan nyaris merenggut kewarasannya, Wara meminta bantuan Lingga--seorang profesor yang terobsesi dengan sejarah terlebih kisah masa lalu Wara dan kerisnya sekaligus sahabatnya--untuk mencari asal-usul keris misterius itu. Sementara Wara mencoba mengulik masa lalunya di Yogya bersama Aga, Lingga pergi ke Jawa Timur bersama Yono, pemilik kedai kopi langganannya yang belakangan ini makin kerap mencuri perhatiannya. Namun, kekuatan keris itu seolah semakin besar, dan ditambah dengan pihak lain yang mencoba mencari jawaban atas misteri keris bertuah itu, hidup keempatnya terancam bahaya.
Dibanding buku sebelumnya, 'Penyatuan' memiliki alur dan misteri yang lebih kompleks. Benang merah yang mengikat keenam tokoh sentral dalam cerita--Aga, Wara, Lingga, Yono, Aru, Kei--sedikit demi sedikit menjadi semakin jelas, meski di belakang itu semua masih tersimpan entah berapa juta keruwetan lagi. Aku suka bagaimana Kak Yuu meramu semua klu, menempatkannya di posisi-posisi yang tepat sehingga mudah untuk diikuti dan diingat.
Lingga dan Yono. Dibanding Aga dan Wara, kisah mereka berdua tidak terlalu manis dan cenderung angsty. Masa lalu Yono berhasil menambah kedalaman dimensi cerita mereka berdua, sehingga tidak semata adegan 21+ saja. Jujur, sayang banget rasanya sama Yono. He's incredibly strong despite every hell he's gone through, dan meski punya struggle sendiri, masih bisa meladeni Lingga yang rada-rada berengsek (sesuai sama makna namanya, memang. Hah!). Untungnya, Pak Dosen berhasil menyelamatkan harga dirinya sebagai lelaki sejati di akhir.
Sumpah yo Ling, macem-macem maneh karo Yono, tak sleding ndhasmu.
Dan ending-nya... HARUS BEGITU BANGET KAH????????
Dahlah, mari kita en route ke 'Pencapaian'. Enggak sabar mau baca kelanjutan pasangan Aga-Wara, Lingga-Yono, dan pasangan baru Tosan-Aji :D
Kiss & Tell by Adib Khorram
4.0
After a messy breakup with Aidan resulting some leaked sexts, Hunter found his life to be constantly under surveillance. People turned their back on him because he was not a 'good example' for those gay teens out there. To reclaim his good image, The Label decided to pair him with Kaivan, the drummer of one of the rising star, PAR-K, which happen to be his tour opener. Their mutual feelings were authentic--but with all those camera following them around, troubles started to brew.
Books about the life of the famous people has always been intriguing for me. Compared to Darius The Great Duology, Kiss & Tell has a more vibrant, chaotic, reckless, life-of-the-party vibe, with a lot of lighter ambience. But just like his two previous works I've read, there's also a heavy issue we need to talk about so badly: the stereotypes of gay people. Especially the bottom ones.
I am quite familiar with LGBTQ+ works of fiction. You could find them literally anywhere--fanfics, AUs, fan arts, etc etc--and it has become more and more popular each day. It's nice to see LGBTQ+ people getting more acceptance, but what bothers me while enjoying those fictional work is how nearly all of them picturing the bottom character as someone feminine, seductive, and most importantly, looks innocent but slutty.
*sighs*
I mean, there's nothing wrong to fit in those criterias I've said before, but that doesn't apply to every single bottom out there, you know? As a straight girl who has no experience of being gay or even more, a bottom, I feel deeply, extremely uncomfortable when nearly every bottom character was reduced to that stereotypes. And after reading the stereotyped bottom representation through Hunter, I kind of understand more how hurftul is that. Imagine forced being someone you're not just because you want to be accepted in the eyes of the society who judged you constantly for being a whore for having a consensual sex with your boyfriend, and also criticizing you because you don't look feminine enough to be a bottom.
Welp, kudos to Adib Khorram for bringing this up. There's more than enough bottom fetishizing here and we definitely don't need to see more.
Another thing I really like from this book was all the main characters. That being said Hunter, his bandmates (I feel so bad for not mentioning their name--Owen, Ian, Ashton, Ethan), Kaivan, and Aidan. They were a great and real depiction of teenager--hot-headed, stubborn, emotional, and making a lot of mistakes. Not someone who were young but had the level of wiseness as those of monks. They felt so real and humane enough to be relatable.
The problem with this book was that the story only centered around Hunter, Kaivan, and a little bit more of Aidan. I mean, I do enjoy those cutesy Haivan moments, but I feel like most of them just fell flat and did only a little significance for the whole story. I mean, I get it--their 'fake dates' has to be seen on camera, BUT this book has a lot more than that. We don't need to be distracted by Haivan taking a walk in a park together when there's a lot of problems to deal with back home--or in this case, the tour bus. For example, Hunter's writer's block, his fights with people around him, etc. It's a shame that Hunter's bandmates were only there for the emotional gurus when they could have more important roles for Hunter and also for the band.
4 out of 5--I kind of hoping there would be a book for each band members because I would love to know them more deeply.
P.S. I have no idea why did my brain kept on repeating Momoland and Natti Natasha's song 'Yummy Yummy Love'... And imagining Kaivan singing that to Hunter
Books about the life of the famous people has always been intriguing for me. Compared to Darius The Great Duology, Kiss & Tell has a more vibrant, chaotic, reckless, life-of-the-party vibe, with a lot of lighter ambience. But just like his two previous works I've read, there's also a heavy issue we need to talk about so badly: the stereotypes of gay people. Especially the bottom ones.
I am quite familiar with LGBTQ+ works of fiction. You could find them literally anywhere--fanfics, AUs, fan arts, etc etc--and it has become more and more popular each day. It's nice to see LGBTQ+ people getting more acceptance, but what bothers me while enjoying those fictional work is how nearly all of them picturing the bottom character as someone feminine, seductive, and most importantly, looks innocent but slutty.
*sighs*
I mean, there's nothing wrong to fit in those criterias I've said before, but that doesn't apply to every single bottom out there, you know? As a straight girl who has no experience of being gay or even more, a bottom, I feel deeply, extremely uncomfortable when nearly every bottom character was reduced to that stereotypes. And after reading the stereotyped bottom representation through Hunter, I kind of understand more how hurftul is that. Imagine forced being someone you're not just because you want to be accepted in the eyes of the society who judged you constantly for being a whore for having a consensual sex with your boyfriend, and also criticizing you because you don't look feminine enough to be a bottom.
Welp, kudos to Adib Khorram for bringing this up. There's more than enough bottom fetishizing here and we definitely don't need to see more.
Another thing I really like from this book was all the main characters. That being said Hunter, his bandmates (I feel so bad for not mentioning their name--Owen, Ian, Ashton, Ethan), Kaivan, and Aidan. They were a great and real depiction of teenager--hot-headed, stubborn, emotional, and making a lot of mistakes. Not someone who were young but had the level of wiseness as those of monks. They felt so real and humane enough to be relatable.
The problem with this book was that the story only centered around Hunter, Kaivan, and a little bit more of Aidan. I mean, I do enjoy those cutesy Haivan moments, but I feel like most of them just fell flat and did only a little significance for the whole story. I mean, I get it--their 'fake dates' has to be seen on camera, BUT this book has a lot more than that. We don't need to be distracted by Haivan taking a walk in a park together when there's a lot of problems to deal with back home--or in this case, the tour bus. For example, Hunter's writer's block, his fights with people around him, etc. It's a shame that Hunter's bandmates were only there for the emotional gurus when they could have more important roles for Hunter and also for the band.
4 out of 5--I kind of hoping there would be a book for each band members because I would love to know them more deeply.
P.S. I have no idea why did my brain kept on repeating Momoland and Natti Natasha's song 'Yummy Yummy Love'... And imagining Kaivan singing that to Hunter
Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
4.0
As a trans boy, Yadriel was denied to be a brujo by everyone around him, including his own family. Until one night, with the help of his cousin/ride or die Maritza, he performed the sacred ritual by himself, and eventually granted by Santa Muerte. To prove that he's a capable brujo, he wanted to summon the spirit of his long, dead cousin Miguel. But the ghost he managed to summon was Julian Diaz, the school's bad boy who were not willing to let go of his life so easily. And when they decided to solve this problem together, they found out it was even bigger than it looks.
This book has found its way to my Twitter's timeline and eventually it became too hard to resist. I am not usually go for ultra-hyped books (learned that in the hardest way possible), but I have no idea why when it popped up in one of my go-to online bookstore, my hands decided to put it in the basket and paid for it.
Seems like Santa Muerte wanted to see me herself.
Anyways, I gave the book a chance... and it's ultimately safe to say that I was not disappointed at all.
First, the Latinx representation. I have always been attracted to Latin culture, and this is the first book I've read that had Latinx characters as more than just a sidekick in a story. Aiden Thomas did it marvelously--the people, the culture, they were explained and pictured so thoroughly, they gave me joy and also new knowledge.
And then, the writing style. It was truly enchanting, it felt like a true magic has seeped out through every words and sentences, ready to lure the readers to keep on reading. Bravo, bravo.
And of course, Julian and Yadriel. Their chemistry and dynamics were just crazy.
The problem with this book was the pacing. At the beginning, some parts were too elongated and dragged, and some of them was just a bunch of repetition. I'm not usually gets fussy over these things if the promised ending was as good as this one, but they deterred the story to go deeper. With these types of characters, as a reader, I want a more profound backstory and more challenging obstacles other than Yadriel's struggle to be accepted to society. There's a lot of potential problems here, and too bad, they weren't used like they supposed to.
4 out of 5, will be waiting for more books like this!
This book has found its way to my Twitter's timeline and eventually it became too hard to resist. I am not usually go for ultra-hyped books (learned that in the hardest way possible), but I have no idea why when it popped up in one of my go-to online bookstore, my hands decided to put it in the basket and paid for it.
Seems like Santa Muerte wanted to see me herself.
Anyways, I gave the book a chance... and it's ultimately safe to say that I was not disappointed at all.
First, the Latinx representation. I have always been attracted to Latin culture, and this is the first book I've read that had Latinx characters as more than just a sidekick in a story. Aiden Thomas did it marvelously--the people, the culture, they were explained and pictured so thoroughly, they gave me joy and also new knowledge.
And then, the writing style. It was truly enchanting, it felt like a true magic has seeped out through every words and sentences, ready to lure the readers to keep on reading. Bravo, bravo.
And of course, Julian and Yadriel. Their chemistry and dynamics were just crazy.
The problem with this book was the pacing. At the beginning, some parts were too elongated and dragged, and some of them was just a bunch of repetition. I'm not usually gets fussy over these things if the promised ending was as good as this one, but they deterred the story to go deeper. With these types of characters, as a reader, I want a more profound backstory and more challenging obstacles other than Yadriel's struggle to be accepted to society. There's a lot of potential problems here, and too bad, they weren't used like they supposed to.
4 out of 5, will be waiting for more books like this!
Pencarian by Eve Aulyta, Yuu Sasih
5.0
So far loving this one.... meski misterinya enggak terlalu berbelit-belit, tapi masih tetap menarik untuk diikuti. Plus, kemistri antara Aga sama Wara itu enggak terkalahkan, deh XD
Jadi enggak sabar nunggu buku kedua dan ketiga yang lagi en route ke rumah....
Jadi enggak sabar nunggu buku kedua dan ketiga yang lagi en route ke rumah....
The Name of the Game by Adelina Ayu
5.0
LUCU SEKALI HSHSHSHAHSH. Hampir aja enggak bisa nahan ketawa di kantor
Belenggu Ilse by Ruwi Meita
5.0
Trigger warning: kekerasan fisik, pencucian otak, kebakaran, detail brutal.
Setelah menghilang selama dua tahun, Ilse kembali ke rumahnya pada suatu malam tanpa setitik pun ingatan tentang kehidupannya sebelum dia pergi. Dia mencoba kembali ke kehidupan normalnya bersama suami, anak, dan sahabatnya ketika Molly datang dan memintanya mencari kebenaran. Perlahan, fakta-fakta mengerikan mulai terungkap, dan Ilse semakin meragukan mana yang benar dan mana yang tidak.
Ini adalah salah satu novel Ruwi Meita yang paling aku suka selain Misteri Patung Garam. Bedanya, di sini penulis lebih mengeksplorasi sisi gelap tiap-tiap tokohnya. Masing-masing dari mereka memiliki kekurangan, dosa, dan motif tersendiri sehingga mereka terasa sangat realistis. Aku selalu suka membaca cerita tentang tokoh yang morally grey seperti mereka. Selama membaca buku ini, aku sering merasa was-was dan curiga untuk memercayai salah satu dari mereka.
Alur di buku ini cukup cepat. Ditambah dengan bab yang pendek-pendek, sangat mudah buatku untuk terjebak berjam-jam dengan buku ini tanpa ingin berhenti karena penulis selalu tahu caranya menjaga agar nuansa muram dan tegang yang meliputi buku ini tidak pernah pudar. Kalau enggak karena ada urusan lain, mungkin sehari bisa selesai.
Setelah menghilang selama dua tahun, Ilse kembali ke rumahnya pada suatu malam tanpa setitik pun ingatan tentang kehidupannya sebelum dia pergi. Dia mencoba kembali ke kehidupan normalnya bersama suami, anak, dan sahabatnya ketika Molly datang dan memintanya mencari kebenaran. Perlahan, fakta-fakta mengerikan mulai terungkap, dan Ilse semakin meragukan mana yang benar dan mana yang tidak.
Ini adalah salah satu novel Ruwi Meita yang paling aku suka selain Misteri Patung Garam. Bedanya, di sini penulis lebih mengeksplorasi sisi gelap tiap-tiap tokohnya. Masing-masing dari mereka memiliki kekurangan, dosa, dan motif tersendiri sehingga mereka terasa sangat realistis. Aku selalu suka membaca cerita tentang tokoh yang morally grey seperti mereka. Selama membaca buku ini, aku sering merasa was-was dan curiga untuk memercayai salah satu dari mereka.
Alur di buku ini cukup cepat. Ditambah dengan bab yang pendek-pendek, sangat mudah buatku untuk terjebak berjam-jam dengan buku ini tanpa ingin berhenti karena penulis selalu tahu caranya menjaga agar nuansa muram dan tegang yang meliputi buku ini tidak pernah pudar. Kalau enggak karena ada urusan lain, mungkin sehari bisa selesai.
Radio Silence by Alice Oseman
5.0
If this isn't the wholesomest book I've read these past three months.....
Like Frances and Aled and Daniel and Raine and Frances' Mom were so precious *insert crying emoji here*
Also, it's kind of unnerving how every single one of Alice Oseman's book relate so much with me....
Like Frances and Aled and Daniel and Raine and Frances' Mom were so precious *insert crying emoji here*
Also, it's kind of unnerving how every single one of Alice Oseman's book relate so much with me....
Cerita-cerita Bahagia, Hampir Seluruhnya by Norman Erikson Pasaribu
4.0
Actual rating: 3.9 ⭐
As always, short stories compilation have always been a hit or miss for me, and this one was quite a hit. Some of the stories were a bit hard to comprehend and took a bit of a longer time to be read (even though literature was my major, but I have always find it hard to understand the metaphors in literary works), but some just went smoothly with the flow.
My favorites:
1. Siapa Namamu, Sandra?
2. Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam
3. Divisi Doa Tak Berjawab (hilarious!)
4. Kisah Sesungguhnya Tentang Lelaki Raksasa
5. Keturunan Kita Akan Sebanyak Awan di Angkasa
Well, if you want to know how it feels to be almost happy, go read this book.
As always, short stories compilation have always been a hit or miss for me, and this one was quite a hit. Some of the stories were a bit hard to comprehend and took a bit of a longer time to be read (even though literature was my major, but I have always find it hard to understand the metaphors in literary works), but some just went smoothly with the flow.
My favorites:
1. Siapa Namamu, Sandra?
2. Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam
3. Divisi Doa Tak Berjawab (hilarious!)
4. Kisah Sesungguhnya Tentang Lelaki Raksasa
5. Keturunan Kita Akan Sebanyak Awan di Angkasa
Well, if you want to know how it feels to be almost happy, go read this book.
You've Reached Sam by Dustin Thao
5.0
Actual rating: 4.5 out of 5 ⭐
It does live up to its hype. I'm glad I didn't continue reading this in office or else I'll cry a river and nobody would speak to me again
It does live up to its hype. I'm glad I didn't continue reading this in office or else I'll cry a river and nobody would speak to me again
Jakarta Vigilante by Victoria A. Lestari
3.0
Actual rating: 2.95
Trigger warning: mention(s) of rape, violence, bombing.
Tiara Suryajati tengah menjalani hidupnya sebagai seorang putri konglomerat dan pengusaha dengan bahagia hingga pada suatu hari, Angela, adik sepupu yang paling disayanginya, diculik dan tewas dalam keadaan mengenaskan. Dengan koneksi yang dimilikinya, dia berhasil mendapatkan informasi bahwa ada seseorang yang telah merencanakan kematian Angela. Ketika kasusnya ditutup, Tiara pun berniat membalas dendam dengan cara yang tidak dilindungi hukum--menjadi seorang vigilante. Dengan bantuan Lita, Danar, dan Bagus, Tiara berhasil menemukan bahwa ada kejahatan yang jauh lebih besar di balik tewasnya Angela.
Ini adalah salah satu wishlist-ku sejak lama. Di tengah-tengah gempuran novel bergenre romance, penulis tampil beda dengan mengeluarkan buku bertema aksi yang masih cukup jarang bisa ditemukan di sini. Premisnya pun menarik dan cukup unik--seorang wanita muda kaya yang mencari kebenaran dan keadilan dengan caranya sendiri tanpa bantuan hukum yang tumpul ke atas, tapi tajam ke bawah. Sedikit banyak, premis tersebut membuat aku teringat film-film luar negeri bertema serupa.
Dari segi cerita, Jakarta Vigilante sama sekali tidak mengecewakan. Meski ada beberapa adegan aksi yang terkesan too good to be true--dalam hal ini, contohnya Tiara dkk memiliki kostum canggih yang membantu mereka dalam menjalankan aksi, suplai persenjataan dan alat transportasi yang tanpa batas--tetapi semua itu berjalan sesuai dengan premis yang ditawarkan. Yang paling membuat aku senang adalah porsi romance yang pas dan tidak mencaplok sebagian besar plot. Action with a tiny sliver of love story is always nice to read.
Sayangnya, ada satu kekurangan yang cukup vital di sini. Penulis menggunakan terlalu banyak 'tell' dibanding 'show'. Hal itu membuat cerita berjalan terlalu cepat sehingga ada banyak petunjuk serta adegan penting yang tidak meninggalkan kesan mendalam dan mudah terlupakan begitu saja. Selain itu, rasanya seperti pembaca tidak diberikan waktu rehat sejenak untuk sekadar menyerap misteri yang dihadapi sebelum bertemu dengan lapisan-lapisan misteri sesudahnya. Capek dan sedikit membosankan. Tokoh-tokoh yang seharusnya menarik perhatian pun terkesan hanya sekilas lewat saja.
Overall, it was a nice debut. Semoga penulis bisa semakin berkembang dan menyumbang lebih banyak genre aksi ke depannya.
Trigger warning: mention(s) of rape, violence, bombing.
Tiara Suryajati tengah menjalani hidupnya sebagai seorang putri konglomerat dan pengusaha dengan bahagia hingga pada suatu hari, Angela, adik sepupu yang paling disayanginya, diculik dan tewas dalam keadaan mengenaskan. Dengan koneksi yang dimilikinya, dia berhasil mendapatkan informasi bahwa ada seseorang yang telah merencanakan kematian Angela. Ketika kasusnya ditutup, Tiara pun berniat membalas dendam dengan cara yang tidak dilindungi hukum--menjadi seorang vigilante. Dengan bantuan Lita, Danar, dan Bagus, Tiara berhasil menemukan bahwa ada kejahatan yang jauh lebih besar di balik tewasnya Angela.
Ini adalah salah satu wishlist-ku sejak lama. Di tengah-tengah gempuran novel bergenre romance, penulis tampil beda dengan mengeluarkan buku bertema aksi yang masih cukup jarang bisa ditemukan di sini. Premisnya pun menarik dan cukup unik--seorang wanita muda kaya yang mencari kebenaran dan keadilan dengan caranya sendiri tanpa bantuan hukum yang tumpul ke atas, tapi tajam ke bawah. Sedikit banyak, premis tersebut membuat aku teringat film-film luar negeri bertema serupa.
Dari segi cerita, Jakarta Vigilante sama sekali tidak mengecewakan. Meski ada beberapa adegan aksi yang terkesan too good to be true--dalam hal ini, contohnya Tiara dkk memiliki kostum canggih yang membantu mereka dalam menjalankan aksi, suplai persenjataan dan alat transportasi yang tanpa batas--tetapi semua itu berjalan sesuai dengan premis yang ditawarkan. Yang paling membuat aku senang adalah porsi romance yang pas dan tidak mencaplok sebagian besar plot. Action with a tiny sliver of love story is always nice to read.
Sayangnya, ada satu kekurangan yang cukup vital di sini. Penulis menggunakan terlalu banyak 'tell' dibanding 'show'. Hal itu membuat cerita berjalan terlalu cepat sehingga ada banyak petunjuk serta adegan penting yang tidak meninggalkan kesan mendalam dan mudah terlupakan begitu saja. Selain itu, rasanya seperti pembaca tidak diberikan waktu rehat sejenak untuk sekadar menyerap misteri yang dihadapi sebelum bertemu dengan lapisan-lapisan misteri sesudahnya. Capek dan sedikit membosankan. Tokoh-tokoh yang seharusnya menarik perhatian pun terkesan hanya sekilas lewat saja.
Overall, it was a nice debut. Semoga penulis bisa semakin berkembang dan menyumbang lebih banyak genre aksi ke depannya.