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notesbynnenna's Reviews (513)
Adventure novels are so perfect for summertime, right? This book follows a cast of characters as they cross the Egyptian desert in search of a long-lost tomb. I picked up this novel because one of my booktube friends was hosting a read-a-long last month.
I like reading books set in far away lands- it makes me feel like I’m seeing the world, even though I haven’t actually traveled anywhere. This book started off a little slow for me, but then it did pick up. My favorite character was Jenny, the niece of the archaeologist who leads the expedition. She grew up in the American frontier, so she’s plucky, skilled with a gun, and unafraid to speak her mind. I love spunky female characters! In this book, there’s travel, codes/riddles, archaeology and adventure- all good things. I will say that the last third of the book took an unexpected turn, which I didn’t enjoy as much. I thought it was a bit weird, confusing, and philosophical. However, the parts I enjoyed outweighed the parts I didn’t like as much. Now I want to go on an expedition in Egypt and have an adventure!
I like reading books set in far away lands- it makes me feel like I’m seeing the world, even though I haven’t actually traveled anywhere. This book started off a little slow for me, but then it did pick up. My favorite character was Jenny, the niece of the archaeologist who leads the expedition. She grew up in the American frontier, so she’s plucky, skilled with a gun, and unafraid to speak her mind. I love spunky female characters! In this book, there’s travel, codes/riddles, archaeology and adventure- all good things. I will say that the last third of the book took an unexpected turn, which I didn’t enjoy as much. I thought it was a bit weird, confusing, and philosophical. However, the parts I enjoyed outweighed the parts I didn’t like as much. Now I want to go on an expedition in Egypt and have an adventure!
I enjoyed The Raven Boys, so I was looking forward to reading the second book in the series. There’s not too much I can say about the plot without spoilers, but I will say that the main plot of the first novel takes a backseat here and it’s much more focused on one character- Ronan.
I did not know that when I started the book; I assumed it would pick up right where the first one left off. This left me a bit disappointed and I really missed the interactions of the group as a whole. We are introduced to a few new characters, but really I would have liked more focus on the original characters. Don’t get me wrong- this was still a good read. I just had certain expectations and the focus of this book wasn’t really what drew me in to the story in the first place.
I did not know that when I started the book; I assumed it would pick up right where the first one left off. This left me a bit disappointed and I really missed the interactions of the group as a whole. We are introduced to a few new characters, but really I would have liked more focus on the original characters. Don’t get me wrong- this was still a good read. I just had certain expectations and the focus of this book wasn’t really what drew me in to the story in the first place.
Here’s another book that was good, but also slightly disappointing. I first heard about it on Book Riot a few weeks before it was published and I immediately placed a hold at my local library. In this book, Zacharias is the Sorcerer Royal, the highest level of sorcerer in all of England. Although he has great magical abilities, he is frequently disrespected because of the color of his skin (he’s black). There’s a lack of magic throughout England, which of course is a problem. Zacharias travels to the border of Fairyland, the source of magic, to investigate the magical deficiency, and along the way he stops at a school for girls to give a speech. In this society, practicing magic is for males only; females are considered too weak to handle magic (grrrrrrrrrrrrr). When Zacharias visits the school and observes how the girls are taught to suppress their magical abilities, which can cause them great harm, he is horrified. He decides to campaign to completely reform restrictions on females and practicing magic.
Ok, there are a lot of great themes going on in this book. First of all, there’s a main character who’s a person of color and a powerful magician. Awesome! There’s another main character, Prunella, who’s a female person of color and also a powerful magicienne. Super awesome! There’s a lot of discussion of race and class in this novel, which is very interesting. Even though Zacharias has achieved the highest level of sorcery through skill alone, there are people who constantly doubt him and seek his downfall. Prunella also has to deal with assumptions about her character, simply because she’s of mixed heritage. Another theme that’s explored is feminism- in this case it’s the idea that females should have the same magical rights as males. It’s thought that females are not strong enough to practice magic, or if they are, that they’ll only use it for frivolous domestic tasks. The magical society in England refuses to recognize that there are females with great abilities too.
I thought the world the author created was well done and that she tackled some very interesting themes. There was still something holding me back from loving this book though. Perhaps it was the writing style, which was old-fashioned and put some distance between myself and the characters. Perhaps it was a bit too long, and some less interesting sections could have been cut. Overall, I liked it and I would read the next book in the series.
Ok, there are a lot of great themes going on in this book. First of all, there’s a main character who’s a person of color and a powerful magician. Awesome! There’s another main character, Prunella, who’s a female person of color and also a powerful magicienne. Super awesome! There’s a lot of discussion of race and class in this novel, which is very interesting. Even though Zacharias has achieved the highest level of sorcery through skill alone, there are people who constantly doubt him and seek his downfall. Prunella also has to deal with assumptions about her character, simply because she’s of mixed heritage. Another theme that’s explored is feminism- in this case it’s the idea that females should have the same magical rights as males. It’s thought that females are not strong enough to practice magic, or if they are, that they’ll only use it for frivolous domestic tasks. The magical society in England refuses to recognize that there are females with great abilities too.
I thought the world the author created was well done and that she tackled some very interesting themes. There was still something holding me back from loving this book though. Perhaps it was the writing style, which was old-fashioned and put some distance between myself and the characters. Perhaps it was a bit too long, and some less interesting sections could have been cut. Overall, I liked it and I would read the next book in the series.
2.5 stars
I’d heard a lot of interesting things about this book and it was on my TBR for a while. One booktube friend in particular told me that I had to listen to the audiobook version. You guys know that I don’t generally listen to a lot of audiobooks, but I trusted her opinion and decided to borrow it from the library.
Right away I was uncomfortable and a little embarrassed. I thought, “I hope no one can overhear this right now!” You is your classic boy-meets-girl story, except the boy is a crazy-obsessed stalker. Beck walks into the bookstore where Joe works and it’s love obsession at first sight. He googles her, finds her Twitter, figures out where she goes to school, figures out where she lives, and basically begins to full-on stalk her.
The novel is written from Joe’s point of view and it’s unsettling to be in the mind of someone so twisted. He sees nothing wrong with his actions and he takes the smallest interaction with Beck and blows it far out of proportion. This book contains a lot of graphic and explicit language, so I’d give this a pass if that’s not your jam. I do have to say that the audiobook of this was very well done. The narrator did an amazing job of capturing Joe’s different moods. One minute he’s ecstatic because Beck has agreed to go on a date with him, the next he’s enraged because she’s still talking to her ex-boyfriend. It’s shockingly easy for Joe to find personal information about Beck on the internet and it makes you think twice about what you put out there.
Joe does all kinds of terrible things, and honestly, Beck isn’t a really great person either. She’s self-absorbed and makes a habit of using people. This book gets points for being a page-turner, although towards the end, I was ready for it to be over. If you like thrillers with completely twisted narrators and don’t mind the explicit content, you might like this.
I’d heard a lot of interesting things about this book and it was on my TBR for a while. One booktube friend in particular told me that I had to listen to the audiobook version. You guys know that I don’t generally listen to a lot of audiobooks, but I trusted her opinion and decided to borrow it from the library.
Right away I was uncomfortable and a little embarrassed. I thought, “I hope no one can overhear this right now!” You is your classic boy-meets-girl story, except the boy is a crazy-obsessed stalker. Beck walks into the bookstore where Joe works and it’s love obsession at first sight. He googles her, finds her Twitter, figures out where she goes to school, figures out where she lives, and basically begins to full-on stalk her.
The novel is written from Joe’s point of view and it’s unsettling to be in the mind of someone so twisted. He sees nothing wrong with his actions and he takes the smallest interaction with Beck and blows it far out of proportion. This book contains a lot of graphic and explicit language, so I’d give this a pass if that’s not your jam. I do have to say that the audiobook of this was very well done. The narrator did an amazing job of capturing Joe’s different moods. One minute he’s ecstatic because Beck has agreed to go on a date with him, the next he’s enraged because she’s still talking to her ex-boyfriend. It’s shockingly easy for Joe to find personal information about Beck on the internet and it makes you think twice about what you put out there.
Joe does all kinds of terrible things, and honestly, Beck isn’t a really great person either. She’s self-absorbed and makes a habit of using people. This book gets points for being a page-turner, although towards the end, I was ready for it to be over. If you like thrillers with completely twisted narrators and don’t mind the explicit content, you might like this.
It was my first time reading this classic gothic novel. What I loved about the book versus the pop culture portrayal of Frankenstein were the various layers. The creature recounts his story to Victor Frankenstein, who’s telling it to the captain of the ship, who’s relaying it all to his sister via letter. There’s just so much more depth in the book. It raises interesting questions about man vs. other and how man is automatically distrustful of anything that is different. It’s a struggle between two deeply flawed characters: Victor Frankenstein (who thinks he’s done nothing wrong, ha!) and the creature (who is so desperate for human connection that he commits terrible crimes). The writing is excellent, particularly with the descriptions of the setting. I felt like I was truly in Switzerland. It was deliciously dark and the perfect book to read around Halloween.
Towards the end of the month, I wanted to read something fast and engaging and then I remembered that I hadn’t yet read the third book in the Raven Cycle series (there’s one more book, which comes out next year). I was a bit disappointed after I finished the second book. I really liked the first book and felt that the second one was a bit of a deviation from that. Happily, my complaints about the second book are fixed in the third book. We’re back to following the characters as they continue their quest together. We also get more of Blue and her family, who I missed in book 2. I think the magical elements of this story have become even more interesting because we’ve seen the characters develop and learn more about themselves throughout the previous two novels. Also, I have to mention again that I enjoy the author’s writing. She’s really able to capture certain feelings; in particular, there was a description of grief that I just felt was spot on. I’m really glad the third book was more like the first one and I can’t wait to read the next installment.
I love how Christie plays with the stereotype of the library in mystery novels. In the beginning, the body of a young girl is found in the library and the surprise expressed when this fact is revealed to the owners of the house is quite amusing (basically along the lines of, "But, how did the body end up in my library?"). In fact, Christie pokes fun at various figures throughout the novel, including men who underestimate women like Miss Marple. This was another solid mystery from Agatha Christie and I enjoyed it.
Since I read all three books in this trilogy last month, let's talk about the series as a whole. It was excellent. I didn't really have any expectations when I started it, so I was blown away by how much I enjoyed it. First, of all the characters were fantastic. I just want to hug the author for giving us such interesting, well-developed characters. I fell in love with the characters in the first book and became heavily invested in their lives. To see them suffer and grow and fight and survive over the course of the series was really rewarding. Also, the author has created such a fascinating world. I find that I'm more interested in politics when it's fictional. I was able to follow the relationships between the different kingdoms and enjoyed how each kingdom was distinctly described and was it's own separate world.
This is fantasy, so there were some mystical elements in play here. In particular, there are prophecies and curses, and it's interesting to see how they are connected and ultimately explained. This is a strange statement, but one thing I love about a crisis is the way it brings people together. In these novels, unlikely alliances are made and people are willing to risk everything for a better world. I love that! These books also deal with difficult topics so that they are carefully handled, without shying away from the reality of these tragedies.
I think these books are long (I'm not entirely sure how long exactly since I read the eBooks), but I found them relatively fast-paced and entertaining. I was so engrossed while reading this over the holiday break and my family quickly learned to ignore the little sounds of surprise or amusement that I made as I was reading.
I found this series by stalking Max's YA shelves, but I haven't heard anybody speak about them before (although I've been told that Reagan from Peruse Project has mentioned them on her channel). The characters are excellent, the world-building is excellent, and the story is excellent. I'll second Max and say that more people should read this series!
This is fantasy, so there were some mystical elements in play here. In particular, there are prophecies and curses, and it's interesting to see how they are connected and ultimately explained. This is a strange statement, but one thing I love about a crisis is the way it brings people together. In these novels, unlikely alliances are made and people are willing to risk everything for a better world. I love that! These books also deal with difficult topics so that they are carefully handled, without shying away from the reality of these tragedies.
I think these books are long (I'm not entirely sure how long exactly since I read the eBooks), but I found them relatively fast-paced and entertaining. I was so engrossed while reading this over the holiday break and my family quickly learned to ignore the little sounds of surprise or amusement that I made as I was reading.
I found this series by stalking Max's YA shelves, but I haven't heard anybody speak about them before (although I've been told that Reagan from Peruse Project has mentioned them on her channel). The characters are excellent, the world-building is excellent, and the story is excellent. I'll second Max and say that more people should read this series!
Since I read all three books in this trilogy last month, let's talk about the series as a whole. It was excellent. I didn't really have any expectations when I started it, so I was blown away by how much I enjoyed it. First, of all the characters were fantastic. I just want to hug the author for giving us such interesting, well-developed characters. I fell in love with the characters in the first book and became heavily invested in their lives. To see them suffer and grow and fight and survive over the course of the series was really rewarding. Also, the author has created such a fascinating world. I find that I'm more interested in politics when it's fictional. I was able to follow the relationships between the different kingdoms and enjoyed how each kingdom was distinctly described and was it's own separate world.
This is fantasy, so there were some mystical elements in play here. In particular, there are prophecies and curses, and it's interesting to see how they are connected and ultimately explained. This is a strange statement, but one thing I love about a crisis is the way it brings people together. In these novels, unlikely alliances are made and people are willing to risk everything for a better world. I love that! These books also deal with difficult topics so that they are carefully handled, without shying away from the reality of these tragedies.
I think these books are long (I'm not entirely sure how long exactly since I read the eBooks), but I found them relatively fast-paced and entertaining. I was so engrossed while reading this over the holiday break and my family quickly learned to ignore the little sounds of surprise or amusement that I made as I was reading.
I found this series by stalking Max's YA shelves, but I haven't heard anybody speak about them before (although I've been told that Reagan from Peruse Project has mentioned them on her channel). The characters are excellent, the world-building is excellent, and the story is excellent. I'll second Max and say that more people should read this series!
This is fantasy, so there were some mystical elements in play here. In particular, there are prophecies and curses, and it's interesting to see how they are connected and ultimately explained. This is a strange statement, but one thing I love about a crisis is the way it brings people together. In these novels, unlikely alliances are made and people are willing to risk everything for a better world. I love that! These books also deal with difficult topics so that they are carefully handled, without shying away from the reality of these tragedies.
I think these books are long (I'm not entirely sure how long exactly since I read the eBooks), but I found them relatively fast-paced and entertaining. I was so engrossed while reading this over the holiday break and my family quickly learned to ignore the little sounds of surprise or amusement that I made as I was reading.
I found this series by stalking Max's YA shelves, but I haven't heard anybody speak about them before (although I've been told that Reagan from Peruse Project has mentioned them on her channel). The characters are excellent, the world-building is excellent, and the story is excellent. I'll second Max and say that more people should read this series!
You had me at nun assassins (or is it assassin nuns?). Seriously, the premise of this book is so intrigued. I'd say the actual delivery on such an intriguing premise was only somewhat there. I would have liked to spend a little more time with Ismae at the convent as she learned the skills she needed to become a great assassin. Still, the plot moved along at a good pace and I found the politics surrounded Ismae's main mission pretty interesting. I was not entirely mad at the romance aspect either, except the way that Ismae was portrayed as clueless when it came to men. Another thing I felt iffy about was that it seems that they were thought to either seduce or kill their targets in order to diffuse or get out of a situation. Is there really no other way but seduction or death?
Besides a few misgivings, I liked the book overall. I found the story pretty interesting and I liked Ismae as a character. I wanted her to succeed. I also liked the writing style, which had an old-world feel to it. I might continue the series because the next two books follow two of the other characters mentioned in this book, and I remember thinking that I wish I knew more about them as I was reading.
Besides a few misgivings, I liked the book overall. I found the story pretty interesting and I liked Ismae as a character. I wanted her to succeed. I also liked the writing style, which had an old-world feel to it. I might continue the series because the next two books follow two of the other characters mentioned in this book, and I remember thinking that I wish I knew more about them as I was reading.