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omnombailey's Reviews (111)
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
So much better than vol 1. I loved the situations Carol was thrown into and the decisions she had to make because of them. And sometimes said decisions aren't always easy or simple or even good, but it's the right thing to do and that's very much Captain Marvel in a nutshell to me. Paired with some stellar art (another massive upgrade from vol 1, which was good, but not as great as this) and this made for a solid read. Can't wait to see where Carol goes from here.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
What a refreshing, gorgeous read this was. I came into this knowing it was written by a queer author (bonus points for being nonbinary) and nothing else and I had such a hard time putting this down. Seriously the only reason it "took so long" according to my read dates was because I was at a convention for a chunk of that time and couldn't read. This took everything I'm so used to in traditional fantasy stories and shattered it. That combined with vivid, yet concise prose made for an interesting read. I love the setting, the magic, the introduction of technology in that mix. I love that it's not another copy-paste of white, medieval Europe. I love the thought that was put into how the society approaches gender (which made me tear up, because damn, why can't our society do that????).
On the downside, I didn't realize this was a novella versus a novel, so it's really short in comparison to what I'm used to. I do prefer stories where you can sit in a scene long enough to simmer in it, so to speak, and while this story didn't really do that, I still felt like I got a good sense of the setting, characters, and so forth. The pacing worked well, even for something so short. If anything, it made me super curious for more!
Reading this was like downing a cold glass of water after spending months wandering a desert. Now I never want to venture out into that desert again. I can't wait to read the rest of this series and any other books by Yang.
On the downside, I didn't realize this was a novella versus a novel, so it's really short in comparison to what I'm used to. I do prefer stories where you can sit in a scene long enough to simmer in it, so to speak, and while this story didn't really do that, I still felt like I got a good sense of the setting, characters, and so forth. The pacing worked well, even for something so short. If anything, it made me super curious for more!
Reading this was like downing a cold glass of water after spending months wandering a desert. Now I never want to venture out into that desert again. I can't wait to read the rest of this series and any other books by Yang.
adventurous
lighthearted
slow-paced
A great view of Carol's life and struggles post-civil war II. While it does a decent job with recapping and easing in new readers, it reads more like a continuation than a completely new storyline. Carol was the no-filter, "bitches get shit done" heroine I came here for. She's just trying to do what's right, even if it doesn't align with the rules. Really solid with a good hook into the next volume. Art is lovely too. The bold colors work well and I love seeing Carol depicted as a total badass.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
What an abysmal book.
Before even diving into the narrative, the prose makes me wonder if an editor even made an attempt at looking this over. So much repetition. Did you know it's hot? Well guess what, you're going to find out every other paragraph, because that is quite literally how often things like that are brought up. This reads more like someone's first attempt at sci-fi without bothering to clean up the mess that was their first draft. And while I didn't mind the pacing, there were moments when the characters would keep talking and talking... and talking... and never get to the point. Really made it difficult to read.
Then there were the characters. The only one I remotely cared about died halfway through the book. It made sense for the plot, but yeah, I didn't care for anyone else. I more or less kept reading to see who else would die or be miserable in general. I don't expect there to be knights in shining armor in a dystopian book, but even the morally grey characters were meh. Did not care for Anderson. At all. I wanted Hock Seng to die two pages into his first POV chapter.
And then there's Emiko.... Sigh. I'm more furious with the author for taking a massive dump on all the female characters in this book, especially with Emiko. She could have been interesting. Instead she's first introduced via a rape scene and spends most of the book being miserable, clueless, and generally unlikeable.
Don't even get me started on the forced attraction between Anderson and Emiko. Gag me with a spoon.
There was some semblance of a story in here. I guess. You have to dig through all the worldbuilding overload to find something that makes sense and even then it isn't all that interesting. The only interesting part was literally the second to last chapter, which had me going, "OH SHIT" out loud, but that was it. I couldn't really tell you what it was actually about, but I could tell you that Bangkok is super hot. Like all the time. And everything is powered by springs. Also cheshire cats. And windups being unnatural and should die, but hot damn, they're super attractive.
To be fair, the world was interesting. There were some good ideas sprinkled throughout the story. That was it. Nothing to hold on its own, let alone with a threadbare narrative. Everything else was drivel pretending to be profound.
Before even diving into the narrative, the prose makes me wonder if an editor even made an attempt at looking this over. So much repetition. Did you know it's hot? Well guess what, you're going to find out every other paragraph, because that is quite literally how often things like that are brought up. This reads more like someone's first attempt at sci-fi without bothering to clean up the mess that was their first draft. And while I didn't mind the pacing, there were moments when the characters would keep talking and talking... and talking... and never get to the point. Really made it difficult to read.
Then there were the characters. The only one I remotely cared about died halfway through the book. It made sense for the plot, but yeah, I didn't care for anyone else. I more or less kept reading to see who else would die or be miserable in general. I don't expect there to be knights in shining armor in a dystopian book, but even the morally grey characters were meh. Did not care for Anderson. At all. I wanted Hock Seng to die two pages into his first POV chapter.
And then there's Emiko.... Sigh. I'm more furious with the author for taking a massive dump on all the female characters in this book, especially with Emiko. She could have been interesting. Instead she's first introduced via a rape scene and spends most of the book being miserable, clueless, and generally unlikeable.
Don't even get me started on the forced attraction between Anderson and Emiko. Gag me with a spoon.
There was some semblance of a story in here. I guess. You have to dig through all the worldbuilding overload to find something that makes sense and even then it isn't all that interesting. The only interesting part was literally the second to last chapter, which had me going, "OH SHIT" out loud, but that was it. I couldn't really tell you what it was actually about, but I could tell you that Bangkok is super hot. Like all the time. And everything is powered by springs. Also cheshire cats. And windups being unnatural and should die, but hot damn, they're super attractive.
To be fair, the world was interesting. There were some good ideas sprinkled throughout the story. That was it. Nothing to hold on its own, let alone with a threadbare narrative. Everything else was drivel pretending to be profound.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Murder
Moderate: Misogyny
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Let me preface this with that I am by no means the intended audience for this book. I read this for a book club for writers. I'm not into purely romance novels, let alone gay male-centric ones. I am, however, into mysteries and paranormal stories, but even that struggled to hold my interest throughout reading this.
What did I actually enjoy? The dialogue was great. Very witty and natural. I snickered a bunch thanks to Cicero's one-liners. The premise of the mystery is also interesting. Same with the witch and familiar elements.
Sadly, that was kind of it.
While the premise of the mystery was interesting, it was good, but predictable. As for the paranormal elements, it wasn't nearly as developed in terms of worldbuilding as most paranormal stories I have read. It almost came across like an afterthought during the editing phases, like Hawk decided during the third draft to make it about witches and familiars. Yes, it's a romance story, but there wasn't enough melding amongst the elements, thus making it come across like a poorly made grilled cheese with half of the cheese melted and the rest... well, not.
If this was a stage play, there'd be minimal to no stage design, because that's how the setting came across. For something as iconic as New York City in the late 1800s, you'd think there'd be a little bit more effort to make it feel like New York City with a dash of magic, but nope. I honestly forgot it took place in New York City half of the time.
Speaking of lacking, I was extremely disappointed in the lack of female characters. If the MWP is "swarming" with ladies, then why are two only introduced ever? One of which has less than five lines and the other one barely passes the sexy lamp test. And then there's Leona, who was so much more interesting than all of Cicero's friends and she only shows up twice with speaking lines? Three times if you don't include lines. And the last lady reveal - which I won't go into details, because spoilers - just made me so angry I almost threw my phone across the room. Yes, I get it, this a gay romance book and it should be about the gay romance, but I expect this kind of backhanded, lazy behavior towards female characters in fanfiction instead of an original, published novel. Come on now.
I didn't care for either Cicero or Tom, thus I didn't care about their romance. Cicero came across like a walking gay stereotype while Tom held my interest initially, then gradually became less and less interesting until he pissed me off with some things 2/3 into the book. I did like Cicero a bit more towards the end of the book, but not enough to forget the first impressions he left for the reader.
Even with all that said, it's not a horrible book. The prose wasn't stellar, but it was good enough. The plot was extremely rigid, but it held together enough. The pacing was almost too quick, but the chapters were sectioned off in reasonable bite-sizes. Nothing piqued my interest to read the rest of the series. I'm sure this appeals to some people - I'm just not even remotely close to being that person.
What did I actually enjoy? The dialogue was great. Very witty and natural. I snickered a bunch thanks to Cicero's one-liners. The premise of the mystery is also interesting. Same with the witch and familiar elements.
Sadly, that was kind of it.
While the premise of the mystery was interesting, it was good, but predictable. As for the paranormal elements, it wasn't nearly as developed in terms of worldbuilding as most paranormal stories I have read. It almost came across like an afterthought during the editing phases, like Hawk decided during the third draft to make it about witches and familiars. Yes, it's a romance story, but there wasn't enough melding amongst the elements, thus making it come across like a poorly made grilled cheese with half of the cheese melted and the rest... well, not.
If this was a stage play, there'd be minimal to no stage design, because that's how the setting came across. For something as iconic as New York City in the late 1800s, you'd think there'd be a little bit more effort to make it feel like New York City with a dash of magic, but nope. I honestly forgot it took place in New York City half of the time.
Speaking of lacking, I was extremely disappointed in the lack of female characters. If the MWP is "swarming" with ladies, then why are two only introduced ever? One of which has less than five lines and the other one barely passes the sexy lamp test. And then there's Leona, who was so much more interesting than all of Cicero's friends and she only shows up twice with speaking lines? Three times if you don't include lines. And the last lady reveal - which I won't go into details, because spoilers - just made me so angry I almost threw my phone across the room. Yes, I get it, this a gay romance book and it should be about the gay romance, but I expect this kind of backhanded, lazy behavior towards female characters in fanfiction instead of an original, published novel. Come on now.
I didn't care for either Cicero or Tom, thus I didn't care about their romance. Cicero came across like a walking gay stereotype while Tom held my interest initially, then gradually became less and less interesting until he pissed me off with some things 2/3 into the book. I did like Cicero a bit more towards the end of the book, but not enough to forget the first impressions he left for the reader.
Even with all that said, it's not a horrible book. The prose wasn't stellar, but it was good enough. The plot was extremely rigid, but it held together enough. The pacing was almost too quick, but the chapters were sectioned off in reasonable bite-sizes. Nothing piqued my interest to read the rest of the series. I'm sure this appeals to some people - I'm just not even remotely close to being that person.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Homophobia, Murder
adventurous
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Such a refreshing read! Excellent characters with lovely art. A good balance of wit and emotions. Worldbuilding is something I love in graphic novels and this didn't disappoint; the blend of magic with science and technology in a medieval world was really fun to get lost in. I wish it was longer, especially with how fast the pacing is, but the story it told was amazing nonetheless. I also wish the physical book was formatted better. There's not enough room in the margins towards the spine and I had to really flatten the book to read it at times. Really enjoyed this. Not as memorable as I thought it was going to be, but it left me smiling and beyond content.
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This was what I wanted the book Fangirl to be like - a good balance between fandom and real life. It was a refreshing read, surprising me when I thought some points would turn out to be predictable. And while I'm not a fan of miscommunication as drama, Eliza's need for anonymity along with her struggles to connect with her family were genuine. I loved watching Eliza evolve as an individual struggling with some serious mental health problems and come into her own healthy habits. Some things did make me raise an eyebrow, like how absolutely clueless her parents were about the success of her webcomic. I know they opened a bank account for her, but like... really? The new computer, tablet, software, and all of that wasn't a hint? Geez, if had all of that at her age, my mom would have been hounding me as to how much all of it cost and where I got the money to pay for it. Her parents' obliviousness might have made sense set in the early 2000s, but for a modern story? Not so much. Thankfully, those details weren't the central focus of the story, but it was annoying nonetheless.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
slow-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
My mom, who I rarely am ever on the same wavelength with book-wise, bought this for me. She said she loved it and wanted to share it with me. I didn't even read the summary; I just read it.
And I am so glad I did.
It's been so long since I lost myself in a good book. The poetic prose hooked me immediately with the nature imagery. I loved and related with Kya so much. I loved how the narrative bounced back and forth between present and past. I SCREAMED during that last chapter with that final reveal, because even though I assumed it halfway through the book, there was something cathartic about basking in said reveal.
Everything felt alive. I laughed, I panicked, I cried. Even when sections were predictable, I continued to second guess what I thought I knew. That uncertainty kept me turning the pages.
Yeah, there were a few hiccups. Like some of the details that should have been pointed out earlier don't come up until later or vice versa. The dialogue felt stilted now and then. But aside from that? The whimsical elements made me excited to read and see what happened next. It was like a blend of Fried Green Tomatoes and Beasts of the Southern Wild. I absolutely adore this book.
And I am so glad I did.
It's been so long since I lost myself in a good book. The poetic prose hooked me immediately with the nature imagery. I loved and related with Kya so much. I loved how the narrative bounced back and forth between present and past. I SCREAMED during that last chapter with that final reveal, because even though I assumed it halfway through the book, there was something cathartic about basking in said reveal.
Everything felt alive. I laughed, I panicked, I cried. Even when sections were predictable, I continued to second guess what I thought I knew. That uncertainty kept me turning the pages.
Yeah, there were a few hiccups. Like some of the details that should have been pointed out earlier don't come up until later or vice versa. The dialogue felt stilted now and then. But aside from that? The whimsical elements made me excited to read and see what happened next. It was like a blend of Fried Green Tomatoes and Beasts of the Southern Wild. I absolutely adore this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I love bleak post-apocalypse stories and I came into this wanting exactly that. For the most part, it delivered, but I couldn't bring myself to say I actually liked this book. There were some enjoyable parts, but it wasn't enough for me to ignore the abysmal writing style and random narrative.
I didn't care for any of the characters, especially Bangley. There's a sad attempt at making him sympathetic, but it boils down to, "Cool story, you're still an asshole." I also had a hard time believingthat Cima was the first woman Hig had seen in NINE YEARS. At least that's what he makes it seem like. That whole side plot with Cima was painful to read and came across as creepy than it ever did as romantic. No sex scene should ever be described as a school of fish or whatever that line was.
The summary of the book makes it sound like the communication from the plane's radio is a huge central thing and... it's not. It gets mentioned at about 15% into the book and maybe brought up again once or twice and then Hig wants to fly out there andgets distracted by PRETTY LADY for legit 30% of the book and then he eventually gets there and it's like... what the hell did you expect? I wish it was made more of a deal or at least make it sound as important as the book summary does. It felt like an afterthought.
The writing got in the way more often than not. Sometimes I liked style, but most of the time it made it difficult to tell what was going on and who was saying what. I get what it was trying to do, but it didn't made for a fun or interesting read.
But there were some moments where it was interesting, like any of the flashbacks or imagery in the forest or even the last 15% was pretty solid and I couldn't put it down. But you can't stitch all those sort of good moments to make up a story. Overall, I didn't hate reading this, but I also wouldn't call it a good book or ever recommend it to anyone I know.
I didn't care for any of the characters, especially Bangley. There's a sad attempt at making him sympathetic, but it boils down to, "Cool story, you're still an asshole." I also had a hard time believing
The summary of the book makes it sound like the communication from the plane's radio is a huge central thing and... it's not. It gets mentioned at about 15% into the book and maybe brought up again once or twice and then Hig wants to fly out there and
The writing got in the way more often than not. Sometimes I liked style, but most of the time it made it difficult to tell what was going on and who was saying what. I get what it was trying to do, but it didn't made for a fun or interesting read.
But there were some moments where it was interesting, like any of the flashbacks or imagery in the forest or even the last 15% was pretty solid and I couldn't put it down. But you can't stitch all those sort of good moments to make up a story. Overall, I didn't hate reading this, but I also wouldn't call it a good book or ever recommend it to anyone I know.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Sexual content, Violence
Moderate: Animal death, Homophobia, Sexism
General gritty survival themes
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Well, this was the most overrated book I've read in some time.
The summary is beyond promising. I'm all for retellings of fairy tales, even more so when you toss it into a setting that's completely different from the source material. And I saw endless praise for this, so I at least needed to give it a shot.
If the fact that my reading history of it spanning from October 2016 to January 2019 isn't indicative of my feelings towards this book, then... well, I guess stick around for this review.
I was bored from the beginning. There was so much potential to dive into worldbuilding or themes of "what does it mean to be human" or anything... and we got nothing. There's a quick mention of New Beijing being a mix of cultures in the beginning and... that's it. I couldn't tell you what the city looked like. Or anything that actually made it feel like it was in East Asia. Hell, I found more random references that nodded towards Japanese culture than I did for Chinese. Yes, I get it, it's supposed to be a blend of cultures, but when the only "blending" I'm seeing is one culture over another, especially when said culture isn't even where the story takes place, it comes off more like lazy writing and research than anything deeper than that. Seriously, a ten-second Google search can do wonders.
Also wow, you really had to make Cinder the special snowflake and not let her be Asian. While surrounded by Asians. Cool. Real original.
And all the themes which make cyborgs interesting are absent throughout this story. Cyborgs are "lesser" in comparison to humans and we as readers are reminded that multiple times... but why? I found myself asking that for various topics. There's something to be said about a sense of mystery and not revealing everything at once, but things that seemed common knowledge to the characters was just never explained. The cyborgs, the Lunars... I get that it's a series and this will probably all get explained down the road, but wow, give us a clue maybe? The moon having some evil queen who brainwashes her people isn't enough for me to buy into all of that.
The characters were ok, I guess. I didn't love any of them, nor did I care for the canned, typical young adult romance. Cinder had her salty moments, which I loved. Her wicked stepmother was an amazing antagonist and you just wanted to smack her. Queen Levana belonged in a Saturday morning cartoon. Kai was... eh. Not memorable. Which seems to be par for the course. I did, however, enjoy the interactions with the characters. There was some solid writing whenever there were moments of introspection. But the characters on their own? Not so much.
And the story wasn't terrible, outside of the bare-bones (even that's putting it nicely) worldbuilding. It followed the tale of Cinderella though wasn't overly predictable. It was slow in the beginning, picked up a bit, got boring in the middle again, and since Queen Levana showed up, I wasn't able to put it down. And then everything at the ball happened and... wow, it didn't unravel the way I thought it did, which is good, but how it did unfold was borderline cringe-worthy. And then it slammed on the brakes and gave me serious mental whiplash with how abruptly it ends. Like really? That's where you stop? I'm all for cliffhangers, but with everything that happened in the last 5% of the book, that... didn't seem like the place to stop it. Though at least the one obvious plot point since the beginning was revealed before the book ended. That was like ripping off a bandage.
I doubt I'm going to read the rest of the series. I just don't care enough about the characters to get any more invested than I already am. The writing's good, but the structure of the story and world leaves little to be desired.
The summary is beyond promising. I'm all for retellings of fairy tales, even more so when you toss it into a setting that's completely different from the source material. And I saw endless praise for this, so I at least needed to give it a shot.
If the fact that my reading history of it spanning from October 2016 to January 2019 isn't indicative of my feelings towards this book, then... well, I guess stick around for this review.
I was bored from the beginning. There was so much potential to dive into worldbuilding or themes of "what does it mean to be human" or anything... and we got nothing. There's a quick mention of New Beijing being a mix of cultures in the beginning and... that's it. I couldn't tell you what the city looked like. Or anything that actually made it feel like it was in East Asia. Hell, I found more random references that nodded towards Japanese culture than I did for Chinese. Yes, I get it, it's supposed to be a blend of cultures, but when the only "blending" I'm seeing is one culture over another, especially when said culture isn't even where the story takes place, it comes off more like lazy writing and research than anything deeper than that. Seriously, a ten-second Google search can do wonders.
Also wow, you really had to make Cinder the special snowflake and not let her be Asian. While surrounded by Asians. Cool. Real original.
And all the themes which make cyborgs interesting are absent throughout this story. Cyborgs are "lesser" in comparison to humans and we as readers are reminded that multiple times... but why? I found myself asking that for various topics. There's something to be said about a sense of mystery and not revealing everything at once, but things that seemed common knowledge to the characters was just never explained. The cyborgs, the Lunars... I get that it's a series and this will probably all get explained down the road, but wow, give us a clue maybe? The moon having some evil queen who brainwashes her people isn't enough for me to buy into all of that.
The characters were ok, I guess. I didn't love any of them, nor did I care for the canned, typical young adult romance. Cinder had her salty moments, which I loved. Her wicked stepmother was an amazing antagonist and you just wanted to smack her. Queen Levana belonged in a Saturday morning cartoon. Kai was... eh. Not memorable. Which seems to be par for the course. I did, however, enjoy the interactions with the characters. There was some solid writing whenever there were moments of introspection. But the characters on their own? Not so much.
And the story wasn't terrible, outside of the bare-bones (even that's putting it nicely) worldbuilding. It followed the tale of Cinderella though wasn't overly predictable. It was slow in the beginning, picked up a bit, got boring in the middle again, and since Queen Levana showed up, I wasn't able to put it down. And then everything at the ball happened and... wow, it didn't unravel the way I thought it did, which is good, but how it did unfold was borderline cringe-worthy. And then it slammed on the brakes and gave me serious mental whiplash with how abruptly it ends. Like really? That's where you stop? I'm all for cliffhangers, but with everything that happened in the last 5% of the book, that... didn't seem like the place to stop it. Though at least the one obvious plot point since the beginning was revealed before the book ended. That was like ripping off a bandage.
I doubt I'm going to read the rest of the series. I just don't care enough about the characters to get any more invested than I already am. The writing's good, but the structure of the story and world leaves little to be desired.