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omnombailey's Reviews (111)

Crooked Kingdom

Leigh Bardugo

5.0

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad 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: Yes

Holy crap, I could not put this down. What a delicious revenge story. Beautifully written from the prose to the schemes to the sharp wit throughout the cast. A couple of plot points didn't sit well with me, mostly with how jarring they were, but I absolutely adored this book. Picks up right after Six of Crows and never misses a beat. So glad to start the new year with a damn good book.

Content Warnings

Dreamsnake

Vonda N. McIntyre

4.0

adventurous hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I first read this back in grade school and remembered enjoying it a great deal. I remembered so little about the actual narrative, though, and decided to revisit it. And wow, it was an absolute treat to reread this with older, yet fresh eyes.

The world is quite different from the usual post-apocalyptic sci-fi landscape in that people have managed to survive and thrive outside of whatever urban bubbles the upper crust has locked themselves into. There are subtle hints at what might have happened to cause an apocalypse, but even the main characters do not know for sure. And all of this is a delightful backdrop for the story of a woman who is A) not a young, delicate person, B) not some badass warrior, and C) absolutely capable in her own way and prized for her skills as a healer.

Snake was a gem to follow throughout the story. Her agency is clear and strong, from her knowledge in science to her sexuality to her latter role as a mother. It was amazing to read about someone who is older with some experience, too. And her story hooked me from beginning to end.

Some parts didn't work as well with me, mostly the whole plot point with Arevin. Then again, love at first sight in general just... goes over my head, so maybe it would make more sense to someone who gets that. It was the only part of the story that felt forced, which stood out a great deal against everything else that was rather fluid and organic. The prose aged well enough, but there are times when it's almost too simple and I wish the narrative didn't hold my hand to explain everyone's motives and concerns and reactions and so on.

This was a lovely treat. If I didn't have a mountain of books to dive into, I'd almost be tempted to read it again right now.

Content Warnings