Take a photo of a barcode or cover
oosij's reviews
112 reviews
Anastasia by Sophie Lark
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
2.5
i want to preface this by saying i don't really read fantasy anymore. the last one i read was f***th w*ng, and i did not care for it all too much.
the book starts off quite slow after a solid hook of a prologue. anastasia is long and drags on in parts (particularly during anastasia's earlier years and rusya's later geopolitical troubles). i get that it's really more for the reader as world building, but the first-person pov brought me out of it.
speaking of being brought out of the story... spoiler time.what the hell was that sudden time jump back? that was quite honestly so jarring for me that i first believed it was anastasia either being in limbo à la harry potter book 7 or in a deep comatose-ridden dream after being blasted by damien's bombs. i got back on board (a little unwillingly) because i know sophie lark prefaced this book saying she wanted anastasia to have a happy ending (and y'know, it's literal fiction), but goddamn, that curveball came out of fucking nowhere! i'm happy for anastasia that she has most of her family back, but was there no other way for her to get a happy ending without the time jump?
sophie lark does not pull back on killing off beloved characters, i will say. but... is it sick of me to wish the deaths were fleshed out a little more? a little more gruesome? for the weight of the story?
i'd rate the spice of this book to be the mellow, super softcore, romantic written version of a movie scene where they sensually block out the actual action with sheer sheets so they can keep a certain rating. it's a mild spice, and anastasia and damien are simply just not enemies past their cultural backgrounds, so don't look for this to be a good enemies-to-lovers.
the book starts off quite slow after a solid hook of a prologue. anastasia is long and drags on in parts (particularly during anastasia's earlier years and rusya's later geopolitical troubles). i get that it's really more for the reader as world building, but the first-person pov brought me out of it.
speaking of being brought out of the story... spoiler time.
sophie lark does not pull back on killing off beloved characters, i will say. but... is it sick of me to wish the deaths were fleshed out a little more? a little more gruesome? for the weight of the story?
i'd rate the spice of this book to be the mellow, super softcore, romantic written version of a movie scene where they sensually block out the actual action with sheer sheets so they can keep a certain rating. it's a mild spice, and anastasia and damien are simply just not enemies past their cultural backgrounds, so don't look for this to be a good enemies-to-lovers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Violence, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Rape
Rape mention is very brief during the mine scenes: Anastasia describes female screaming after a couple of guards drag a woman off somewhere and how she's afraid of suffering the same fate/pain of what happened to the woman
Wednesday's Child: stories by Yiyun Li
2.5
the writing was pretty to read, but... i don't know if it's because i was reading this in tandem with the secret history and while watching the holdovers, but i just couldn't get into it. i was physically forcing myself to finish this book since i'd already gotten through more than half of it. it's kind of disappointing that i ended up not liking this because i had high hopes for this book! i've never read the book of goose, but a part of me is wary on even starting it in fear that i won't like that one either... the premise is beautiful though: slice-of-life snippets of wildly different people, with grief showcasing how similar they actually are.
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
donna tartt, the hold you have on me. it took me forever to finish this book because i ended up actually annotating as i read; something i haven't done in over a decade, and even then, i never knew what to look for. i'm so grateful now that i understand literature just a little bit more (just enough) to appreciate this book. the satirical view on elitist classicism and privilege is absolutely delicious, and i honestly think i'll find myself reaching for this book again to see it all unfold with more context in mind.
the parallels between the greek literature/findings/lore???/tragedies/what have you and the isolated human lives they live with their god (julian) are quite honestly a chef kiss.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Did not finish book. Stopped at 45%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 45%.
Never got back into it and author is pro-Zionist
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
3.0
i listened to the entire audiobook in 2x speed up until the moment i stepped into that theater today. i'm insure why it took me so long to actually go through and listen to it because i actually enjoyed the story. it's pretty slow until the games begin, and then it's slow again after. (3rd person) snow is a perfect unreliable narrator and to see him spiral into the psychotic madness we know him to be is a treat suzanne deliciously baked up for us. the narcissistic paranoia at the end is just the cherry on top of what a vile lil shit he is.
tl;dr: bro goes through a bad breakup caused by himself and makes it everyone else's problem
tl;dr: bro goes through a bad breakup caused by himself and makes it everyone else's problem
Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers
3.0
took me forever to read because it dragged but kept my attention enough to avoid a dnf. good world building. wish there was an entire book of ismae doing her shit as death's assassin before romance was brought in tho.
Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler
5.0
kinda finding it funny that the title literally has parable in it, and people are complaining that it's "too religious." what were you expecting lol.
john green says it best in his nyt quote: "a fascinating exploration of how crises can fuel new religious and ideological movements." i think humans have this need for understanding and explanation and security, especially in times of intense stress, and religion is easily one of the strongest tools in finding that sort of solace and stability.
utterly terrifying that this climate-change-and-economic-crisis-fueled dystopian future (aka now, since it's set in 2025) isn't far off at all to what's happening today, and for octavia e. butler to just accurately see this sort of thing coming in the 90s just tells me that nothing has changed 😃. but that's late stage capitalism baybeeeee!
also the couple at the end (iykyk) gives me the ick, but i'm also not being threatened with immediate death everyday so idk.
john green says it best in his nyt quote: "a fascinating exploration of how crises can fuel new religious and ideological movements." i think humans have this need for understanding and explanation and security, especially in times of intense stress, and religion is easily one of the strongest tools in finding that sort of solace and stability.
utterly terrifying that this climate-change-and-economic-crisis-fueled dystopian future (aka now, since it's set in 2025) isn't far off at all to what's happening today, and for octavia e. butler to just accurately see this sort of thing coming in the 90s just tells me that nothing has changed 😃. but that's late stage capitalism baybeeeee!
also the couple at the end (iykyk) gives me the ick, but i'm also not being threatened with immediate death everyday so idk.
It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover
1.0
admirable that colleen hoover wrote this both for her mother and in an effort to shine light on women in abusive relationships. my admiration ends there. colleen hoover's writing reads as something an ex-sarah dessen fan would love... if said fan had grown up straight, never read a single good romance fanfic or book in their life, and had no idea what good sex should feel like. (this is by no means a dig at dessen - i've read all of her novels, and some i've read so many times i could probably recite the entire plot back to you even today. i just think they'd share a similar audience.)
the only characters i liked were atlas (maybe his friends?) and allysa (and i guess, by extension, marshall). obvious what i think of ryle. lily blossom bloom (the fucking name, please)? sometimes i want you to shut the fuck up, lily.
the pacing is inconsistently fast, the smut scenes are a literal bore, lily's pick-me energy aggravates me.
why booktok strongly recommends this book as one of their all-time favs is beyond me.
the only characters i liked were atlas (maybe his friends?) and allysa (and i guess, by extension, marshall). obvious what i think of ryle. lily blossom bloom (the fucking name, please)? sometimes i want you to shut the fuck up, lily.
the pacing is inconsistently fast, the smut scenes are a literal bore, lily's pick-me energy aggravates me.
why booktok strongly recommends this book as one of their all-time favs is beyond me.
Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann
4.0
basically another book that confirms yts came to this land and not only robbed the native people of their land, culture, and wealth, but their lives as well
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
2.0
tl;dr: overrated; tries to fit a xaden-sized world onto violet-framed bones.
listen. i get why this has all of booktok and booksta in a gorilla grip (dragon grip ha), but it's... dare i say it, overrated.
whoever keeps calling this the perfect enemies-to-lovers book, i need y'all in jail. any sort of ~passion~ and sexual tension between the main couple is forced and dry. i feel like i'm being punched out of nowhere when violet suddenly lusts for [REDACTED]'s body after spending half a chapter detailing why they both hate each other. the smut is fine, but i've never been so turned off during some good ol' lemon, where i wish it wasn't happening in the first place lol. don't get me started on how the two of them are introduced to us as diametrically opposed physicals (teeny, tiny, itsy bitsy, dainty, frail porcelain doll vs the giant, ginormous, hunky dunky sasquatch of a man with rippling muscles).
i'm giving it 2 stars because there's potential for a good series here, and i didn't hate the rest of what this book offers. the world building is simultaneously detailed (pretty okay with how the rider quadrant is set up) and vague (what else do they do as rider cadets, can we learn more about the dragons or nah aka the cool part of this entire premise, etc) at the same time.
one last note: violet sorrengail is just annoying.
AND WHAT KIND OF ENDING IS THAT
listen. i get why this has all of booktok and booksta in a gorilla grip (dragon grip ha), but it's... dare i say it, overrated.
whoever keeps calling this the perfect enemies-to-lovers book, i need y'all in jail. any sort of ~passion~ and sexual tension between the main couple is forced and dry. i feel like i'm being punched out of nowhere when violet suddenly lusts for [REDACTED]'s body after spending half a chapter detailing why they both hate each other. the smut is fine, but i've never been so turned off during some good ol' lemon, where i wish it wasn't happening in the first place lol. don't get me started on how the two of them are introduced to us as diametrically opposed physicals (teeny, tiny, itsy bitsy, dainty, frail porcelain doll vs the giant, ginormous, hunky dunky sasquatch of a man with rippling muscles).
i'm giving it 2 stars because there's potential for a good series here, and i didn't hate the rest of what this book offers. the world building is simultaneously detailed (pretty okay with how the rider quadrant is set up) and vague (what else do they do as rider cadets, can we learn more about the dragons or nah aka the cool part of this entire premise, etc) at the same time.
one last note: violet sorrengail is just annoying.