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rachel_faerie's reviews
541 reviews
A Dark and Drowning Tide by Allison Saft
Did not finish book. Stopped at 77%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 77%.
Firstly thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an early review copy.
I’ve been reading this book for what feels like weeks. I made it to 77% before ultimately deciding to DNF so here are my thoughts.
The initial premise sounded really intriguing. However I found the first chapter really set the tone for an extremely confusing and disconnected story. I kept reading because I didn’t want to judge based solely off the first chapter.
On paper this book has so many things that should work for me. Magical expeditions, murder, academic rivals, its sapphic, magical creatures. But unfortunately the writing didn’t bring these to life for me as much as I would have hoped.
At 77% I don’t feel as though I know anything about the characters except surface level information. Even the main character whose head we are in, we get glimpses of her past and see how she’s dealt with some tragic moments in life but they didn’t have any emotion to them. It felt like an almost cold and clinical assessment of her past. I genuinely can’t even remember a single moment of her backstory that illicited any feelings.
Also the side characters were extremely lacking. The professor / mentor type person of this expedition gets murdered fairly early in and I was excited to be suspicious of and conflicted about all the side characters and I just was never given the opportunity to do so. Through Lorelei’s eyes we never get those moments of investigation outside of her searching the dead professors room a few times. It’s all just supposition in her head “what if so and so did this” “what if so and so is the killer!? It’s probably not anyone else so it must be them” it’s actually very lack luster in terms of actually investigating anything.
Meanwhile this half rent investigation in going on their also looking for this magical spring with the source of all magic and even the magic and magical creatures along the way felt truly boring. We’d encounter a creature and get 3 sentences of description before Lorelei or Sylvia would be like “oh this is ______ and here’s exactly how to deal with it.” And then we just move on. We don’t get enough description of creatures or the world itself. I can’t picture anything about this world itself.
There was also lots of rambling about political tension and kings and dukes and ladies. But none of it felt connected to the main characters just something they brought up for the sake of (boring) tension. Like it didn’t feel integrated into the plot more like a mandatory thing they had to talk about.
There was something about the writing style that made all of these plot elements feel really disjoined and not at all cohesive. I felt like if you removed the political plot, the story is the same. If you leave the politics and remove the murder plot, the story is the same. If you keep both of those and leave the search for the magical spring out, the story is the same.
Nothing felt connected.
I’m really bummed about this one because it felt like it would give me similar feelings as Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries with the academic aspect being meshed with magical creatures but unfortunately it was a let down for me for all of these above mentioned reasons.
I do think this book has an audience out there but unfortunately that is not me.
I think if you’re someone who’s extremely new to fantasy and just want to dip your toes into magic this would be a great bridge for you.
I’ve been reading this book for what feels like weeks. I made it to 77% before ultimately deciding to DNF so here are my thoughts.
The initial premise sounded really intriguing. However I found the first chapter really set the tone for an extremely confusing and disconnected story. I kept reading because I didn’t want to judge based solely off the first chapter.
On paper this book has so many things that should work for me. Magical expeditions, murder, academic rivals, its sapphic, magical creatures. But unfortunately the writing didn’t bring these to life for me as much as I would have hoped.
At 77% I don’t feel as though I know anything about the characters except surface level information. Even the main character whose head we are in, we get glimpses of her past and see how she’s dealt with some tragic moments in life but they didn’t have any emotion to them. It felt like an almost cold and clinical assessment of her past. I genuinely can’t even remember a single moment of her backstory that illicited any feelings.
Also the side characters were extremely lacking. The professor / mentor type person of this expedition gets murdered fairly early in and I was excited to be suspicious of and conflicted about all the side characters and I just was never given the opportunity to do so. Through Lorelei’s eyes we never get those moments of investigation outside of her searching the dead professors room a few times. It’s all just supposition in her head “what if so and so did this” “what if so and so is the killer!? It’s probably not anyone else so it must be them” it’s actually very lack luster in terms of actually investigating anything.
Meanwhile this half rent investigation in going on their also looking for this magical spring with the source of all magic and even the magic and magical creatures along the way felt truly boring. We’d encounter a creature and get 3 sentences of description before Lorelei or Sylvia would be like “oh this is ______ and here’s exactly how to deal with it.” And then we just move on. We don’t get enough description of creatures or the world itself. I can’t picture anything about this world itself.
There was also lots of rambling about political tension and kings and dukes and ladies. But none of it felt connected to the main characters just something they brought up for the sake of (boring) tension. Like it didn’t feel integrated into the plot more like a mandatory thing they had to talk about.
There was something about the writing style that made all of these plot elements feel really disjoined and not at all cohesive. I felt like if you removed the political plot, the story is the same. If you leave the politics and remove the murder plot, the story is the same. If you keep both of those and leave the search for the magical spring out, the story is the same.
Nothing felt connected.
I’m really bummed about this one because it felt like it would give me similar feelings as Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries with the academic aspect being meshed with magical creatures but unfortunately it was a let down for me for all of these above mentioned reasons.
I do think this book has an audience out there but unfortunately that is not me.
I think if you’re someone who’s extremely new to fantasy and just want to dip your toes into magic this would be a great bridge for you.
Our Last Echoes by Kate Alice Marshall
2.0
I can’t explain why…. But this was so boring. Like it *shouldnt* have been. The concept was good in theory but it was sooooo boring unfortunately 😬
The Perfect Son by Freida McFadden
fast-paced
3.5
begining was strong, kind of precited the ending though lol but still enjoyable to listen to regardless but nothing was overly shocking to me
Don't Let the Forest In by C.G. Drews
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Firstly, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an early review copy.
In Dont Let the Forest In we follow Andrew during his senior year of school. Almost immediately we get warned the forest is off limits. Based on the title alone you just KNOW something creepy is going down in there.
In the first couple chapters we are already in a position to root for and feel empathy towards Andrew. His dad is dropping off him and his sister Dove to school and we can see theres some animosity there. Something happened at school that his Dad has cause to worry about him going back.
The author does an amazing job of building this tension from page one. Why wouldnt his dad want him and Dove to go back? Once at school we meet Andrews best friend Thomas and their friendship starts to unspool before our eyes.
My favorite thing about this book was the atmosphere and the foresty imagery. I felt the tension and you could cut it with a knife. In places I felt like I could SMELL the moss and dried leaves. The descriptions were so lush and poetic. Also the way the creepy nature crept up on you!? Then all of a sudden I was too scared to keep reading in the dark! *chefs kiss*
Another thing I loved about this book is that for a YA book it got REALLY grotesque and downright dark and creepy in places. The author didnt shy away from dark imagery and I really appreciate when YA authors dont hold back. Teens and young adults are inherently smart and deserve good old fashion creepy/scary books too!
I think the only thing that kept this book from being a 5 stars for me is that shortly after Andrew arrives at school I did find the pace to lag ever so slightly, but once I hit that 30% mark I could not put it down.
In Dont Let the Forest In we follow Andrew during his senior year of school. Almost immediately we get warned the forest is off limits. Based on the title alone you just KNOW something creepy is going down in there.
In the first couple chapters we are already in a position to root for and feel empathy towards Andrew. His dad is dropping off him and his sister Dove to school and we can see theres some animosity there. Something happened at school that his Dad has cause to worry about him going back.
The author does an amazing job of building this tension from page one. Why wouldnt his dad want him and Dove to go back? Once at school we meet Andrews best friend Thomas and their friendship starts to unspool before our eyes.
My favorite thing about this book was the atmosphere and the foresty imagery. I felt the tension and you could cut it with a knife. In places I felt like I could SMELL the moss and dried leaves. The descriptions were so lush and poetic. Also the way the creepy nature crept up on you!? Then all of a sudden I was too scared to keep reading in the dark! *chefs kiss*
Another thing I loved about this book is that for a YA book it got REALLY grotesque and downright dark and creepy in places. The author didnt shy away from dark imagery and I really appreciate when YA authors dont hold back. Teens and young adults are inherently smart and deserve good old fashion creepy/scary books too!
I think the only thing that kept this book from being a 5 stars for me is that shortly after Andrew arrives at school I did find the pace to lag ever so slightly, but once I hit that 30% mark I could not put it down.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, and Murder
Moderate: Bullying, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Self harm, and Death of parent
All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Banned Book Club by Ryan Estrada, Kim Hyun Sook
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
slow-paced
3.5
it started out strong actually and i really had a few moments of enjoyment with the writing however the ending really started to lag and it got too wordy. i still think it was solid. i can see why it is a classic though.