Scan barcode
reverienne's reviews
25 reviews
Critical Role: The Mighty Nein Origins: Mollymauk Tealeaf by Taliesin Jaffe, Matthew Mercer, Jody Houser, Hunter Severn Bonyun
5.0
Gorgeous tarot-inspired aesthetics on top of a great drawing style and a simply fabulous set of outfits for the main character. Mollymauk is just So Cool and the final page made me chuckle. :)
Critical Role: The Mighty Nein Origins: Fjord Stone by Travis Willingham, Matthew Mercer, Chris "Doc" Wyatt, Kevin Burke
The art style looks great and I think that Fjord's sword is really cool, but otherwise I wasn't invested in the plot of this volume.
Cinder by Marissa Meyer
5.0
Bless Marissa Meyer for reminding me just how enjoyable good YA is to read! Sci-fi isn't my scene, but I enjoyed this book so much. The protagonist, Linh Cinder, is a delight, and I was really rooting for her and Prince Kai. Now I'm a little bit heartbroken because I want to know what happens next to Cinder and Kai, but the next installment, Scarlet, follows a different protagonist...
My only complaints are that I feel that something is a bit off in the scene where Cinder talks to the haker (I think that it could be the haker's personality, especially the bits of it conveyed in her dialogues, she didn't... feel grounded, realistic? the way the other characters felt) and in the final scene with the doctor (here I have no clue what rubs me the wrong way because I SAW Cinder's identity reveal coming a way back...).
My only complaints are that I feel that something is a bit off in the scene where Cinder talks to the haker (I think that it could be the haker's personality, especially the bits of it conveyed in her dialogues, she didn't... feel grounded, realistic? the way the other characters felt) and in the final scene with the doctor (here I have no clue what rubs me the wrong way because I SAW Cinder's identity reveal coming a way back...).
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
5.0
A well-deserved children lit's classic! I had a blast reading it.
My only complaint is that I enjoyed it so much that I feel too guilty not to give it full five stars. If I was more objective, I would deduct half a star for two aspects of the ending that disappointed me:
My only complaint is that I enjoyed it so much that I feel too guilty not to give it full five stars. If I was more objective, I would deduct half a star for two aspects of the ending that disappointed me:
- Every single friend of Dorothy's becoming a ruler feels lazy and far-fetched. Also, a bit disturbing once you sit to think about it a bit more. It feels like the author was desperate to give his remaining Oz character A Purpose, to make them so occupied that they don't have the time to miss Dorothy too much once she inevitably leaves Oz - and he couldn't come up with anything else than becoming a ruler to fit these criteria. And, goodness, nowhere does it seem more lazy and unsatisfying than in Tin Woodman's case. Tin Woodman becoming a ruler is the author's way of distracting Tin Woodman from his inevitable heartbreak when, after he reunites with his sweetheart, he discovers that she's not interested in marrying a man made entirely of tin. (Maybe they remain, respectfully, friends. Maybe she's too freaked out by Tin Woodman to continue any relationship with him. I don't think that she'll turn out to be a obsessed with tin General Grievous girlie but who knows? It sure would be sweet if she wanted him still despite him no longer possessing any flesh.)
- Dorothy's arrival in Kansas feels cut too short. I would expand the final scene just a bit to give it more punch.
I Hope This Doesn't Find You by Ann Liang
It would be a solid book if the ending wasn't so rushed.
The school trip's ending was cut short for no good reason. Yes, we saw Sadie and Abigail make up and we know that they chatted about Julius for hours (details unknown), but it gives Abigail, Abigail's friendship with Sadie, Julius and Julius's growing relationship with Sadie a huge disservice when we stop at just that. These last chapters of the book should be about cementing Abigail and Sadie's friendship (showing them move past the e-mails and be friends, with ALL the details), and fully establishing Julius and Sadie's relationship (officially becoming boyfriend & girlfriend, at least a little taste of them navigating the chaos at school once their relationship becomes public). Especially the latter was sorely needed. For all the emotions in the confession scene, I found it lackluster. Julius and Sadie should get to talk about their feelings a bit more. The final e-mail would make a lovely conclusion of the novel if not for the stage at which their relationship "concluded". As is, it didn't feel quite earned. I think that we didn't get enough Julius's POV for that. We don't have the space to truly grasp that he fell for Sadie first.
The school trip's ending was cut short for no good reason. Yes, we saw Sadie and Abigail make up and we know that they chatted about Julius for hours (details unknown), but it gives Abigail, Abigail's friendship with Sadie, Julius and Julius's growing relationship with Sadie a huge disservice when we stop at just that. These last chapters of the book should be about cementing Abigail and Sadie's friendship (showing them move past the e-mails and be friends, with ALL the details), and fully establishing Julius and Sadie's relationship (officially becoming boyfriend & girlfriend, at least a little taste of them navigating the chaos at school once their relationship becomes public). Especially the latter was sorely needed. For all the emotions in the confession scene, I found it lackluster. Julius and Sadie should get to talk about their feelings a bit more. The final e-mail would make a lovely conclusion of the novel if not for the stage at which their relationship "concluded". As is, it didn't feel quite earned. I think that we didn't get enough Julius's POV for that. We don't have the space to truly grasp that he fell for Sadie first.
But frankly, the novel's biggest crime is the bit after the school trip about Sadie's brother getting recruited to the Hunters. I found it a very lazy and underwhelming way of dealing with Sadie's "sole provider" mindset. It was just too convenient, too lucky - and though people suffering from hardships definetely deserve miracles like that, in this novel it felt like wishful thinking made true in order to make the ending happier and more "perfect". In this case, though, it backfired spectacularly and made the whole book so much worse. It really did put a solid dent to the realism of the novel. Also, Sadie's mom being so happy only because her children are happy? And explicitly telling Sadie to help out less and enjoy her life more? And we're supposed to be so happy about it? I'm sorry but is this the same extremely overworked Sadie's mom? It's all sweet in theory but it all crumbles literally after a second of introspection! Her mom cannot make 24 hours last longer. Her mom is already working too much. The very reason why Sadie started helping out was because she was worried about her mom and wanted to ease her burden. These problems weren't exaggerated by Sadie. Sadie's mom wasn't leeching off her teenage daughter because she's too lazy to work herself, she didn't have much choice other than to accept Sadie's help (especially since she wasn't aware how Sadie was always lying about helping not being a problem) because she was that busy and exhausted! And Sadie was the only person who could help her mom - Sadie's brother is useless when it comes to anything even remotely similar to household chores. Are we supposed to be happy that Sadie's mom will be even more likely to die from overworking? WTF? The happy ending would be Sadie's brother stopping being such a leech and starting helping out at home and at the bakery so that the chores are split three ways and neither Sadie, nor their mother are so horribly overworked. Honestly, it's ridiculous that for all the criticism of Sadie's brother that exists in the novel, we don't get even a smidge of character growth for him.
Anyway, I really liked Abigail (and her parents from what we've heard about them). There wasn't enough of her in the novel, tbh. If the author ends up writing an Abigail-centric sequel, I'll definetely read it, but anything else? Hard pass. This novel didn't leave me with THAT much faith in the author.
Anyway, I really liked Abigail (and her parents from what we've heard about them). There wasn't enough of her in the novel, tbh. If the author ends up writing an Abigail-centric sequel, I'll definetely read it, but anything else? Hard pass. This novel didn't leave me with THAT much faith in the author.
Abroad in Japan by Chris Broad
funny
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
A must read for every fan of Abroad in Japan! Chris's British humour is a delight. I had a blast reading about his (mis)adventures in Japan. Such a great book, one of my favourites for sure!
On a flipside, I do think that Chris's anecdote about Japanese highway came out better in the video than here and 2-4 paragraphs in one of the last chapters seemed a little... poorly arranged, but these are minor nitpicks. Overall, I couldn't be more pleased with the book - it exceeded my expectations and I'm really happy that I chose to buy it in hardcover! It really deserves it.
On a flipside, I do think that Chris's anecdote about Japanese highway came out better in the video than here and 2-4 paragraphs in one of the last chapters seemed a little... poorly arranged, but these are minor nitpicks. Overall, I couldn't be more pleased with the book - it exceeded my expectations and I'm really happy that I chose to buy it in hardcover! It really deserves it.
Skorek i czarownica by Diana Wynne Jones
4.5
Zgrabnie przetłumaczona, z ładnymi ilustracjami dobrze oddającymi postaci, ogólnie bardzo udane wydanie! Odstraszać może cena i choć jest uzasadniona twardą okładką i dobrej jakości papierem - ja dałam jej szansę dopiero wtedy, kiedy mignęła mi na promocji. W ostatecznym rozrachunku powiedziałabym, że książka jest naprawdę warta swojej ceny, ale o tym nie może przecież wiedzieć ktoś, kto sięga po książkę po raz pierwszy. :P
Książkę czyta się świetnie. Skorek jest cudownie charakterna. Od pierwszej linijki stała się jedną z moich ukochanych książkowych bohaterek i bardzo żałowałam, że nie mogłam poznać jej jako dziecko. Mój jedyny zawód to zakończenie - jest takie niesatysfakcjonujące! Autorka zakończyła historię w momencie, w którym historia powinna się tak naprawdę rozpocząć. :P Aż nie mogę uwierzyć, że na końcu nie było co najmniej tych 20 dodatkowych stron o tym, jak Skorek radzi sobie jakopełnoprawna uczennica czarownicy . To przerażające niedopatrzenie. Poza tym jednak miałam z książki dużo frajdy i po ponad roku nadal myślę o niej z sympatią, więc zasługuje moim zdaniem na to 4.5.
Książkę czyta się świetnie. Skorek jest cudownie charakterna. Od pierwszej linijki stała się jedną z moich ukochanych książkowych bohaterek i bardzo żałowałam, że nie mogłam poznać jej jako dziecko. Mój jedyny zawód to zakończenie - jest takie niesatysfakcjonujące! Autorka zakończyła historię w momencie, w którym historia powinna się tak naprawdę rozpocząć. :P Aż nie mogę uwierzyć, że na końcu nie było co najmniej tych 20 dodatkowych stron o tym, jak Skorek radzi sobie jako