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rubeusbeaky's reviews
275 reviews
Estranged by Ethan M. Aldridge
5.0
This book is beautiful, like if The Lightning Thief and Labyrinth had a baby. I love that this book is what a good story should be: inclusive without being ham-fisted. It's a story about learning to accept yourself, learning to trust others, and navigating family, all of which is universal.
PS - I love Whick, they are the BEST, I would read a whole comic about the misadventures of Whick the Golem!
PS - I love Whick, they are the BEST, I would read a whole comic about the misadventures of Whick the Golem!
The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix
5.0
This book is a MASTERPIECE!
This book is so much more than "a vampire book". There are many kinds of bloodsuckers out there: People who are demeaning, and sap your strength, leaving you soul-tired. People who prey upon your faith or hospitality, and expect more than you can give. Sharks who swindle money from you. Systemic racism leaving you tired of struggling for equality. /Sexism/ leaving you tired of struggling for equality! The crushing fear that you are not enough. There is so much more to a life than blood in your veins, and so much more that drains a person in a day than physical exertion. This. Author. NAILED IT! What it's like to be a mother, a housewife, a female friend - the fact that we live so much of our lives in our thoughts and feelings, but they are /valid/ and /real/ - this author crushed it.
This book is so much more than "a vampire book". There are many kinds of bloodsuckers out there: People who are demeaning, and sap your strength, leaving you soul-tired. People who prey upon your faith or hospitality, and expect more than you can give. Sharks who swindle money from you. Systemic racism leaving you tired of struggling for equality. /Sexism/ leaving you tired of struggling for equality! The crushing fear that you are not enough. There is so much more to a life than blood in your veins, and so much more that drains a person in a day than physical exertion. This. Author. NAILED IT! What it's like to be a mother, a housewife, a female friend - the fact that we live so much of our lives in our thoughts and feelings, but they are /valid/ and /real/ - this author crushed it.
Star Daughter by Shveta Thakrar
4.0
I was expecting this book to be space-age sci-fi/fantasy, and was (pleasantly) surprised to discover that it's actually a modern fantasy featuring Hindu mythology. I had to stop a few times while reading, and educate myself on the unfamiliar zodiac and mythical creatures, which I count as a /good/ thing. I loved learning about another's culture, and being exposed to - what for me was - new magic.
A central theme of this book is being separated from one's heritage, and how to navigate first learning your family's culture, and then deciding which pieces to adopt and which to eschew. And more simply, it's a story about how Sheetal, a young adult, has to navigate the complicated range of feelings all teens go through when they discover that their family are all just other, complicated, flawed adults too. Her journey through doubts and discovery was timeless, and moving.
Not to mention, that this book is a winning trifecta of inclusion: Indian mythology, an Indian-American heroine, and LGBTQA supporting characters.
All that said, for all its good parts, the book also has its flaws. One minor minus, I found the book to be /too/ YA; it felt at times like I was watching a CW show. For example, Sheetal might be /more/ upset at any given moment that she has split ends, than that she her father is dying in the hospital. Or more concerned that somebody lied to her, than that they want to harvest her organs.
But a bigger problem I had with this book, is that I didn't feel the conflicts were resolved satisfactorily by the end. One big dilemma for Sheetal is that she must choose: a life on Earth or a life as a star. And... she doesn't. Another central conflict: Sheetal's grandmother is racist and wants political power so that she can pass racist laws... And she gets that power. Sure, there's a bigger message here about "being yourself" doesn't mean having to compromise which cultures you connect to, OR family is complicated and sometimes racist but we still love them... Those themes just don't make for a satisfying /story/ conclusion.
All in all, I still recommend the book. It's a great conversation starter.
A central theme of this book is being separated from one's heritage, and how to navigate first learning your family's culture, and then deciding which pieces to adopt and which to eschew. And more simply, it's a story about how Sheetal, a young adult, has to navigate the complicated range of feelings all teens go through when they discover that their family are all just other, complicated, flawed adults too. Her journey through doubts and discovery was timeless, and moving.
Not to mention, that this book is a winning trifecta of inclusion: Indian mythology, an Indian-American heroine, and LGBTQA supporting characters.
All that said, for all its good parts, the book also has its flaws. One minor minus, I found the book to be /too/ YA; it felt at times like I was watching a CW show. For example, Sheetal might be /more/ upset at any given moment that she has split ends, than that she her father is dying in the hospital. Or more concerned that somebody lied to her, than that they want to harvest her organs.
But a bigger problem I had with this book, is that I didn't feel the conflicts were resolved satisfactorily by the end. One big dilemma for Sheetal is that she must choose: a life on Earth or a life as a star. And... she doesn't. Another central conflict: Sheetal's grandmother is racist and wants political power so that she can pass racist laws... And she gets that power. Sure, there's a bigger message here about "being yourself" doesn't mean having to compromise which cultures you connect to, OR family is complicated and sometimes racist but we still love them... Those themes just don't make for a satisfying /story/ conclusion.
All in all, I still recommend the book. It's a great conversation starter.
Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust
5.0
A gorgeous fable about the monsters we become when we let anger rule, and the infectious peace we make when we dare to trust others. My heart goes out to anyone who, like Soraya, has suffered abuse, or has had to make themselves small when their feelings are big.
The back of this book is unique: Instead of a glossary of terms, there is more of a bibliography of inspirations. I loved it! I felt like I was sitting down for coffee and a chat with the author, it was so wonderful to see her thought process. Definitely got the Persian Sleeping Beauty vibes she was striving for.
This book gets major stars for being inclusive. Not just for the heroine being LGBTQA, but because the book explores themes of /romantic/ attraction: how a person can be attracted to a personality trait more than a physical trait.
AND this book gets big stars for its sensory descriptions! Having sense of touch become such a priveledged, intimate, even sometimes decadent, form of communication makes the audience /feel/ the story as it unfolds.
I can see how a reader might get upset with the extended metaphors which run throughout. But personally, as someone who also enjoys folk stories, the metaphors felt appropriate, like they were setting a fairytale tone. I can also see how readers might be upset that the author "borrowed" most of the characters from Persian myths, but since Fairytale Retellings are an entire sub-genre, I fully applaud the way they were rewoven in this book.
Fantastic read! Cannot wait to read more from this author :D. <3
The back of this book is unique: Instead of a glossary of terms, there is more of a bibliography of inspirations. I loved it! I felt like I was sitting down for coffee and a chat with the author, it was so wonderful to see her thought process. Definitely got the Persian Sleeping Beauty vibes she was striving for.
This book gets major stars for being inclusive. Not just for the heroine being LGBTQA, but because the book explores themes of /romantic/ attraction: how a person can be attracted to a personality trait more than a physical trait.
AND this book gets big stars for its sensory descriptions! Having sense of touch become such a priveledged, intimate, even sometimes decadent, form of communication makes the audience /feel/ the story as it unfolds.
I can see how a reader might get upset with the extended metaphors which run throughout. But personally, as someone who also enjoys folk stories, the metaphors felt appropriate, like they were setting a fairytale tone. I can also see how readers might be upset that the author "borrowed" most of the characters from Persian myths, but since Fairytale Retellings are an entire sub-genre, I fully applaud the way they were rewoven in this book.
Fantastic read! Cannot wait to read more from this author :D. <3
A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Roseanne A. Brown
5.0
Game of Thrones and Goblet of Fire adopted an African folktale, and the result is this flawless book! I had no idea how much my heart was aching for this story until I read it! I cry for my younger self, that she didn't have this book to read yet. It is everything I ever wanted: an enchanting, inclusive and deft tale of political intrigue, family drama, obstacles of racism/sexism/religious persecution/insert your -ism here, and overcoming one's own emotional demons. Strong female leads, vulnerable male leads, a story that twists and turns every time you think you have the answer, and the last 40 pages alone left me breathless. My only regret is that I have to wait another 8 months for the second book! I cannot wait for more from Roseanne A. Brown; the world desperately needed this author. Thank you for this book, thank you for being a literary superhero!
Godsgrave by Jay Kristoff
3.0
For 400 pages this book had me second guessing why on Earth I was reading it, until, at last, it snapped to attention in the last 20. Spoilers ahead.
For starters, anyone whose jaw hit the floor with the cliffhanger ending of Nevernight, is going to be severely disappointed when Mia does NOTHING to unravel that mystery. Absolutely zero time spent in this book pursuing the history of the moon, and what it might mean for darkin or other magical beings!
Instead, I felt like we were given /another/ origin story. If Nevernight was Hogwarts for Assassins, then Godsgrave is some combination of Hunger Games and the classic slave-to-rebel story. 300 something pages of Mia training at weaponry and poison-detection, all over again. Almost 400 pages of Mia making friends despite mental admonishments that she shouldn't get attached to people.
The author's artistry on the page, the echoes, the metaphors - they're largely missing from this book. This book reads more like a Michael Bay action movie: it's crude, it's gratuitous, and it acts like tripling the amount of vomit, piss, guts, and other bodily expulsions from the last book is somehow gloriously entertaining, the entire reason we're here... FYI, it's not; some of us actually cared about the characters and the plot... This book was a slog to get through simply because of how gross it was.
Yes, there are mega twists at the end which make me feel better about some things in hindsight... And also make me feel cheated! Once again, an "assassin" spends a lot of time trying to NOT kill people. And the final twist is just plain campy. After the lack of explanation for the moon twist, I don't expect a great explanation is going to be provided for the shadow-tentacle-man twist.
All in all, if you're looking for a tale of bloody revenge... you got it. But if, like me, you're looking for a magical world filled with depth, lore, dangerous surprises, and a strong heroine who undergoes some kind of character growth... this sequel might disappoint you. I won't be able to say for sure until I've finished the trilogy, but I'm getting strong "Catching Fire is just Hunger Games all over again but with a twist ending" vibes. Godsgrave feels largely skipable. Time will tell.
For starters, anyone whose jaw hit the floor with the cliffhanger ending of Nevernight, is going to be severely disappointed when Mia does NOTHING to unravel that mystery. Absolutely zero time spent in this book pursuing the history of the moon, and what it might mean for darkin or other magical beings!
Instead, I felt like we were given /another/ origin story. If Nevernight was Hogwarts for Assassins, then Godsgrave is some combination of Hunger Games and the classic slave-to-rebel story. 300 something pages of Mia training at weaponry and poison-detection, all over again. Almost 400 pages of Mia making friends despite mental admonishments that she shouldn't get attached to people.
The author's artistry on the page, the echoes, the metaphors - they're largely missing from this book. This book reads more like a Michael Bay action movie: it's crude, it's gratuitous, and it acts like tripling the amount of vomit, piss, guts, and other bodily expulsions from the last book is somehow gloriously entertaining, the entire reason we're here... FYI, it's not; some of us actually cared about the characters and the plot... This book was a slog to get through simply because of how gross it was.
Yes, there are mega twists at the end which make me feel better about some things in hindsight... And also make me feel cheated! Once again, an "assassin" spends a lot of time trying to NOT kill people. And the final twist is just plain campy. After the lack of explanation for the moon twist, I don't expect a great explanation is going to be provided for the shadow-tentacle-man twist.
All in all, if you're looking for a tale of bloody revenge... you got it. But if, like me, you're looking for a magical world filled with depth, lore, dangerous surprises, and a strong heroine who undergoes some kind of character growth... this sequel might disappoint you. I won't be able to say for sure until I've finished the trilogy, but I'm getting strong "Catching Fire is just Hunger Games all over again but with a twist ending" vibes. Godsgrave feels largely skipable. Time will tell.
House of Dragons by Jessica Cluess
1.0
Imagine watching "How to Train Your Dragon", but randomly, without warning, the movie cuts to some of the most controversial moments in Game of Thrones. This book ought to have come with a trigger warning. I almost chalked it up as a Did Not Finish after page 130, but I checked the Goodreads ratings to see if I should give the book a chance to redeem itself... I read to the end, but I feel like the odd reviewer out; this book failed on many levels with me.
For starters, the Switching Point of View Characters mechanic did not work in this book. Not to name drop, but when another famous dragon enthusiast, GRR Martin, switched perspectives, it was always to propel the action and the timeline forward. But this book will give the exact same scene, with all five protagonists present, and describe every gesture and dialogue, no surprises. Or worse, will have all five protagonists undergo the exact same activity, with the same motivation, but in /separate/ chapters, so you feel as if you're reading the same scene five times over. There is nothing gained by naming the chapter after one of the characters in the scene. And sometimes two chapters for the same character are back to back, leaving me wondering if the author even knows what a chapter is at all. If you're not going to switch perspectives, why not simply have a page break? It feels as though the book would have benefitted greatly from scrapping the mechanic, and simply swapping perspectives within a single chapter, each chapter being a scene.
Another nitpicky negative, this book barely "dragons" before page 300. The major selling point is supposed to be the dragons. It has "Dragons" in the title. But the dragons are more often treated like horses, just tethered and left behind while the humans have their misadventures. Yes, okay, I think there is supposed to be a metaphor somewhere in how each of the competitors behaves a bit like a dragon(?). But I do not feel the cast of heroes lives up to the promise in the title, because 3/5 of them do not want to be a part of this tournament. They try to flee, or they mope and resign themselves to losing/dying; they allow the plot to simply happen around them/to them. They are rather boring to read about. The tournament may push them from obstacle to obstacle, but the majority of characters don't really take agency until somewhere past page 350. That's a long time to wait for a cast to DO something, and to hope that the audience is enthralled simply because "Ooo, dragons!"
But my big concern is the tonal whiplash of this book. Spoilers and triggers ahead. Sometimes this book is for children, and it joyfully describes a dragon race resulting in a firebreathing tussle which totally doesn't burn the dragonriders to a crisp, aren't cartoon physics fun. And then suddenly, this book is for adults of a particular constitution, describing the public vivisection of a little girl, or a boy whose eyes melted, or a young woman who was raped by her liege lord. These more mature moments appear without lead-in, and without respect. These scenes are thrown in like paragraphs of characterization: She had red hair, grey eyes, and feared having molten lead dribbled into her eye sockets. There is no sense that this book is trying to create a macabre atmosphere, or carry a central theme about suffering and redemption, or teach its target audience about how to endure through trauma - nope, these scenes simply...are. They /are/ there.
And I can't even rightly say that the characters are motivated by their trauma, because their motivations and characterization change sentence to sentence! In one scene, a girl will be both meek and brazenly spiteful. Or another character will worship structure and lawfulness, and then burn down a town. The list is long, and easily visible in my highlights, bottom line being that even after 400+ pages, I'm not sure I really /know/ these characters.
Which brings me, I think, to my final problem with this book: Its inspirations were obvious, but it does not live up to its predecessors. There were obvious allusions to Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, Eragon, How to Train Your Dragon, etc... So many, that it feels like the author really enjoys dragons, and wanted to have a fantasy book... but got burnt out writing one. Nostalgia doesn't make a story. Everything feels unpolished, and just reminds me that I could be reading something better.
For starters, the Switching Point of View Characters mechanic did not work in this book. Not to name drop, but when another famous dragon enthusiast, GRR Martin, switched perspectives, it was always to propel the action and the timeline forward. But this book will give the exact same scene, with all five protagonists present, and describe every gesture and dialogue, no surprises. Or worse, will have all five protagonists undergo the exact same activity, with the same motivation, but in /separate/ chapters, so you feel as if you're reading the same scene five times over. There is nothing gained by naming the chapter after one of the characters in the scene. And sometimes two chapters for the same character are back to back, leaving me wondering if the author even knows what a chapter is at all. If you're not going to switch perspectives, why not simply have a page break? It feels as though the book would have benefitted greatly from scrapping the mechanic, and simply swapping perspectives within a single chapter, each chapter being a scene.
Another nitpicky negative, this book barely "dragons" before page 300. The major selling point is supposed to be the dragons. It has "Dragons" in the title. But the dragons are more often treated like horses, just tethered and left behind while the humans have their misadventures. Yes, okay, I think there is supposed to be a metaphor somewhere in how each of the competitors behaves a bit like a dragon(?). But I do not feel the cast of heroes lives up to the promise in the title, because 3/5 of them do not want to be a part of this tournament. They try to flee, or they mope and resign themselves to losing/dying; they allow the plot to simply happen around them/to them. They are rather boring to read about. The tournament may push them from obstacle to obstacle, but the majority of characters don't really take agency until somewhere past page 350. That's a long time to wait for a cast to DO something, and to hope that the audience is enthralled simply because "Ooo, dragons!"
But my big concern is the tonal whiplash of this book. Spoilers and triggers ahead. Sometimes this book is for children, and it joyfully describes a dragon race resulting in a firebreathing tussle which totally doesn't burn the dragonriders to a crisp, aren't cartoon physics fun. And then suddenly, this book is for adults of a particular constitution, describing the public vivisection of a little girl, or a boy whose eyes melted, or a young woman who was raped by her liege lord. These more mature moments appear without lead-in, and without respect. These scenes are thrown in like paragraphs of characterization: She had red hair, grey eyes, and feared having molten lead dribbled into her eye sockets. There is no sense that this book is trying to create a macabre atmosphere, or carry a central theme about suffering and redemption, or teach its target audience about how to endure through trauma - nope, these scenes simply...are. They /are/ there.
And I can't even rightly say that the characters are motivated by their trauma, because their motivations and characterization change sentence to sentence! In one scene, a girl will be both meek and brazenly spiteful. Or another character will worship structure and lawfulness, and then burn down a town. The list is long, and easily visible in my highlights, bottom line being that even after 400+ pages, I'm not sure I really /know/ these characters.
Which brings me, I think, to my final problem with this book: Its inspirations were obvious, but it does not live up to its predecessors. There were obvious allusions to Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, Eragon, How to Train Your Dragon, etc... So many, that it feels like the author really enjoys dragons, and wanted to have a fantasy book... but got burnt out writing one. Nostalgia doesn't make a story. Everything feels unpolished, and just reminds me that I could be reading something better.
There Will Come a Darkness by Katy Rose Pool
4.0
The characters, setting, and magical system of this world are captivating and breathtaking. There is a sense that it's Not Quite Earth, everything feels familiar but a little off. Definitely some Avatar/Legend of Korra vibes, which is GREAT, I'm a huge fan of that universe.
However, the story centers heavily around a prophecy, which is a trope, it's been done and overdone. Plus side: The existence of prophecies in this universe is linked to prophets and an ancient, still popular, religion, which is very relatable! And the heroes come to the conclusion that prophecy or no prophecy, they're going to follow their hearts. Minus side: There is a HUGE chunk in the middle of the book where everybody is trying to follow the prophecy verbatim, and therefore nobody has any agency in their actions. All that great characterization and setting flies out the window as people do things they wouldn't ordinarily do to adhere to some mystic mumbo-jumbo (which is easy to misinterpret in the first place!).
I'm glad I stuck with the book until the end, and am excited to see how the series continues. But fair warning about that spot in the middle you have to trudge through to get back to the good stuff.
However, the story centers heavily around a prophecy, which is a trope, it's been done and overdone. Plus side: The existence of prophecies in this universe is linked to prophets and an ancient, still popular, religion, which is very relatable! And the heroes come to the conclusion that prophecy or no prophecy, they're going to follow their hearts. Minus side: There is a HUGE chunk in the middle of the book where everybody is trying to follow the prophecy verbatim, and therefore nobody has any agency in their actions. All that great characterization and setting flies out the window as people do things they wouldn't ordinarily do to adhere to some mystic mumbo-jumbo (which is easy to misinterpret in the first place!).
I'm glad I stuck with the book until the end, and am excited to see how the series continues. But fair warning about that spot in the middle you have to trudge through to get back to the good stuff.
Vicious by V.E. Schwab
5.0
This book is fantastic, and is so much better when you don't know what you're getting into. V.E. Schwab reveals the bigger picture one little clue at a time, somehow managing to make a diverse cast of morally suspect misfits feel compelling, like a brilliant mashup between Dexter, Lost, and Cowboy Bebop. No spoilers from me; read this book!!!