sai_g's reviews
216 reviews

Untethered Sky by Fonda Lee

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-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

5.0

I loved her with the gravity of a stone sinking into a pool.

Beautiful. 

The only word my brain was coming up with over and over again while(and after)reading this. 

Fonda lee writes such good action scenes, I could feel the bird fly over me and the resulting breeze from its flight. I am simply awestruck with the beauty of the story, the characters and the birds. Especially the birds. 

Overall, I loved it. While it's true that like a lot of people I wish it was longer, this length worked perfectly too.

The Will of the Many by James Islington

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-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

5.0

I have seen this book being compared to Red Rising and Name of the Wind. I haven't read either of them.

I have read Harry Potter, to which also this book has been compared to. And I agree. There are strong similarities.

I don't wanna dwell on the similarities because it feels redundant and "taking away" from this book. So we'll continue with the review of The Will of the Many.

If you can't tell by the star rating, I enjoyed reading this book. A lot.

I haven't felt this level of enjoyment while reading a book in a long time. I wanna thank the author for reminding me why I love reading.

Characters:

I love Vis. He is my son. I want him to be happy. My boy has gone through so much. Please James. What has he ever done to you?!

Vis became so close to my heart not particularly because of his own characteristics (which I do love), but because of how much was taken away from him and the struggles he faces. I can't articulate how much I wish for his happiness.

I loved being in Vis's head. I loved watching him make friends and find his place in the academy. But the emotion I felt the most, was loneliness. Vis's loneliness was visceral. He had no one on his side. Not. A. Single. One. Nobody with whom he could be his entire true self without risking his life. Sometimes, I (the reader) forgot that noone could be trusted and that nobody really cared for his life and was therefore brutally reminded of it(esp from Vis's "adoptive father"). But Vis always remembered.  And that was sad to see. It genuinely pained me being alone was his default mode. So, when friendships were formed(atleast to the extent possible in his situation) it was heartwarming to read.

Many people have said that Vis seems Mary Stu-ish. As in that he seems unrealistically capable of everything.I can see why they have come to this opinion. But I have to say, I disagree. All of Vis's talents are earned and his "wins" are as realistic as possible in such a setting.

The remaining characters were all good too. Everyone had their own motives and it did not align with Vis's just because he is the main character.

Plot and pacing:

From the ending, I can garner that we only touch the tip of the iceberg in terms of plot. The plot always moved forward at a relentless pace. So it gave the illusion that we have covered most of it. Apparently not.

Magic system:

I feel like majority of it went over my head. But i think it's not because the given information was hard to understand, but because there is a lot left unsaid. Which adds to the mystery element.

Overall: A thoroughly enjoyable reading experience. I have never rooted this much for a main character. Cannot wait for the next book. 

Where Futures End by Parker Peevyhouse

dark mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

At the expense of sounding rude, this book was absurd. Not in a good way. 

A good concept, buy terrible execution. The five teens' stories do not connect at all. Only the first and last kinda "meet".

Above all, i hate (sorry) stupid angsty teens saying stupid angsty stuff and doing stupid angsty stuff to further the plot. None of the them even had a semblance of realistic characteristics. 

For example, 
"hearing Cole’s voice was like waking up slowly and listening to someone tell you where you are"

What does this even mean?? 

Overall, not my cup of tea.

Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede

funny lighthearted slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

A very fun parody of classic fairy tales

Reign & Ruin by J.D. Evans

adventurous challenging funny inspiring medium-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

4.0

“You are King or currency.”

Beautiful character dynamics. Not just between the main couple but also other friendships. 

Very interesting magic system, feels like a hard magic system in its theory but also like a soft magic system because the applications make it feel so. 

The political intrigue was well done too. One of my favorites across all books i have read. Both the main characters were smart and observant which honestly felt refreshing to read. 

The "tension" scenes had me giggling and kicking my feet. (Makram, you flirt!) But have to admit, the sex scenes were too long for my taste. The emotional intimacy was masterfully written and felt very warm to read about. 

While i felt things got a bit cliche at times (plot armor and the characters archetype, etc), it didn't bother me a lot because this book had a better plot than a lot of its alternatives from the genre. 

The writing seemed a bit awkward, unnecessarily convoluted at times. 

Overall, a wonderful piece of political fantasy. Cannot wait to read more. 

Under the Earth, Over the Sky by Emily McCosh

emotional hopeful lighthearted mysterious relaxing slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book felt like a fever dream, in a good way. 

I felt like a cat lazing in a sunny spot. 

Very whimsical, cozy and emotive. 

There is no pacing, because there is no plot. It's all vibes. That makes this a long read for me because i am very plot driven. 

The artwork (which i heard was made by the author) is beautiful. 

This book has so much "fae-ness" that all other fae books can go home. I am not a fan of overly descriptive writing, but i didn't mind here. The picture painted in my mind while reading was so pretty and warm. I could easily imagine a studio Ghibli movie. 

PS: I love the name Iohmar, probably would name my puppy after him (if I ever get one). It is so "fae". I would love to know the BTS of this name creation. 

Overall, really liked it. A very cozy fantasy with heavy father feels that made the reading experience very good. 

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

dark funny slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Last 25% was good. 

I think this is my sign to never touch a "beautifully" written book ever again. It took me more than 3 months to complete this. Not because I am a slow reader. 

While I liked the dialogues, i wish there were more. Books with more dialogues than descriptive paragraphs are comparatively interesting to read than the opposite. 

I guess this book suits readers with a more "refined" reading taste. Not my cup of tea. 

I also think the friendship between Locke and Jean while being good, was overrated by other readers who liked this book. The last few chapters were the reason for me to like their friendship atleast a little bit. 

The parallels between a few scenes in the past and present were well done. 

The humor, while not as abundant as i thought, was good too. 
 
Overall, this book is for readers who love descriptive passages and slow pacing. 

Thanking god and the author for giving a complete arc in the first book. Because, I am stopping here.

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

2.0

I did like the strong character writing of Jude. 

The whole book made me feel like I was in a faerie land, nothing makes sense and everything is irrelevant. 

"Snippets of scenes that are irrelevant to the plot but unfortunately that's the whole book" vibe. 

The flow of events was so badly executed that I could practically see the puppet strings attached to the characters, used by the author to make them do things to further the plot. 

The "political" struggles jude faced were all told about and not particularly shown. 

Overall, neither a good enemies to lovers nor a good political fantasy. Might read the next book just to know what happened.

The Wicked King by Holly Black
Did not finish book. Stopped at 36%.

Every scene seemed irrelevant and I couldn't bring myself to care for the characters. 

Eidolon by Grace Draven

adventurous emotional hopeful tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

A good sequel. Less romance and more "world-saving fantasy" compared to the previous book. It seemed to drag a bit. But overall a good story.