sarah_cameron's reviews
102 reviews

The Nature of Witches by Rachel Griffin

4.75

At Night All Blood is Black by David Diop

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

This is a seriously heavy read. The catalyst of the story is the night over which a man spends with his childhood best friend in no man's land as he slowly dies from a lethal injury.

The narrative jumps back and forth along the MMC Alfa's life, from his childhood and his relationship with his mother and family, to the years before he left for war, to the trauma of losing his best friend and adopted brother Mademba, and how he responds to this.

The writing is very lyrical, and the translation feels more as if you are reading an extended piece of poetry. The way pieces of Alfa's life are slowly revealed, and how this changes your frame of reference to his thoughts and experiences is very clever.

I think parts of this book are valuable for everyone, but in saying that you definitely need to be in a space to dedicate yourself to this book and then to reflect upon it, given it's nature and content. It will leave you thinking about it for a long while after putting it down.

This Poison Heart by Kalynn Bayron

adventurous emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

This book!!

I'm a certified Greek Mythology stan, and this book definitely feed my soul a little (read: lot). Not only does the mythological background add an incredible level of intrigue, the vibes are just so good. Yes there are high stakes and frightening moments, but it's also cozy in the depiction of nature and how Briseis feels when she's able to be herself around plants, the sapphic love is just lovely, the incredible support and closeness of Briseis and her family is probably one of the sweetest and healthiest family dynamics I've ever seen in a YA book and I just love it.

This book definitely does also deal with some heavier topics too, including death, violence, as well as just the general difficulties of a black family moving to a predominately white small town and the fear of how that will work. But it is very well written, and I'd highly recommend it.

The end had a pretty hectic pace, and I wish we'd spent just a moment longer building it so it didn't feel so rushed, and at least one of the plot twists was a little predictable. But honestly, if I was reading this at the age range it is geared towards, I may not have picked it up.

This is definitely a book you want the sequel on hand for because the end!! I need to know what happens next!

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.25

I just had to see for myself what all the hype was about here.

This book certainly does cover war and politics, feelings of inadequacy, character challenges and growth, an interesting and well-considered historical background to the current plot, and, of course, dragons. But it's also an angsty enemies-to-lovers about a girl who definitely falls victim to the 'she's not like other girls' energy, with a nice wee sprinkle of light smut to boot. And yeah, some of the plot twists can be seen from a mile away. But you know what, I loved it.

If you're a high fantasy enemies-to-lovers sucker who's been in a bit of a reading rut lately, this book is exactly perfect for you.

I will say that I love Rebecca Soler as a narrator, but I was not a huge fan of her voices for the dragons, so for the more high-stakes scenes like battles where you don't want to be pulled out, a physical copy might be better. I'll likely go that route for the sequel.

 

Also I'm sorry but Dane was the actual worst literally from the first time we saw him on the page, let alone after all the messed up manipulative ish be pulled, what on earth was Violet talking about? Mans suffered from MAJOR nice guy syndrome, wish someone had pushed him off the parapet right at the start.

 

A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab

adventurous dark funny tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

Honestly, I'm a huge V E Schwab fan. But until now, I just hadn't connected with this series the way I had with their other work. This book definitely changed that.

I feel Schwab really comes into her own here. The world feels so much richer and filled it, and the bringing together of all our characters against one key villain and enormous stakes was so well written. I felt all the emotions reading this one, and I think my heart was racing pretty much the entire time.

I'm beyond excited for the fourth book in this series. Also, Lila is still my fave.

As Long As the Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

I've honestly put off reviewing this book because I just don't know how to do it justice.

This is incredibly written. It feels so lyrical and purposeful, and Katouh does a fantastic job of connecting the reader to all characters, but especially our FMC Salama, which I think really is a central part of the purpose. It can be easy to distance ourselves from difficult and traumatic experiences, but especially ones we are not personally connected to either by experience or relation. This book forces you to look at what is happening, and realise that it is only by lucky circumstance that it is not happening to you. It is an incredibly informative, important piece of writing in the awareness it brings to the Syrian war, and the experiences of those connected to it.

Katouh also deals with PTSD in a highly skilled fashion. It is clear just how much fear permeates   Salama's life, how quickly she was forced to grow up, how numb she has become to certain horrors, and yet even with this constant exposure how it's not a life anyone could or should ever become accustomed to living in. The lengths she goes to simply to survive, not just in a physical sense but also to emotionally get through the day-to-day of her life, are hard to comprehend.

Katouh's passion and investment in this story are clear in every word. Nearly impossible to put down, this will have you in tears, and really does encourage critical thought and empathy towards people living in circumstances that are impossible to comprehend from behind our sheltered doors. An absolute must read for everybody.

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.25

I almost want to review this book in three different parts: the first half of the book, the second half.

The world-building and political setting is well-established and rich, but despite spending about 400 pages setting all of this up, alongside all our characters and their backgrounds and goals, I think the book suffered from how little we saw people of different sides, countries, and politics coming together.

This happened in the end, but it was incredibly rushed and after all the turmoil set out at the beginning, it was remarkably easy to get everyone to forgo centuries of bad history to work together.

I felt similarly about the character development, which felt rather stagnant at first, and then incredibly rushed. The pacing at the beginning was snail paced, and by the end everything was moving so quickly it was hard to keep up. I feel that final 150 pages were what I expected the bulk of the book to be, and I really wished the final act was more fleshed out and explored, whereas I could've done without about 200 pages of the first 400.

I think what is most frustrating is that the premise is really amazing. The long and complicated history of the world is incredibly set up, we have a range of characters from such a diverse range of places, the creatures and lore are so vivid, and the relationships were set up to deliver so much. Because the execution is done in a way that is both slow and rushed, it just feels we missed out on what should have easily been a 5 star book.

In short, my feelings on this book are complicated at best.

The Children of Gods and Fighting Men by Shauna Lawless

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I really enjoyed the premise and plot of this book. It does a great job of traversing a large period of time and characters, while still being cohesive and easy enough to follow. This is aided by each of the characters and settings being distinct enough, with clear histories and motives, and Lawless does an impressive job of making the reader sympathetic to many of the characters despite their clashing goals.

This is a seriously impressive debut, with rich world-building that has clearly be carefully researched. I also really enjoyed the narrator, and felt she did a good job of giving each of the characters a clear voice.

My only drawback is that at times I felt a little disconnected from the narrative flow - the language more emotive in a way that sometimes feels distanced from the plot, like an epic being described in retrospect, rather than feeling caught up in the energy and emotions of the characters in the present. It's worth noting that this is a valid narrative choice, and it just happens to not be my personal preference.

In saying that, I'll definitely be picking up the sequel when it drops, and I'm invested in seeing what happens next!

The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan

adventurous funny mysterious 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 mean it's no secret that Rick Riordan can do nothing wrong in my eyes.

I think this series does a good job of existing in a very well-established world amongst characters we already know and love, while also being it's own story and earning a place of attention and enjoyment in it's own right.

The energy is more similar to the OG PJO series ( I find the HOO to be geared just slightly towards an age group above, though very much still YA). I also adore Meg and the intrigue of her backstory. 

Having a character that is morally grey and from an abusive background that wraps her perception of the world and people around her is a really interesting discussion, and having someone we can't fully trust in our inner circle makes the ending and set up for the next book incredibly interesting.

 

I'm excited to dive into the next one!

Avatar: The Last Airbender - Team Avatar Tales by Kiku Hughes, Sara Goetter, Dave Scheidt, Ron Koertge, Gene Luen Yang

fast-paced

3.75

Silly, fun, easy to read. Not hard hitting like some of the other comics but it’s a solid filler episode-energy vibe!