sinceraly's reviews
41 reviews

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

I wanted so badly to like this book, and I always feel weird trying to rate a book about a Black experience of racism, or at least a representation of that, when I am not Black myself, but critiquing this as fairly and honestly as I can, I don't think it's entirely well written. I understand the fact that racism can come from anywhere and anyone, and that no white person is not at least complicit in systemic racism, but some of the complete and sudden heel turns made by characters in this book for the sake of making them racist was sloppy, the plot didn't really make sense when you consider that the main idea of an evil school set out to ruin Black lives and practice social eugenics relies on said evil school bringing in Black students it otherwise did not need to, and plot points were regularly brought up and then completely left unanswered, like Devon finding out his father died as a death row I made and Dre being arrested on drug dealing charges.

The writer is very talented at prose, but unfortunately, this book did not have the consistency and skill to tell the story in a way that felt realistic enough. Racism does exist in both violent and sneaky ways, and both threaten lives, but Ace of Spades, to me, does not do a great job of selling the message. The evil you know is always scarier than the evil you do, and the book really would have been more successful if it had made and kept the villains as more of an intimate set of people - like Get Out did by having the villains be the main character's girlfriend's family - rather than a handful of them and also the whole school.

Content Warnings

The Red Palace by June Hur 허주은

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dark mysterious tense 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? No

4.5

Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater

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lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

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

3.75

So Let Them Burn by Kamilah Cole

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adventurous emotional 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

4.25

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh

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adventurous emotional lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.5

The Martian by Andy Weir

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adventurous emotional funny inspiring medium-paced

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

5.0

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik

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adventurous mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.5

Ideally, I'll write a longer, more well thought out review at some point, but for now:

Spinning Silver is an excellent adaption/retelling of Rumpelstiltskin that does a great job of setting itself apart from the original. The book is excellently written with some of the best prose I've read all year, and Novik is so incredibly skilled at describing things so well you really can picture them all in your head.

The only thing stopping me from rating the book 5 stars is the amount of perspectives the book gets written through, and the nonsense order of how they happen. At first it's as simple as Miryem/Wanda/Irina, but then you toss in perspectives from the tsar, from Irina's handmaiden, from Wanda's brother, and they all happen randomly, it feels like. Though I loved the switch in perspectives at first, eventually it led to the middle section of the book feeling disjointed and not as cohesive as it could have been. Maybe on a second read, I'd feel like it's worth it, but it was a big enough negative for me to keep the book from 5 stars.

~~Also wish the book would have given me an epilogue if only because I wanted to see more of the Staryk king post "you fight good" moment. I'm a sucker for proud bitches and a redemption arc.~~

Content Warnings