smarmo21's reviews
27 reviews

The Song Rising by Samantha Shannon

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

An excellent 3rd book to this series. The plot flows well and I raced through this book. I’m taking off 0.5 stars because of truly shocking typos throughout the book, especially towards the end. Disappointed by the publishers for so many glaring errors. 
The Mime Order: Author's Preferred Text by Samantha Shannon, Samantha Shannon

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adventurous challenging dark 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

4.5

Excellent sequel to The Bone Season, pushing the story further and broadening our cast of characters. This version is noticibly improved from the original. Absolutely devoured it. My only deduction is because the first ~200 pages read a bit slow. 

Some favorite quotes: 
“ I’m sure you could find someone more useful than a criminal.” “ if I could choose anyone on earth, it would still be you, Paige Mahoney”

“You call a former lover an old flame”. His golden eyes were chilling, his face carved out of nothing earthly. “For Rephaim, it can take a long time for a flame to catch. But once it burns, it does not go out.” it didn’t take long to understand what he meant. “ but I will, I’ll go out” “ yes, you will go out”
 
Warden cut my cheek. Even with his glove, his touch warmed my skin. “If I fear anything, it is not that I want you “he said quietly. “Only that I might want you too much. And for too long.” “ you can never want too much. That’s how they silence us “I said. “They told us we were lucky to be in a prison instead of the aether. Lucky to be murdered with nitrogen, and not the noose. Lucky to be alive, even if we weren’t free. They told us to stop wanting more than what they gave us, because what they gave us was more than we deserved. You’re not a prisoner anymore,Arcturus”

“ You’re mad.” “madness is a matter of perspective, little dreamer.”
The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Remains my favorite book series to date. I’m doing a re-read leading up to the release of The Dark Mirror and it’s been a joy to read the updated version of The Bone Season. I adore these characters and this world is utterly fascinating. Samantha Shannon’s writing is captivating and I devoured this in just a few days. Can’t wait to read the rest, and the fifth book soon. 
Babel by R.F. Kuang

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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? It's complicated

3.75

I’ve never read a book quite like this. On the surface I docked some points because of the pacing, which I found to be drawn out at times. But the story itself is a fascinating and gripping narrative about colonialism and systems of oppression, and what privilege does and doesn’t mean, all while playing with a truly unique, linguistics-based magic system.
I found the conclusion of the book absolutely heartbreaking, if appropriate for the nature of the story. I wonder if we’ll get a Victoria spinoff one day.
I connected with Kuang’s writing style however at times I felt the weight of repetitive dialogue and conversations. Toward the last 100 pages I felt I’d read the same things a few times. All things considered, though, a really good read that’ll definitely sit with me long after I put this book down. 
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Priest by Sierra Simone

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dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I ended up listening to the audiobook, not reading. The writing isn’t great and the story is incredibly predictable. Spice is solid, though. 
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The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J. Maas

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 22%.
I lost access to the kindle version and need to wait to get it again from my library. I also wasn’t terribly invested in the story despite my love for the rest of the series. 
Throne of the Fallen by Kerri Maniscalco

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Fun and entertaining. It’s basically ACOMAF x Bridgerton. I listened to the audiobook which was certainly a different experience than reading would’ve been. Overall a decent romantasy story with all the tropes we love - nothing special but still enjoyable. 
F the Fairy Tale: Rewrite the Dating Myths and Live Your Own Love Story by Damona Hoffman

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Did not finish book.
Some of the advice was helpful if obvious; perhaps I didn’t get far enough into the book before I had to return to library 
The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown

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informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5