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soffi_ramirez's Reviews (186)
It surprised me; I didn't thought I would engage with the story as much as I did. I really liked the characters and their point of views. I'm not really into insta love, which I felt with Crier, but since I liked the rest I can overview it.
This was an unexpectedly enjoyable book. I didn't think I wasn't going to enjoy it, but it took me by surprise how much I really liked it. I wasn't fond of either Juliette nor Roma at the beginning, but they quickly warmed to me and soon enough, I was really into their story.
I loved the characters and the setting. I was invested in reading about this Shanghai and how the different cultures collied. I love the fact that the author didn't sweetened the gang stuff; there was a lot of violence, betrayals and thing I'd expect in a gangster book.
I hate insects and they creeped me out, but even though there were a lot of gruesome details, it was never enough to deter me of reading this. So thanks for that! Otherwise I'd have missed this wonderful story.
Now I'll wait with my feelings for the next part...
I loved the characters and the setting. I was invested in reading about this Shanghai and how the different cultures collied. I love the fact that the author didn't sweetened the gang stuff; there was a lot of violence, betrayals and thing I'd expect in a gangster book.
I hate insects and they creeped me out, but even though there were a lot of gruesome details, it was never enough to deter me of reading this. So thanks for that! Otherwise I'd have missed this wonderful story.
Now I'll wait with my feelings for the next part...
Very solid 4-4.5/5 stars for me
I'm really glad I read this book. I didn't know what it was about before having it, but I just read some reviews here and there, so I didn't have much hype, but I was also intrigued. It is a really good YA fantasy story, with an interesting world building that is not sooo detailed, but enough to feel immersed in it.
My two top aspects of the book are: the characters and the ending. First, the ending feels self contained even when it is a book that is going to form part of a series. It is a good beginning, but it doesn't feel like it was only made to give you glimpses of the story that will come. A lot happens and by the end, I felt satisfied with the whole story. Happy to know that there is going to come more, but satisfied with what it is for now. The story had a lot of twists, some expected and some really unexpected. And the pace was pretty fast, so is a very easy book to read.
Now, the characters. In my opinion, the real highlight in here, especially the female companions of the main character. They are all lovable, not without flaws, with compelling individual stories. They are not explored as much as I'd have liked, but enough to make them interesting. We definetely need a Britta in our lives. And even with all the horrible things that the MC suffers through the first part of the story is not something everyone has experienced, she is written in a very relatable way. Even if she's not your favourite, is not a bad MC by all means.
Now, some spoilers:
If you wrote or read fanfiction when you were younger, this is like the best example of a really good self-insert inspired fanfic. I do not mean that the author made a self-insert story, but it feels like one. Like a power fantasy, where the MC is what you'd like for yourself, with a cool set of special abilities, and how you would defy all odds and end victorious. Deka even have a cool animal companion that can telephatically "speak" with her. And I loved this aspect of the story, though it may not be for everyone. It made me enjoy the story so much, but I felt that it was important to mention.
White Hands was such a great character, because I was never sure if I should trust her. I honestly thought she'd be the final boss, the main villain, but I was so happy with her true identity. And the thing with the deathshrieks being good was not surprising, but being the final form of the alaki after their final death was. So happy that Katya came back, even as a deathshriek; I loved her character!
So TL;DR: great YA fantasy story, totally recommend it!
I'm really glad I read this book. I didn't know what it was about before having it, but I just read some reviews here and there, so I didn't have much hype, but I was also intrigued. It is a really good YA fantasy story, with an interesting world building that is not sooo detailed, but enough to feel immersed in it.
My two top aspects of the book are: the characters and the ending. First, the ending feels self contained even when it is a book that is going to form part of a series. It is a good beginning, but it doesn't feel like it was only made to give you glimpses of the story that will come. A lot happens and by the end, I felt satisfied with the whole story. Happy to know that there is going to come more, but satisfied with what it is for now. The story had a lot of twists, some expected and some really unexpected. And the pace was pretty fast, so is a very easy book to read.
Now, the characters. In my opinion, the real highlight in here, especially the female companions of the main character. They are all lovable, not without flaws, with compelling individual stories. They are not explored as much as I'd have liked, but enough to make them interesting. We definetely need a Britta in our lives. And even with all the horrible things that the MC suffers through the first part of the story is not something everyone has experienced, she is written in a very relatable way. Even if she's not your favourite, is not a bad MC by all means.
Now, some spoilers:
White Hands was such a great character, because I was never sure if I should trust her. I honestly thought she'd be the final boss, the main villain, but I was so happy with her true identity. And the thing with the deathshrieks being good was not surprising, but being the final form of the alaki after their final death was. So happy that Katya came back, even as a deathshriek; I loved her character!
So TL;DR: great YA fantasy story, totally recommend it!
Okay, when I read the reviews for this book before reading it, I was intrigued on why it was such a hit and miss. Now I understand.
If you want to read about Hedy Lamarr, the novel inventor, this is not your book. I felt really deprived on her inventor persona, how she came with this incredible idea and how she became an incredible scientist without "proper" training, being self taught.
However, if you want to read about Hedy Lamarr, the woman and her life, this is a good book. The book is separated in two parts, before fleeing Europe and after. This book is in first person, so I really felt like I was hearing her voice. Knowing her less-known life prior Hollywood and how she came to be the person we knew, was really interesting.
I liked a lot that aspect of the book and it really made me care about Hedy. But I did felt robbed by the last part of the book, because it was hinted her inventor side and I felt it didn't deliver. But even when I'm a scientist myself, I barely knew about her and any book that makes you want to know more about incredible woman like her is going to be on my good side.
If you want to read about Hedy Lamarr, the novel inventor, this is not your book. I felt really deprived on her inventor persona, how she came with this incredible idea and how she became an incredible scientist without "proper" training, being self taught.
However, if you want to read about Hedy Lamarr, the woman and her life, this is a good book. The book is separated in two parts, before fleeing Europe and after. This book is in first person, so I really felt like I was hearing her voice. Knowing her less-known life prior Hollywood and how she came to be the person we knew, was really interesting.
I liked a lot that aspect of the book and it really made me care about Hedy. But I did felt robbed by the last part of the book, because it was hinted her inventor side and I felt it didn't deliver. But even when I'm a scientist myself, I barely knew about her and any book that makes you want to know more about incredible woman like her is going to be on my good side.
Honestly, if I could give it more than 5 stars, I would.
This is an incredible and whimsical story that every lover of the Fantasy genre should read. The characters are delightfully complex and flawed, the worldbuilding is amazing for a book under 500 pages and the way it is structured gives you exciting conclusions and unexpected plot twists in more than one stage of the life of our MC. The tropes that are explored here are done excellent and with a cleverness that took me by surprise. This is a first part of a duology, but the ending is good enough for you to feel satisfied, but engaged enough to really wait for the second book.
Long story short, everyone should give it an opportunity.
Now, I cannot express myself as I want without entering spoiler territory, so all the next is spoiler:
HOLY SHIT THIS FUCKING BOOK
This has been one of the most incredible execution of the "vengeance" trope I've ever read. Since you learn from the beginning that Tarisai is half-ehru and that commands her to fulfill The Lady's wish of killing Dayo, it took me by surprise how Jordan Ifueko did not try to make her the "unknown" daughter of The Lady, but go bluntly about it the moment she met the Emperor and his Council. And how she actually overcomed on the first part of the book the murderous wish to be able to get anointed was *chef's kiss*
That made it even worse when The Lady restored her memories and she actually stabbed Dayo. I literally screamed, no joke. And her journey to find Melu to break the wish and then the answers he gave her made this journey so, so, SO GOOD. So satisfying. It never felt like cheating or that the author was taking a shortcut. It was extremely well done and I was living for this.
The characters. THE. FUCKING. CHARACTERS. Even though there was obvious protagonism to Tarisai, Dayo, Sanjeet and Kirah, I still loved the rest of the Council, even if their appereances were scarce. But this kids and then young adults stole my fucking heart, along with Woo In. I was rooting for Tar and Jeet romance from day one (even when I'm not into romantic plots in YA stories because they all feel... meh) and when I thought they'd pair Tar with Dayo because obviously she had to be paired with the future Emperor, the way it was resolved filled my heart with asexual representation and love for this couple. AND THEN SHE STABBED DAYO AND JEET CALLED HER A DEMON AND AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH. But how they resolved their issues, not ignoring them but addressing their traumas and accepting their pasts and parents as part of their stories, but not the main storyline was *chef's kiss*
The worldbuilding was superb. I can't believe how much lore Jordan Ifueko put in this story under 500 pages. I felt sucked by this world, enthralled by it and its costumes. The political points of the story were so, so good, and the story of how the Raybearers came to be was incredible.
And then, the revelation of the two Raybearers, how they always meant to be working together and how Melu explained so easily how simple it was when humans were making it unnecessary hard. UGH. I LOVED IT. I don't know how I didn't feel the plot twist coming, but I didn't and it was SO SATISFYING. I loved it.
AND THE ENDING. THE EMPRESS REDEMPTOR. THE SONGLAND. I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE NEXT BOOK.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH
I love everything.
This is an incredible and whimsical story that every lover of the Fantasy genre should read. The characters are delightfully complex and flawed, the worldbuilding is amazing for a book under 500 pages and the way it is structured gives you exciting conclusions and unexpected plot twists in more than one stage of the life of our MC. The tropes that are explored here are done excellent and with a cleverness that took me by surprise. This is a first part of a duology, but the ending is good enough for you to feel satisfied, but engaged enough to really wait for the second book.
Long story short, everyone should give it an opportunity.
Now, I cannot express myself as I want without entering spoiler territory, so all the next is spoiler:
This has been one of the most incredible execution of the "vengeance" trope I've ever read. Since you learn from the beginning that Tarisai is half-ehru and that commands her to fulfill The Lady's wish of killing Dayo, it took me by surprise how Jordan Ifueko did not try to make her the "unknown" daughter of The Lady, but go bluntly about it the moment she met the Emperor and his Council. And how she actually overcomed on the first part of the book the murderous wish to be able to get anointed was *chef's kiss*
That made it even worse when The Lady restored her memories and she actually stabbed Dayo. I literally screamed, no joke. And her journey to find Melu to break the wish and then the answers he gave her made this journey so, so, SO GOOD. So satisfying. It never felt like cheating or that the author was taking a shortcut. It was extremely well done and I was living for this.
The characters. THE. FUCKING. CHARACTERS. Even though there was obvious protagonism to Tarisai, Dayo, Sanjeet and Kirah, I still loved the rest of the Council, even if their appereances were scarce. But this kids and then young adults stole my fucking heart, along with Woo In. I was rooting for Tar and Jeet romance from day one (even when I'm not into romantic plots in YA stories because they all feel... meh) and when I thought they'd pair Tar with Dayo because obviously she had to be paired with the future Emperor, the way it was resolved filled my heart with asexual representation and love for this couple. AND THEN SHE STABBED DAYO AND JEET CALLED HER A DEMON AND AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH. But how they resolved their issues, not ignoring them but addressing their traumas and accepting their pasts and parents as part of their stories, but not the main storyline was *chef's kiss*
The worldbuilding was superb. I can't believe how much lore Jordan Ifueko put in this story under 500 pages. I felt sucked by this world, enthralled by it and its costumes. The political points of the story were so, so good, and the story of how the Raybearers came to be was incredible.
And then, the revelation of the two Raybearers, how they always meant to be working together and how Melu explained so easily how simple it was when humans were making it unnecessary hard. UGH. I LOVED IT. I don't know how I didn't feel the plot twist coming, but I didn't and it was SO SATISFYING. I loved it.
AND THE ENDING. THE EMPRESS REDEMPTOR. THE SONGLAND. I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE NEXT BOOK.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH
I love everything.
This was a fun read, a good 3.75 to 4 out of 5 for me.
The mythological part that was the base for the story was probably my favourite. It was well constructed and it was easy enough to follow during the whole story. The characters were mostly likable, though my favourites were Van and Miles, both side characters.
It is a pretty fast read, so I'd recommend it for a light read. Do not get fooled by the number of pages, it feels a breeze. Overall, I'd recommend.
Only spoiler that I'll add, and I'll because it meant something for meI wasn't much of a fan that Athena was the twist "villain". Her motivations didn't feel strong enough for all the things she did and how it turned it felt weak for me. I wasn't exactly rooting for her, but I liked that; how different she was from the human characters, being an immortal banished from Olympia. It is the only big downside for me, it could have been better.
The mythological part that was the base for the story was probably my favourite. It was well constructed and it was easy enough to follow during the whole story. The characters were mostly likable, though my favourites were Van and Miles, both side characters.
It is a pretty fast read, so I'd recommend it for a light read. Do not get fooled by the number of pages, it feels a breeze. Overall, I'd recommend.
Only spoiler that I'll add, and I'll because it meant something for me
I read this a long time ago, but I still love this book.
It was beautifully written, heartwarming and it amazed me the creativity of the author. It is a short book and I'd totally recommend it to everyone.
It was beautifully written, heartwarming and it amazed me the creativity of the author. It is a short book and I'd totally recommend it to everyone.
Me encanto! Me encantan los personajes, es una buena introduccion aunque como buen comic, se siente corta.
A esperar por el segundo tomo!
A esperar por el segundo tomo!
