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spellvexit7's reviews
143 reviews
The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
This is a book about scheming. So little happens as much of the narrative takes place inside of the characters' heads, sometimes spilling out into dialogues where they assess and scheme against or with one another. If you're really lucky, they'll do some magic. I was impressed that despite the fact that so little happened, and so little was really revealed or explained, my interest was held throughout. Burden that glacial narrative with six self-absorbed, rather hard-to-love characters, and that's a pretty big literary feat. Blake really can write. I honestly would have rated this higher but for the underwhelming ending. There was no payoff, simply a hollow "to be continued..." cliffhanger that I found maddening after being tantalized by so much table-setting for some 80-90% of the novel.
If you're going to write a book, at least resolve something by its end. This first book amounted to a big tease that honestly soured me to reading any more installments of the series.
If you're going to write a book, at least resolve something by its end. This first book amounted to a big tease that honestly soured me to reading any more installments of the series.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide
Journey to the West: The Monkey King's Amazing Adventures by Wu Ch'eng-En, Daniel Kane, Timothy Richard
adventurous
fast-paced
3.75
The Last Heir to Blackwood Library by Hester Fox
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
This book started promisingly and initially held my interest -- I enjoyed the gothic qualities of the estate she inherited and vicariously enjoyed the enormous library she owned, but I was challenged as the narrator became increasingly unreliable. While the reasons for this are explained, it stretched out a bit too long, and felt repetitive. I can see some of the ideas the author was playing with and appreciate her exploring them, but they never quite clicked with me. The "real" badguy and the "real" hero of the story were heavily telegraphed to the point where I wondered if the reader was supposed to be in on it all along rather than discovering the truth alongside Ivy. I hope that's the case!
I neither loved nor hated this book, but I did make it to the end. It's not a bad read, but it seemed a bit more frustrating than I had expected it to be, owing to Ivy's naive stubbornness and the unreliable quality of her narration noted above.
I neither loved nor hated this book, but I did make it to the end. It's not a bad read, but it seemed a bit more frustrating than I had expected it to be, owing to Ivy's naive stubbornness and the unreliable quality of her narration noted above.
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.5
Station Eternity by Mur Lafferty
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.75
The premise for this story was interesting and the opening was relatively strong, but the further I got into this novel, the more unfocused it felt. While Mallory was a reasonably interesting character, midway through the book her narrative was smothered by the introduction of a raft of new characters and the subsequent chapters from their point of view. I actually started wondering who the main character was after a while.
I'm not the most attentive reader, so maybe I'm to blame, but around the 80% mark I got increasingly baffled as to what the goals of the various people were, what the plan was, or even... what was going on. It felt like people were acting out of character, and the newcomer humans seemed amazingly nonplussed at the insane situation they found themselves in.
Despite Mallory's reputation as a whiz kid when it comes to solving crimes, the resolution at the end was not all that satisfying. For the most part, she seemed to have little agency, instead being dragged along in the undertow of events, and the other characters discovered and supplied information to her. Very little seems to have been resolved via her purported powers of deductive reasoning.
There were some interesting ideas in all of this, but the world-building of it all just didn't click with me. I think this may have further contributed to my confusion near the end, as I lacked the foundations that underpinned the interactions of the characters.
I'm not the most attentive reader, so maybe I'm to blame, but around the 80% mark I got increasingly baffled as to what the goals of the various people were, what the plan was, or even... what was going on. It felt like people were acting out of character, and the newcomer humans seemed amazingly nonplussed at the insane situation they found themselves in.
Despite Mallory's reputation as a whiz kid when it comes to solving crimes, the resolution at the end was not all that satisfying. For the most part, she seemed to have little agency, instead being dragged along in the undertow of events, and the other characters discovered and supplied information to her. Very little seems to have been resolved via her purported powers of deductive reasoning.
There were some interesting ideas in all of this, but the world-building of it all just didn't click with me. I think this may have further contributed to my confusion near the end, as I lacked the foundations that underpinned the interactions of the characters.