starryeyedenigma's reviews
342 reviews

A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow

adventurous tense fast-paced

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

3.5

 I’m a big fan of fairy tale retelling, especially the ones with a feminist twist. So of course when @btp.bookclub chose this book as their Feb BOTM, I was elated! Not to forget that the book is super short, almost a novella, and written by one of my favourite authors - Alix E Harrow ☺️🌸

This is a multiverse retelling of Sleeping Beauty and there was a part where I learned about one extremely dark and traumatic version of the Sleeping Beauty story that left me very shaken up. I guess I would’ve liked it had the author continued on Zellandine’s storyline and maybe some sort of revenge plot for her, but it doesn’t go that way. Maybe that’s a good thing for many readers, because the theme of the story is around female friendships, fighting for your own story and helping others. So it has a very positive and happy ending 🙂

I enjoyed the characters in the book too, but I guess I didn’t love it as much as I did 10,00 doors of January or Once and Future Witches.

Recommended if you like feminist fairy tale retellings, short novels and happy endings☺️ 

Vengeful by V.E. Schwab

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

4.5

 The first book - Vicious, from the Villains duology was definitely something new. I mean yes, we had the X-Men like EOs , but their origin story was different and I really liked the friction and attraction between Eli Ever and Victor Vale, not to forget the supporting cast - Sydney, Mitch, Dol and Dom.

But the second book was literally a tribute to the X-Men world I thought and I loved it. Extremely fast paced and never a dull moment with our ladies Marcella and June, i lapped up the book as if I was watching a movie instead. I wished the ending would’ve been different but I guess it had to go one way or the other🙂 Not to forget the explicitly mentioned Ace character - Victor Vale!! 💜💜

So yes, I had a lot of fun reading both these books and will recommend them if you like fast paced action, gray characters and obviously the X-Men franchise 🙂 

Big Panda & Tiny Dragon by James Norbury

funny inspiring reflective relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

 This is a book of comforting wisdom inspired from Zen and Buddhist philosophies and the icing on the cake are the gorgeous water color illustrations of the backdrops that Dragon and Panda travel through. I couldnt take my eyes off some of the illustrations. I almost felt transported to where Panda and Dragon were sitting or traveling to.

You can read this book in less than an hour - there are hardly any words in it. But somehow, it still had a very soothing effect on my mind. Great one to have on your coffee table, or waiting area or read out to your kids :) 

THE GREATEST ODIA STORIES EVER TOLD by Paul St-Pierre, Leelawati Mohapatra, K. K. Mohapatra

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

2.5

 I think the title for this book is misleading, or maybe I'm just not the right audience for this book even if I'm Odia myself, because I didn't find the short stories in this collection to be the greatest stories I've read. What might have been better was to remove the word 'Greatest' to just an anthology of translated stories from Odia. Simple and not misleading.

Most of the stories here are either written in the Raj era or just post independence. As a reader from the current age, I found the stories set more in history than in present. Most of the stories were set in rustic backdrops such as villages, with superstitious beliefs or extremely poor protagonists. I mean I know Odisha has this sector but as a 21st Century woman with roots in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Rourkela, and having seen the advances the state has made, I found the themes in the stories unsettling and unsatisfactory.

I did like maybe one or two stories and I liked how there are a lot of cultural references, but again, one cant paint a correct picture of Odisha by reading just these stories. 

Summer Days and Summer Nights: Twelve Love Stories by Stephanie Perkins

emotional funny lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

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

3.0

 This anthology of love stories featuring YA protagonists, with the backdrop of summer is a good book to pick for a beach or pool side read.

I liked the stories, and I enjoy reading short stories. However, I think this book is better suited for younger people than a 40 year old in terms of the romantic content :)

Other than that, it was a good read overall :) 

Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune

emotional funny reflective relaxing 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 couldn't have picked a better book to start the new year with, especially when my family and I are all trying to recover from Covid. I just love the way TJ Klune thinks. I'd like to be friends with him and be able to look into his mind. 

When I read The House on the Cerulean Sea, I had loved it. I loved everything about the book - it felt like a warm hug from a friend who cares. And now, the author has done it again with Under the Whispering Door. There are just a handful of characters in this book and yet I have fallen in love with all of them. 

There is humor and heartbreak, there is philosophy and mental health representation, there is a love story and an extremely satisfying ending, there is found family and friendship and tea in this book and I loved every sentence in the book from start till end. Highly recommend this hot chocolate marshmallow drink of a book :)

No One Is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood

dark emotional funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.5

I have never read anything written like this, I can give you that. At first I thought I would breeze through this 200 page book. But that wasn't the case, because every paragraph is loaded with metaphors and analogies. It is dark and funny and heartbreaking.

The story is about our generation and how we are all so connected to the internet, which the protagonist calls 'The Portal'. About how fleeting our attention is, how communities are formed online, how we care about everything and nothing on the internet.

But the part that broke my heart was the second half of the book. Because no matter how close you are online, your personal grief and personal loss is your own. There's just no way it can be experienced in the same way, unless someone is there with you or has experienced the exact same loss as yours.

I have to read the book again I think, because there were so many parts I wanted to highlight but didn't. The writing and concept is very unusual and I can see why readers might either love it or dislike it. I for one, really liked this book and would recommend it :)

Bookasura: The Adventures of Bala and the Book-Eating Monster by Arundhati Venkatesh

funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

I enjoyed reading this fun children's story set in Southern India. The story is a retelling of a popular mythological monster called Bakasura from Mahabharatha, only this time, the monster eats books!! What will our protagonist Bala do to save himself and his beloved books? You only have to read to find out :)

Recommended age: 6-8 years 

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

 I have so many fixed feelings about this book. I've been trying to read all of V.E. Schwab's backlists and new releases, since I was a big fan of the Shades of Magic trilogy and I really wanted to love this book, as much as I love its cover. But sadly, I could not. I didnt hate the book, but I also didnt love it.

It was the fastest 500+ read for me, and yet in many ways, felt the slowest.

I loved the premise, I mean, getting a wish to be immortal and experience the world and not having being tethered down to anything or anyone? Sounds like a dream for so many of us. But at what cost? I enjoyed the travels and the artistic experiences that Addie has in these 300 years, and even though she lives through some of the darkest times of our civilization, the author chooses to focus on the beauty rather than the truth or the bleakness. Which was fine for me, because I was in the mood for a feel good fiction.

But I didnt feel good after finishing the story. Somewhere halfway in the novel, the story changed from living and experiencing to a strange kind of romance with a twisted love triangle with protagonists who had no personality and no chemistry. And that was my biggest contention with the book I guess.

I would have loved it, if the story would have just been about Addie experiencing the world and never growing tired of it and helping others once she figured out the loopholes of her curse/gift. I couldnt figure out why Henry or Luc wanted Addie or said they loved her. I couldnt figure out why Addie loved either of them. It just felt very situational to me, the very same thing Addie was trying to escape in the beginning with her arranged marriage to a stranger.

I found the writing haunting and lyrical and a lot of the passages stayed with me. But I felt wanting at the end of the book. I just wish this hadnt been a love story :) 

Death Note: Black Edition, Vol. 6 by Takeshi Obata, Tsugumi Ohba

dark fast-paced

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

3.25

Done with the series and personally, I wasnt very impressed with the finale. The concept and illustrations were great but I lost interest towards the end of the series due to reasons mentioned in the Spoilers section below.

<<Spoilers Ahead!!!>>



I think I started to lose interest in the overall series once the original 'L' dies. The ending felt rushed and I could see the madness setting in Light/Kira, but somehow the last scene didnt seem justified enough for his intelligence. I didnt expect him to go like that. I was annoyed with the sexism in the series from the start and that lessened my love for the overall concept.  I also felt like some of the side characters were just swept under the carpet after the first few books in the series.