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the_chaotic_witch's reviews
214 reviews
The Vanished Queen by Lisbeth Campbell
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
by Lisbeth Campbell; 496 pages; 2020; 4/5 stars; 8.71 CAWPILE; spoiler-free
My, my, this book. Oh, this book. Now, this is the first high fantasy I have read in a while that I thoroughly enjoyed. This might even be considered epic fantasy, and from what I have read, this also counts as adult fantasy? Though, I'd say it feels like on the border between Young and Adult Fantasy.
This book is about a country ruled by a terrible tyrant and the rebellion that formed in answer to that, and I honestly, I never needed a book more. This had everything from strategic thinking to actually being driven by characters who had their own minds and personalities without just acting on the ~whimps of love and hate~.
We follow the points of view of three integral and very different characters who are all wonderfully fleshed out. Their personalities, as well as the world-building, are done in such a simple and yet effective way and are all incredibly atmospheric.
As to the writing, I might be a bit biased here because the audiobook has different narrators for the other points of view, but I honestly believe that each character had their own specific writing style and recognizability within that.
As I said, this storyline came to me at the right time and that I wanted in this particular execution for months now, so of course, the intrigue for me was high. Still, I think, even if you only read it out of curiosity, that the singular plot points would make you keep turning pages without thinking about it.
Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed my experience reading this, and I highly recommend it who wants a story about intriguing characters and a reasonable world while still being emotionally invested in the plot and the world!
(PS. there is queer rep in here!)
My, my, this book. Oh, this book. Now, this is the first high fantasy I have read in a while that I thoroughly enjoyed. This might even be considered epic fantasy, and from what I have read, this also counts as adult fantasy? Though, I'd say it feels like on the border between Young and Adult Fantasy.
This book is about a country ruled by a terrible tyrant and the rebellion that formed in answer to that, and I honestly, I never needed a book more. This had everything from strategic thinking to actually being driven by characters who had their own minds and personalities without just acting on the ~whimps of love and hate~.
We follow the points of view of three integral and very different characters who are all wonderfully fleshed out. Their personalities, as well as the world-building, are done in such a simple and yet effective way and are all incredibly atmospheric.
As to the writing, I might be a bit biased here because the audiobook has different narrators for the other points of view, but I honestly believe that each character had their own specific writing style and recognizability within that.
As I said, this storyline came to me at the right time and that I wanted in this particular execution for months now, so of course, the intrigue for me was high. Still, I think, even if you only read it out of curiosity, that the singular plot points would make you keep turning pages without thinking about it.
Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed my experience reading this, and I highly recommend it who wants a story about intriguing characters and a reasonable world while still being emotionally invested in the plot and the world!
(PS. there is queer rep in here!)
The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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
by Katherine Arden; 354 pages; 2020; 4/5 stars; 8.86 CAWPILE; spoiler-free
Oh wow. I finally finished this series. And I'm rather sad about it... This book was a wild ride, and I honestly loved the entire trip. Now, as this is the third and final book in the series, I will not say much about the plot.
I loved some twists and turns. I particularly loved some of the decisions our Main character made, and as with the books before, this took on turns and storylines that I had not expected. And while I at first could not see how they fit with the magical main arc of the story, they complemented each other seamlessly and were necessary to bring it all together and to a close.
As with the characters, the romance was again a little too much in the background for me since this is a plot-driven book, and I am a character-driven reader, but as to balance that out: the world-building and atmosphere are superb. Not really pleasant but consistent and concise.
What I got to say about the plot, though, is that we basically have 2 climaxes in this book, and that put me off a little. Both were relevant to the story, but the first was more integral to the emotional core, so that afterwards, I was almost a little burned out, not sure what to expect from the rest of the book and how much to get invested in it.
All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed it, though and will definitely reread the series in the future!
Oh wow. I finally finished this series. And I'm rather sad about it... This book was a wild ride, and I honestly loved the entire trip. Now, as this is the third and final book in the series, I will not say much about the plot.
I loved some twists and turns. I particularly loved some of the decisions our Main character made, and as with the books before, this took on turns and storylines that I had not expected. And while I at first could not see how they fit with the magical main arc of the story, they complemented each other seamlessly and were necessary to bring it all together and to a close.
As with the characters, the romance was again a little too much in the background for me since this is a plot-driven book, and I am a character-driven reader, but as to balance that out: the world-building and atmosphere are superb. Not really pleasant but consistent and concise.
What I got to say about the plot, though, is that we basically have 2 climaxes in this book, and that put me off a little. Both were relevant to the story, but the first was more integral to the emotional core, so that afterwards, I was almost a little burned out, not sure what to expect from the rest of the book and how much to get invested in it.
All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed it, though and will definitely reread the series in the future!
Ain't I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism by bell hooks
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
by bell hooks; 206pages; 1981; non-fiction; 4/5 stars; 8.43 CAWPILE
[structure, sourcing, writing, learning, intrigue, logic, enjoyment; SSWLILE]
This is the first intersectional book on racism and feminism that I actively took in. I've read Brittney Cooper's Eloquent Rage a few years back. Still, back then, I did not have the understanding, capacity, or knowledge of the English language to actually understand what I was reading.
After reading books on racism and feminism separately, I was deeply interested in learning about the intersection there. Now, as with any non-fiction books on sociology, this book goes into the history and the development of that population group and the different movements, societal event, topics, and changes that affected them. As the title suggests: Black Woman is in focus. This book opens your eyes to a struggle that might not be yours (as in I am a very much privileged white woman) and defines parts of the conversation in a passionate, knowledgable, and precise manner.
I cannot judge this book other than to say I learned a lot from it, and I highly recommend it!
And to all my fellow white hoomans: EDUCATE YOURSELVES.
[structure, sourcing, writing, learning, intrigue, logic, enjoyment; SSWLILE]
This is the first intersectional book on racism and feminism that I actively took in. I've read Brittney Cooper's Eloquent Rage a few years back. Still, back then, I did not have the understanding, capacity, or knowledge of the English language to actually understand what I was reading.
After reading books on racism and feminism separately, I was deeply interested in learning about the intersection there. Now, as with any non-fiction books on sociology, this book goes into the history and the development of that population group and the different movements, societal event, topics, and changes that affected them. As the title suggests: Black Woman is in focus. This book opens your eyes to a struggle that might not be yours (as in I am a very much privileged white woman) and defines parts of the conversation in a passionate, knowledgable, and precise manner.
I cannot judge this book other than to say I learned a lot from it, and I highly recommend it!
And to all my fellow white hoomans: EDUCATE YOURSELVES.
Vagina: A Re-education by Lynn Enright
informative
medium-paced
4.5
by Lynn Enright; 230 pages; 2019; non-fiction; 4/5 stars; 8.43 CAWPILE
[structure, sourcing, writing, learning, intrigue, logic, enjoyment; SSWLILE]
I found this book looking for an easy-going feminist book to get me going into the conversation. And while this is no feminist book, it helped me a great deal in that aspect, too.
Now, the title almost says it all. This is a work about the re-education about vulvas, of what utter crap we are taught in school and what we are not taught. While this book mainly focuses on the western world, there are also some excursions into other cultures with different views on virginity, a woman's place in the world, and sexuality.
For me, personally, who so far has never really been interested in anything sexual, this book opened my eyes. Since sexuality - biologically and as in who you're attracted to - is such an individual topic, I can only talk about my own experiences here! But the schools in Germany did (and I very much believe still does) not go deeper into the matter of the vulva, strongly shies away from talking and teaching about pleasure, consent, sexual illnesses and conditions, the risks and realities of child-birth, and does not open up a place for debate on fertility and self-agency, I found this book mind-blowing. To understand the actual functions of my body better opened me up for experimentation, for acceptance, and I honestly believe it showed me a whole new confidence and feeling of comfort in my own body that I haven't felt before.
It is well structured, and while I cannot say anything on the sourcing, since I've listened to the audiobook, it is intriguingly written, logically concise and not only informational for people with vulvas but also helps those without understand them better and educates on health risks and natural conditions as well as dispelling stereotypes and harmful myths.
[structure, sourcing, writing, learning, intrigue, logic, enjoyment; SSWLILE]
I found this book looking for an easy-going feminist book to get me going into the conversation. And while this is no feminist book, it helped me a great deal in that aspect, too.
Now, the title almost says it all. This is a work about the re-education about vulvas, of what utter crap we are taught in school and what we are not taught. While this book mainly focuses on the western world, there are also some excursions into other cultures with different views on virginity, a woman's place in the world, and sexuality.
For me, personally, who so far has never really been interested in anything sexual, this book opened my eyes. Since sexuality - biologically and as in who you're attracted to - is such an individual topic, I can only talk about my own experiences here! But the schools in Germany did (and I very much believe still does) not go deeper into the matter of the vulva, strongly shies away from talking and teaching about pleasure, consent, sexual illnesses and conditions, the risks and realities of child-birth, and does not open up a place for debate on fertility and self-agency, I found this book mind-blowing. To understand the actual functions of my body better opened me up for experimentation, for acceptance, and I honestly believe it showed me a whole new confidence and feeling of comfort in my own body that I haven't felt before.
It is well structured, and while I cannot say anything on the sourcing, since I've listened to the audiobook, it is intriguingly written, logically concise and not only informational for people with vulvas but also helps those without understand them better and educates on health risks and natural conditions as well as dispelling stereotypes and harmful myths.
A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
it is a lot... so here ya go
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3881091174?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3881091174?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit
*Sexual content (very explicit)*
*Sexual violence (graphic)*
*PTSD*
*Depression*
*Perils of child-birth*
*Miscarriage*
*Child being still-born*
*Death of child-birth*
*Terminal illness*
*Suicidal ideation*
*Violence*
*Gore*
*Blood*
*Physical Abuse*
Elysium Girls by Kate Pentecost
What more could you ask of a book?
Well, apparently, it was too much to ask because it was all for nothing. But let's try to get a structure into this mess of a review, don't worry, it'll stay spoiler-free.
I think I'll go along with the CAWPILE evaluation system. For those of you who haven't heard of it, CAWPILE is a rating system developed by The Book Roast on YouTube that is just more user-friendly than the 5 star-rating system; for many people, that is.
CAWPILE is an acronym meaning character - atmosphere - world-building - plot - intrigue - logic - enjoyment. You can rate all these on a scale of 1-10, and then the sheet automatically calculates your rating, 10 being the best. As you can see from the very top, I didn't like it (1.57).
Overall that I will say coming up, I want to give the author the benefit of the doubt: this was their debut. And it shows. Can they grow and become a better writer? 100%. Does this make this book any better? No. Can you disagree with Me? 100%! Am I still going to say what I'm going to say? 100%. So I'm going to refer to the book and not the author/writer.
So, let's start with the characters. There are 2(.5x2) Main characters and about a dozen main characters. The main crew of girls consists of six, if I remember them all, and combining them with the Mains makes it eight characters to keep in almost every scene. And that is just too much for this book. Besides the book not being sure who its villain is for 93% of the plot and then giving the change a very poor excuse (which actually is a trope many dislike (not going further into it for spoiler reasons)), the book also doesn't know it's own characters. There is a slight characteristic with the Mains, but they aren't consistent either. In fact, the Mains have the worse character building because they flip-flop all over the place, going from one emotional extreme to another ideological extreme. Having made up their mind and being absolutely sure of themselves and their decisions, but then in the next paragraph, they have their fifth existential crisis this chapter. The main characters, aka the rest of the girls and some people in the settlement, seemed to be there to give emotional leverage but had no character themselves (backstory - yes. character and emotional importance - no.) We don't even have a proper love-interest.
You may have heard that this book is sapphic. I disagree. I think the most we got was queerbaiting. Some hand-holding, one (1) peck on the cheek, and party 1 of the potential pairing ignoring party 2 for 80% of the time. And the most romantic thoughts we got were "so beautiful" and "Odd. I want to hug her".
And something that goes for all the characters, not just the potential couples, the "found-family," or the Main characters: there was no relationship building and zero chemistry. Not even in the girl group. No chemistry because no character. No relationship building because no character. I will excuse the awkward fight scenes and the weak plot points but at least give your main characters some significance to the reader. When the reader doesn't care about the characters during the final show-off, then something has gone wrong.
As for the atmosphere and world-building ( - for Me, they kind of go hand in hand). It was there. I definitely had an image and a feeling in mind, but then the distinct parts of the plot (the different places in the town, other places in the desert, the crews hide-out) were so... singular that I struggled to connect them all to one world in my mind. While one or two places feel familiar most of the time, I had no idea where we were or what it was supposed to look and feel like. As for the magic. Oh, btw. There is magic. It was ... eh? There was a system to it, but honestly, we are never told or even shown how it works. We never learn it with the characters, and there is no internal logic or consistency to it. Or there is, right up until the end when it's broken yet again.
To the plot. As I said at the very beginning, the premise is fantastic. It sounds absolutely amazing!
But you can guess: it wasn't. The plot being partially fuelled by the characters and their actions was inconsistent at best and random at worst. It felt like there was an idea, but the book didn't know how to get from point A to point B. The rules of the Game changed on a whim. The reader had to suspend their disbelief so much to get over significant plot points. And would the characters have consistency, intelligence, or strategic thinking, we would have lost the plot halfway through the book.
As for intrigue. To be frank, I would have DNF-ed this if it hadn't been for the fact that it was a buddy read with a friend of mine. Yes, I finished it almost a month late, I'm sorry, but I still wanted to complete it. So I read less for enjoyment and more for that friend. The intrigue was there, though. With certain parts. Mainly one of the Mains background, and though we got an interestingly well-developed world-building into that, it had no consequence on the story whatsoever. And because the reader doesn't care for the characters or the world, there are no stakes, nothing to make us worry about how the next chapter is going to end.
So I will not say much about the topic of logic. There hardly was any. Not within the characters, nor their interactions, nor the magic (mainly how to obtain the things), nor the town (because yes, it is set in 19-something, but that doesn't mean that people back then had no own willpower or ability to think), nor in the plot, nor in the strategy.
Also, this book is set out to be YA; I want to give clear trigger warnings of the not so mild though short discussions of sexual abuse, rape, murder, blood, bullying, severe and terminal illness, as well as physical and mental abuse.
Enjoyment wasn't there clearly. Though I like to be back in YA, 80% of the time, I was rolling my eyes, pinch the bridge of my nose, or simply closing the book.
Before we get to the plot's biggest issue, let Me quickly talk about equality and empowerment. The whole shebang - without going too deep into it - for the town is trying to be as equal as possible, no matter "the color, the gender, the money," or whatever. Do we see that? No. May it be that some of the main characters are POC? Yes, some are. Does it matter or contribute in any way to the plot? Absolutely not. Does it have to? Not necessarily, but we definitely shouldn't forget about it as soon as it isn't mentioned anymore.
And empowerment. A group of girls surviving the desert about to save the day. Sounds good. It's floppily done but okay. The thing that infuriates Me is that the most "rebellious and feminine" character - remember they all live in a single town trying their darndest to win the Game, aka proof themselves "worthy" - is running an underground make-up empire. The most empowering the book could come up with was "running an underground make-up empire"? So, that place where we try to be "our best selves" (as at the time) seems to be okay with girls wearing make-up they had to smuggle? While there is nothing wrong with enjoying wearing make-up, it is a necessity easily gone without in times like these, and it is illogically obtained, too. And at the very end, there is another scene where the crew gets their hands on some make-up and, okay, to distract themselves in the last few pages whatever. But when one says no, their reaction isn't.... pleasant, let's say. They don't bully her! But the undercurrent is iffy.
As promised, the biggest issue. Tell no show. All the missing development, all the inconsistencies could have been at least partially forgiven if we had seen anything of the plot actually happen. As it is, we didn't not even the final battle really, not even the training to learn magic, not even the performing of magic; there were prophetic dreams, did we see those? No! Did we see the emotional trauma? No. I could go on and on and on, but we would come to the same conclusion.
All in all, do I recommend this book? I mean.... sure... if you don't care about character depth, relationship development, logic, consistency, or internal coherence, you might like it. I didn't. But I think it might have gotten Me closer to reading more YA again. So that is good. I guess?
This is Me signing off, be kind, especially to yourselves. Bye ♥.
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
0.75
This cover is beautiful, isn't it? It was the first thing that pulled Me towards this book. Then the premise. A Game between the Goddesses of Life and Death where your everyday life is the playboard. A reality that has been removed from the world you knew, leaving you to fend for yourselves in a deadly desert with strange creatures and an army of dark soldiers to decide your fate. A lovable crew of girls who stand up for what they believe in, who make a living for themselves in this deadly world of theirs. A friendship forged by survival, injustice, and companionship. A sapphic relationship. Mechanical horses.
What more could you ask of a book?
Well, apparently, it was too much to ask because it was all for nothing. But let's try to get a structure into this mess of a review, don't worry, it'll stay spoiler-free.
I think I'll go along with the CAWPILE evaluation system. For those of you who haven't heard of it, CAWPILE is a rating system developed by The Book Roast on YouTube that is just more user-friendly than the 5 star-rating system; for many people, that is.
CAWPILE is an acronym meaning character - atmosphere - world-building - plot - intrigue - logic - enjoyment. You can rate all these on a scale of 1-10, and then the sheet automatically calculates your rating, 10 being the best. As you can see from the very top, I didn't like it (1.57).
Overall that I will say coming up, I want to give the author the benefit of the doubt: this was their debut. And it shows. Can they grow and become a better writer? 100%. Does this make this book any better? No. Can you disagree with Me? 100%! Am I still going to say what I'm going to say? 100%. So I'm going to refer to the book and not the author/writer.
So, let's start with the characters. There are 2(.5x2) Main characters and about a dozen main characters. The main crew of girls consists of six, if I remember them all, and combining them with the Mains makes it eight characters to keep in almost every scene. And that is just too much for this book. Besides the book not being sure who its villain is for 93% of the plot and then giving the change a very poor excuse (which actually is a trope many dislike (not going further into it for spoiler reasons)), the book also doesn't know it's own characters. There is a slight characteristic with the Mains, but they aren't consistent either. In fact, the Mains have the worse character building because they flip-flop all over the place, going from one emotional extreme to another ideological extreme. Having made up their mind and being absolutely sure of themselves and their decisions, but then in the next paragraph, they have their fifth existential crisis this chapter. The main characters, aka the rest of the girls and some people in the settlement, seemed to be there to give emotional leverage but had no character themselves (backstory - yes. character and emotional importance - no.) We don't even have a proper love-interest.
You may have heard that this book is sapphic. I disagree. I think the most we got was queerbaiting. Some hand-holding, one (1) peck on the cheek, and party 1 of the potential pairing ignoring party 2 for 80% of the time. And the most romantic thoughts we got were "so beautiful" and "Odd. I want to hug her".
And something that goes for all the characters, not just the potential couples, the "found-family," or the Main characters: there was no relationship building and zero chemistry. Not even in the girl group. No chemistry because no character. No relationship building because no character. I will excuse the awkward fight scenes and the weak plot points but at least give your main characters some significance to the reader. When the reader doesn't care about the characters during the final show-off, then something has gone wrong.
As for the atmosphere and world-building ( - for Me, they kind of go hand in hand). It was there. I definitely had an image and a feeling in mind, but then the distinct parts of the plot (the different places in the town, other places in the desert, the crews hide-out) were so... singular that I struggled to connect them all to one world in my mind. While one or two places feel familiar most of the time, I had no idea where we were or what it was supposed to look and feel like. As for the magic. Oh, btw. There is magic. It was ... eh? There was a system to it, but honestly, we are never told or even shown how it works. We never learn it with the characters, and there is no internal logic or consistency to it. Or there is, right up until the end when it's broken yet again.
To the plot. As I said at the very beginning, the premise is fantastic. It sounds absolutely amazing!
But you can guess: it wasn't. The plot being partially fuelled by the characters and their actions was inconsistent at best and random at worst. It felt like there was an idea, but the book didn't know how to get from point A to point B. The rules of the Game changed on a whim. The reader had to suspend their disbelief so much to get over significant plot points. And would the characters have consistency, intelligence, or strategic thinking, we would have lost the plot halfway through the book.
As for intrigue. To be frank, I would have DNF-ed this if it hadn't been for the fact that it was a buddy read with a friend of mine. Yes, I finished it almost a month late, I'm sorry, but I still wanted to complete it. So I read less for enjoyment and more for that friend. The intrigue was there, though. With certain parts. Mainly one of the Mains background, and though we got an interestingly well-developed world-building into that, it had no consequence on the story whatsoever. And because the reader doesn't care for the characters or the world, there are no stakes, nothing to make us worry about how the next chapter is going to end.
So I will not say much about the topic of logic. There hardly was any. Not within the characters, nor their interactions, nor the magic (mainly how to obtain the things), nor the town (because yes, it is set in 19-something, but that doesn't mean that people back then had no own willpower or ability to think), nor in the plot, nor in the strategy.
Also, this book is set out to be YA; I want to give clear trigger warnings of the not so mild though short discussions of sexual abuse, rape, murder, blood, bullying, severe and terminal illness, as well as physical and mental abuse.
Enjoyment wasn't there clearly. Though I like to be back in YA, 80% of the time, I was rolling my eyes, pinch the bridge of my nose, or simply closing the book.
Before we get to the plot's biggest issue, let Me quickly talk about equality and empowerment. The whole shebang - without going too deep into it - for the town is trying to be as equal as possible, no matter "the color, the gender, the money," or whatever. Do we see that? No. May it be that some of the main characters are POC? Yes, some are. Does it matter or contribute in any way to the plot? Absolutely not. Does it have to? Not necessarily, but we definitely shouldn't forget about it as soon as it isn't mentioned anymore.
And empowerment. A group of girls surviving the desert about to save the day. Sounds good. It's floppily done but okay. The thing that infuriates Me is that the most "rebellious and feminine" character - remember they all live in a single town trying their darndest to win the Game, aka proof themselves "worthy" - is running an underground make-up empire. The most empowering the book could come up with was "running an underground make-up empire"? So, that place where we try to be "our best selves" (as at the time) seems to be okay with girls wearing make-up they had to smuggle? While there is nothing wrong with enjoying wearing make-up, it is a necessity easily gone without in times like these, and it is illogically obtained, too. And at the very end, there is another scene where the crew gets their hands on some make-up and, okay, to distract themselves in the last few pages whatever. But when one says no, their reaction isn't.... pleasant, let's say. They don't bully her! But the undercurrent is iffy.
As promised, the biggest issue. Tell no show. All the missing development, all the inconsistencies could have been at least partially forgiven if we had seen anything of the plot actually happen. As it is, we didn't not even the final battle really, not even the training to learn magic, not even the performing of magic; there were prophetic dreams, did we see those? No! Did we see the emotional trauma? No. I could go on and on and on, but we would come to the same conclusion.
All in all, do I recommend this book? I mean.... sure... if you don't care about character depth, relationship development, logic, consistency, or internal coherence, you might like it. I didn't. But I think it might have gotten Me closer to reading more YA again. So that is good. I guess?
This is Me signing off, be kind, especially to yourselves. Bye ♥.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Stalking, Terminal illness, and Violence
The Girl in The Tower by Katherine Arden
This is Me signing off. Be kind, especially to yourselves. Bye ♥
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
346 pages; 2017, 4/5 stars; 8.29 CAWPILE; spoiler-free
I did not review the first book in this series for personal reasons, and when I reread it - which I indeed will at some point - I will review it properly, suffice it to say that I absolutely loved it!
For the sequel, I headed in shortly after finishing the first book, already loving the writing style, the world-building, the plot development. I will not summarize here, as this is a sequel, but I highly recommend it, anyway.
An issue that for Me continued from the first book and will draw into the last (and that is not actually an issue with the book or the plot) is that I am a character-driven reader. And this is a plot-driven book. Of course, the characters here are still developed, deep and multi-dimensional, and I dearly love them, but they are not the story's focus.
As for the story and the plot itself, I highly enjoyed it. I had no idea what to expect from this book since the first felt so very complete for Me. And I still have that sentiment. I still think the second needn't have been there, but I am glad it is.
I am not only deeply in love with the characters and their multitudes in opinion, motivation, background, and character traits, but in their relationship to one another and their environment.
While it is sometimes painful to read this due to the historical accuracy of how people (probably) thought and acted back, then I would consider this a comfort read still.
Here I would like to state clear trigger warnings:
- sexual assault
- violence
- blood
- transphobia? (if it can be counted as that)
- misogyny!!
- sexism!!
- talk of rape
- emotional abuse
- child trafficking
- fire
- mentions of vomit
The strategic elements never cease to amaze Me, the thoughtfulness and coherence of the plot as well. While this is set in an entirely different culture and time-period from my own, I still felt like I understood the people and their customs, fell in love with their magical world, and cared deeply about how the story would end. I can't say anything about the accuracy of their displays, but I can say that the text drew Me in and, I am sure, kept a piece of Me when I finished reading.
A fairy-tale of the cold, Russian winter, full of magic, political intrigue, and strong relationships. What more could you ask for?
I did not review the first book in this series for personal reasons, and when I reread it - which I indeed will at some point - I will review it properly, suffice it to say that I absolutely loved it!
For the sequel, I headed in shortly after finishing the first book, already loving the writing style, the world-building, the plot development. I will not summarize here, as this is a sequel, but I highly recommend it, anyway.
An issue that for Me continued from the first book and will draw into the last (and that is not actually an issue with the book or the plot) is that I am a character-driven reader. And this is a plot-driven book. Of course, the characters here are still developed, deep and multi-dimensional, and I dearly love them, but they are not the story's focus.
As for the story and the plot itself, I highly enjoyed it. I had no idea what to expect from this book since the first felt so very complete for Me. And I still have that sentiment. I still think the second needn't have been there, but I am glad it is.
I am not only deeply in love with the characters and their multitudes in opinion, motivation, background, and character traits, but in their relationship to one another and their environment.
While it is sometimes painful to read this due to the historical accuracy of how people (probably) thought and acted back, then I would consider this a comfort read still.
Here I would like to state clear trigger warnings:
- sexual assault
- violence
- blood
- transphobia? (if it can be counted as that)
- misogyny!!
- sexism!!
- talk of rape
- emotional abuse
- child trafficking
- fire
- mentions of vomit
The strategic elements never cease to amaze Me, the thoughtfulness and coherence of the plot as well. While this is set in an entirely different culture and time-period from my own, I still felt like I understood the people and their customs, fell in love with their magical world, and cared deeply about how the story would end. I can't say anything about the accuracy of their displays, but I can say that the text drew Me in and, I am sure, kept a piece of Me when I finished reading.
A fairy-tale of the cold, Russian winter, full of magic, political intrigue, and strong relationships. What more could you ask for?
This is Me signing off. Be kind, especially to yourselves. Bye ♥
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Violence, and Vomit
To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini
This junker of a book was gifted to Me by a youtube-friend who was really excited about the release of this book and desperately wanted Me to read it, too. At first, I was a bit apprehensive, not really even knowing what the book was actually about. I had just put it on my wishlist because she praised it so much.
On another note, bear with Me here; it will all come together. A few weeks back, a friend from home and I talked about Sci-Fi books and how we never seemed to find what we were looking for in them. And that was: plotting, political intrigue, universe/multiverse-vast world-building, multiple characters, that may not all be that important and not only our knot of that perfect friend group, (for Me:) found family, (for her:) engaging battles, aliens (duh), with more than "they are different we'll fight them" and logic. Logic was a big part for both of us. We didn't want a poor reason to get the plot going, no holes in the world-building or illogical character choices.
And then my friend sent Me this book. "To Sleep in a Sea of Stars." The title alone is beautiful, isn't it? It's melodic and mysterious. The cover, too, is intriguing. A human floating in space, seemingly naked, meaning no suit, not ship, nothing to keep them alive. Nothing to sustain their body. How do they do it? Why are they there? What do they feel beholding the universe all around them? What does it physically feel like?
Needless to say, the book was everything I was looking for.
To start this off, let Me quickly summarize a snippet of the plot. It is the year 2157, and our Main character is a young woman working as a xenobiologist on a far off planet with her team and her boyfriend. On their last day, she is sent out to recover some of their machines, and in the process, she stumbles upon a strange rock formation with a curious cave inside. As is the fashion with Main characters, she falls in. Her being a xenobiologist, someone who does science on the life forms on different planets, she is fascinated by this cave and what it beholds. But when she touches something, that something starts to move and to absorb into her body. And she doesn't like that. And the rest of the universe won't either.
Now that we have the basic premise out of the way, let Me tell you what else it is about: loss, grief, being separated from family, travel, responsibility and having to deal with things that are outside of your control, bureaucracy (would you believe it), science (duh), what makes a person a person (but not in the way you think), love of all different kinds, mental health, determination, dealing with cultures you are not accustomed to, confidence, willpower, friend( )ship, safety on a global rate (also not how you think), the multitude of human life experiences, sacrifice, the greater good, trust, the frustrations of life, and an ending that is open and so different from what you usually find in stories in general.
You can really feel that Paolini worked on this book for nine years. It is coherent in its plot, world, and characters. There is a logic behind each action. Each character is adequately fleshed out and has their reasons to act the way they do, that are not just there to serve as a sob-story but contribute to the plot. The development of different civilizations and cultures is handled with much care and diversity. Being a white, german woman, I can't speak to their accuracy, but I like to think that Paolini dedicated himself to writing them as best he could. There were some parts where I was like, eh, but then again; I cannot be the judge of that.
The cast of characters is big, and while we have our group of main characters, not even the small side-characters that appear once or twice feel one-dimensional. There is an undercurrent of meaning and depth to all of them and their actions, and that is one of the things that makes this book so magical. Not the glitter of stars, not the epic battles, not the crew's feelings and emotions. But the inherent humanness of it all. Even of the parts that were not human and weren't portrayed to be human, there was a realness to them that made it easy to emerge yourself in the story.
Now, of course, 900 pages makes this a very long story. So, I would highly recommend listening to the audiobook (at the time of Me writing this review, it is up on Scribd).
The ending of this book was bitter-sweet in more than one way. Of course, and more prevalent for Me because it ended. I didn't want to lose these characters. To not know how they would continue onwards, what their next adventure would be (because this story is truly more than only one adventure). But also because of the nature of the ending. I hinted at this before, and, to be honest, it frustrated Me - goodness, it still frustrates Me! But at the same time, I do love it so much. Because this is what I've been looking for for so long, something that is so close to life and that does not depend on what toxic traits the characters tried to overcome initially (trying hard to keep it vague and spoiler-free).
So, needless to say, I highly recommend this to anyone, who wants a cast of characters to fall in love with, a world that almost feels more real than this one, and a journey through space to find not only humanity's only hope but also themselves.
This is Me signing off, be kind, especially to yourselves. Bye ♥
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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? It's complicated
5.0
878 pages; 2020; 5/5 stars; 9.57 CAWPILE; spoiler-free
This junker of a book was gifted to Me by a youtube-friend who was really excited about the release of this book and desperately wanted Me to read it, too. At first, I was a bit apprehensive, not really even knowing what the book was actually about. I had just put it on my wishlist because she praised it so much.
On another note, bear with Me here; it will all come together. A few weeks back, a friend from home and I talked about Sci-Fi books and how we never seemed to find what we were looking for in them. And that was: plotting, political intrigue, universe/multiverse-vast world-building, multiple characters, that may not all be that important and not only our knot of that perfect friend group, (for Me:) found family, (for her:) engaging battles, aliens (duh), with more than "they are different we'll fight them" and logic. Logic was a big part for both of us. We didn't want a poor reason to get the plot going, no holes in the world-building or illogical character choices.
And then my friend sent Me this book. "To Sleep in a Sea of Stars." The title alone is beautiful, isn't it? It's melodic and mysterious. The cover, too, is intriguing. A human floating in space, seemingly naked, meaning no suit, not ship, nothing to keep them alive. Nothing to sustain their body. How do they do it? Why are they there? What do they feel beholding the universe all around them? What does it physically feel like?
Needless to say, the book was everything I was looking for.
To start this off, let Me quickly summarize a snippet of the plot. It is the year 2157, and our Main character is a young woman working as a xenobiologist on a far off planet with her team and her boyfriend. On their last day, she is sent out to recover some of their machines, and in the process, she stumbles upon a strange rock formation with a curious cave inside. As is the fashion with Main characters, she falls in. Her being a xenobiologist, someone who does science on the life forms on different planets, she is fascinated by this cave and what it beholds. But when she touches something, that something starts to move and to absorb into her body. And she doesn't like that. And the rest of the universe won't either.
Now that we have the basic premise out of the way, let Me tell you what else it is about: loss, grief, being separated from family, travel, responsibility and having to deal with things that are outside of your control, bureaucracy (would you believe it), science (duh), what makes a person a person (but not in the way you think), love of all different kinds, mental health, determination, dealing with cultures you are not accustomed to, confidence, willpower, friend( )ship, safety on a global rate (also not how you think), the multitude of human life experiences, sacrifice, the greater good, trust, the frustrations of life, and an ending that is open and so different from what you usually find in stories in general.
You can really feel that Paolini worked on this book for nine years. It is coherent in its plot, world, and characters. There is a logic behind each action. Each character is adequately fleshed out and has their reasons to act the way they do, that are not just there to serve as a sob-story but contribute to the plot. The development of different civilizations and cultures is handled with much care and diversity. Being a white, german woman, I can't speak to their accuracy, but I like to think that Paolini dedicated himself to writing them as best he could. There were some parts where I was like, eh, but then again; I cannot be the judge of that.
From the very beginning, the world-building was intricate. Of course, it is a stark difference from our own reality, so it needs to be a bit blunt and extreme, but that only lasts for the first few pages. Once the action starts, it fades quickly into the naturalness of the storytelling. The world/universe expands are we (the Main character) learn ever the more, and it is done with precision and careful planning. I have rarely read a book that was so cohesive in its world, characters, and plot each. Usually, one of those is lacking. Not here.
Over almost 900 pages, there is plenty of room and time for the characters to develop, and they did not fail to do so. Some of their development happened on them plot-related, some came from within. Some of it was caused by the people around them, so was for the people around them.
The cast of characters is big, and while we have our group of main characters, not even the small side-characters that appear once or twice feel one-dimensional. There is an undercurrent of meaning and depth to all of them and their actions, and that is one of the things that makes this book so magical. Not the glitter of stars, not the epic battles, not the crew's feelings and emotions. But the inherent humanness of it all. Even of the parts that were not human and weren't portrayed to be human, there was a realness to them that made it easy to emerge yourself in the story.
Now, of course, 900 pages makes this a very long story. So, I would highly recommend listening to the audiobook (at the time of Me writing this review, it is up on Scribd).
The ending of this book was bitter-sweet in more than one way. Of course, and more prevalent for Me because it ended. I didn't want to lose these characters. To not know how they would continue onwards, what their next adventure would be (because this story is truly more than only one adventure). But also because of the nature of the ending. I hinted at this before, and, to be honest, it frustrated Me - goodness, it still frustrates Me! But at the same time, I do love it so much. Because this is what I've been looking for for so long, something that is so close to life and that does not depend on what toxic traits the characters tried to overcome initially (trying hard to keep it vague and spoiler-free).
So, needless to say, I highly recommend this to anyone, who wants a cast of characters to fall in love with, a world that almost feels more real than this one, and a journey through space to find not only humanity's only hope but also themselves.
This is Me signing off, be kind, especially to yourselves. Bye ♥
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Medical content, Police brutality, Slavery, Vomit, and Xenophobia
The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- 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
5.0