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thecaffeinatedreader's reviews
667 reviews
The Sin Eater by Megan Campisi
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
I requested this book thinking, 'hmm, sounds interesting' but I did not expect it to be, quite frankly, amazing.
This is a sort of dark whimsical feel that I love, I can see why it was compared with Alice in Wonderland but it is this parallel of Queen Elizabeth I and Queen Mary and Christianity. There's supposed witchcraft, there's faith, and there's the Sin Eater.
The job of the sin eater is to take on the sins physically through food and in the eyes of the Maker so that those dying and dead can return to the Maker's side while the sin eater, always a she, is at the right hand of Eve. Sometimes though if the sin eater does all that is asked of her, she's able to rise up to the Maker as well. But, when the newest sin eater is left without her mentor and forced to unravel a mystery at the heart of the Queen's reign, being a sin eater is far more dangerous than it has ever been.
I loved our sin eater, she's young, determined and so vulnerable and human. I loved watching her struggle and continuously try to overcome everything put against her.
The story gives a long hard look at a job that is necessary and goes unspoken of, like so many jobs today, and the story of women and those on the outskirts of society.
I adored Campisi's writing style and her story is one that I would love to get lost in several more times, the sin eater was a superb read for me.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. 5/5 cups of coffee from me!
This is a sort of dark whimsical feel that I love, I can see why it was compared with Alice in Wonderland but it is this parallel of Queen Elizabeth I and Queen Mary and Christianity. There's supposed witchcraft, there's faith, and there's the Sin Eater.
The job of the sin eater is to take on the sins physically through food and in the eyes of the Maker so that those dying and dead can return to the Maker's side while the sin eater, always a she, is at the right hand of Eve. Sometimes though if the sin eater does all that is asked of her, she's able to rise up to the Maker as well. But, when the newest sin eater is left without her mentor and forced to unravel a mystery at the heart of the Queen's reign, being a sin eater is far more dangerous than it has ever been.
I loved our sin eater, she's young, determined and so vulnerable and human. I loved watching her struggle and continuously try to overcome everything put against her.
The story gives a long hard look at a job that is necessary and goes unspoken of, like so many jobs today, and the story of women and those on the outskirts of society.
I adored Campisi's writing style and her story is one that I would love to get lost in several more times, the sin eater was a superb read for me.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. 5/5 cups of coffee from me!
Diana and the Island of No Return by Aisha Saeed
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
4.0
Such a delightful children's [Middle Grade, on the earlier side of it] book! My daughter is so excited to start this together with me now that I've read through it so quickly.
Saeed gives us a young Diana who is learning about herself and is keen to become a warrior. The best part is that this is all part of the Wonder Woman we know and love and Saeed keeps true to her and introduces her to a younger generation in novel form.
Well-paced, fun and lighthearted enough, but still with this stronger message of being Diana being a person of justice and wanting to help others.
Thanks to Random House for an eARC of this in exchange for my honest opinion. @PRHGlobal #partner #sponsored #ad @prhinternational
Saeed gives us a young Diana who is learning about herself and is keen to become a warrior. The best part is that this is all part of the Wonder Woman we know and love and Saeed keeps true to her and introduces her to a younger generation in novel form.
Well-paced, fun and lighthearted enough, but still with this stronger message of being Diana being a person of justice and wanting to help others.
Thanks to Random House for an eARC of this in exchange for my honest opinion. @PRHGlobal #partner #sponsored #ad @prhinternational
The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic by Leigh Bardugo
adventurous
inspiring
4.75
The Story of Silence by Alex Myers
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
4.25
This is such a good book, the story of a Nonbinary knight discovering their way in the world, and discovering who they really are. As much as I enjoyed it, I gave it like a 3.75/3.5 and rounded up to 4, the pacing in the middle dragged to the point where it took me much longer to finish this than anticipated. I couldn't get over how the story just took so long to conjure up, but, the last five chapters were AMAZING. Thanks so much to HarperVoyager UK and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest opinion with this wonderfully original and old school story of Knights with fantastic rep.
Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Knightmare Arcanist by Shami Stovall
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
3.5
https://thecaffeinatedreader.com/2020...
Volke’s perseverance was really fun to read, and Stovall gives him a vibrant narrative voice. In fact, I appreciated the light-hearted flow of Stovall’s writing style in general and we’re given a pretty fun cast of characters to help the story on its way.
Volk has a foster sister of sorts, Illia, and they travel to the mainland from their island with two more of their fellow islanders; Atty and Zaxis.
Once on the mainland, they’ll have to find a guild, have a master train them, and hopefully, one day become masters themselves.
Illia and Volke have unusual/rare Eldrin [the name of mystical creatures bonded to arcanists] and in Volke’s case, having a Knightmare could mean double the work as the Knightmare has been bonded before.
I will definitely be looking into the rest of the series and plan on keeping my eye on everything Stovall writes from now on. This could be a great read for older MG and younger YA readers as well. Thank you to WriteReads Tour and Stovall for an eARC in exchange for my honest review. 3.5 cups of coffee from me!
Volke’s perseverance was really fun to read, and Stovall gives him a vibrant narrative voice. In fact, I appreciated the light-hearted flow of Stovall’s writing style in general and we’re given a pretty fun cast of characters to help the story on its way.
Volk has a foster sister of sorts, Illia, and they travel to the mainland from their island with two more of their fellow islanders; Atty and Zaxis.
Once on the mainland, they’ll have to find a guild, have a master train them, and hopefully, one day become masters themselves.
Illia and Volke have unusual/rare Eldrin [the name of mystical creatures bonded to arcanists] and in Volke’s case, having a Knightmare could mean double the work as the Knightmare has been bonded before.
I will definitely be looking into the rest of the series and plan on keeping my eye on everything Stovall writes from now on. This could be a great read for older MG and younger YA readers as well. Thank you to WriteReads Tour and Stovall for an eARC in exchange for my honest review. 3.5 cups of coffee from me!
Unravel the Dusk by Elizabeth Lim
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Full review: https://thecaffeinatedreader.com/2020...
Pretty much my favorite duology of all time after reading this breathtaking book. Lim wove us back into the gorgeous land of A'landi and gave us Maia where we left her, in a position to lose herself to becoming a demon. The impending marriage of Lady Sarnai to the Emperor is upon the palace, the three dresses were made, now it is time to move forward to peace.
Of course, the journey of a hero/heroine never did go smoothly. Maia is dealing with things coming apart at the seams and desperately trying to keep it all together and achieve peace for her land and family while trying to ignore the demon inside.
The writing style is near perfection for this reader, I wanted to lose myself in this book and never return back to reality I was so invested in Maia's journey and her character growth from Spin the Dawn to the end of this is magnificent.
The ending was beautiful, and I'll leave it at that so I don't give away any spoilers. A Full review to be posted on my blog soon. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
Pretty much my favorite duology of all time after reading this breathtaking book. Lim wove us back into the gorgeous land of A'landi and gave us Maia where we left her, in a position to lose herself to becoming a demon. The impending marriage of Lady Sarnai to the Emperor is upon the palace, the three dresses were made, now it is time to move forward to peace.
Of course, the journey of a hero/heroine never did go smoothly. Maia is dealing with things coming apart at the seams and desperately trying to keep it all together and achieve peace for her land and family while trying to ignore the demon inside.
The writing style is near perfection for this reader, I wanted to lose myself in this book and never return back to reality I was so invested in Maia's journey and her character growth from Spin the Dawn to the end of this is magnificent.
The ending was beautiful, and I'll leave it at that so I don't give away any spoilers. A Full review to be posted on my blog soon. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.