Take a photo of a barcode or cover
theinquisitxor's Reviews (804)
"Books, too, had hearts, though they were not the same as people's, and a book's heart could be broken: she had seen it before. Grimoires that refused to open, their voices gone silent, or whose ink faded and bled across the pages like tears."
Well, this was a lot of fun! I bought and read this during my camping trip, as I always need a easy fantasy book to read while camping. I knew I had to read it once I heard it was about magical libraries (who honestly couldn't??). It's got splashes of Howls Moving Castle, HP, beauty and the beast which gives the story a familiar feeling, but it is still new and true to itself. I thought that this was such a fun story, with a great plot and really likable characters. It's definitely a plot driven book, and while I like character driven books more, the characters are so likable that this is easy to forget. In fact, the three main characters are some of the most likable MCs I've encountered.
It's very YA and the plot is somewhat predictable, but it still was a great story and one that I read at the right time. Reading the library scenes made me wish that I was one of these librarians and be able to work in these magical libraries all day. One thing that threw me off a bit was the ending. While it gets wrapped up well, that last paragraph ended a bit on a cliff hanger!! (ya know what is going to happen, but it just leaves things open?). Either way, I thoroughly enjoyed this, and I look forward to whatever Rogerson writes next!
Well, this was a lot of fun! I bought and read this during my camping trip, as I always need a easy fantasy book to read while camping. I knew I had to read it once I heard it was about magical libraries (who honestly couldn't??). It's got splashes of Howls Moving Castle, HP, beauty and the beast which gives the story a familiar feeling, but it is still new and true to itself. I thought that this was such a fun story, with a great plot and really likable characters. It's definitely a plot driven book, and while I like character driven books more, the characters are so likable that this is easy to forget. In fact, the three main characters are some of the most likable MCs I've encountered.
It's very YA and the plot is somewhat predictable, but it still was a great story and one that I read at the right time. Reading the library scenes made me wish that I was one of these librarians and be able to work in these magical libraries all day. One thing that threw me off a bit was the ending. While it gets wrapped up well, that last paragraph ended a bit on a cliff hanger!! (ya know what is going to happen, but it just leaves things open?). Either way, I thoroughly enjoyed this, and I look forward to whatever Rogerson writes next!
This is a story I have quite literally grown up with, and I enjoy it more and more every time I read it
This book raised my standards for fantasy literature sooo much. I absolutely loved this massive book and the story and characters are some of the best and most well-developed I've encountered. I think this is the best book of 2019 so far for me, and I think I will be hard pressed to find one better. The scope of this novel is huge. It spans an entire world and dozens of characters, but Shannon does such a good job. All the nations of the world are based on cultures and counties from our world- but it doesn't fell redundant or copied. The countries, religions and cultures of this book are new and fresh while still maintaining some comforting similarities.
I have seen this book called the 'Feminist Successor to Lord of the Rings', and while I do see some similarities to LOTR, this book stands on its own and holds its own ground. This is a story about a world that is divided between the East and West. Even in the West, counties are divided because of religious differences and beliefs. But the threat of the Nameless One returning will test these counties to see if they can band together and face the threat of destruction. The Nameless One is a giant bad dragon who has been sealed away for a thousand years, but his wyverns and draconic creatures are stirring across the continent. Meanwhile, in Inys, Queen Sabran needs an heir to ensure The Nameless One stays locked away, but threats are coming to Sabran. Ead is tasked with protecting the Queen, but is actually a member of a secret order of mages. Across the ocean, in the East is a world which has good dragons and Tane is training to become a dragon rider, while an embittered alchemist tries to find a way home.
As you can tell from the above paragraph this book is about a lot... but I never felt lost or disoriented while reading it. There is so much I could else I could include in the description, but this book also contains: pirates, political intrigue, shapeshifting, witches, platonic friendships between men and women, complex female characters, love, loss, two branches of magic, amazing LGBT rep and sooo much more you just have to read it for yourself.
One of my favorite aspects of this book is that there is no discrimination based off of race, gender or sexuality in this book at all. Everyone is equal, no matter their gender, skin color and sexuality. This was so refreshing to read because so many fantasy writers feel like they have to contain these elements in their books, when the truth is they don't. It's your made up fantasy world. If you want equal rights and magic and dragons, go for it, no one is going to stop you. The women, poc and queer people had just as much respect, importance and agency in this book as any of the other characters. Out of the 4 point of views, only one is white, and 2 are confirmed LGBT. The main romance is wlw and they're one of my new otps.
My only complaint is that I wish this was longer. Which is funny to say because this is 800+ pages. If she wanted to, Shannon could've made this into a duology and really expanded on characters and their backstory and scenes we missed in this one. But alas, I will sit here and hope that she comes out with more content based in this world because I will be sitting here ready to read it.
I have seen this book called the 'Feminist Successor to Lord of the Rings', and while I do see some similarities to LOTR, this book stands on its own and holds its own ground. This is a story about a world that is divided between the East and West. Even in the West, counties are divided because of religious differences and beliefs. But the threat of the Nameless One returning will test these counties to see if they can band together and face the threat of destruction. The Nameless One is a giant bad dragon who has been sealed away for a thousand years, but his wyverns and draconic creatures are stirring across the continent. Meanwhile, in Inys, Queen Sabran needs an heir to ensure The Nameless One stays locked away, but threats are coming to Sabran. Ead is tasked with protecting the Queen, but is actually a member of a secret order of mages. Across the ocean, in the East is a world which has good dragons and Tane is training to become a dragon rider, while an embittered alchemist tries to find a way home.
As you can tell from the above paragraph this book is about a lot... but I never felt lost or disoriented while reading it. There is so much I could else I could include in the description, but this book also contains: pirates, political intrigue, shapeshifting, witches, platonic friendships between men and women, complex female characters, love, loss, two branches of magic, amazing LGBT rep and sooo much more you just have to read it for yourself.
One of my favorite aspects of this book is that there is no discrimination based off of race, gender or sexuality in this book at all. Everyone is equal, no matter their gender, skin color and sexuality. This was so refreshing to read because so many fantasy writers feel like they have to contain these elements in their books, when the truth is they don't. It's your made up fantasy world. If you want equal rights and magic and dragons, go for it, no one is going to stop you. The women, poc and queer people had just as much respect, importance and agency in this book as any of the other characters. Out of the 4 point of views, only one is white, and 2 are confirmed LGBT. The main romance is wlw and they're one of my new otps.
My only complaint is that I wish this was longer. Which is funny to say because this is 800+ pages. If she wanted to, Shannon could've made this into a duology and really expanded on characters and their backstory and scenes we missed in this one. But alas, I will sit here and hope that she comes out with more content based in this world because I will be sitting here ready to read it.
4.5 stars
I absolutely adored this novel. The inner academic nerd in me was screaming as the characters traveled across Europe to dusty libraries, explored monasteries and conducted countless hours of research. The literary nerd in me loved the tale that the author told sweeping through hundreds of years of history and books. The part of me that loves to travel got to experience a huge array of places in amazing detail.
The scope of this novel is huge. It covers years and creates a sweeping story from New England, Oxford, Amsterdam, France and large portions of Eastern Europe including Hungary, Romania, Turkey, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Greece and more. The author definitely took her time and researched all of these locations in depth and understood the politics and relations of these countries during the Cold War and the Iron Curtain. The amount of detail this book conveys makes me highly respect it in just that aspect.
I next fell in love with the characters. I thought they were so well written and made me wish I was sitting there with them at a restaurant in Istanbul, searching through tomes in Oxford or speaking to scholars in Hungary. My favorite characters were Paul, Helen and Turgut. They felt so real and I immediately connected with them one way or another. Paul was the American history graduate student who happened into central conflict of the book and who learned and grew throughout it. Helen is the Romanian and Hungarian woman who travels with Paul also trying to discover the mystery that frames the book (she was also easily my favorite character). Turgut is the lovely Turkish professor who helps the two in so many ways while they are in Istanbul.
I have never been a fan of vampire books and the vampire genre, but decided to pick up this book because I have seen it recommended many times for people interested in the humanities, academia and European history. The vampire and Dracula story sometimes took a backseat while other parts and subplots played out. I have read a few other vampire books that I didn't care much for, but this one easily has been the best so far. I don't know how much of the folklore and 'facts' presented in the novel about Vlad Dracula are true, but it's certainly very interesting and something for me to do some research on in my free time.
I can see why some people did not like this novel, as it is a large book, with long, extremely descriptive passages that are usually irrelevant to the plot, but this never bothered me. I actually tend to like books that take this initiative, and as long as it doesn't get boring for me, I rather like being able to picture these descriptions in my head to a fine detail.
Reasons why this isn't a 5 star book for me: I thought that the daughter would be the main character based off of the book summary. I was expecting her to be the one traveling across Europe unearthing these family secrets, but it is her parents instead. Which is okay but it just caught me a little by surprise I guess. I also did not like the 'letter' format, because no one could write a letter like it is a novel and still have the reader believe someone sat down at their typewriter and wrote that all out. I kinda ignored this to an extent and just treated each letter like a flashback of some sort. I also didn't think Dracula's reason was as strong as it should have been, and he should have been a little more developed as a character than just someone we meet in the last fifty pages or so.
Despite these small flaws, I really enjoyed reading this book. It took me longer than usual to read, which is because it is overall a slower paced book, with such an extreme amount of detail that forces you to take a step back and slow down. I plan to check out Elizabeth Kostova's other two novels as they sound just as interesting and intriguing as this one. This will definitely be a book that I will think about for some time to come, and to recommend in the future.
I absolutely adored this novel. The inner academic nerd in me was screaming as the characters traveled across Europe to dusty libraries, explored monasteries and conducted countless hours of research. The literary nerd in me loved the tale that the author told sweeping through hundreds of years of history and books. The part of me that loves to travel got to experience a huge array of places in amazing detail.
The scope of this novel is huge. It covers years and creates a sweeping story from New England, Oxford, Amsterdam, France and large portions of Eastern Europe including Hungary, Romania, Turkey, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Greece and more. The author definitely took her time and researched all of these locations in depth and understood the politics and relations of these countries during the Cold War and the Iron Curtain. The amount of detail this book conveys makes me highly respect it in just that aspect.
I next fell in love with the characters. I thought they were so well written and made me wish I was sitting there with them at a restaurant in Istanbul, searching through tomes in Oxford or speaking to scholars in Hungary. My favorite characters were Paul, Helen and Turgut. They felt so real and I immediately connected with them one way or another. Paul was the American history graduate student who happened into central conflict of the book and who learned and grew throughout it. Helen is the Romanian and Hungarian woman who travels with Paul also trying to discover the mystery that frames the book (she was also easily my favorite character). Turgut is the lovely Turkish professor who helps the two in so many ways while they are in Istanbul.
I have never been a fan of vampire books and the vampire genre, but decided to pick up this book because I have seen it recommended many times for people interested in the humanities, academia and European history. The vampire and Dracula story sometimes took a backseat while other parts and subplots played out. I have read a few other vampire books that I didn't care much for, but this one easily has been the best so far. I don't know how much of the folklore and 'facts' presented in the novel about Vlad Dracula are true, but it's certainly very interesting and something for me to do some research on in my free time.
I can see why some people did not like this novel, as it is a large book, with long, extremely descriptive passages that are usually irrelevant to the plot, but this never bothered me. I actually tend to like books that take this initiative, and as long as it doesn't get boring for me, I rather like being able to picture these descriptions in my head to a fine detail.
Reasons why this isn't a 5 star book for me: I thought that the daughter would be the main character based off of the book summary. I was expecting her to be the one traveling across Europe unearthing these family secrets, but it is her parents instead. Which is okay but it just caught me a little by surprise I guess. I also did not like the 'letter' format, because no one could write a letter like it is a novel and still have the reader believe someone sat down at their typewriter and wrote that all out. I kinda ignored this to an extent and just treated each letter like a flashback of some sort. I also didn't think Dracula's reason was as strong as it should have been, and he should have been a little more developed as a character than just someone we meet in the last fifty pages or so.
Despite these small flaws, I really enjoyed reading this book. It took me longer than usual to read, which is because it is overall a slower paced book, with such an extreme amount of detail that forces you to take a step back and slow down. I plan to check out Elizabeth Kostova's other two novels as they sound just as interesting and intriguing as this one. This will definitely be a book that I will think about for some time to come, and to recommend in the future.
