thelostvoid's reviews
857 reviews

Valerin the Fair by Rien Gray

3.5

This was fun, the world building and lore was interesting and I liked the characters and dynamics (and also the sex was great). Didn't feel particularly like, invested, and do very much feel like there was a lot of information and such for such a short page count, but that's ok. 

The Princess Trap by Talia Hibbert

4.0

Not only did I really feel like reading this, but I also drew it from my TBR jar. What luck.
And, thankfully this was exactly what I needed it to be, cute and sexy and very Talia Hibbert - AKA good hahahaha. 

Sister, Maiden, Monster by Lucy A. Snyder
Did not finish book. Stopped at 22%.

I was so looking forward to this - cosmic body horror that's horny? I was SAT and READY but oh my god I really disliked the tone and style of this, so like casual and just being told things that are happening and emotions that are being felt without any extra flourish or vibes. I am so disappointed aahhh.

The Broken Ear by Hergé

3.0

Tintin in blackface. Not something I was expecting to see today. 
This felt kind of ... meh. The previous few have had a strong sense of plot and tone, but this one felt a bit more meandering and racist. Definitely not a favourite.

Seasonal Fears by Seanan McGuire

4.0

Read for the Buzzwordathon December Prompt:  Holiday season words

Well this was ... about as good as I expected it to be. Booksandala (who made the buzzwordathon reading challenge - a bit of a fun) praised Middlegame so I bought and really enjoyed it, she didn't quite sing similar praises for Seasonal Fears so I came into this with low expectations. 

It's not that this was bad, I still like the world and the lore - and enjoyed getting to see Roger and Dodger again - but it felt a little ... flat. A little predictable with characters who were a bit too flat to really care about. 

Prince of Lust by Lucien Burr

3.0

I have been really struggling to sleep, so decided to try reading something short instead of continuing to lose my mind trying to sleep. 
Honestly, not entirely sure this was the correct call in terms of a thing to pick up, but I did want to read it and there's no time like the present. Unfortunately, I didn't like this as much as the other Lucian Burr stuff I have read but I am glad I gave it a go, and fully support this kind of stuff because what a way to process religious trauma. 

Reborn by Emmie Mears

4.5

This was a strong fucking finish for this trilogy, and my like four days of reading them. I laughed, I cried a little bit and I feel like this was exactly the kind of distraction/reset my brain has needed to get through what has been quite a difficult week. 

I can't really give coherent thoughts about the book itself, which is nothing new, but I can say that it was hopeful and dramatic and exciting

and I cannot believe it took until like 85% of the way through the third book for Lithrial and Ferelthin to fuck/actually get together except I absolutely can and I ate that shit uP

Beacon by Emmie Mears

adventurous fast-paced

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

4.0

This trilogy continues to be engaging and lightning fast (pun intended) my goodness! So much happened in this and I am so fucking curious to see how it all ends. Luckily it probably won't take very long to do so because I am flying (pun also intended) through these.
 
I will be honest, there are a lot of characters in this and since I am burning through this at speed I don't fully have a grasp of all of them other than the sort of key half a dozen or so, but I am still enjoying seeing the little nuances of everyone and their relationships with each other. 

Riftsworn by Emmie Mears

adventurous fast-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? No

4.0

I have very recently started following this author on tik tok because of their very interesting (and heartbreaking) takes on and discussions of Solas in the Dragon Age games (my beautiful, awful bald elf husband who can do no wrong lmao) so imagine my surprise when she starts talking about a vaguely Solavellan-y fantasy trilogy they wrote. And then again when I realise it's all on Kindle Unlimited and that I can get KU for 3 months for only 99c. 
Needless to say, it really feels like the stars aligned for me to read this. I honestly didn't have very high expectations, but I wanted to read something that wasn't as dense or harrowing as a lot of the shit I've been reading recently (goddamn Sanderson) and my god this hits the spot. I feel so drawn into the world, and invested in finding out what is going on and what is going to happen to these goddamn characters and hot damn. That ending? That reveal? Wiiiild. 

I will say, the switch from being like Ferelthin to Ethan feels criminal ... such an aggressively normal name and I struggle to take it seriously but we shall see how it goes.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia

Moderate: Violence and Fire/Fire injury

Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers

4.25

Egg on my face, Spotify does have the rest of this series so yay for that. I wanted to read something chill after the ... Experience that was reading Rhythm of War and this was a good choice I think. More emotional at times then I was anticipating, but overall with that hopeful and wholesome tone that Becky Chambers absolutely nails.

I liked this a lot, but I was getting a little lost with all the different characters in the middle a bit.