thelostvoid's reviews
877 reviews

Into the Black by R.N.A.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 39%.

I was curious about this, vampires and bdsm and such but I am really not meshing with the writing style of this at all and I have other things to read before my KU subscription ends in a week or so!

Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch

4.25

Read for the 2025 Buzzword Title February prompt: Water related words

Frankly, I am surprised at how much I enjoyed this. Definitely makes the first book feel even more like a prologue but I am glad I finally got around to reading these, I was hooked by that opening prologue and found myself Quite Invested In The Shenanigans and I cannot wait to see what happens to Locke and Jean next! Unfortunately I do think I am going to end up quite invested in all this and will be joining the many people who have been waiting for over a decade for more of these books to be published. Alas.

The God of Endings by Jacqueline Holland
Did not finish book. Stopped at 27%.

I wanted to like this a lot, but unfortunately it feels very disjointed with the chapters jumping between timelines and seemingly skipping all the most interesting bits. I want to really lock in and commit to DNFing books I am not enjoying so alas, this will not be finished.

The Galaxy, and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers

3.0

Read for the 2025 Buzzword Cover February Prompt: Cover featuring a SKYLINE

Unfortunately, I really didn't find this to be a very engaging book. A bit of a downer end for what I think is a pretty great series of cozy sci-fi books with such interesting characters and fun dynamics. I found this to be very ... meh? I didn't care much about the characters and nothing really happened at all. I did like that Pei was one of the main characters since we haven't seen her since the first book but also goddamn I would have rather followed her and the crew of the Wayfarers. 

The Sword of Kaigen by M.L. Wang

4.5

I have heard truly only incredible things about this, and after the emotional wreck that Blood Over Brighthaven turned me into I couldn't refuse this when I drew it from my TBR jar. Honestly, it was different than I expected. Much smaller in scope, focusing on a pretty small cast of characters not galavanting around trying to save the world, but just trying to survive it and make connections with each other. It was beautiful, and heartbreaking, and so hopeful in a world that seemed so hopeless. 

I think that the end left me a bit ... dissatisfied? It felt a little underwhelming, but I think that in general stories that heavily focus on motherhood and such don't hit quite hard enough for me (at least at this stage in my life). Still, a fucking excellent book and M L Wang is certainly an author I will buy anything from in the future and I am excited to see what she writes next!

Infaust by T.D. Cloud

3.0

I saw this on Kindle Unlimited and decided to give it a go and like ... honestly I feel underwhelmed? I guess I wasn't expecting things to pan out the way that they did and I wasn't a huge fan of the direction it went. The concept is interesting, and I was curious to see what would happen but it kind of lost me a bit at the end. The characters felt a little flat, and I didn't really buy into their development into the whole situation they get into at the end but I can certainly appreciate that in theory it's a hell of a vibe. I just didn't mesh with how it was done. 

I am glad that I decided to check the TW after like 50 pages because damn, the final chunk really is just explicit sexual assault. Wild.

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

4.0

Read for the 2025 Buzzword Title January Prompt: "Truth" and "Lies" 

First of all, I am thrilled to have finally knocked this bad boy off my physical tbr. I have owned this book since like, 2018 and it had the dubious pleasure of oldest book on said tbr until now! I didn't really know a lot about this at all, other than it is apparently good, and I am frankly surprised at my enjoyment of it.

This was good fun, I didn't feel super attached to the characters until pretty much the very end.

which worked well for me since so many characters died!

I am curious to see what misadventures Locke and Jean get up to in the next book, even if I wasn't emotionally engaged this was undeniably an entertaining read with twists and banter and very fun world building which I am excited to see more of.

Monstrilio by Gerardo Sámano Córdova

4.5

I have heard excellent things about this from Booksandlala so was very much looking forward to giving this a go. I will admit, the first like 1/4 to 1/3 was a bit shaky. I wasn't finding myself super interested in what was happening but that changed as Monstrillio evolved and the character perspectives shifted with a jump in the timeline. This ended up being very good indeed, and honestly kind of wholesome? The whole thing felt very steeped in family and connection and the end in particular felt very soft and warm which I was not expecting. 

Get you a family who will not only create a monster out of their dead sons lung, but love and accept him as their own

and cover up the two murders he does and then say goodbye to him as he returns to his true monstrous form. Have your father who was so afraid of you learn to be soft and gentle to spiders because he knows what it is to love something monstrous.

Frankly the more I am thinking about this, the more I loved it!

The Tensorate Series by Neon Yang

4.0

I bought this a few years ago kind of on a whim, mainly because I wanted to read Neon Yang's work but was intimidated by the mixed reviews of Genesis of Misery. I think that these were really interesting novellas, set in a world that felt as solid as it needed to be for the length of time we were within it. I liked that each novella followed a different person, and had a different style. The Descent of Monsters and The Ascent To Godhood in particular with the mixed media and first person storytelling style was fun. I do think that The Descent of Monsters was my least favourite, perhaps because it's the only one I listened to via audiobook and I am unsure if the narrator did a good job. Who knows.

Needless to say, this was a pretty good time and I am certainly not mad to own this series because I do like the vibes and the worldbuilding/lore a fair bit. 

A Bone in His Teeth by Kellen Graves
Did not finish book. Stopped at 45%.

Kind of wild that I am DNFing this, but despite wanting to like this a lot I really don't vibe with the writing style. I can't really pinpoint why, but it really doesn't work for me. I felt disconnected from the characters and plot, and not even the smut can make me keep going. I am thrilled that so many other people like this though.