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theveronicareview's reviews
49 reviews
Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
4.0
I picked this book up because I was looking for dark academia. When I found out that this book is touted as Gossip Girl meets Get Out, I was immediately intrigued.
Aces of Spades is a dual perspective book about Chiamaka and Devon who are about to graduate from the private school they attend, but major changes take place on the first day of their senior year that dramatically affect not only their future prospects, but their worldview and their livelihood as well.
Ace of Spades held my attention throughout and, although the pacing is rather slow, it is important to establish who Chiamaka and Devon are, their intrinsic motivations, and to build up their hopes so that the reader can feel the overwhelming weight of their downfall. I liked Devon the entire way, but it took a bit longer to warm up to Chiamaka, and I did end up rooting for both of them as the narrative wrapped up.
Ace of Spades is heartbreaking and scary, especially when considering the real-world potential. It's difficult to elaborate on the book without spoiling anything. I think the overarching impact of this book is better when you know less about what is going to happen.
Even though Ace of Spades is a fictional story, Chiamaka & Devon's experiences are very real, and the tension felt by the reader is nothing compared to the reality that a lot of communities face every single moment of every single day.
Aces of Spades is a dual perspective book about Chiamaka and Devon who are about to graduate from the private school they attend, but major changes take place on the first day of their senior year that dramatically affect not only their future prospects, but their worldview and their livelihood as well.
Ace of Spades held my attention throughout and, although the pacing is rather slow, it is important to establish who Chiamaka and Devon are, their intrinsic motivations, and to build up their hopes so that the reader can feel the overwhelming weight of their downfall. I liked Devon the entire way, but it took a bit longer to warm up to Chiamaka, and I did end up rooting for both of them as the narrative wrapped up.
Ace of Spades is heartbreaking and scary, especially when considering the real-world potential. It's difficult to elaborate on the book without spoiling anything. I think the overarching impact of this book is better when you know less about what is going to happen.
Even though Ace of Spades is a fictional story, Chiamaka & Devon's experiences are very real, and the tension felt by the reader is nothing compared to the reality that a lot of communities face every single moment of every single day.
The Monstrous Misses Mai by Van Hoang
3.0
The Monstrous Misses Mai (my brain keeps wanting to say The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) is a cautionary tale of the "be careful what you wish for" variety. Four women, who all share the last name Mai, find themselves sharing an apartment together after a charming stranger sways the landlord into accepting their patronage. The girls befriend one another and eventually allow the stranger to perform a "lurast" spell that will give them all they desire. As the reader can assume, everything goes to hell.
TMMM uses female connection, generational trauma, classism, racism, and human error to string along the characters as they move through the plot of this story. The premise itself was intriguing, but this book didn't exactly hit the mark.
While there were moments of hopelessness and horror that created tension and intrigue, these scenes were few and far between, bookended by scenes that felt longwinded and boring.
Though her upbringing may attest to her bland personality, I found the main character, Cordi, intolerable. She was meek and naive, and I just wanted to grab her shoulders and shake some strength into her. Of the supporting cast, only her grumpy roomate Audrey was of any interest to me. The rest of the characters are one-dimensional until it is convenient to the plot for them to be complex - the main character included.
Likewise, the second half of the book is underwhelming. I thought the first half did a good job of letting us know the score, but it took too long after that to do anything about it.
TMMM uses female connection, generational trauma, classism, racism, and human error to string along the characters as they move through the plot of this story. The premise itself was intriguing, but this book didn't exactly hit the mark.
While there were moments of hopelessness and horror that created tension and intrigue, these scenes were few and far between, bookended by scenes that felt longwinded and boring.
Though her upbringing may attest to her bland personality, I found the main character, Cordi, intolerable. She was meek and naive, and I just wanted to grab her shoulders and shake some strength into her. Of the supporting cast, only her grumpy roomate Audrey was of any interest to me. The rest of the characters are one-dimensional until it is convenient to the plot for them to be complex - the main character included.
Likewise, the second half of the book is underwhelming. I thought the first half did a good job of letting us know the score, but it took too long after that to do anything about it.
A Winter's Promise by Christelle Dabos
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
At the start, this book felt so promising. I was intrigued by the magic system, by what was happening to the main character, by the odd romance prospect, and I enjoyed seeing everything through our naive, unworldly main character's eyes - learning about this world as she did. However, once things (kind of) started moving along, the book felt like it became more about mundane particulars. The exposition makes you expect intrigue and direct conflict, but leaves you with a bunch of seemingly random, boring events that kind of tie in together at the end but not in a way that validates the pages upon pages of monotony.
The characters are all one dimensional. Our main character is bland and her "love interest" (betrothed) even more so, nobody has any redeeming qualities, I don't find myself rooting for anyone, and the main "enemies" are no longer a threat (and we learn of their downfall after the fact).
This book definitely left something to be desired. The entire plot could have been condensed with more care put into the climax and falling action, which fell flat for me. I do plan to continue this series (or at least the 2nd book) to satisfy my own curiosity about some aspects of the story but, as you can probably tell, my expectations are incredibly low.
The characters are all one dimensional. Our main character is bland and her "love interest" (betrothed) even more so, nobody has any redeeming qualities, I don't find myself rooting for anyone, and the main "enemies" are no longer a threat (and we learn of their downfall after the fact).
This book definitely left something to be desired. The entire plot could have been condensed with more care put into the climax and falling action, which fell flat for me. I do plan to continue this series (or at least the 2nd book) to satisfy my own curiosity about some aspects of the story but, as you can probably tell, my expectations are incredibly low.
Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo
adventurous
dark
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? Yes
4.5
From the reviews I saw, it seems that Ninth House is the more liked of these books. I, however, enjoyed Hell Bent much more than Ninth House. It took me about 100+ pages to really get into Ninth House and Hell Bent took off right from the start. It kept me intrigued the entire way through, I still liked the characters, and it felt reminiscent of the show Supernatural toward the end (of which I only saw 5 seasons, but they were 5 very good seasons!). Suffice to say that I'm very excited to see where book 3 takes us.
Between Ninth House, Hell Bent, and Shadow and Bone (which I will share my review of later), I can definitely say I'm a fan of Leigh Bardugo's writing. Once immersed, it's easy to stay IN the story and, at times, I've found myself sitting up on the couch with the book inches from my face - which is something I have experienced with all three books I've read by this author.
Between Ninth House, Hell Bent, and Shadow and Bone (which I will share my review of later), I can definitely say I'm a fan of Leigh Bardugo's writing. Once immersed, it's easy to stay IN the story and, at times, I've found myself sitting up on the couch with the book inches from my face - which is something I have experienced with all three books I've read by this author.