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trinityb2021's reviews
242 reviews
The Prison Healer by Lynette Noni
3.0
3 ⭐️
This is the classic YA experience. “I’m trapped in prison but why is he kinda hot?” It is extremely nostalgic and kind of fun but nothing special.
I think the prison has a lot of weird plot holes. Why do they even have a healer? It seems they don’t care about the well being of the people (and we later find out something that makes it even dumber that they even keep Kiva employed as a healer much less three other people). They have an herb garden? I guess the healer has to get their supplies from somewhere and it isn’t like they’re going to import them but it seems weird they have a peaceful garden in this prison. It seems somewhere between harrowing and harsh (the tunnels and quarry) and peaceful (garden and trained healer).
You can’t look at anything in this book too closely or it starts to fall apart. That’s okay. I’ll just look the other way when plot holes start showing up. The inconsistencies in the prison setting particularly bothered me because it’s the whole point of the book.
Kiva is pretty fucking stupid. I strive to be this level of ignorant. She does not think about anything longer than 2 seconds. The only thing she is good at is treating people’s ailments. I don’t think the author intended her to be so stupid but the amount of time it takes her to infer basic things about her surroundings and closest friends is astonishing. I really hate stupid protagonists so this bothered me more than it should’ve. Even the reveals and twists that I didn’t see coming just felt kind of dumb and unsatisfying.
The story was interesting and about halfway through they introduce a good mystery element that I was eager to see how it was resolved. I was thoroughly entertained and it held my attention all the way through. It was maybe a little too long but it didn’t overstay its welcome. 13 year old me would’ve ate this up, no crumbs.
Babylonia by Costanza Casati
3.0
3 ⭐️
This book is all over the place in terms of quality. The best parts are amazing. They are emotional and gave me chills. The weakest parts are dreadfully boring and dragged on.
I think this book would’ve benefitted from a little bit of a faster pace (especially towards the end). It got really slow and I felt like nothing was really happening for chapters at a time.
I think that Semiramis is a great main character for one of these mythological “feminist retellings”. I am obsessed with this genre and I will never get tired of them. This book tried to do something a little different in the genre and had multiple POVs. At first I thought it was working, but overall I think it hurt the story more than helped it. I feel it should’ve focused solely on Semiramis’ story. Often times (this story being no exception) the characters are all morally gray and I think leaving the butterfly effect caused by these horrendous decisions hidden from the reader helps with the story. It forces us to consider and imagine the worst instead of literally see the bad things happening. Our imaginations are usually worse than the reality.
I enjoyed the first half a lot. The last half was more a struggle but I thought the writing was consistently great throughout. Very poetic. Very quotable. Very good imagery.
I know that Casati is a very talented author and I am still eager to see what else she releases in the future.
Disclaimer: I got an eARC of the audiobook through netgalley. Thanks to NetGalley and RBMedia for the advanced copy!
Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater
4.5
4.5 ⭐️
I love a good whimsical faerie moment. This was so fun and so fresh and unique.
It is pretty clear that the main character’s magical affliction is an allegory for autism. I think it is handled perfectly. It makes the book stand out and give a unique perspective on a magical realism romance. I really liked it. The author clearly put a lot of care into making this character.
SPEAKING OF CHARACTERS: ELIAS. I am in love with him. MAJOR HOWL VIBES. I’m obsessed. He is like a leftist, eat the rich, magician and I fuck with his energy so hard. He is charming and a little off kilter and I love him. The regency balls were giving Mistborn and I cried. I think romance is dead because people like Elias don’t exist in real life. You’re going to look me in the eye and tell me that I can’t find an 1800s British court magician who wants to tear down the patriarchy with me??? WHYYY?!
All the side characters were really well done too. They were a little cliche I suppose but fleshed out enough that I cared about them.
I had a blast with this and I think it’ll stick with me because of the overall message and theme of the book beyond the romance and magical realism.
I love a good whimsical faerie moment. This was so fun and so fresh and unique.
It is pretty clear that the main character’s magical affliction is an allegory for autism. I think it is handled perfectly. It makes the book stand out and give a unique perspective on a magical realism romance. I really liked it. The author clearly put a lot of care into making this character.
SPEAKING OF CHARACTERS: ELIAS. I am in love with him. MAJOR HOWL VIBES. I’m obsessed. He is like a leftist, eat the rich, magician and I fuck with his energy so hard. He is charming and a little off kilter and I love him. The regency balls were giving Mistborn and I cried. I think romance is dead because people like Elias don’t exist in real life. You’re going to look me in the eye and tell me that I can’t find an 1800s British court magician who wants to tear down the patriarchy with me??? WHYYY?!
All the side characters were really well done too. They were a little cliche I suppose but fleshed out enough that I cared about them.
I had a blast with this and I think it’ll stick with me because of the overall message and theme of the book beyond the romance and magical realism.
Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree
2.5
2.5 ⭐️
This book just didn’t hit the way that I wanted it too. It was missing a lot of the fun coziness of the first book and it tried to have a more serious plot that didn’t really work. It was still light-hearted but it felt really shallow. I didn’t connect with the characters like I did in Legends & Lattes and there wasn’t much character growth. Prequels are hard. You have a limited time frame and a limited amount of growth because usually the character needs to be knocked down so they can have the growth that occurs in the next book (that has already been written). I think prequels usually don’t work and unfortunately that was the case here. Stick to sequels and spin-offs.
I did really like the world. A fun and cozy equivalent of the Forgotten Realms is a great idea for a setting and I really like it. I also liked the copyright friendly Owlbear it made me laugh.
I feel kind of guilty giving this book a low rating because there wasn’t anything really bad about it. As Abby Lee Miller would say “You just didn’t stand out to me”
This book just didn’t hit the way that I wanted it too. It was missing a lot of the fun coziness of the first book and it tried to have a more serious plot that didn’t really work. It was still light-hearted but it felt really shallow. I didn’t connect with the characters like I did in Legends & Lattes and there wasn’t much character growth. Prequels are hard. You have a limited time frame and a limited amount of growth because usually the character needs to be knocked down so they can have the growth that occurs in the next book (that has already been written). I think prequels usually don’t work and unfortunately that was the case here. Stick to sequels and spin-offs.
I did really like the world. A fun and cozy equivalent of the Forgotten Realms is a great idea for a setting and I really like it. I also liked the copyright friendly Owlbear it made me laugh.
I feel kind of guilty giving this book a low rating because there wasn’t anything really bad about it. As Abby Lee Miller would say “You just didn’t stand out to me”
Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros
3.0
3 ⭐️
This was a large improvement over Iron Flame. The fantasy stuff wasn't good but it felt more coherent and the romance was 1000x better. Rebecca Yarros has always been a romance writer so I'm glad she took the time to write good romance instead of whatever was going on in Iron Flame. No one is reading this series for the fantasy and worldbuilding. People may say that, but they're lying.
I think in a vacuum a lot of the political scenes and strategy planning is interesting but in the context of the book they are just boring. There's a scene where they talk to a king of one of the islands that was genuinely super cool. It just doesn't work because there was no set up or build up to the scene and once its done it is never mentioned again. I think what Yarros is missing in her worldbuilding is small things having large impacts and keeping relevant characters in the mix. A lot of the complaints for this book are about how there are way too many new characters that get no development time. The consequences feel meaningless because I don't even know these people.
This book was WAYYY too long. If I read this book on audiobook I would've DNFed it probably. I skipped entire chapters and still understood everything because there is SOOO much bloat. Please cut like 25% of this book. I skimmed the last quarter or so and just read when it seemed relevant.
All of that being said, it was still super fun. The first half is actually really good. There is decent set up and Yarros manages to bring tension into the romance in book 3 which is impressive. I wouldn't change a single thing about how the romance is handled in this book which is saying a lot since it was god awful in Iron Flame. I believe that Violet and Xaden actually like each other and want to be with each other. Although he is getting eerily close to Rhys territory. Between Rowan, Xaden, and Rhys I am mixing things up between them because they're all the same.
If you liked the first book, you'll probably like this. It has a lot of the same issues but it has the same charm and stupid fun that the first book had too.
The word onyx is used 19 times (I noticed it 13 times). Every time it was used it felt like a hate crime.
This was a large improvement over Iron Flame. The fantasy stuff wasn't good but it felt more coherent and the romance was 1000x better. Rebecca Yarros has always been a romance writer so I'm glad she took the time to write good romance instead of whatever was going on in Iron Flame. No one is reading this series for the fantasy and worldbuilding. People may say that, but they're lying.
I think in a vacuum a lot of the political scenes and strategy planning is interesting but in the context of the book they are just boring. There's a scene where they talk to a king of one of the islands that was genuinely super cool. It just doesn't work because there was no set up or build up to the scene and once its done it is never mentioned again. I think what Yarros is missing in her worldbuilding is small things having large impacts and keeping relevant characters in the mix. A lot of the complaints for this book are about how there are way too many new characters that get no development time. The consequences feel meaningless because I don't even know these people.
This book was WAYYY too long. If I read this book on audiobook I would've DNFed it probably. I skipped entire chapters and still understood everything because there is SOOO much bloat. Please cut like 25% of this book. I skimmed the last quarter or so and just read when it seemed relevant.
All of that being said, it was still super fun. The first half is actually really good. There is decent set up and Yarros manages to bring tension into the romance in book 3 which is impressive. I wouldn't change a single thing about how the romance is handled in this book which is saying a lot since it was god awful in Iron Flame. I believe that Violet and Xaden actually like each other and want to be with each other. Although he is getting eerily close to Rhys territory. Between Rowan, Xaden, and Rhys I am mixing things up between them because they're all the same.
If you liked the first book, you'll probably like this. It has a lot of the same issues but it has the same charm and stupid fun that the first book had too.
The word onyx is used 19 times (I noticed it 13 times). Every time it was used it felt like a hate crime.
My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
6 ⭐️
This is a terrifying, horrifying, uncomfortable book. It is supposed to be uncomfortable. The most important discussions often are.
It didn’t have the ending I wanted. But I think that makes the book better.
The prose in this book is probably the most poetic and engaging writing I’ve ever read. The way Vanessa’s trauma, disassociating, and PTSD was written was powerful. Russell put into words feelings that I didn’t think could be described. You have to read the reading to understand what I mean. Everything was so visual that I felt like I was there. It was terrifying.
The pacing is perfect. Just when the segments from 2001 get too hard to stomach. We bounce back to 2017 with a small glimmer of hope on the horizon.
This book made me re-evaluate my entire high school experience. Especially “that incident” that I think a lot of people unfortunately had in their high school. It makes me feel sick.
This book is so incredibly dark and triggering that I imagine a lot of people can’t finish it. I think for the people who can, it is 100% worth it. My requirements for a 6 star book is that it is something that I will never forget and that it changes who I am as person. This book has most definitely changed my life.
My advice is NOT to read it at work because bawling your eyes out at your desk at 11:56 am on a Friday is embarrassing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Sexual harassment
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
Gwen & Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher
4.0
4 ⭐️
This was very cute! Surprisingly well written! I was expecting YA slop that was still entertaining but this has a good plot and great characters. The last 30% had me HOOKED. This is what Red, White, and Royal Blue should’ve been.
At first I was confused on why Arthur and Gwen had so much banter, but this book is as much about friendship as it is about romantic relationships. It reads more like a historical fantasy coming-of-age book rather than a romance. There was actually decently fleshed out politics and squabbles and betrayals. Maybe I had my expectations set too low but this was shockingly good!
I don’t even like historical romance. It usually is just depressing but despite this being about LGBTQ+ characters in medieval England, it is upbeat and optimistic.
I love Arthur. He’s so stupid and that's awesome!
Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas
2.5
2.5 ⭐️
I think 3 stars would’ve been too generous for a book that is at least 150 pages too long, has a B-plot that I didn’t even realize was a different character until halfway through the book (the girl is just Celaena again but evil), and is extremely repetitive. That being said . . . this was alright. (Also the B-plot has like wingleaders and quadrants and stuff I felt like the B-plot was just Fourth Wing)
I think Rowan was kinda fun. I mean he is just Rhys with wind powers but I like Rhys so I won’t complain. Celaena got her backstory expanded on AGAIN and now she sort of has a personality if you squint which is nice. DORIAN IS STILL THE GOAT! GIVE ME A DORIAN BOOK NOT A CHAOL BOOK. Dorian is such an interesting character and after this book he’ll be so fricking cool. I just want to be in his head and know what he’s thinking. Chaol is fine but he’s kinda boring. I didn’t really care about his plot.
I liked the increase in POV switches. I know romantasy girlies lose their minds when their books aren’t single POV first person books, “How do I keep all the characters straight?” There are 4 characters girl be so fr. But it is so nice not being stuck with shitty Celaena for the whole book. I’m convinced that romantasy girlies don’t like multiple POVs because they’ve only read books with shitty characters so they don’t care about any POV except one. A well written book will make every character compelling, even if you still have favorites. Throw them a Stormlight book with 8+ POVs and they’ll be fine because the writing style switches with each character (helps keep them straight so even in the middle of a chapter you know who is speaking) and every character is well thought out and developed.
This book was way too long and that made it lose steam. Cut the B-plot entirely, spend more time with Dorian and less time with Celaena fucking around in the woods with Rowan and you have a decent 3.5 star book.
Also that ending was actually really good. Too bad I can’t listen to the rest on audiobook and have to read the last 4? books. Fuck you Amazon and your Audible exclusives.
Red Rising by Pierce Brown
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
4 ⭐️
The first half of this book did not have me convinced. But honestly it reminded me of The Will of The Many. A slow start but then a crazy wild ending that has me gnawing at the bars of my enclosure for the next one.
I think Virginia was a super cool character. I have a feeling her story will get more depth to it in the sequels which I can't wait to see. Darrow is also compelling. He feels less of a blank slate like Katniss or even Ender does. He has real motivations and feelings and guilt. Creating Eo as a motivator was genius on Pierce Brown's part. Who would've thought to give a 16 year old boy a wife? But it totally makes sense and makes everything more compelling (and sad).
This book has a lot of similarities to hunger games but it is much better. It is a lot darker which I think actually helps it. The concept of a bunch of kids being thrown into a battlefield with sponsors and free reign to do whatever they like is dark. I like that this book was brave enough to explore the sick and twisted aspects of that. Also in this case all the children are like spoiled, blood hungry and descendent from war mongers so it's gonna be EXTRA bloody.
The worst part of this book is that it can't seem to decide if it is YA or adult Sci-Fi. It obviously pulls heavily from popular dystopian YA books and is written like a YA book with middle-school vocab and simple sentence structure. Yet, it includes stuff that is way to gruesome and dark for 13-16 year olds to read (at least IMO). I appreciate simple prose. I think that flowery prose can get in the way of story-telling sometimes and the simplicity fits the style the book is going for. But I think increasing the reading level a little bit would've made it better, especially the beginning which lowkey feels like YA slop for like 30%-40%.
The first half of this book did not have me convinced. But honestly it reminded me of The Will of The Many. A slow start but then a crazy wild ending that has me gnawing at the bars of my enclosure for the next one.
I think Virginia was a super cool character. I have a feeling her story will get more depth to it in the sequels which I can't wait to see. Darrow is also compelling. He feels less of a blank slate like Katniss or even Ender does. He has real motivations and feelings and guilt. Creating Eo as a motivator was genius on Pierce Brown's part. Who would've thought to give a 16 year old boy a wife? But it totally makes sense and makes everything more compelling (and sad).
This book has a lot of similarities to hunger games but it is much better. It is a lot darker which I think actually helps it. The concept of a bunch of kids being thrown into a battlefield with sponsors and free reign to do whatever they like is dark. I like that this book was brave enough to explore the sick and twisted aspects of that. Also in this case all the children are like spoiled, blood hungry and descendent from war mongers so it's gonna be EXTRA bloody.
The worst part of this book is that it can't seem to decide if it is YA or adult Sci-Fi. It obviously pulls heavily from popular dystopian YA books and is written like a YA book with middle-school vocab and simple sentence structure. Yet, it includes stuff that is way to gruesome and dark for 13-16 year olds to read (at least IMO). I appreciate simple prose. I think that flowery prose can get in the way of story-telling sometimes and the simplicity fits the style the book is going for. But I think increasing the reading level a little bit would've made it better, especially the beginning which lowkey feels like YA slop for like 30%-40%.
The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin
dark
4.5
4.5 ⭐️
That was incredible. What a book! I love the magic system. It is so bizarre and unique but it totally works in this world. It gave Three Body Problem vibes for some reason? Probably the impending doom and world constantly ending and reforming again. For a fantasy book, this has a lot of sci-fi elements which I think help keep it fresh. I've seen all these elements in different books (and other media) before but never all together. I think this really helps the book stand out. Also some M.L. Wang vibes for sure.
I really liked the non-linear story telling. I wouldn't normally say that but I think Jemisin 100% pulled it off. I love feeling smart when I figure out the reveal before the book tells me (even though it was pretty obvious and I think I was supposed to figure it out before the reveal).
I only didn't like some of the romance stuff. It was great representation but it felt oddly crass? The rest of this world is something akin to a standard heroic fantasy novel so I think the physical romance just seemed out of place when the rest of the story wasn't as graphic. Maybe I'm just a hetero prude tho so what do I know. It definitely served a purpose so it wasn't wasted words or anything (👀 GOT)
I have so many questions and I'm so excited to start the next book.
P.S. this was sold to me as "similar to Avatar the Last Airbender." DON'T BELIEVE THEM! THEY LIED. THIS IS NOTHING LIKE ATLA. ATLA DOESN'T HAVE GRAPHIC ORGIES, MURDERS, CHILD ABUSE, or SLAVES. If you keep your eyes closed the magic system may look like earthbending. but that would be wrong.
That was incredible. What a book! I love the magic system. It is so bizarre and unique but it totally works in this world. It gave Three Body Problem vibes for some reason? Probably the impending doom and world constantly ending and reforming again. For a fantasy book, this has a lot of sci-fi elements which I think help keep it fresh. I've seen all these elements in different books (and other media) before but never all together. I think this really helps the book stand out. Also some M.L. Wang vibes for sure.
I really liked the non-linear story telling. I wouldn't normally say that but I think Jemisin 100% pulled it off. I love feeling smart when I figure out the reveal before the book tells me (even though it was pretty obvious and I think I was supposed to figure it out before the reveal).
I only didn't like some of the romance stuff. It was great representation but it felt oddly crass? The rest of this world is something akin to a standard heroic fantasy novel so I think the physical romance just seemed out of place when the rest of the story wasn't as graphic. Maybe I'm just a hetero prude tho so what do I know. It definitely served a purpose so it wasn't wasted words or anything (👀 GOT)
I have so many questions and I'm so excited to start the next book.
P.S. this was sold to me as "similar to Avatar the Last Airbender." DON'T BELIEVE THEM! THEY LIED. THIS IS NOTHING LIKE ATLA. ATLA DOESN'T HAVE GRAPHIC ORGIES, MURDERS, CHILD ABUSE, or SLAVES. If you keep your eyes closed the magic system may look like earthbending. but that would be wrong.