You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
underscorelsa's Reviews (186)
reflective
fast-paced
Hmm, this kind of disappointed me. I really liked the beginning, laughed out loud a couple times. But then the last pages happened and that was it.
First things first. As a mathematician, I was very frustrated at the maths in this book, especially the fact that CALCULUS PROFESSORS COULDN’T FIGURE OUT BASIC MATH?? Like, of course there are finite books. It’s a finite number of characters in a finite number of pages. Is it a big number? HUGE. But still very much finite. You don’t have to be a genius to know that.
But above all, it felt very much unfinished, and that sucks. I feel like it wanted to give you a lesson but I’m not sure what it is or if it landed (haha), everything just felt flat at the points where it was trying to be philosophical. I would have liked some more exploring, it really should have been longer than what it was.
In my mind I keep comparing it to I Who Have Never Known Men in the sense of what is it to be a human in a displaced surrounding, but this book doesn’t even slightly near the attachment you have in the other one.
It’s such a shame. The premise was amazing, it was all going really well but ultimately, it didn’t accomplish what it set out to do.
First things first. As a mathematician, I was very frustrated at the maths in this book, especially the fact that CALCULUS PROFESSORS COULDN’T FIGURE OUT BASIC MATH?? Like, of course there are finite books. It’s a finite number of characters in a finite number of pages. Is it a big number? HUGE. But still very much finite. You don’t have to be a genius to know that.
But above all, it felt very much unfinished, and that sucks. I feel like it wanted to give you a lesson but I’m not sure what it is or if it landed (haha), everything just felt flat at the points where it was trying to be philosophical. I would have liked some more exploring, it really should have been longer than what it was.
In my mind I keep comparing it to I Who Have Never Known Men in the sense of what is it to be a human in a displaced surrounding, but this book doesn’t even slightly near the attachment you have in the other one.
It’s such a shame. The premise was amazing, it was all going really well but ultimately, it didn’t accomplish what it set out to do.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Uf. He tenido que pararme a pensar cómo valorar este libro. Me ha encantado muchísimo, pero siento que hay cosas que no puedo terminar de pasar por alto.
Por un lado, la historia de Óscar y Marina me ha cautivado, y he acabado llorando con el librito de los cojones. He conectado mucho con todos los personajes y la trama me ha tenido enganchada enganchadísima.
Sin embargo, siento que ha habido dos partes en el libro bastante inconexas, que no terminaban de mezclarse, la de Óscar y la de Mijail Kolvenik. Que no digo que no me haya gustado, pero he tenido que bajarle un poquito a la puntuación porque mucha de la historia de Kolvenik se narraba porque sí y a veces la línea cronológica se hacía confusa.
Me da pena no poder darle las 5 estrellas porque de veras que es un libro que voy a ir recomendando a todo el mundo, pero personalmente esos detallitos han hecho que no llegara a serlo para mí </3
Por un lado, la historia de Óscar y Marina me ha cautivado, y he acabado llorando con el librito de los cojones. He conectado mucho con todos los personajes y la trama me ha tenido enganchada enganchadísima.
Sin embargo, siento que ha habido dos partes en el libro bastante inconexas, que no terminaban de mezclarse, la de Óscar y la de Mijail Kolvenik. Que no digo que no me haya gustado, pero he tenido que bajarle un poquito a la puntuación porque mucha de la historia de Kolvenik se narraba porque sí y a veces la línea cronológica se hacía confusa.
Me da pena no poder darle las 5 estrellas porque de veras que es un libro que voy a ir recomendando a todo el mundo, pero personalmente esos detallitos han hecho que no llegara a serlo para mí </3
inspiring
medium-paced
Supongo que tenía las expectativas demasiado altas. Es una novela muy importante para visibilizar y contar la historia de un personaje trans, pero no he conectado con ella del todo. Ha habido personajes, como el de Antonio o el de Margarita, que sí que me han tocado y me ha parecido precioso. No sé, no me ha vuelto loca, me ha parecido un libro muy correcto y ya.
Cute story that deals with heavy handed topics. After being transported to a magical world, this book deals with the aftermath, the going back to real life and dealing with everything you have lived as if it had never happened.
I liked Evelyn's point of view, but I feel like after that everything went downhill. I get why it was important to have Philippa's as an older sister and the regret and pain you feel for your sister, but other than that the plot itself didn't feel like it advanced that much, and the ending didn't feel like an ending if that makes sense. There are books with open endings that just feel like an ending to a story, and this wasn't it.
I would have given this book 3 stars had it not been for the romance in the second part... It felt extremely forced and inserted just because it needed to be inserted, without any real substance. What I did enjoy was the art element and it is something that is always welcome.
I liked Evelyn's point of view, but I feel like after that everything went downhill. I get why it was important to have Philippa's as an older sister and the regret and pain you feel for your sister, but other than that the plot itself didn't feel like it advanced that much, and the ending didn't feel like an ending if that makes sense. There are books with open endings that just feel like an ending to a story, and this wasn't it.
I would have given this book 3 stars had it not been for the romance in the second part... It felt extremely forced and inserted just because it needed to be inserted, without any real substance. What I did enjoy was the art element and it is something that is always welcome.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm
Moderate: Self harm
fast-paced
I might change the rating on this one at some point, because it definitely felt very between a 4.25 and a 4.75. (July 3rd 2025: yeah, I changed it. I have been thinking about this book for way too long not to bump it higher...)
The magic system was AAMAAZINNGG, I loved it sososo much. It kind of felt like coding??? which I am not complaining about in the slightest, it was really insanely great.
I loved the themes behind it. Sciona had been a passionate mage, entering into the High Magistry even though it was frowned upon, eager to prove everyone's beliefs about women wrong. And when The Big Reveal happens, everyone blames her breakdown on the fact that she's a woman (how moody they are, this profession isn't made for them, you don't fit here). And now she has to decide whether she's going to stick to her work which she has done over the years or use her position to try to make a change, even if it costs her her life's work. This topic of morality never lets me down, honestly.
There's also colonialism, which was an insane ride for me and the one I fell most compelled about, but also faith, social status, prejudice (Thomil, they will NEVER make me hate you, you were so right every single time), family...
The last part of the plot (from depositing the spells on the tower until the trial ) didn't quite convince me, and that's why I didn't give this book 5 stars. I guess it dragged on a bit too much, especially the part where her archmage mentor takes her in. Again, this whole part felt a bit worse than what the rest of the book was, but that part in particular just fell flat. I will say that from that final point, the story did get on its legs again. I really liked the ending of this book.
This was such a great book, and I can't wait to read more of Wang's work.
The magic system was AAMAAZINNGG, I loved it sososo much. It kind of felt like coding??? which I am not complaining about in the slightest, it was really insanely great.
I loved the themes behind it. Sciona had been a passionate mage, entering into the High Magistry even though it was frowned upon, eager to prove everyone's beliefs about women wrong. And when The Big Reveal happens, everyone blames her breakdown on the fact that she's a woman (how moody they are, this profession isn't made for them, you don't fit here). And now she has to decide whether she's going to stick to her work which she has done over the years or use her position to try to make a change, even if it costs her her life's work. This topic of morality never lets me down, honestly.
There's also colonialism, which was an insane ride for me and the one I fell most compelled about, but also faith, social status, prejudice (Thomil, they will NEVER make me hate you, you were so right every single time), family...
The last part of the plot (
This was such a great book, and I can't wait to read more of Wang's work.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
I just know that this is a book I will remember for the rest of my life. That was impactful. It touched me in a way I couldn't begin to describe even if I tried.
For me, this is not a feminist book. It's about how you can still be human when there's a system that strips you of humanity, where there is still a thirst for knowledge. It's about forging your own meaning when there is none in a broken world. It's about isolation, how one can feel very different from others, even not human at some points, and still be human.
It felt weird that most questions go unanswered, but after some thought, that's the point. It is a parallel to our own lives, how we cannot have all the answers to such basic and human questions like "Why are we here?". It shows that what matters is the weight of the questions themselves, rather than the answers to them.
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.
For me, this is not a feminist book. It's about how you can still be human when there's a system that strips you of humanity, where there is still a thirst for knowledge. It's about forging your own meaning when there is none in a broken world. It's about isolation, how one can feel very different from others, even not human at some points, and still be human.
It felt weird that most questions go unanswered, but after some thought, that's the point. It is a parallel to our own lives, how we cannot have all the answers to such basic and human questions like "Why are we here?". It shows that what matters is the weight of the questions themselves, rather than the answers to them.
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.
Logicomix: Una búsqueda épica de la verdad
Christos H. Papadimitriou, Apostolos Doxiadis, Julia Osuna Aguilar
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Cute story, but I saw nothing special
The first 50% I thought this was going to be a 2-star, so that was not a good sign at all. The mystery aspect, personally, is what kept me moving, but I was looking forward to seeing the "why" and not so much of the "who", so I did not really care for the reveal.
Would have loved to see Koji's POV, I think he has many more interesting things to say and his view would be much more insightful.
Upping it to 3.5 because by the end I was kind of interested in the characters, and I would continue on with the series. Also,the Daigoro plot was a big up for me
Would have loved to see Koji's POV, I think he has many more interesting things to say and his view would be much more insightful.
Upping it to 3.5 because by the end I was kind of interested in the characters, and I would continue on with the series. Also,
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes