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unlikelyplaces's reviews
240 reviews
The Daydreams by Laura Hankin
4.75
šæ The Daydreams - Laura Hankinšæ
āļø - 4.75
š§
Ok so just to caveat this, a lot of the reviews for this book are not that great so maybe take this with a pinch of salt but I really loved this book.
I have been in such a reading slump for the past couple of months really but I literally listened to this whole audiobook in two days (which is extremely fast for me). I found this so addictive, I couldnāt put it down.
The Daydreams follows the cast of a 2000ās teen show as they return for a reunion years later. It is clearly inspired by the stories of Disney/Nickelodeon child stars that have come out in recent years. To me, this story is primarily an exploration of the way that these stars (particularly the young women) are treated by the media. It does touch on other themes but that was definitely the one that stood out to me.
It did a really great job of making me constantly question how I felt about each of the characters which I think was intentional. And as I said, I literally just couldnāt stop listening to this. There was one aspect of the ending of this that Iām not sure I liked but that didnāt ruin the book for me.
I think I was just in exactly the right mood for this right now and now Iām at a bit of a loss of what audiobook to read next.
ā¼ļøContent warnings: predatory men, body image issues, eating disorder, addiction, parent death
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment and Death of parent
Moderate: Eating disorder, Addiction, and Body shaming
The Fireborne Blade by Charlotte Bond
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Thank you to Tor Books and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.
Release date: 28 May 2024
āļø - 4
š±
This was a good, old-fashioned dragon adventure and a great time.
The Fireborne Blade follows Maddileh, a knight on a quest to steal a legendary blade from the lair of the infamous dragon, the White Lady. Itās a very classic set up but there are some unique worldbuilding elements in this that kept it from feeling stale.
I love classic fantasy quest stories, they just feel really nostalgic to me, so that was great for me. The characters were fun to follow and the magical elements were very cool.
My main criticism of this was that I think it was just too short! Maybe itās because Iām used to like Tolkien and Sanderson but this just felt a bit rushed to me. There was a lot of really interesting stuff happening but I felt like we didnāt have time to fully explore it or get to know the characters enough for it to have the full impact. I just wanted more!
That said, I think this would work really well for anyone who generally reads YA fantasy and wants to give some adult fantasy a go.
I also want mention that Iāve seen a lot in the marketing for this about the romance but thereās not really a romance at all in this. I know itās planned to be a series so maybe there will be more in future books but in this first book thereās like nothing but a few longing glances, just in case thatās something you were specifically looking for.
So, I think this book would work great for anyone who wants a fun, classic fantasy adventure with a bit more of a modern twist. It could be a good pallet cleanser in between heavier reads as well. I had a great time with this and I will definitely be picking up a physical copy because that cover š
Happy Place by Emily Henry
2.75
How have these people made it so far in life without learning any basic communication skills? This is the most dysfunctional group of people to ever existā¦
Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes
3.0
Dead Silence - S.A. Barnes
ā - 3
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I was just looking back at my Q1 reads and realised that Iāve had such an underwhelming reading year so far and this book continues that trendā¦ I have really mixed feelings about this.
Dead Silence follows a crew out in the depths of space who stumble across The Aurora, a luxury space cruise that mysteriously disappeared over 20 years ago. When the crew decide to investigate, they find unspeakable horrors inside.
Ok so I really donāt read a lot of horror/thriller but, when I do, I like it to be sort of equal parts tension and mystery. I need some element of ātrying to figure it outā to keep me interested and this book almost had that.
I absolutely love this concept, I always think that space is a great setting for something like this because of the claustrophobic nature of it. I also, for the most part, really liked the protagonist, Claire. She reminded me a lot of Ripley from Alien if she had a bit more backstory (which I love). She did, however, keep making stupid decisions but I could forgive that if that was my only issue with this book.
My problem with this was mostly the pacing. If we were to split the book into thirds, I really loved the beginning third, and I would have loved the last third if I hadnāt been so bored for the whole middle section. I honestly donāt know how you make such an interesting concept so boring but it felt like the characters had mostly figured out what was going on pretty quickly and then it was just gory description after gory description with no real purpose and you just kind of get desensitised to them. From about 30% until about 70% of the way through I just wanted the book to end and I almost DNFāed it but I enjoyed the beginning so much that did care enough to see what the ending was.
So, I feel quite conflicted about thisā¦ if the description sounds interesting to you and you like horror for the gore rather than the mystery then you might like this. For me, it had the set up to be a high 4 star but just dropped off so much in the middle so I levelled it out to a 3.
Content warnings: Extreme gore, v!olence, parent d3ath, su!c!de, self h@rm, pandemic
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Violence, Death of parent, and Gore
Moderate: Suicide attempt and Self harm
The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff
4.0
Bandit Queens - Parini Shroff
āļø - 4
š§
Bandit Queens is a dark, literary comedy set in a small village in India. It follows Geeta, who is quite happy to let the rest of the town believe the rumours that she murdered her husband because she just wants to be left alone. But things get more complicated when another woman in the village asks her for help with murdering her own husband.
Although a ācomedyā, this novel has so much depth to it. It deals a lot with themes of domestic abuse, the trauma that women suffer at the hands of men, and the importance of sisterhood.
My main criticism of this was that it took a while for me to get into, it was quite a slow start and I didnāt really feel invested until about half way through, but once it picked up I was hooked.
But other than that I loved this. It would be a great one for a book club or a buddy read, I feel like thereās so much to discuss about this story and I would recommend to pretty much everyone (please look at the trigger warnings though).
āļøContent Warnings (SPOILERS): on page s3xual assault, domestic abuse (this is a major theme), vomit, animal cruelty, alcoholism, infertility
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Rape, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Animal cruelty
Minor: Infertility and Vomit
The Silverblood Promise by James Logan
3.5
The Silverblood Promise - James Logan (ARC)
āļø -3.5
š±
Thank you to Tor Books and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC. I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
This story follows Lukan as he travels to the city of Saphrona to investigate his fatherās murder and soon finds himself very much in over his head.
I feel a bit mixed about thisā¦
To start with the positive, this was a really fun time. It was really fast paced and familiar (in a good way) fantasy mystery and the ending left me definitely interested in picking up the next one. I really liked our little gang and the beginnings of a found family dynamic between them.
I think that the comparison to Scott Lynch is accurate, I can definitely see parallels between Lukan and Locke, both idiots who are too charming and lucky for their own good.
My main issue with this was the writing unfortunately. There was a lot of info dumping and a lot of telling, not showing which just made it feel a bit clunky to me.
A lot of the humour in this reminded me a bit of Sandersonās humour which, unfortunately, is my least favourite part of Sandersonās writing but if it works for you then the humour in this likely would as well.
I think that if youāre more of a plot reader and if you like fast paced books then this will work for you better than it did for me. I kept wishing we had a bit more time to sit with the characters and get to know them and their feelings more but thatās just my preference, I like slow books a lot more!
So yes, Iām definitely interested in picking up the next one and I think there are a lot of people who will like this more than I did as my issues are mostly just preference (I mean I guess any review is but you know what I mean lol).
ā¼ļø Warnings: a bit of mild body horror elements, vomiting (thereās weirdly a lot of vomiting in this book)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Body horror and Vomit
Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett
4.25
The perfect follow up to the first one!
This will be a short review from me because you can pretty much take everything I said about the first one and apply it to this sequel. I love this series so much!
I will say, this had a lot of similarities to the first one plot-wise but it was just as fun and charming and I loved the way the story developed and I really canāt wait for the next one!