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unlikelyplaces's reviews
244 reviews
Savage Her Reply by Deirdre Sullivan
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
This was so beautiful. I love mythology retellings and it’s always nice to see one’s that aren’t just Greek mythology. I knew basically nothing about this story going in and this was a lovely way to experience it.
The writing is stunning and poetic and I kept wishing that I was reading a physical copy rather than the audiobook because there were so many things that I was wanting to underline and annotate.
The only thing that stopped this being 5⭐️ for me was that there were times that I struggled to follow what was happening but I think upon reread this could easily move up to a 5⭐️ read.
I loved how reflective and poignant it was and it had lots of beautiful things to say about culture and heritage and the stories we tell. Just stunning.
The writing is stunning and poetic and I kept wishing that I was reading a physical copy rather than the audiobook because there were so many things that I was wanting to underline and annotate.
The only thing that stopped this being 5⭐️ for me was that there were times that I struggled to follow what was happening but I think upon reread this could easily move up to a 5⭐️ read.
I loved how reflective and poignant it was and it had lots of beautiful things to say about culture and heritage and the stories we tell. Just stunning.
Edgedancer by Brandon Sanderson
3.0
I really do like most Sanderson I’ve read but there are just a few things about his writing that have a tendency to grate on me and this novella was like a showcase of them all.
The main issue, as always, being that Sanderson’s humour just really doesn’t work for me at all and I found Lift just really irritated me throughout. And also the way that Sanderson describes certain things in this, mainly relating to characters appearances and weight etc, just left a bad taste in my mouth, idk if it just hasn’t aged well or whatever but it wasn’t the best.
That being said, he always gets me with those endings and plot reveals! I’m excited to continue on with this series but I am glad to be done with this novella!
The main issue, as always, being that Sanderson’s humour just really doesn’t work for me at all and I found Lift just really irritated me throughout. And also the way that Sanderson describes certain things in this, mainly relating to characters appearances and weight etc, just left a bad taste in my mouth, idk if it just hasn’t aged well or whatever but it wasn’t the best.
That being said, he always gets me with those endings and plot reveals! I’m excited to continue on with this series but I am glad to be done with this novella!
Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong
dark
tense
fast-paced
4.5
It feels weird to say given the content but this was so fun! I generally lean towards super slow-paced books and this was a lot faster than I’m used to which was refreshing.
It was a lot less romance-heavy than I was expecting which is a plus for me but worth noting if that’s what you’re looking for.
But this was full of twists and turns and I had a great time with it!
It was a lot less romance-heavy than I was expecting which is a plus for me but worth noting if that’s what you’re looking for.
But this was full of twists and turns and I had a great time with it!
The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie
adventurous
challenging
dark
slow-paced
3.75
I love Abercrombie but this one was tough for me to get through. The beginning and end sections were great and Abercrombie’s writing was as great as always throughout but I just had no idea what was happening or who anyone was through most of this so it just felt like a slog. But I still love at least a few of the characters and can’t wait to continue on with the series.
World Mythology: From Indigenous Tales to Classical Legends by Tamsin Hughes
Did not finish book. Stopped at 29%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 29%.
I just picked this up because it was on sale without looking into it. I love mythology and have a decent knowledge of Greek, Roman and Norse myths and wanted to do some more reading about other cultures' folklore. This book is good for giving very brief little summaries of different folktales from around the world.
However, in just the bits that I read I noticed a fair amount of inaccuracies in the mythologies that I do know which makes me suspect they are present in the myths I wasn't familiar with as well and there are quite a few grammatical errors.
The book also refers to Native Americans as "Indians" throughout which made me assume it was really old but apparently it was only written in 2020 which is shocking. It also includes stories from several present day, active religions which to me seems kind of offensive and patronising, especially if you're not going to present them accurately. And it just has a slightly patronising tone in the way it relates some of the stories.
So I don't know, I guess if you want like a very basic intro to mythology then it might be a good starting point but I could list many better ones. This just feels like it wasn't really edited or checked by anyone. Probably not worth the time.
However, in just the bits that I read I noticed a fair amount of inaccuracies in the mythologies that I do know which makes me suspect they are present in the myths I wasn't familiar with as well and there are quite a few grammatical errors.
The book also refers to Native Americans as "Indians" throughout which made me assume it was really old but apparently it was only written in 2020 which is shocking. It also includes stories from several present day, active religions which to me seems kind of offensive and patronising, especially if you're not going to present them accurately. And it just has a slightly patronising tone in the way it relates some of the stories.
So I don't know, I guess if you want like a very basic intro to mythology then it might be a good starting point but I could list many better ones. This just feels like it wasn't really edited or checked by anyone. Probably not worth the time.
The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by S.A. Chakraborty
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
4.5
This was so fun. I've seen a lot of reviews of this saying that it's just ok but I had a great time. It's a fun pirate adventure, I loved Amina as the mc, it was super fast-paced and readable. Perfect holiday read.