whatellisreadnext's reviews
564 reviews

The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I loved this trilogy. It was great to read where Brando Sando started off, and I can't wait to read loads more from him this year.  The magic system is fascinating, and all the lore throughout this one was my absolute favourite part. I could just sit and read a book about this world's history for hours. The books are very long, but they don't feel long. If anything, this last book felt too short for me, I could have read so much more. If you're on the edge about this one, just read it 💃

Napalm in the Heart by Pol Guasch

dark reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

What a unique little reading experience this was. Napalm in the Heart follows an unnamed protagonist living in a deserted village in a militarised society, as he writes letters to his lover Boris, who lives in the city.

The writing is quite jarring but I think it does a good job of keeping you in a state of confusion, that is clearly felt by the protagonist as he grapples with life and love and the difficulty of familial bonds. 

You'd be reading something completely grotesque, which will be quickly followed with the loveliest line you've ever read. I couldn't get enough of this weird and meandering narrative. It reminded me a lot of Strega in it's writing style and The Old Haunts with its tough parental relationships and winding storyline.

I honestly couldn't recommend this enough, and no I don't think I was smart enough for a lot of it, but I can totally see myself rereading it to capture things I missed the first time around. 

Thank you to Faber for the gifted copy, this will be out on the 4th of July.

Across the Green Grass Fields by Seanan McGuire

adventurous dark funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I love portal fantasy, so the ones in the series like this one, where they step through a door by accident, are my favourites, but I'm just not a horse girly. Saying that, I love how inclusive this whole series is, but I do kind of wish they were perhaps suitable for children? They're full of important messages that the adults reading will probably already know, but are perhaps too violent in someways for children. I'm torn, but it's easy listening, and they give me the same feels as the Monk and Robot novellas.

Ascension by Nicholas Binge

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This isn't a bad book by any means, I actually really enjoyed it for the most part. There just seems to be a bit of a disconnect for me later in the story. I love a character driven narrative, and I couldn't get enough of the main protagonist telling us about his past. But as the story got more and more ridiculous, I think it lost that element a little. Plus, it is structured as letters, and you know where he's going to end up right at the beginning, so this took away the danger element for me. Overall, it was fun but didn't come close to Annihilation. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death

Monstrilio by Gerardo Sámano Córdova

4.0

When Among Crows by Veronica Roth

adventurous dark funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was bloody great, literally. I really hope we get more from this world and its characters. It's a special skill to be able to flesh out a world, its magic system, and its characters in not so many pages. Veronica Roth has really honed her craft in recent years, and I can't wait to see what she releases in the future (hopefully a sequel for this and Chosen Ones hint hint). If you love quest novels with unlikely pairings, a splash of queer romance, and lots of blood and gore, you need this book. Thank you to Titan books for the gifted copy.

North Woods by Daniel Mason

5.0

State of Paradise by Laura van den Berg

adventurous dark funny lighthearted mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was really frigging weird and all over the place, and I loved it. Reading a Laura van den Berg book is a unique experience. State of Paradise has this train of thought like narrative that follows our protagonist as she gets us up to speed on her life. She bounces effortless through past and present, creating this fever dream type story that ramps up as the book goes on. At points, I was questioning what reality even was, saying that I love how matter of fact our narrator is about everything. Based in a post covid society where people are being aducted by virtual reality, she navigates ghost writing whilst living in a very flooded florida, with her mother who is running an 'end to humans' cult, things are bound to be a little weird. This is one for fans of One's Company, Leave the World Behind, and Death Valley. Thank you to FSG for the gifted e-arc in exchange for an honest review. 

Come Tumbling Down by Seanan McGuire

adventurous dark funny mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

The 4th book is very hard to follow, but also, I kind of hate the stories where they all mix 🤣 

Calypso by Oliver K. Langmead

adventurous dark hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

What a little joy this book was. I love weird little sci-fi books about some form of expedition with lots of musings on life, and this really scratched that itch. 

We follow Calypso and its passengers as it makes it way to its destination of a new planet. Rochelle is our main narrator. She has been in deep sleep and awoken to oversee the creation of this Terra 2. I really enjoyed learning about her and her internal battles in leaving behind her family on earth and her realisation upon awakening that they are long dead. I also enjoyed following Catherine, who has had so many physical augmentations that she can grow life, her job solely to sacrifice herself to create this new planet. 

There's a lot of narrative here about ethics and the human race and how we live to destroy ourselves, but it is also just very relatably human. The prose is jarring at first, but don't let it scare you, I soon fell deep into this story and its characters. Would recommend for fans of Annihilation and To Be Taught, If Fortunate.