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wilt's reviews
91 reviews
Blackfish City by Sam J. Miller
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
1.0
At first this book seemed promising - A floating city in the arctic with a mysterious outbreak illness? What in the world is an ocramancer? There's an honest-to-god nonbinary MC?
But this was one of the most painful drags of bad storytelling, awful plot, worse character development (devolvement? I hated every character by the end and not in a fun way) I have ever read. It had promising moments, sure, and a world I wanted to know more about. The setting is awesome, one that I think would do really well in a video game structure. But the story... I couldn't wait for it to be over. I was genuinely mad about how disappointing this ended up being. It also pissed me off how it dealt with suicidalness and disability in the most bleak way possible while touting itself as a 'very hopeful' book. Shut the hell up with that.
But this was one of the most painful drags of bad storytelling, awful plot, worse character development (devolvement? I hated every character by the end and not in a fun way) I have ever read. It had promising moments, sure, and a world I wanted to know more about. The setting is awesome, one that I think would do really well in a video game structure. But the story... I couldn't wait for it to be over. I was genuinely mad about how disappointing this ended up being. It also pissed me off how it dealt with suicidalness and disability in the most bleak way possible while touting itself as a 'very hopeful' book. Shut the hell up with that.
The Door Into Fire by Diane Duane
slow-paced
4.0
Any book that can be summed up as "it's about love, actually" is going to be a good read for me. My favorite thing about this book was the presence of an established relationship between Herewiss and Freelorn. It's not something I get to see often in fiction and for a while it had me wondering if their relationship would be relegated to minor flavor text, a small detail that wouldn't play a big part either way. How glad I was to be wrong about that. Not only is their relationship emotional and tender and withstands the test of time, it's frequently pulled to the very forefront. We linger on their feelings for each other, their love and fears and struggles. They're also both bi and there are obvious polyam elements that I enjoyed. As if that wasn't enough, there's also a cool genderfluid elemental who is also sometimes a horse.
I did find this to be a slow read at times, as meandering and languid as retro fantasy tends to be. There's a ton of worldbuilding and lore given to you at all times but by the end of it I really enjoyed my time here. As someone who enjoys pre-2000s fantasy it was really nice to see a complex m/m relationship in tandem with all the swords and sorcery, and the ending left me feeling really, really good.
I did find this to be a slow read at times, as meandering and languid as retro fantasy tends to be. There's a ton of worldbuilding and lore given to you at all times but by the end of it I really enjoyed my time here. As someone who enjoys pre-2000s fantasy it was really nice to see a complex m/m relationship in tandem with all the swords and sorcery, and the ending left me feeling really, really good.
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
slow-paced
1.5
For years I've wanted to read this book. And finally in the year 2022 I have done it, but at what cost. Old books excite me, anything published from 1800-2000 pulls my curiosity like nothing else. But Treasure Island, I am sorry to say, is certifiably boring as shit.
A Royal Affair by John Wiltshire
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.5
I had zero expectations for this one. I've had poor experiences with anything published by Dreamspinner press in the past, and I told myself I would never touch another one of their soggy books again. I very nearly had no choice but to follow through with that promise, with how impossible it is to acquire this book through any official means. But acquire it I did, and wow -- To call it a gem among the rough would be an understatement.
I was in love from the very beginning. The setup -- Nikolai writing in no uncertain terms that he would relive the events he is about to document exactly as they were if he had the option to go back, the foreboding sense of dread this instilled from the get-go, the intense curiosity to know why he felt this way, the excitement sparked by Aleksey's very first appearance -- I was hooked. I was bewitched. I haven't highlighted this many quotes from a single book since... ever. The writing is superb. But my favorite part, other than the style of narrative, is how stubbornly joyous it remains. The events are dark, and had this been written by anyone else I would call it a dark fantasy. But there's just too much joy, too much hope, too much love, to say any part of this was miserable. There's angst, sure, and by the end I felt thoroughly bruised and shaken. But a large part of that ache was from the sheer gentleness of it all.
I loved the dismantling of Christianity. I loved the jokes. I loved Aleksey's demeanor, his actions, his way of flirting. I loved Nikolai's mind, the way he would chose to describe certain scenes and feelings and I loved them every moment they were near each other. The progression of their relationship had me torn asunder at every step of the way.
It wasn't all perfect. I didn't like the major focus on sex near the end, only because it seemed to replace everything else, and a major point of trauma seemed too quickly fixed. I missed reading their conversations and casual interactions, and overall that section felt the weakest compared to everything else. I also wish Faelan played a bigger role... in any capacity, because I frequently forgot he even existed. He seemed important in the very beginning and then he just wasn't really there for 99% of the book, which was a grand waste.
But other than that, this was a delight to read, and I badly want to get my hands on a physical copy so I can lovingly reread it and force it upon all my friends.
I was in love from the very beginning. The setup -- Nikolai writing in no uncertain terms that he would relive the events he is about to document exactly as they were if he had the option to go back, the foreboding sense of dread this instilled from the get-go, the intense curiosity to know why he felt this way, the excitement sparked by Aleksey's very first appearance -- I was hooked. I was bewitched. I haven't highlighted this many quotes from a single book since... ever. The writing is superb. But my favorite part, other than the style of narrative, is how stubbornly joyous it remains. The events are dark, and had this been written by anyone else I would call it a dark fantasy. But there's just too much joy, too much hope, too much love, to say any part of this was miserable. There's angst, sure, and by the end I felt thoroughly bruised and shaken. But a large part of that ache was from the sheer gentleness of it all.
I loved the dismantling of Christianity. I loved the jokes. I loved Aleksey's demeanor, his actions, his way of flirting. I loved Nikolai's mind, the way he would chose to describe certain scenes and feelings and I loved them every moment they were near each other. The progression of their relationship had me torn asunder at every step of the way.
It wasn't all perfect. I didn't like the major focus on sex near the end, only because it seemed to replace everything else, and a major point of trauma seemed too quickly fixed. I missed reading their conversations and casual interactions, and overall that section felt the weakest compared to everything else. I also wish Faelan played a bigger role... in any capacity, because I frequently forgot he even existed. He seemed important in the very beginning and then he just wasn't really there for 99% of the book, which was a grand waste.
But other than that, this was a delight to read, and I badly want to get my hands on a physical copy so I can lovingly reread it and force it upon all my friends.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia
Moderate: Sexual assault
Heart of Winter by Lauren Gilley
emotional
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.5
I found Heart Of Winter to be a simple, easy to digest romance but one that I enjoyed immensely. The quality of writing is nothing remarkable or memorable but that didn't hinder my enjoyment or interest in the slightest. I was gripped by Oliver's emotional journey into the Kingdom of Aeretoll, and eventually into the arms of the King himself, who is perhaps even more compelling in his utter besottement with Oliver. The romance was gripping, and kept me up reading late into the night. For what it is, I liked this book a lot more than I thought I would.
Edge of the Wild by Lauren Gilley
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
2.25
The pacing of this book bogged down tremendously with the introduction of several new POVs, some of which severely hindered the momentum of the more interesting plot points, especially towards the end. I think Lauren Gailey writes decent romance - my favorite parts of the book were the interactions between various love interests. But everything else could use a little work. The structure of this story is unremarkable, the quality of writing lags boringly during some important plot elements, and several times I considered DNF'ing.
I also didn't understand the emergence of Oliver's somewhat haughty demeanor, at times acting as if he were raised his entire life to live his new role, instead of his bastard reality. It clashed with his apparent 'struggle' at accepting his role and responibilities as Consort, and seemed to me he felt a lot more comfortable in it than he gave the impression of. It just felt too sudden a leap from the previous book.
But despite all my complaining I do think there's an interesting tale here, that could really have shined with more intense editing. It was still enjoyable over all, I just so badly wish I had reason to enjoy it more, because the potential is golden.
I also didn't understand the emergence of Oliver's somewhat haughty demeanor, at times acting as if he were raised his entire life to live his new role, instead of his bastard reality. It clashed with his apparent 'struggle' at accepting his role and responibilities as Consort, and seemed to me he felt a lot more comfortable in it than he gave the impression of. It just felt too sudden a leap from the previous book.
But despite all my complaining I do think there's an interesting tale here, that could really have shined with more intense editing. It was still enjoyable over all, I just so badly wish I had reason to enjoy it more, because the potential is golden.
River of Teeth by Sarah Gailey
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? No
1.5
I liked this book at first. I like the premise, I liked the setup, I liked the introduction of each of the characters. But once they all converged it somehow turned into a sloppy diversity soup that could not hold a compelling plot and could not keep my interest in any of it. This book includes a somewhat diverse cast, which is great, sure, and I would have loved to read a southern historical fiction about this exact set of theoretical characters and concept.... if it had been good.
I struggle to find traits to describe the characters outside of their diversity checkmarks, and the complete lack of pushback for any of their identities completely took me out of the immersion. Sure, I'm reading about an alternate history where America went through with its plan to introduce hippos into its Southern swamplands. But the most unrealistic part by far was the way every single character in this book somehow innately understood to use neutral pronouns for the nb/genderless character Hero, even when they'd literally never met Hero before. This would not happen in modern day America, much less in the 1890s. And the worst part is that Hero never got to clearly say any words about their gender at any time. Everyone just automatically, preemptively gets it somehow? Even as a reader I don't know the right language to describe them. Are they nb, genderless, or something else entirely? I want to know, I want to know the deep depths of this character and core individuality that makes them tick. But I guess that's not important enough to dive into, even in a book that means to tout diversity front and center. I also have a problem with how Hero never gets any physical descriptions beyond their dark skin. How old are they? What kind of clothes do they wear? What does their smile look like? Their hair at the very least? We get nothing. I've never seen such a severe lack of physical descriptors for a love interest in my life!
And that's not the only place we get nothing. The 'romance' between Hero and Houndstooth starts out sweet and tentative and I was really looking forward to seeing where it would go. Butwhen they finally 'get together' it happens entirely behind closed doors. There's no fade to black scene, there's no conversation about feelings, there's literally nothing. And I'm supposed to believe Houndstooth was profoundly changed by his feelings for Hero? When we never get to see any of it? It drove me wild. I ended up speed-reading through the end, feeling not very invested anymore.
It's a good, interesting, unique concept that fails to deliver on almost every front. It had some good scenes, and I did like the first part of the book at times. But when your main antagonist (who is written to be unlikable!) ends up being the most interesting, consistent and entertaining character of them all... I'm left feeling lost and disappointed.
I struggle to find traits to describe the characters outside of their diversity checkmarks, and the complete lack of pushback for any of their identities completely took me out of the immersion. Sure, I'm reading about an alternate history where America went through with its plan to introduce hippos into its Southern swamplands. But the most unrealistic part by far was the way every single character in this book somehow innately understood to use neutral pronouns for the nb/genderless character Hero, even when they'd literally never met Hero before. This would not happen in modern day America, much less in the 1890s. And the worst part is that Hero never got to clearly say any words about their gender at any time. Everyone just automatically, preemptively gets it somehow? Even as a reader I don't know the right language to describe them. Are they nb, genderless, or something else entirely? I want to know, I want to know the deep depths of this character and core individuality that makes them tick. But I guess that's not important enough to dive into, even in a book that means to tout diversity front and center. I also have a problem with how Hero never gets any physical descriptions beyond their dark skin. How old are they? What kind of clothes do they wear? What does their smile look like? Their hair at the very least? We get nothing. I've never seen such a severe lack of physical descriptors for a love interest in my life!
And that's not the only place we get nothing. The 'romance' between Hero and Houndstooth starts out sweet and tentative and I was really looking forward to seeing where it would go. But
It's a good, interesting, unique concept that fails to deliver on almost every front. It had some good scenes, and I did like the first part of the book at times. But when your main antagonist (who is written to be unlikable!) ends up being the most interesting, consistent and entertaining character of them all... I'm left feeling lost and disappointed.