Wow. When people said this does not live up to the folk of the air, they meant it. But hey, it wasn't all bad, so let's try to unpack. I find that for mWow. When people said this does not live up to the folk of the air, they meant it. But hey, it wasn't all bad, so let's try to unpack. I find that for mid or bad books i tend to write much longer and in-depth reviews than for good ones. so it shall be here. First off, this was a really short book. Small size, large print, not a lot of pages. The newer rebranding and edition to mesh with TFOTA looks a lot better but it's smoke and mirrors. I read this thing in like an hour and a half. To the substance of the book; I had several issues. First, the slightly iffy way Kaye's race was addressed. Disclaimer, I'm half Asian, half white as well, so I know all too well what this sort of rep should be. And let be the first to tell you that even if Kaye is a pixie, I have yet to meet a single mixed race Asian who has blond hair. Genetics don't work that way. The gene for black or dark brown hair is always dominant. I don't care if you were swapped with a pixie at birth, even your baby self should not look that way. And this was a really minor detail in the book as well, but it bugged me to no end because of how inaccurate it was. Also I don't know to describe it, but something just felt...off. I know it was 2004 but the way Holly Black introduced Asian as a trait felt very dated. Something about how the character viewed other people seeing her. It felt half-baked. Like, have you ever seen almond eyes? Most Asians do not have "upturned, almond" eyes. That is a very common misconception. I think what you're looking for is epicanthic folds or monolids. I'm also sick of the upturned. I don't have upturned eyes. Many Asians I know also do not have upturned eyes. It sounds so stereotypical. Look, I'm not a prude, but I also think this book had way too much swearing, especially considering the very curse count in TFOTA. Writing teens-even sus ones down in the dump-does not require a f-word nearly every page, and it felt like the author was trying waaayyy too hard when the swearing in question read out of place. It's just not necessary, especially when so many other well-written YA books don't have as much heavy swearing. Also. The way Corny's sexuality was addressed, again, felt dated. Izzy, it's 2004. Yeah, I know. The author seems pretty intent on making sure her rep is sus. For this book, at least. And again, the way they talked about hentai....girl, are you sure you don't have an Asian fetishization problem? One saving grace: Roiben, because I read about him already in TFOTA and thought he was cool. Honestly, I sought out this book solely for three things: because it's Holly Black, because it had a Wasian FMC, and for Rath Roiben Rye. Sadly, he can't hold up to the sheer majesty and sass of Cardan Greenbriar, but at least I didn't feel the urge to pull my eyeballs out while reading him, and the official art is hot. Like, seriously. Thank you Frostbite Studios for existing. That alone gives it 3 stars, just because every time Roiben appeared my brain was blessed with a sexy silver haired elf man. Wait, where'd the plot go? Oh, I don't know, it was mid. Kaye was pretty mid too. Honestly everything about the book was mid. I should have listened to the reviews and not read this thing. Sadly I will probably be dragged into reading Valiant and Ironsides simply because I love Faerie. Same thing for Darkest Part of the Forest, though I've heard better things about that one. TL;DR: rep sucks, book mid, Roiben good. Overall it was a pass. You definitely don't have to read this and perhaps may not even want to. If you want to read in Black's Faerie, try TFOTA instead. It's much better written and ten times more interesting without being offensive....more
Easily one of the best fantasy-true fantasy, mind you, not watered-down YA or some pseudo-crossover-books I've read so far this year. The writing is sEasily one of the best fantasy-true fantasy, mind you, not watered-down YA or some pseudo-crossover-books I've read so far this year. The writing is superb. So is the worldbuilding and characters. This is not my first Hobb book (Assassin's Apprentice has that title) but I actually felt this was superior. In every aspect. I look forward to reading the second book knowing it will be just as good, if not better, than the first....more
taking down a star because it's just. so. thick. like, faulkner quails in the face of this book. still, 4 stars.taking down a star because it's just. so. thick. like, faulkner quails in the face of this book. still, 4 stars....more
**spoiler alert** I am emotionally numb. I am a wreck. I have been crying for the past hour. Because YES IT WAS A HAPPY ENDING, YES TESSA AND JEM AND **spoiler alert** I am emotionally numb. I am a wreck. I have been crying for the past hour. Because YES IT WAS A HAPPY ENDING, YES TESSA AND JEM AND WILL WERE ALL HAPPY WITH EACH OTHER, SO WHY DOES CLOSING THIS BOOK FEEL LIKE I AM DYING???? I haven't read a love triangle at all like this one. I will probably never read another love triangle like this again. I despise love triangles, they're the reason I did not pick up this series for a while. But this one was done so well, I can't, I'm still sobbing- Okay, well, maybe I should back up and say what I didn't like up front first. To clarify this is more small things that bugged me, not because I didn't enjoy them, but because they felt like weak places in the storytelling. So I think the major one here is Will and Tessa sleeping together, which I've seen other fans comment on, especially after they think Jem is dead. I understand why it was done, and how a lot of people wanted it, but I just thought it was pretty fanservicey, and honestly if I was Tessa and I had learned that my fiancee had died five minutes earlier, I would definitely think long and hard about whether sleeping with his best friend was the right choice. Attribute it to being teenagers in the heat of the moment. Whatever. I enjoyed that it was shown tastefully, I'm just questioning whether it was the most in-character moment or really the wisest thing to do at that point. The Tessa I know wouldn't have thrown Jem to the winds like that soon after she learned he had died, even if she had loved Will all along (and to be clear, I DO NOT MIND AT ALL that she loved both of them at the same time, it was beautifully done and reciprocated with Will and Jem's love for each other). This does seem to be Cassie Clare's weakness, especially with some of the other side characters in the book who were paired up just to fulfill the ships. I didn't mind Sophie and Gideon, even enjoyed them, but Cecily and Gabriel? Really? That's a bit lazy. On to the good stuff. I don't want to put any quotes, because I will cry ("Jem is my greatest sin" still lives in my heart) and I am still crying. I sobbed over every single meaningful moment Will and Jem shared-I think it's safe to say they were the source of 70% of my tears. I've never seen such a deep, meaningful relationship between two male characters before, certainly never one so selfless and full of honest love. I loved how both of them were willing to sacrifice so that the other could have Tessa, and how both of them hid their love for her just so that the other one could be happy. Seriously, that wrecked me. I cried buckets when Will felt Jem dying on the day he was supposed to marry Tessa, and I cried when Jem and Tessa said goodbye for the last time, and I cried when Tessa and Will thought they were going to die, and I cried when Jem became a Silent Brother and visited Will for the last time, and I cried when Jem played the violin at Will's deathbed, and yeah I cried for most of the book. Also. THAT EPILOGUE. Yes, I cried more. Shocking. I've loved both Will and Jem throughout the series, though on occasion I was drawn to one of them more. For Clockwork Prince Jem had most of my heart, but for this entire book I could not choose. I wanted both of them to be with Tessa, but of course not. At least Tessa and Will grew old together, and had children, and Will died happily of old age with Jem by his side. I literally had to put the book down at that part. My hands were shaking. And then, Jem reappeared. Now many readers cried, "Oh, it was fanservice. It was predictable. Tessa got both of them and it was a cheap cop-out." NO IT WAS NOT. The three of them were always destined to be together. Like Jem says, "The wheel turns, and where you will be, I always will." Yeah, I know those aren't his exact words. But the whole point of the story is that it was destiny. Jem was fated to be with Will and Tessa. There is no other way. It is Will and Tessa and Jem, not two of them without the other. It is a love meant to last through the ages. And when Jem dies, though Tessa is immortal, he and Will will find each other in another life, as they promised each other. I'm sorry, now I'm crying. Again. I'm not sure if I want to read the other Shadowhunters books. They might be good. They might not. They certainly won't live up to this. I don't know if I want to read about Will and Tessa's kids and about their descendants, y'know Jace and Clary and the whole lot. Sometimes maybe it's better just to keep it as a standalone. But I did read After the Bridge. Just for the kicks. And finally I didn't cry. Maybe because I was squealing and kicking my feet. Jem, you absolute beast. I was expecting that from Will, but not from you. Yeah, I'm ranting. Definitely time to stop. Maybe I'm forgetting things, so I'll come back and edit and add quotes. But read this trilogy. You won't regret it....more
To be fair I should have given it 4, but there were too many little things that bugged me. As this was the author's debut, and I certainly couldn't doTo be fair I should have given it 4, but there were too many little things that bugged me. As this was the author's debut, and I certainly couldn't do better, I'll be kind; to be fair, it was a heist story. I've seen enough of them and there is always a certain degree of separation from reality present. Be real, you wouldn't be able to pull off Ocean's Eleven today the same way you could twenty years ago-times have changed. But that doesn't change the fact that I wasn't a huge fan of this book. Mostly, the sheer ludicrousness of it all. I mean, the premise is telling me five college students, with no past experience in criminal activity, can pull off several heists in the world's most famous, secure museums without getting caught. Worse, it's not even like they're in a bind-their employer could have hired a group of professional thieves. But no, the plot contorts itself just so that we can believe a bunch of junior college students actually pulled this off. No amount of "cultural identity crisis" or "Chinese-American diaspora" can make it convincing. I am a Chinese-American, so I can comfortably say that. And I've done my own share of research on heists and thieving and professional burglary so this was made even more unbelievable. I do not lie when I say my eyebrows skyrocketed two or three times every chapter. The writing was sleek, was prosy without verging too purple, and served its purpose, which is possibly the nicest thing I can say about this book. The characters? Maybe interesting, but I don't really know. The romance was okay. I knew there would be some of it to a certain degree but I wasn't really feeling the spark (which is fine because this isn't a romance novel anyway) so I couldn't feel compelled or invested in the relationship. I'm not reviewing the rest of the plot developments because obvs spoilers, but unless you love heist books a lot (in which case Six of Crows or Mistborn are much better choices) or enjoy reading about the Chinese-American experience (so, so many better written books out there that I can't even begin) you could skip this and not regret anything....more
4.5 stars. I love DnD. And I always kinda wanted more of Jude from Instant Karma. So I was squealing when the shiny plastick-y library volume finally p4.5 stars. I love DnD. And I always kinda wanted more of Jude from Instant Karma. So I was squealing when the shiny plastick-y library volume finally plunked into my hands in all its taped-up, 14-day-return glory. I mean, it was good, I guess?? I can't say it was bad. But the first book was definitely better, especially on what mattered most in a book like this: the romance. More specifically, the chemistry between the two leads. I am a sucker, absolute sucker for enemies or rivals-to-lovers, so maybe that is what helped. But even though Jude and Ari were cute I couldn't really feel the pull. If it helps, I feel like they could have stayed best friends and I would have still been just as happy. However it's a MM book so I am compelled to like it nonetheless. (also let's be real sideline Pru and Quint gave me life through most of this)...more
Loading...
