This author is rumored to be a Zionist, so until she refutes this I will not be posting about her or her books. I am going to review this for my own rThis author is rumored to be a Zionist, so until she refutes this I will not be posting about her or her books. I am going to review this for my own records.
Bridging the time between the first trilogy and the following A Court of Thorns and Roses books, Feyre, her sisters, and the family she has created are working on moving forward after the war during the winter holidays.
Look, I didn't want to read this book even when I was in my height of love for this series, which was many years ago. I'm very anti-novella/side book as a rule, as it always seems like a money grab to me. But, a new coworker lent me this book without really asking if I would want to read it, and I felt like I couldn't say no, so here we are. This honestly reminded me of the things I didn't really like about the original series. There was a good amount of cringy actions or dialogue, especially with almost all the characters speaking with almost the same exact voice. There are bits of things I like between our characters, but those things already are apparent in the other regular books in the series. I understand what the function of this was supposed to be - bridging the gap between the two eras of the series. But truthfully, this didn't need to exist. Maas could have inserted such things into the other books. There was just not enough of an actual plot function to warrant an entire novella that readers are going to go out and spend money on. If she wanted to just make this a spicy holiday episode, she could've just given us some spice and fluff, but that didn't really happen. Maas is not hurting for money. This very easily could have been a proceeds-go-to-charity book or a free ebook on her website, since it is a novella that hardly serves a function. Other authors, bigger and smaller than Maas, have done this successfully.
Overall, this reminded me of the parts I didn't like of this series and solidified my position as an in-series novella hater. ...more
3.5 stars The prequel to Legends and Lattes, this follows Viv while she is still a soldier after she has sustained a serious injury and is forced to st3.5 stars The prequel to Legends and Lattes, this follows Viv while she is still a soldier after she has sustained a serious injury and is forced to stay behind from her crew and heal in a small town. There she finds a bookstore that sorely needs help to stay afloat, but someone seems to also have found Viv.
I read this with my book club, Three of Clubs, for our quarterly theme of cosy fantasy! If you'd like to join us, our next theme is going to be historical fantasy. Link in my bio!
I haven't read Legends and Lattes yet, so this was my introduction to this world. While I do feel like you could read this before L&L or just on its own, it does feel like a prequel. The ending of this is not the same as it would have been if it was a true standalone. What did I like about this one? I really enjoyed the DND setting mixed with an everyday-feeling plot. The saving a business plot is always a cosy one I enjoy, and this one particularly being about the love of reading was fun. Satchel was by far my favorite character. I had a couple of things that made this not a favorite. First, because Viv needs to get to where she is at the beginning of L&L, she doesn't have the full arc that she would have had without it being a prequel. Second, the plot is split between the business and mystery plots, which with the length of the book, made it harder to care about either. In retrospect, it does reflect Viv's conflict in this book, but we could have had a little more time to develop both.
Overall, this was a cute and easy read, but out of the three cosy fantasies we read with the club, it was my least favorite....more
The Marte family is special. Hailing from the Dominican Republic and now living in New York, many of the women in the family have their own special poThe Marte family is special. Hailing from the Dominican Republic and now living in New York, many of the women in the family have their own special powers. When Flor, whose power is being able to see when someone is going to die, decides that she's going to hold a living wake, the whole family is forced to confront their lives.
I have been a huge fan of Acevedo since The Poet X, and have rated all her YA titles 5 stars. I was so excited for an adult title from her, especially a magical realism one. Unfortunately, I didn't feel as strongly about this one. I do encourage you to read Own Voices reviews of this book since I am not Latina, and the cultural aspects are so important to it!
What did I like about this book? Acevedo's prose is stunning as always. It's very clear she's a poet even if you weren't aware of that before reading her work. I thought the depiction of family relationships was very realistic and I liked seeing both sides of either relationship, how the characters perceived each other. I also liked how Spanish was incorporated throughout the dialogue and narrations without explanations, even as a person who doesn't speak a word of it. It's more true to what these characters would actually be saying and thinking. What did I not like as much? The cast of characters that we follow was just one the side of too many. Possibly because there was so many, I didn't feel that these characters felt as pop-off-the-page-real as her YA protagonists. The way that s*xual and bodily subjects were talked about was not to my personal taste. I also didn't understand the offset paragraphs - they're supposed to be part of the anthropologic report that is being put together but they didn't feel consistent. It would happen when there's a flashback or aside to something else, but then sometimes the flashback would continue on into the non-offset paragraphs below. Even though I normally like an ensemble piece, I was left wanting more from this one. I can understand that it accomplished certain themes, but I just left wanting more, and not in the good way.
Overall, this book wasn't for me. I could understand how others, especially those who share identities with the characters, could really appreciate this one, but I was left a little lost. ...more
n the 2050's, Earth's toxicity has caused most of those who can afford it to go off-planet. We follow a plethora of voices of those who are on-planet n the 2050's, Earth's toxicity has caused most of those who can afford it to go off-planet. We follow a plethora of voices of those who are on-planet and their struggles to survive, make life, and make happiness in a quiet apocalypse, especially as some from off-planet are coming back to gentrify the planet.
I read this for my 12 friends, 12 books, 12 recommendations challenge of 2023. I had listened to Riot Baby before, but absorbed so little of it that I was nervous going into this one. This is definitely one that takes a lot of brain power, but I did gather more from this one than Riot Baby. Little caveat: this is biblically inspired, and my knowledge of the Bible is rudimentary at best. Any indirect references went straight over my head.
This book was a lot. There were so many perspectives and characters, nearly too many to keep track of. Some narratives made more sense to me than others. My favorite by far was about the prison takeover - it was IMO the most powerful but also the one I could follow the easiest, since it was told in a condensed way instead of how the other stories were formatted to cut between one another. Those intercut chapters each made sense individually, but I definitely struggled to keep any continuing plots straight. One thing that might be controversial is I loved the subtle worldbuilding - Clark tells you nothing outright and only introduces new concepts when it would be natural for the characters, who are already used to this world, to mention them. There were so many themes that were tackled, and in well-done ways: climate justice, gentrification and white flight, the destructive cycle of poverty, the continuous and nonlinear fight for justice, searching for hope and life during desolate times. The themes of this book will stick with me, but I don't think that the plot or characters will. I personally would've liked a little bit more of an overarching plot, but I think the author did what he set out to do.
Overall, this is one of those books that I appreciate more than I enjoyed. While the themes are important for all to read, the unique formatting will isolate a lot of readers, including this one....more
Following the events of The Inadequate Heir, our protagonists have been forced apart again. Zarrah has been banished by her aunt the Empress to an islFollowing the events of The Inadequate Heir, our protagonists have been forced apart again. Zarrah has been banished by her aunt the Empress to an island where the nation's worst prisoners are left for life, gangs and starvation and cannibalism and all. Meanwhile, Keris has been crowned King of Maridrina and is struggling to keep his country safe, especially when his personal desires get in the way of being a good king.
Unfortunately, this is my least favorite Bridge Kingdom book. Even though Keris and Zarrah are just as good as Lara and Aren, the fantasy plot of this middle duology is just not as strong. Let's talk about what I liked first. I really do love the relationship between these two. Both of them break away from the cookie cutter mold of a lot of fantasy romance protagonists. The intimate scenes were great, and there was a reasonable amount considering the dire circumstances of the plot. I thought the use of a flashback for one of these scenes was a good way to show the relationship while also keeping the characters in their respective settings. I love how ride or die Keris is compared to Zarrah not knowing who to trust, which plays into the great gaslighting character arc she goes through in this book. I loved how Jensen shows how a parental figure can manipulate one's worldview. I also liked the plot of the second half and wish that was a larger portion of the book. The resolution of these two feels like it has a bow on it, but a bow that actually is for the best of the fantasy world. Now what I didn't like. The first half of this book is all about the prisoner island plot, and while I've praised Jensen's settings before, this one didn't do it for me at all. I was so bored and just wanted it to be over already! That half felt out of place compared to the rest of the series and was also very predictable. The other thing I disliked was a certain development with Lara. It felt as if now that Lara isn't the main character, Jensen is putting her out to pasture. Yeah, sure, it's realistic, but it felt icky.
Overall, I still had fun with this relationship and the continuation of this fantasy world, but I thought that this was noticeably the weakest book in the series so far....more
An isolated Anishnaabe community is left in the dark once an unknown apocalyptic event forces them to rely only on nature as winter is already encroacAn isolated Anishnaabe community is left in the dark once an unknown apocalyptic event forces them to rely only on nature as winter is already encroaching.
This is a short book, so not much could happen, but not much does happen even in the few pages it does have. One thing I really liked was the interactions between Evan and his family, which were remarkably heartwarming for such an otherwise bleak book. The depiction of fear and quiet panic felt very realistic for the disaster the community is in. The outsiders coming to the community is a great metaphor for how colonialism has negatively impacted Native communities. However, the slow pace and low plot made it so this book would not stand out to me. I was expecting more of a conclusion and was left wanting.
Overall, this is a good quiet apocalyptic book, but it will have little staying power in my mind....more
DNF @ 35%. I picked this up solely because it was included in my audiobook subscription, but the audio mixing in this was bad enough that I was infuriDNF @ 35%. I picked this up solely because it was included in my audiobook subscription, but the audio mixing in this was bad enough that I was infuriated. I couldn't care enough about the story to get past the fact that the narrator would boom out the beginning of a sentence and then drift off by the end so you couldn't hear him. That's Voice Acting 101 Lesson 1. I should not have my ears blasted out and then not be able to hear what is being said at the EXACT same volume. And I was bored too, lol....more
Thank you to Netgalley and Feiwel and Friends for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Sade is a recent orphan, her unfeeling, rThank you to Netgalley and Feiwel and Friends for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Sade is a recent orphan, her unfeeling, rich father just having passed. Now she's being sent off to Alfred Nobel Academy, an elite boarding school. Not only is she haunted by her past, but she's also immediately wrapped into the dark secrets of the school when her roommate goes missing on her first night.
I picked this book up because I read and ADORED the author's debut, Ace of Spades. It's really hard not to compare the two titles, not only because it's the same author, but because the plot structures/what it's about are so similar. Unfortunately, I didn't think this one pulled off that structure as well as AoS. The first half of this book felt like it was from a debut author - there were lots of cliches (that I don't feel like were all addressed/subverted), the characters didn't feel developed, the main character felt pretty naive when interacting with people who were obviously bad, and it didn't feel like a lot was going on. Then, the second half improved significantly from that point. The plot did pick up, and the pacing became better. The subject of the commentary was good and I thought it was covered alright, but I felt like it could've gone so much further, given what I've seen from this author and from stories like this. There were a few things that did surprise me, but a lot of the "who's bad" was apparent from the very first pages, which made me frustrated with the protagonists. The main thing that took away my enjoyment is that I didn't feel connected to the main character at all - I would die for the AoS main characters, but I think the author went so far into the unreliable narrator, don't-tell-the-audience-what-my-deal-is bit that I never actually felt like she was real. Sade was like a blank sheet for the reader to experience the story rather than an actual character. What resulted was a middle of the road book for me - it didn't keep me guessing with a mystery, it didn't keep me in suspense as a thriller, it didn't grab me with the characters as a literary fiction, but it didn't do anything really wrong.
Overall, this may be a book that young adult readers get something out of, especially if they've not read something like this before, but I don't think that it has the originality to cross reading boundaries like Ace of Spades did. ...more
At a Halloween party for the teenagers of a small English town, a girl known to cry wolf claims to have witnessed a murder years ago. By the time the At a Halloween party for the teenagers of a small English town, a girl known to cry wolf claims to have witnessed a murder years ago. By the time the party is over, she's dead, and Hercule Poirot's on the case.
I listened to this in anticipation of the Poirot movie coming this year that's very loosely based on this book. It's been so long since I've read a Christie that I forgot how much fun they can be - or maybe I actually just had more fun with this one than others previously because I actually went through the process of trying to solve the mystery.
I don't think this is her most surprising or engaging mystery, but what stood out about this book to me was my experience of analyzing the book for clues rather than just sitting back for the ride. I love Poirot as a character. The cast was interesting, though I may have asked for a few more adult suspects just for a couple more red herrings (though who am I to ask of the queen of mystery?). The book was plotted well, with reveals at good intervals. The tone of the climax was definitely out of left field, and I'm not sure if that's a bad or good thing. I enjoyed listening to the audiobook for this and thought the narrator did a really great job. While I got really close to solving the murder, because I listened to the audio and couldn't cross reference things in the past, I mistakenly thought one character was two different unrelated people (this was not a reveal; it's always known that this is one character), which was the missing piece I needed.
Overall, I had a blast solving the mystery and talking to my dad about how we did. Can't wait to watch the movie and see where the inspiration comes from. I also can't wait to read another Christie soon because it's been too long!...more
A memoir of Savannah, Georgia in the 90's, our author encounters a wide diaspora of characters that encapsulate the uniqueness of the city - from a coA memoir of Savannah, Georgia in the 90's, our author encounters a wide diaspora of characters that encapsulate the uniqueness of the city - from a con man/perpetual partier, to a trans drag queen, to a new-money real estate developer turned potential murderer.
My dad recommended I read this as I was going to Savannah, and then I didn't end up reading it until I had already been to Savannah a second time. Sorry Dad!
This book's hard to pin down. It's nonfiction, but it's not a memoir, it's not a history, it's not *really* true crime because that isn't introduced for a while. It's just vibes about Savannah and the people who inhabit it. The narrative style is really impressive, as it feels like it's fiction. Each chapter will have a different focus, on a person or an event. Together, it makes this tapestry of Savannah of the time. I thought that this could have been pared down a little bit, but regardless it definitely succeeds in what it sets out to do.
Overall, this was a solid narrative nonfiction that I think anyone who's been to Savannah would appreciate....more
Sophie feels trapped in her role as the oldest sister, resigning herself to working in her family's hat shop instead of creating her own adventures. WSophie feels trapped in her role as the oldest sister, resigning herself to working in her family's hat shop instead of creating her own adventures. When a witch curses her after she accidentally magically imbues a hat, Sophie is turned into an old woman and is determined to break the curse in the only way she knows how - the help of the infamous Wizard Howl.
I read this with my book club, Three of Clubs, for our quarter of reading cosy fantasy books. If you would like to join us for this quarter or others, where we read a different theme each time, click the link in my bio! Our December 2023 read is Bookshops and Bonedust.
I had not watched the Ghibli movie before reading this, so a lot of the plot of this was a total surprise for me. I had a smile on my face the whole time I was reading this. I loved the fairytale-like way this was written, combined with Princess Bride-like wit. I loved the banter between the characters, the arcs that they have, and especially the style of the magic system. There were elements that surprised me and also twists I saw coming, But mostly I just had a blast and a smile on my face while reading this. 2023 is the year of the wholesome book for me - maybe I should be picking up more middle grade?
Overall, this was such a treat. Definitely worth the read for those who have and haven't watched the film....more
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
June went back to her small beach hometown wheThank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
June went back to her small beach hometown when her sister died to take over the tea shop they created together. When both her and Levi - her sister's best friend turned family friend turned her high school crush who turned her down - go through viral break ups at the same time, they decide to fake date while helping plan for June's brothers wedding. June can get attention to her business, Levi can get his ex back, and June's best friend can publish everything. And it'll all be okay because they're just friends! Totally!
I hadn't read from this author before, but I'm usually a sucker for friends to lovers, so I thought I'd give this a shot. My main takeaway from this book was that it was so bogged down with trying to accomplish so many tropes that it didn't really succeed in any of them. For friends to lovers, I didn't fully believe that they were such close friends for a long time. For fake dating, I found a lot of the romantic stuff they were trying to do cringey instead of swoon-worthy - and all the "trying to go viral" stuff felt so untrue to real life to the point of being annoying. This book has solidified that I will avoid romances with the internet anywhere in them like the plague. Then with the wedding planning forced proximity, it didn't pay off in the end (because we don't see the wedding) and they even say in the book that most of it has been planned so what they're doing doesn't really even matter. This book is the exemplification of the romance genre sticking way too hard to tropes rather than telling interesting stories. I didn't have any huge problems with the characters, but I didn't find myself invested. I did think the small beach town/ small business was cute, but I wish that June's arc about what she wants to do with the business was much more developed. This third act conflict was one that I typically don't like, and I didn't like the beginning of it, but for some reason the ending did end up landing for me. I thought the characters handled everything in a really mature way. I think that's the first time I've ever liked the ending of a romance book I otherwise didn't end up liking.
Overall, this book tried to do too much and ended up with very little. I didn't find myself invested with any portion of this, and often was annoyed. ...more
4.5 stars In this 60's set retelling of Carmilla, Laura is dedicated to her poetry. For the first time in her life, she leaves her sleepy town to go t4.5 stars In this 60's set retelling of Carmilla, Laura is dedicated to her poetry. For the first time in her life, she leaves her sleepy town to go to a prestigious women's college to grow her craft. Despite her being a freshman, her work impresses the distinguished Professor de Lafontaine enough to let her into the class. de Lafontaine's star student, the beautiful and enigmatic Carmilla, feels her spot is threatened, despite all the secret time she spends with the professor. As the two students are pitted against each other, they find themselves on the line between obsession and hatred - but the professor's dark secret may tear them asunder.
The biggest question about this book is going to be: Does it live up to A Dowry of Blood? I think it does. I don't think it's quite as strong, but I do think it lives up to that legacy. The atmosphere and the metaphoric writing style made it very clear that this was a companion. The vibes were the same, and I got the feelings that I was looking for! There were so many quotes that I read and reread because they gave such a complete image of these characters. I absolutely love the rivals to lovers arc of Carmilla and Laura; I was so obsessed with them getting together despite the circumstances. Gibson is unmatched in how she writes desire and desperation; you can feel their want oozing through the page. I thought it was an interesting twist on the original text to have Carmilla originally be a vampire's blood supply and be a victim of grooming rather than Carmilla being the ultimate villain of the story. This showed how strongly a young person can be manipulated by someone older because they believe they're in love. There is a side plot of the professor vampire dealing with her sire which took up a good amount of the back half of the book, but I didn't think that portion was developed enough to really feel successful. This made the book split focus despite it being pretty short. Dowry is so short and still works flawlessly because it is singularly focused in a way that Education is not. Because of that, I think that this book could've been longer to flesh out the arcs to their fullest.
Overall, this is definitely a spiritual sister to ADOB and while I adored so much of it, I think it could have delved even deeper to flesh out its multiple plotlines....more
A single Black woman in 1915, Adelaide Henry flees California and the bodies of her parents with little but a suspiciously heavy trunk she can't part A single Black woman in 1915, Adelaide Henry flees California and the bodies of her parents with little but a suspiciously heavy trunk she can't part from. She is off to Montana, where even people in her position can be allowed to have their own land - however desolate it may be.
The strongest suit of this book is its setting and atmosphere. The reader can feel the wide-open sky over the barren landscape that the characters inhabit. The setting and the main character are unique within the genre, which was interesting to read about. I liked Adelaide (and what's in her trunk) for the most part. The feminist themes were good and well-written. I just wanted more from this book - I felt like not a lot happened. I would consider this a "quiet" horror, which wasn't necessarily what I was looking for throughout the entirety of the book.
Overall, nothing wrong happened in this book, but I wanted more from the plot and horror despite the unique setting and main character. ...more
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