really impressed by how the author built this vivid, fantastical world in just a few short pages - i enjoyed the africanfuturistic elements, the 3.5/5
really impressed by how the author built this vivid, fantastical world in just a few short pages - i enjoyed the africanfuturistic elements, the strong narrative voice, the propulsive storytelling that had me flying through the book. i just wish the ending hadn't been so rushed....more
the last 20-30%, along with the ending itself, really made this book for me.
for the most part, i thought lonely castle was just okay - i didn't 3.5/5
the last 20-30%, along with the ending itself, really made this book for me.
for the most part, i thought lonely castle was just okay - i didn't have a lot of strong feelings about anything that was going on, apart from mild pity for our protagonist, kokoro. i don't think we spent enough time developing the friendships between our seven core characters and i also wish we could've learned their backgrounds a lot sooner - i get that the author was saving that information for an emotional punch towards the end but that meant the characters felt like two-dimensional caricatures for majority of the novel.
that being said, i absolutely loved how everything came together towards the end - how little pieces of information we learned along the way ultimately connected to form a whole picture. the full-circle moment in the epilogue was so beautiful and memorable - definitely worth the read! ...more
breath of the dragon is a love letter to martial arts, so much so that if you're not interested in martial arts or a plethora of fight scenes, t3.5/5
breath of the dragon is a love letter to martial arts, so much so that if you're not interested in martial arts or a plethora of fight scenes, this book is very much not for you.
the worldbuilding is easily the strongest aspect of this book - it's a fully realized world, with a rich history and mythos, built upon a compelling conflict and held up by well-written political intrigue. the plot is pretty straightforward and could've been so much better if it was carried out by more memorable characters and stronger relationships.
our protagonist jun starts off as a fairly infuriating, ungrateful, bratty kid but he does eventually face some harsh reality checks and undergoes much-needed growth and learning. i like seeing flawed characters grow and change. i also liked that the authors did a sort of reverse chosen one trope with him and actually stuck to it - jun isn't born with any special breathmarked abilities and doesn't somehow magically gain them over the course of his journey either (at least in this book). his triumphs are hard-won and i did feel for him, especially towards the end.
my major issues with this book are the lack of truly stand-out characters and the lack of genuine, strong relationships. i feel like the authors could've really delved into relationships like father/son, mentor/mentee, brothers, best friends/rivals that were only touched upon. this book needed strong emotional bonds to anchor the story and give more urgency and heft to some of the fight scenes.
there were points where the writing with all the fight scenes started feeling repetitive and tired - it just needed something more to it. when you have a generic plotline that's so full of fight scenes, you need great characters and relationships to make your story memorable. like this was a story that was crying out for a found family - i don't know how the authors missed that (and no, characters simply travelling together does not automatically make them a found family).
all in all, a fairly good young adult fantasy book with missed opportunities that could have made it something truly special. the ending does open up lots of potential for the story moving forward, so i'll definitely be checking out the sequel.
thank you to netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review....more
i really liked the post-climate disaster, dystopian concepts of a world in which humans are crammed into half-submerged towers after the dangerous risi really liked the post-climate disaster, dystopian concepts of a world in which humans are crammed into half-submerged towers after the dangerous rise of sea levels. the portrayal of a strict hierarchical society with an oppressed lower strata is par for the course in any speculative novel but i liked how it was explored within a tower where people were restricted from moving above or below their level and how that worked as a metaphor for borders and migration. i do feel like these concepts were a bit too ambitious for a novella and i wish the ending wasn't quite so vague and open-ended. ...more
this trilogy is just an exercise in mixed feelings for me.
in some ways, mirrored heavens improved from fevered star and in other ways, it remain2.5/5
this trilogy is just an exercise in mixed feelings for me.
in some ways, mirrored heavens improved from fevered star and in other ways, it remained the same or got even worse. the pacing is just as bad as in the previous book - way too much build-up was happening for a finale and too much page time was wasted on useless POVs. too many new plot threads were introduced - dreamwalking, serapio's prophecy, xiala's teek arc - and they weren't really resolved in satisfying ways (except for the prophecy which made sense thematically for serapio's character). balam's POV chapters were interesting but felt like second book material to me - did we really need this much backstory and exposition in a final book?
serapio's character arc remained the most well-written, coherent aspect of this series. his struggle between following a pre-determined destiny and taking fate in his own hands is just as compelling here and i think the prophecy plotline was a good way to highlight that internal struggle. i just feel like the author chickened out a bit towards the end from really confronting serapio's terrible actions and kinda waved them away instead.
what this book improves upon (sort of) is xiala's and okoa's characters. at long last, xiala gets her own space in the story, her own goals separate from serapio, and comes into her own powers (although we never learned why the teek lost their magic??? it seemed like the author just needed a reason for xiala to be the super special chosen one). i was just happy to see that, for once, xiala's world didn't revolve around serapio and she got to do her own thing for a while. i also think her personal resolution was the most satisfying out of all the characters.
as for okoa, i was pleasantly surprised that his chapters weren't a complete bore for me like before. his inner conflict between his duty to his clan and his bond with serapio finally made sense and i actually started sympathizing with him. i also really liked his relationship with serapio and i was looking forward to seeing how it would evolve - until the author completely fucked things up of course. (view spoiler)[like you're telling me okoa ends up pointlessly killed by a completely random character?? we never get to see serapio finding out??? we never get to see serapio mourning him???? what was the point of developing their bond in this book??? (hide spoiler)] so yeah, i hated how his arc wrapped up and the resolution given to carrion crow.
naranpa was done so dirty in this book, i was kinda shocked. her arc really peaked in fevered star and honestly, if THIS is what the author gave her in the final book, i'd rather naranpa's arc ended in fevered star. we had to watch her go on this inane side quest that was not only divorced from the main plot but was eventually rendered completely useless. and her main conflict in this book is with BALAM? that was so out of left field for me. (view spoiler)[and then she ends up in a years-long coma and that's how we leave her???? iktan is now just her mourning spouse trying to cure her?? sorry but that was lowkey queerphobic to me. (hide spoiler)] hated everything about her chapters except her relationship with iktan.
the main plot with the war between tova and the other cities had a pretty good build-up and i liked seeing serapio as a war leader - but of course, this author is allergic to satisfying resolutions so the war plot we spend significant page time on is concluded in the most anti-climactic battle ever with the most anti-climactic final confrontation between serapio and balam.
also, i absolutely hate that we didn't get serapio's POV in the last couple chapters. i wanted HIS reflections on everything - it felt like his character arc was just left hanging in the air towards the end. the last chapter with him and xiala felt like such a cop-out to me and showed me that the author just didn't want to deal with any actual consequences of serapio's actions or figure out what a viable future between him and xiala would look like. we had to see them constantly pine over each other and make these huge love declarations just for that?
overall, this book had way too many things going on and nothing actually happening at the same time. i wasn't happy with where any of the characters ended up, except for xiala. the more i think about it, the more i want to lower my rating but i'll leave it at this for now....more
i wanna root for adult queer fantasy books by authors of color so badly but they're making it really hard for me.
unfortunately, i have very few good i wanna root for adult queer fantasy books by authors of color so badly but they're making it really hard for me.
unfortunately, i have very few good things to say about this one. but some positives: the writing flows well, it's fairly easy to get into. the worldbuilding with the gods living in a magical underground world is pretty cool. i like the ecological fantasy premise, with the concept of humans having destroyed the natural magical forest and in response, a god rising up to shatter the existing lands to remake and restore them. basically, good concepts and ideas, beautiful gowns, but the execution left a lot to be desired.
my biggest gripes: poor character building, poorly written dialogue, utterly uninteresting plot. it's all well and good to have unique fantasy concepts and i can tell the author put a lot of effort into these ideas, but without good characters and an engaging plot, it's all useless. all the characters were so frustratingly single-minded that their POV chapters quickly became unbearably repetitive - i had to read them having the exact same thoughts and the exact same conversations over and over and over again (funnily enough, a problem i had with the author's previous book the bone shard war).
hakara and rasha's relationship as estranged sisters on opposing sides of a war was supposed to be the emotional core of this story but it made me feel nothing. at most, i felt mildly annoyed but also i just didn't care much. they didn't feel like fully rounded characters and frankly, they just weren't compelling enough for me to be invested in them. same goes for the other relationships in the story - none of them felt developed or genuine. there are a couple of potential romantic connections being made (one f/f and one m/f) but again, both were shallow and unconvincing. only one side character stood out to me....and i don't know if i can forgive the author for writing a story with prominent women characters and giving the most interesting backstory to a man.
overall, everything about this book is just surface-level and underdeveloped and boring as hell. i was bored out of my mind the whole way through, right to the very end. there aren't even any strong themes here - something about how the world isn't what the characters think it is, religion as propaganda, etc, but they're only touched upon. there's literally no depth to this book.
anyway, let's end with some recs: if you want an actually good ecological fantasy about climate disasters and magic, read the fifth season instead. if you want a story about doomed sisters actually done well, watch arcane instead. if you want to read a fantasy about religion as propaganda and how the world isn't as it seems, check out blood over bright haven instead.
thank you to netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review....more
a story that i thought was going to be a conventional take on the bluebeard folktale turned out to be something quite unexpected. i enjoyed the 3.5/5
a story that i thought was going to be a conventional take on the bluebeard folktale turned out to be something quite unexpected. i enjoyed the plot twist and the subtle seeds planted leading up to it, but i do feel like this series is starting to wear out its welcome a bit. if there's another installment, i'd want a change in the narrative format and more from chih as a main character....more
this book is both deeply engaging and extremely difficult to read - it's difficult for me to read about women so trapped in their roles by society andthis book is both deeply engaging and extremely difficult to read - it's difficult for me to read about women so trapped in their roles by society and the men who rage and lord over them, women who have to fight tooth and nail and give up self-respect just to survive and live a decent life.
the way i connected on so many levels with these african women living in colonized zimbabwe (rhodesia back then) in the late 1960s showed me that the struggles of women really do transcend borders and time. but i also appreciated the look into african culture at the time of colonization, particularly the bonds between women living in a severely patriarchal society where the patriarch of the family would be likened to a god.
i liked seeing our protagonist, tambudzai, fighting against expectations to get an education and got frustrated when she succumbed to traditions along the way (even though i completely understood her). there's this running theme of being torn between tradition and progress that speaks to a lot of us from the global south - this urge to tear out the ugly, backward, misogynist aspects of your culture and at the same time, wanting to preserve your culture and customs in the face of colonization. wanting to be proud of where you come from and wanting to grab at any chance of a better life. it's a difficult story with an uneasy, tense atmosphere and no answers at all. but i'm so glad it exists. ...more
the yangchen novels are definitely a major departure from the avatar-verse as we know it - not just because they're focused so heavily on politics, spthe yangchen novels are definitely a major departure from the avatar-verse as we know it - not just because they're focused so heavily on politics, spycraft, and backroom business deals rather than action, but also because of the lack of genuine friendships or any kind of altruistic, caring relationships. it was a bit jarring for me to see how emotionally isolated yangchen was (as well as kavik) and that probably her only true, most trustworthy companion was her bison. sure, she has a group of companions but they weren't really her friends or people who cared about her outside of her avatarhood. kavik had real potential to be a more sincere friend but the plot decided otherwise. there was even a point where it seemed yangchen and her companions could've had an actual bonding moment but again, the plot had other demands.
basically, i'm not a fan of how this book chose callousness over emotional bonds - like the climax is literally hinged on exploiting a relationship of love. it just made me feel so distant from the story and characters. even when it came to emotional scenes - grieving a death, finally forgiving a betrayal - it all felt rushed and empty. obviously this is a very subjective take on a book that's quite well-written and very well thought-out.
overall, the yangchen novels made me realize that yes, i love elemental magic and yes, i love the world of the avatar, but none of it means much to me without a strong emotional core holding it all together. ...more
"if you're such a good thief, then why haven't you stolen me yet?"
3.5-4/5
an art thief falling in love with the son of the man he's stealing from - a p"if you're such a good thief, then why haven't you stolen me yet?"
3.5-4/5
an art thief falling in love with the son of the man he's stealing from - a premise doesn't get any better than this and the book delivers pretty well on it. icarus and helios's romance was definitely the highlight of this book and i'm so glad the author spent a satisfying amount of page time showing their developing feelings. i loved how gentle they were with each other, i love seeing two people being soft and kind to each other when the rest of the world has been so harsh to them. and yeah i'm a sucker for romances that feel fated.
i really appreciated the portrayal of different types of parental abuse - the physical kind and the emotionally neglectful one - and that they're both equally damaging in their own ways. the author also shows the importance of friendships and community and that's always great to see, especially in queer books.
the plot, i have to say, is extremely unrealistic and you're just gonna have to suspend your disbelief a little and go with the flow (trust the process).
i did have a few gripes along the way - the dialogue at times felt like it was trying too hard to be deep and meaningful, and sometimes the way these teenagers interacted with each other didn't feel entirely natural - but the final third of the book was so worth it.
the last 10-15% was absolutely brilliant, beautifully written suspense and tension that had me on the edge of my seat. i only wish the ending was a bit longer - if ever a book needed post-canon fanfiction, it's this one.
(also, if anyone's wondering how to write conflict into a romance without including a third-act break-up, please read this book)....more
the lies of the ajungo was one of my absolute favorite reads of last year and it seemed like the truth of the aleke was gearing up to be the same - ththe lies of the ajungo was one of my absolute favorite reads of last year and it seemed like the truth of the aleke was gearing up to be the same - the writing is as strong as ever and i was really hooked and absorbed - until the last few pages. this has one of the strangest endings i've read in a long time, i'm still scratching my head over it. the ending just feels unsatisfying and a bit pointless. like we really went through all that just for it to come to....this?...more
no one does second person POV quite like n.k. jemisin. a wonderfully written sci-fi short story with cool twists (if a bit too on the nose with i3.5/5
no one does second person POV quite like n.k. jemisin. a wonderfully written sci-fi short story with cool twists (if a bit too on the nose with its themes)....more
loved how this book showed the rigid eurocentric aesthetic that defines both the classical music field and the beauty/skincare industry and how we seeloved how this book showed the rigid eurocentric aesthetic that defines both the classical music field and the beauty/skincare industry and how we see both worlds attempting to exclude or reshape our chinese-american protagonist. the execution fell a bit short though, especially in the latter half - it felt like the horror/thriller aspect of the plot got a bit too ambitious for the scope of the writing and the ending was pretty rushed. my favorite parts of this novel were more in the quiet moments when the protagonist reminisces on her love for her parents and the music they taught her. ...more
this was as well-written and entertaining as the first book but unfortunately, i did enjoy it a bit less. the faults i noted in the city we became felthis was as well-written and entertaining as the first book but unfortunately, i did enjoy it a bit less. the faults i noted in the city we became felt more glaring this time - the story was oddly paced, with the middle being slow and padded with filler content, and the ending extremely rushed. while i liked that we got to see more of veneza and padmini this time around, the friendships and bonds we saw tentatively forming in the first book didn't really get fleshed out here. some chapters also started feeling repetitive and way too predictable, with the same pattern of the enemy going after each character playing out.
that being said, i still loved the concept and liked reading about the global implications of the plot. manny and padmini's characters get fairly well-developed (sadly, we still don't see as much of neek as i would've liked) and i'm glad aislyn's racist bigoted ass didn't get neatly redeemed and had a more complex conclusion. overall, despite its stumbles, i had fun with this duology and will miss this world....more
this was such an entertaining, gripping read - a love letter to the multiculturalism of new york, a diverse cast of characters (with one token white rthis was such an entertaining, gripping read - a love letter to the multiculturalism of new york, a diverse cast of characters (with one token white racist), a fantastically unique concept of cities being embodied by people, well-executed themes of institutionalized racism, colonialism, and gentrification, plus a high stakes plot. and of course casual queer rep, which i can never get enough of.
i love how every POV character had a distinct voice and personality, even if some weren't able to be properly developed due to the breakneck nature of the plot. my personal standouts were the bronx (indigenous lesbian grandma who's tough-as-nails) and manhattan (mysterious bisexual with a violent past), though I enjoyed the other POVs too. we only get a sliver of new york's POV but i was instantly engaged by him.
n.k. jemisin definitely has a gift for unique fantasy concepts (and throwing you into the world while feeding you bits of information as needed). like urban fantasy + eldritch horror + the multiverse??? we love to see it. i also appreciated how the narrative never lets us forget that new york (and the united states) is built on the blood and bones of native and black people, and how that's integral to its lived reality.
my minimal concerns with this book are that sometimes it can veer into unironic stereotyping plus the pacing felt off at times and the ending was a bit rushed but still exciting.
overall, i had a pretty good time and would recommend....more
- utterly gorgeously bizarre. - a surrealist writing style that blurs the line between prose and verse. - strange, disorienting yet earnest explora3.5/5
- utterly gorgeously bizarre. - a surrealist writing style that blurs the line between prose and verse. - strange, disorienting yet earnest exploration of taiwanese diaspora and lesbian yearning.
the stories that stood out to me: auntland, the chorus of dead cousins, mandarin speakers, anchor, homophone....more
there's a fine line between skilled lyrical writing and relentless verbosity and i think this novella wavered between the two. great concepts tho2.5/5
there's a fine line between skilled lyrical writing and relentless verbosity and i think this novella wavered between the two. great concepts though, for sure. and i did like the paradox of body horror being described in beautiful writing....more
"after you died i could not hold a funeral, and so my life became a funeral...so these eyes that once beheld you became a shrine. these ears that once"after you died i could not hold a funeral, and so my life became a funeral...so these eyes that once beheld you became a shrine. these ears that once heard your voice became a shrine. these lungs that once inhaled your breath became a shrine."...more
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