*Eyerolls* so I guess learning all that magic was for nothing then?
I didn’t mean to read this book. I decided to quit the s**spoiler alert** 1.5 stars
*Eyerolls* so I guess learning all that magic was for nothing then?
I didn’t mean to read this book. I decided to quit the series after finishing Gleam earlier this year. But I guess I waited long enough that I was less fed up with the characters, and something made me want to reread the second book, so I did that, then reread the third and was less angry the second time through (though still annoyed). The cliff hanger was enough to make me pick up this installment, despite its ridiculous length.
Good thing my expectations were so low, because there were a lot of things I didn’t like, and I skimmed/skipped all of the smut, which was uniquely cringey and awful. But I think perhaps the most frustrating thing, besides the author keeping the reader in the dark for the first half of the book for underwhelming dramatic effect, was that this book is supposed to be about Auren learning to use her magic and gain more independence and self-reliance, yet despite that she ends up in pretty much the exact same position she was in at the end of the previous book. In fact, it was worse, since she didn’t rescue herself this time. The whole book felt like a pointless build up to nothing.
The only other thing of note is that I was reminded while I was reading this of how I still think the Captive Prince trilogy by C.S. Pacat does this genre of smutty romantasy/angsty enemies-to-lovers better than all of the recent romantasy releases....more
Note to future readers: this book is Literary Fiction, with a veneer of Fantasy topically applied. Or I guess it should be called Speculative3.5 stars
Note to future readers: this book is Literary Fiction, with a veneer of Fantasy topically applied. Or I guess it should be called Speculative Fiction. It’s more focused on exploring what a person from the past might be like and how they’d assimilate to modern society than the time travel/sci-fi aspects of the plot. There is a plot though, and it does mostly get resolved, though I’m not entirely sure the whole thing made sense to me either time-travel or character -wise.
Despite being occasionally puzzled, I did enjoy the story and the thoughtfulness the author put into what would happen if people from the past were suddenly expatriated into the present, considered through the lens of a half-Cambodian, half-white woman. I wish the author had more consistently addressed the conflict of interest and challenge of falling in love/obsession with someone it is your job to spy and inform on, but it becomes clear why it was left to subtext once you reach the end....more
I wish I enjoyed this more, but to be honest I spent a good chunk of the book frustrated or angry with the characters, generally for their l2.5 stars.
I wish I enjoyed this more, but to be honest I spent a good chunk of the book frustrated or angry with the characters, generally for their lack of communication with each other—simple communication that would resolve a lot of the plot. I think I’d need to like the lead characters a lot more (like Jurdan) to be able to appreciate misunderstandings between them.
And on that note, pitting the lead characters of this duology against the lead characters of the previous trilogy was A Choice, one that I was absolutely not on board with. Unfortunately for Wren and Oak, my loyalties lie firmly with Jude and Cardan, so whenever the two couples came into conflict, I was actively rooting for Wren and Oak to fail. Or go die in a hole, I wasn’t feeling picky.
Also, without going into specifics and spoilers, I was confused by how much havoc Bogdana and Madoc were allowed to wreak in this duology, considering they were known villainous entities. ...more
This is the second Abby Jimenez book that I’ve read (the other being The Friend Zone), and I’ve had difficulty liking or being interested in the charaThis is the second Abby Jimenez book that I’ve read (the other being The Friend Zone), and I’ve had difficulty liking or being interested in the characters until over halfway through for both. I initially found Emma and Justin a rather boring couple, and Emma in particular grated on my nerves with her zen advice to Justin that came off somewhat patronizing, especially in the face of all of her own unresolved issues and parental apologism. I also thought the premise of dating to break the curse was a silly plot device and didn’t like the instalove or “fated soulmates” aspect of the story.
However, around 50% I started getting more invested and it finished as a 4 star read for me, primarily because the things Abby Jimenez does well, she really does well — she realistically captured the emotional aftermath of childhood neglect, and the relationship conflicts that resulted were believable and didn’t feel like they were included just for the sake of dramatization. That’s not to say the big reveal at the end didn’t feel excessively dramatic, but the characters’ emotions in response to it felt real. I still probably won’t jump at future Jimenez books, but this one was worth a read....more
I’m usually not a fan of the fake dating trope, but Emily Henry can sell me on anything. Difficult to place where Funny Story falls in my pe4.5 stars.
I’m usually not a fan of the fake dating trope, but Emily Henry can sell me on anything. Difficult to place where Funny Story falls in my personal ranking of her books, though. I think I may have enjoyed Beach Read (enemies-to-lovers) the most, and perhaps People We Meet On Vacation (friends-to-lovers) the least. I liked Happy Place (second chance) a lot, but this one (fake dating) might beat it. I don’t really remember Book Lovers that well lol (which trope was it???) So Funny Story gets 2nd or 3rd place probably.
The premise: Daphne’s fiancé, Peter, dumps her without warning in favor of his long-time best friend, Petra, who also happens to be Miles’ girlfriend. Suddenly cut adrift in a small town in Michigan without a place to live or friends who aren’t her ex’s friends, she decides to move in with Miles, the one person who knows exactly what she’s going through. They bond over their shared experience and in a moment of weakness/rage, Daphne accidentally tells Peter that she and Miles are dating and will be attending his wedding together. What ensues is a combination of Daphne and Miles engaging in some light revenge while luxuriating in having the moral high ground, and also discovering that perhaps what they had before wasn’t what they wanted or needed after all.
This book packed more spice than I remember there being in the other EH-universe books, and also less angst/emotional turmoil (though now I say that, maybe not.) Daphne and Miles definitely have their fair share of (incredibly relatable and realistic) childhood traumas and issues, and it was very satisfying to watch them work through things together. The side characters were also great, as always, and there were plenty of funny lines and solid banter.
Some favorite quotes: ~~~ This, Peter told me, made him and the most gorgeous woman I’d ever met more like cousins than friends. As a librarian, I really should’ve taken a moment to think about Mansfield Park or Wuthering Heights, all those love stories and twisted Gothics wherein two protagonists, raised side by side, reach adulthood and proclaim their undying love for each other. ~~~ The toll of the last three weeks has given him a slightly feral edge—a Labrador bitten by a werewolf and dumped back at the pound. Relatable, honestly. ~~~ “And six weeks ago, _you_ were getting married,” he says. “Hey, if you’re willing to keep reminding me of that daily, I can go ahead and rename my morning alarm something other than WAKE UP, YOU’VE BEEN JILTED, BITCH.” ~~~ There’s being bad at small talk, and then there’s being so reticent that your coworkers assume you’ve recently testified against a mob boss, and I never knew how thin the line between the two was. ~~~ “Nah, cool, laid-back girls never face consequences for their spontaneity. It’s how they’re able to keep being cool and laid-back. They’re genetically predisposed to health. They’re not allergic to poison ivy or shellfish, and they never get migraines, even if they only sleep for three hours in a cold tent, and they never burn in the sun.” “Huh,” he says. “What?” I ask, right as I spot Julia in line at the food truck, waving us over. “I just realized I’m a cool, laid-back girl,” Miles says. I start toward Julia and Ashleigh, toward the safety of a buffer, calling over my shoulder, “I could’ve told you that.” ~~~ “This is a judgment-free space. We’re twenty yards from the library, for god’s sake. Yesterday I had to ask a guy to stop leading wild pigeons inside with a breadcrumb trail.” “_Again_?” I say. “Not Larry,” she replies. “Different guy.” ~~~ “It was three and a half months ago,” he points out. “What does she need me to do to prove I’m okay? Get a tattoo that says HAPPILY SINGLE on my forehead?” “That _would_ scream ‘I’m okay,’ ” I say. ~~~ “Good.” Ashleigh tips her head toward the back doors. “Now, let’s watch something gory.” “Real Housewives?” I guess. “This,” she says, “must be what it’s like to be a proud mother.” “Did you forget about Mulder?” I say. “Just for a second,” she says. “He’s back now, though.” ~~~ My shoulders loosen. “I can do that.” “Of course you can,” she says. “You’re Daphne Fucking Vincent.” “Aww.” I touch my chest. “You know my last name _and_ my middle name.” ~~~ Sidenote, Taylor Swift’s album The Tortured Poets Department was kind of the perfect soundtrack for a lot of this book. The right amount of sad, angry, and upbeat....more
This is the story of a bunch of crypto bros with enormous egos gaslighting each other and screwing a lot of other people at the same time.
Takeaways * BThis is the story of a bunch of crypto bros with enormous egos gaslighting each other and screwing a lot of other people at the same time.
Takeaways * Bitcoin mining is terrible for the environment and there is no real world value to it. It is the equivalent of literally burning money — a huge waste of power and resources. * It’s wild to me that FTX was essentially brought down because Sam Bankman-Fried wrote a mocking tweet about Changpeng Zhao, the founder of Binance. Over the course of five days, CZ executed a two part takedown — the first part was a tweet announcing that Binance was withdrawing from FTX (selling its FTT tokens), pointing to a Coindesk article that claimed Alameda Research owed billions to lenders as the reason behind the move. The second part was making a deal to buy FTX and then withdrawing from it the next day. Backing out of the deal caused further panicked cash outs and was the nail on the coffin for FTX. It seems clear that CZ never had any intention of going through with the purchase. * The Bored Ape NFT craze was the absolute height of rich person bullshit. * The Axie Infinity game and Smooth Love Potions was one of the nastiest scams, as it targeted residents in the Philippines without the education to see through the scheme and who were just hoping to improve their quality of life. * Wish the book had talked more about Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research. There are so few women in the crypto world, I would’ve found it fascinating to delve into her background and motivations further, find out exactly what went wrong in _her_ life story to end up such a high profile white collar criminal. Her Wikipedia page states she became interested in Effective Altruism while in college — at what point did her altruism fail? When did the money and power corrupt her? What’s her side of the story? * The pig butchering and human trafficking in Southeast Asian enabled by Tether and other cryptocurrencies is horrific.
Favorite quote: “Bees don’t waste their time explaining to flies that honey is better than shit.” - A message from Giancarlo Devasini, cofounder of Bitfinex, to the author in one of Faux’s final attempts to get an interview. You have to appreciate such an elegant slap in the face lol....more
**spoiler alert** So much of this book was disappointing after how much I enjoyed the second installment.
* I spent the first half wondering why Auren **spoiler alert** So much of this book was disappointing after how much I enjoyed the second installment.
* I spent the first half wondering why Auren didn’t just kill Midas, and the second half being deeply dissatisfied with her “explanation”. * I really disliked how the characters of Auren and Slade started acting after they got together. Auren basically just completely forgot the plot and everything she was busy worrying about and working towards (saving Digby, escaping, etc) in order to have lots of cringy sex. It really bothers me when romance takes precedence over everything else. * Romance with incessant compliments, lots of corny talk, and excessive dirty talk just isn’t my style. Completely ruins the sincerity of the emotion for me. I also disliked how much controlling and proprietary language Slade used with Auren after they got together despite her past abusive relationship, and no I don’t care if it was mostly in the bedroom, it still bothered me. * I’m sorry but Auren was just too stupid to live, particularly towards the end. I was so frustrated with her, I wanted to yeet the book through a window. She could’ve stopped being the victim and just killed Midas at any time because she was the one with the power, but she decided to wait until he’d piled so many more crimes onto his plate. And the thing that finally “broke” her was him holding a knife to her throat?? Immediately no.
This series has taken such a flaming nosedive for me. I probably won’t be continuing....more
DNF @ 21% and I had to keep taking breaks so I could forget how bad what I’d just read was to make it so far.
* Atrocious writing. Really, incredibly bDNF @ 21% and I had to keep taking breaks so I could forget how bad what I’d just read was to make it so far.
* Atrocious writing. Really, incredibly bad, the editing was practically nonexistent. * An author who thinks it’s cool to include torturing people (not figuratively) in the MMC’s daily routine of activities. And the thing that bothered me most about this wasn’t that he tortured people but that his character wasn’t at all consistent with someone who regularly tortures people. A torturer had better have some noticeable personality traits to make that believable (e.g. lacking any hint of normal empathy, completely locked down emotionally, creepily sadistic, fanatically dedicated to a cause, etc, take your pick.) * An author who also thinks having the MMC banish children to die while trying to cross a desert called the “Scorches” without provisions or shelter is some great act of mercy over killing them directly. She needs to take a good look at her own ideas of right and wrong, and her darling MMC needs to get off his moral high horse. * A premise copied straight from The Hunger Games, from the unwilling participation in deadly Trials, to the two week stay in luxury leading up to it, with training, interviews, and a ball (insert eyeroll here). Calling this Hunger Games fanfiction but with different characters would be pretty accurate. The author made the barest effort to disguise it as something else—the only changes she made were to satisfy her self-insert wish fulfillment fantasies. * Revoltingly soppy descriptions of both the lead characters from each others’ POVs. I don’t want to hear more than two sentences about a character’s eyes, full stop. * Repetitive POVs — things we’d already witnessed from one lead’s perspective we had to reread from the other’s as well. Instead of being enjoyable and adding to the book, it felt like such a waste of time to read everything twice. * Horribly executed tropes galore....more
For fans of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, this book is British satire of a similar sort, a parody of fantasy tropes. It follows the 3.5 stars.
For fans of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, this book is British satire of a similar sort, a parody of fantasy tropes. It follows the guards of the Watch of Ankh-Morpork, a motley and shabby crew who are viewed as a joke in a city of very organized crime. But when a dragon mysteriously appears and starts terrorizing the populace, the men of the city watch find themselves somewhat accidentally stepping up to the plate....more
I confess, I listened to this on audio and probably only absorbed about 70% of it. Clever murder, but I did not entirely track how Lord Pete2.5 stars.
I confess, I listened to this on audio and probably only absorbed about 70% of it. Clever murder, but I did not entirely track how Lord Peter connected the clues to reach the conclusion. I think I was expecting to be a bit more wowed by his character, since I’d read in a different review that he is considered something of an iconic archetype of the gentleman detective.
Anyway, I wouldn’t put this on my list of must-read mysteries, but perhaps the series hits its stride in later books....more
Stock characters, mediocre world building, too much romance, instalove, and a predictable plot. Rather derivative fantasy with writing full of clichésStock characters, mediocre world building, too much romance, instalove, and a predictable plot. Rather derivative fantasy with writing full of clichés. Pretty obviously heavily influenced by Six of Crows, but it's the dollar store variety.
Example gripe: Sora is a poison maiden, but so little information about what that actually means is included. We find out that Sora went to a school where she was forced to ingest poisons, and once she’d survived them she could (presumably) use them—but it doesn’t go into the mechanics of it. It sounds like mithridatism, so does she have to ingest the poisons regularly in order to not lose her immunity? Considering her “jobs” are months apart, she can’t maintain her immunity purely from them, so either she just magically doesn’t need to maintain it or it’s not described how she continues being able to withstand the poisons. It feels very much like the author just didn’t bother to think through how it worked, and that brand of lazy world building is consistent throughout....more
An interesting magic system, and I loved the rhyming verses scattered throughout the book, which is the primary reason I rounded up to 4 stars. Very cleverly written.
However, like many YA/NA fantasy books nowadays, this one suffers from occasional lack of logic in the plot and incredibly cringey sex (thankfully kept to a minimum.) Also it took Elspeth way too long to come to…certain realizations.
I did find myself googling pictures of trees to determine their varying levels of hotness. Yews are quite nice.
The reading experience felt like a tug of war over my final rating -- with each event that occurred, I updated the tally:
+1 for killing Ruve3.5 stars.
The reading experience felt like a tug of war over my final rating -- with each event that occurred, I updated the tally:
+1 for killing Ruven at the start. Nothing like murder to make a relationship interesting. -1 for all of Lia’s blind religious fanaticism. --> Why on earth is she worshipping indifferent/cruel gods? Just because they're powerful? Is that a good reason reason to worship someone? (The answer imo is no.) +1 for slow burn romance. -1 for plot holes. (view spoiler)[(e.g. if Ruven had to renew his spell every day for 500 years, wouldn’t he have had to travel to the divine realm countless times with a relic to source his power? Where was the shrine where he did that? How did he never get caught, when Lia got caught every time?) (hide spoiler)] -1 for Lia’s pettiness and jealousy. But I suppose it did make her more realistic. +1 (view spoiler)[for killing Ruven a second time. (hide spoiler)] +1 for Lia's honesty and introspection regarding her motives and actions. Her acknowledgement of being a puppet. Her unflinching self examination. -1 (view spoiler)[for Ruven being mysteriously un-silenced without explanation. (hide spoiler)] -1 for Lia’s epiphany near the end which seemed deeply obvious to me from the start. +1 for an interesting twist on prayer—teaching morals and ethics to a god. -1 (view spoiler)[for the Queen sending Lia to the prime minister to get information and then immediately knowing all of her transgressions once she got back. Surely the Queen's spies would’ve kept her informed all along, rather than tell her everything all at once. Also what convenient timing for the plot. (hide spoiler)] -1 (view spoiler)[for Ruven apparently losing the ability to hear her thoughts halfway through the book, but then randomly regaining the ability at the last minute when it was needed. (hide spoiler)] -1 (view spoiler)[because I don’t understand how healing people of sainthood can be considered heresy if it was done with a god's power and blessing? It's still the work of a god. (hide spoiler)]
Anyway the total netted out to somewhere around 3-3.5 stars. It was enjoyable and better written than a lot of the YA romantasy flooding the market, but not really my thing....more
One of the rare cases where the show is better than the book. Roscoe in particular is significantly improved in the show—in the book, she’s poorly fleOne of the rare cases where the show is better than the book. Roscoe in particular is significantly improved in the show—in the book, she’s poorly fleshed out and really only there to prop up Reacher’s masculinity and provide sex appeal. There’s a lot of cringy dialogue and descriptions in the romance between her and Reacher, which comes out of nowhere with minimal build up.
Reacher is also a more interesting character in the show, much more self-contained and mysterious, with a badass persona, whereas the book’s Reacher shows emotion more easily and is less closed off and untouchable. Show Reacher also has a better backstory. ...more
Sigh, where should I start? The unnecessary lying? The inexplicable urge romance writers seem to have to describe how hot and rich a guy is every otheSigh, where should I start? The unnecessary lying? The inexplicable urge romance writers seem to have to describe how hot and rich a guy is every other sentence, while making sure you know the protagonist doesn’t understand her own appeal the rest of the time? The fact that all of the conflict between the leads is just a misunderstanding a five minute conversation could fix?
I’ve seen a lot of complaints about women written by men, but this book has the same problem in reverse — men written by women. The way Ruben behaves is just so ridiculous it’s absurd and unbelievable.
There is the occasional cute moment and it is a quick read, but the absurdity outweighs the positives in my book....more
El Alacrán. The scorpion. Her mother had told her that they were more dangerous than snakes because when you chased them off, they didn’t have the
El Alacrán. The scorpion. Her mother had told her that they were more dangerous than snakes because when you chased them off, they didn’t have the sense to stay away. They hid until they were ready to strike.
I haven’t been so excited while reading a book in a long time—The Familiar was everything I was hoping it would be. Compelling characters and interesting setting, a twisty, fairytale-esque plot in the style of the brothers Grimm.
I loved the imagery, and the complexity of the characters. Valentina was an excellent demonstration that people can have hidden depths beneath surface unhappiness (while her husband was an example of the opposite), Hualit was a great reminder that family is complicated and doesn’t always have your best interests at heart. Santángel was the only immortal boyfriend I’ve ever seen done well, with believable flaws and the right amount of tarnish on his shiny exterior (and blessedly free of wings and dark hair and hulking muscles). Luzia was a fabulously crafted heroine, full of wit and ambition and drive to survive; willing to stray from the path of morality to get what she wanted, but also brave and selfless. You won’t find any of the self-insert, wish-fulfillment fantasy that litters the shelves these days, but I wouldn’t have expected it from Bardugo anyway, as she consistently produces books of a much higher quality....more
I didn't like The Wolf and the Woodsman, but I like to give authors two tries before writing them off and A Study in Drowning had good revie1.5 stars.
I didn't like The Wolf and the Woodsman, but I like to give authors two tries before writing them off and A Study in Drowning had good reviews and was popular on booktok.
Alas, I think it's definitely time for me to part ways with Reid. The plot of this book had large swaths that made no sense, the mystery was obvious, the character of Effy drove me nuts, and I was bored for most of it. (view spoiler)[Also the Sleepers, which stood out as one of the stranger bits of worldbuilding, violated the principle of Chekhov's gun. (hide spoiler)]...more
Pros: A quick and enjoyable story, decent writing, mostly likable characters. The dragon was cute.
Cons: Some girl-on-girl hate, name calling, 3.5 stars.
Pros: A quick and enjoyable story, decent writing, mostly likable characters. The dragon was cute.
Cons: Some girl-on-girl hate, name calling, and slut shaming. The MC was more or less the only female character, certainly the only admirable one. Doesn’t pass the Bechdel test. Could’ve been less prudish as well. ...more
Chock full of quirky insights and introspective ruminations, definitely for fans of slightly depressing literary fiction. I liked it a lot better thanChock full of quirky insights and introspective ruminations, definitely for fans of slightly depressing literary fiction. I liked it a lot better than Sally Rooney—it’s smarter and less depressing—but I imagine it will appeal to a similar crowd.
Selin is a very interesting character. At times intimately relatable even though she has about fifty thoughts for every one a normal person would have, and at other times I couldn’t understand her at all—(view spoiler)[the way she recounts her experiences with creepy men stalking, harassing, and sexually coercing her over her summer travels in such a casual tone had me completely boggled (hide spoiler)]. Apparently she’s heavily autobiographical, which I believe. The person who can write such a character must be her equal in oddness.
Overall I’d say it’s a fine demonstration of what an excess of intellect and brainpower can create....more
2023 has been my year of giving all of the Marie Lu books that people have raved about over the years a shot. I’ve read Warcross, Prodigy (I3.5 stars.
2023 has been my year of giving all of the Marie Lu books that people have raved about over the years a shot. I’ve read Warcross, Prodigy (I read Legend years ago and didn’t care enough to continue but heard the second book was better), Stars and Smoke, and now The Young Elites, and while I did enjoy them, every single one has bothered me in almost the same way. I think I just don’t care for the things Lu chooses to prioritize in her plots and characters. An entirely subjective opinion, of course; what doesn’t work for me might be exactly what other people are looking for.
The thing that bothered me most about this one was probably the romance, it felt to me like it wasn’t based on anything other than attraction. Enzo wasn’t exactly the stuff of dreams between threatening to kill Adelina if she didn’t prove useful and actually burning people alive or doing away with anyone who might expose him. The two of them didn’t really have any interactions that made me see why they liked each other, and I think the book would’ve been better served if their romantic relationship hadn’t developed until later in the series. (view spoiler)[(The ending made it clear why Lu felt the need to hurry things along, but still, given the huge hint dropped in the epilogue, it’s obvious Enzo’s going to be back at least temporarily to tie up loose ends.) (hide spoiler)]
Issues aside, Adelina is certainly the most interesting of Lu’s protagonists with her abandonment issues and fear-based power, and I liked the ending enough to put the next book on my list....more
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