**spoiler alert** Representation: N/A Trigger warnings: Sword violence Score: Six and a half out of ten.
Finally. I read Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas**spoiler alert** Representation: N/A Trigger warnings: Sword violence Score: Six and a half out of ten.
Finally. I read Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas. I wanted to read it since 2023. I can't believe I put it off for so long, though. The ratings were high, so I headed in with high expectations. I enjoyed Maas' debut but it didn't blow me away. I'd like to read more of her creations.
It starts with Celaena Sardothien. She works in a salt mine in Endovier now. She used to be an assassin but she got caught and this is her punishment. However, Captain Westfall offers her a chance to escape. Celaena accepts but there is one condition. She must fight in a tournament to the death to decide who's the winner. That sounds familiar when I look at it.
The pacing is sometimes swift, sometimes not. It's 400 pages overall. I liked the scenes with more action than the filler ones, even though they built suspense. Removing those could help the reading experience. The pacing was acceptable but that came at the cost of the characters. I can say Celaena and Westfall developed, but not by much. I can't say they have chemistry. They only started a tenuous relationship which got in the way of the central storyline. I can say the same for the side characters. They're only there to move everything along.
Throne of Glass would be a high fantasy since Maas set it on another world. However, I didn't see that much magic or anything. All I saw were medieval duels and battles. The worldbuilding left me with some questions. What kind of magic system is there, if there is any? The king must use Celaena, but what for? To win a war? Perhaps reading other instalments in the series should clarify everything.
Throne of Glass intrigued me enough, explaining why I didn't give it a DNF. The writing style is accessible for a YA audience. There is some detail but it's minimal. I presume Maas sacrificed that, too. The stakes are high but I felt disconnected from Celaena. She dies if she loses. With such high stakes, I should feel connected to Celaena. I wasn't. The conclusion is okay. I hope Crown of Midnight is an improvement....more
**spoiler alert** Representation: Black and Asian characters Trigger warnings: Racism, bullying, physical assault and injury in the past mentioned, sex**spoiler alert** Representation: Black and Asian characters Trigger warnings: Racism, bullying, physical assault and injury in the past mentioned, sexual harassment Score: Five out of ten.
Timid by Jonathan Todd could’ve been better. But it was disappointing. This one wasn’t it. A person aged 15 might find it hard to enjoy this one. I only heard of this illustrated novel a few days ago but it felt underwhelming when I finished it. I should’ve avoided it because of the low ratings.
It starts with Cecil Hall, a Black American boy, moving from Florida to Boston in 1988 in the opening pages, where he stays for the rest of the narrative. Other than Cecil adjusting to his new life while he draws, as it’s his passion, there isn’t much plot to Todd’s creation. I enjoyed some parts of Timid but not others.
The art was mostly pleasing to look at except for the character design for Cecil, who looks more like a man aged 30 or 40 than a boy aged 12. Cecil’s family encourage him to make friends with Black people only, else people would label him an Oreo, meaning Black on the outside but white on the inside. No one in his family wants him to befriend white people even though his school is a PWI.
Cecil ignores that advice and befriends white people anyway but predictably they are not what they seem as first glance as some scenes depict them as not having the kindest intentions. The pacing, at 260 pages, feels slow with filler content in the form of side plots. Removing those could help. There’s one scene where Ruth touches his hair, but why would she do that?
There were a lot of side characters, with Cecil and Ruth only getting minor character development. Cecil learns to stand up for himself whereas Ruth is more careful with her actions. Making character development stronger, adding new character dynamics and removing side characters could improve Timid.
There was only one Asian character but there wasn't a character dynamic involving her as there were only ones involving Black and white people and not others. The conclusion is okay.
Also, Black isn't capitalised when discussing race on the blurb and author’s note. Perhaps it was to comply with Australian English....more
**spoiler alert** Representation: Asian characters Trigger warnings: Military violence and war themes, physical assault and injury, xenophobia, animal **spoiler alert** Representation: Asian characters Trigger warnings: Military violence and war themes, physical assault and injury, xenophobia, animal abuse Score: Seven out of ten.
This one was intriguing. I only saw The Monster and the Maze, the first instalment in an illustrated novel series, a few days ago on a library shelf and wanted to read it after picking it up. The ratings were high but it was so obscure no one I knew read it yet. However, when I closed the final page, it was enjoyable.
Maple Lam's creation starts with Sun Wukong arriving in a place with other monkeys in the opening pages. He is the Monkey King as seen in the prophecies in the narrative, and fortunately the central storyline doesn't lose steam from there. Lam executed the worldbuilding well with a scene detailing how deities, humans and beasts were at peace until a war ruined everything, which explains why they are so distant now. Wukong wants and tries to become a deity but he fails. I like the message where it says people can change, and the tone is surprisingly hilarious. Mostly. The mood can get more sombre when it talks about topics like exclusion, though.
The humour sometimes involves subversion of expectations and dialogue, which I enjoyed as much as reading most of the characters. I liked Wukong the most since he experienced character development, but I hope Lam doesn't erase that and force him to start again in the following instalment, unlike some authors. The art is okay, with a full colour palette and the eyes being simplistic, with them either being lines or dots. I didn't think the combination of Chinese and Greek mythology would work, but it did. The time Wukong escaped death seems believable when I think about it.
It's an intriguing take to turn the Minotaur into a false antagonist. Lam uses this opportunity to have a conversation between him and Wukong about how he was only a neglected child and not a monster as people say. Not even the supposed Greek villain was the antagonist, no, an evil spirit controlled him. Everything is unexpected here. Did I mention that spirit started the war? The concluding pages were fast-paced with action scenes, the protagonist's victory and a heartstopping finish....more
**spoiler alert** Representation: It's complicated. Trigger warnings: Military violence and war themes, pandemic, implied physical illness, sword viole**spoiler alert** Representation: It's complicated. Trigger warnings: Military violence and war themes, pandemic, implied physical illness, sword violence Score: Seven out of ten.
Wow, this one was a step up. I wanted to read Wildbound by Elayne Audrey Becker for months and I almost did until I realised it wasn't the first part of the instalment. I took it off my TBR and then picked it up after reading Forestborn but not enjoying it as well as I had hoped. When I closed the final page, I found Wildbound more enjoyable.
It starts (more like continues) with a character that needs no introduction, Rora, but this time there's a new protagonist, Helos. They don't interact in the opening pages as each person has their role to play in the central storyline. Rora goes to the Forestborn part of the land after the king's assassination while Helos is in another location to work as a healer and try to stop the magical pandemic from affecting the people, magic and non-magic, in his area. The pacing is slow as it lasts more than 400 pages, but it's enough to keep the narrative going, but removing filler pages where nothing happens would improve the reading experience. I didn't get to see side characters like Prince Finley. Dedicating more page time would help.
The characters, initially difficult to relate to, eventually grew on me, which I liked. However, some underlying worldbuilding questions remain unanswered from Forestborn, like the magic system, where some people can shift into up to three animals, but others can't. That makes a clear divide between those two groups. Why is this? I'm unsure. I'll never get these answers since Wildbound is the second half of the series. The writing style is what some would call serviceable as there isn't too much purple prose here. Those looking for a more elevated kind of prose should look elsewhere. I didn't realise there was a message about climate change until the acknowledgements said there was one. I thought it was too unnoticeable, though. Why did the royals imprison the animals in the first place? The pacing picks up, as with other compositions, as the action increases and culminates in a heartwarming finish. The magical pandemic is gone, the animals are free and Rora gets to rule over the land....more
**spoiler alert** Representation: N/A Trigger warnings: Death of a person, fire, murder, blood, grief and loss depiction, physical assault and injury Sc**spoiler alert** Representation: N/A Trigger warnings: Death of a person, fire, murder, blood, grief and loss depiction, physical assault and injury Score: Five out of ten.
The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo disappointed me. My library had this one but I waited for a while to get it. It was even on some booklists, so I had high expectations until I checked the ratings. I enjoyed Shadow and Bone, but worried The Familiar would be underwhelming. I was right when I closed the final page.
It starts with Luzia Cotado, whose surname sometimes changes, but I'll stick with Cotado. She lives in the then new capital of Madrid in what is now Spain, formerly the Spanish Empire sometime during Spain's Golden Age. She sometimes uses magic to live, making The Familiar a historical urban fantasy, which isn't something I see every day. The pacing is slow, since it's 380 pages, and I find it hard to read stories this tedious. The only aspect that would redeem this is a finish where the pace speeds up. Unfortunately, that does not happen here. The writing style is enough to keep the composition going, and the setting is intriguing. The central storyline happens during the Spanish Inquisition. That faded into the background when I wanted to learn more about that. Instead, The Familiar turned into a historical fantasy romance. Fantasy romances are not my cup of tea, as I prefer clear and well thought out worldbuilding, which The Familiar lacks.
The characters lack depth and have superficial development, making me disconnect from them. There are so many characters it's hard to keep track, and it feels like character soup. Bardugo, ever heard of removing filler? That can help. Adding more depth and development could improve the reading experience. Other than a scene of someone being magically ripped apart, there isn't much magic in The Familiar, a supposed fantasy creation. Where did another character, Santangel, come from? He is a familiar, but what is that? These questions remain unanswered. Adding a glossary and explaining terms would make The Familiar better. The conclusion is abrupt as people try to burn Luzia and Santangel to death on a pyre.
If Bardugo's other works are as dissatisfying as The Familiar, I might give up on her. I don't feel like reading from her now, anyway....more
**spoiler alert** Representation: Black characters Trigger warnings: Death and murder of a brother and another person by suicide in a body of water, ne**spoiler alert** Representation: Black characters Trigger warnings: Death and murder of a brother and another person by suicide in a body of water, near-death experiences, shipwreck, blood, grief and loss depiction, caning, physical assault and injury, slavery, colonisation Score: Nine out of ten. Find this review on The StoryGraph.
The Door of No Return by Kwame Alexander circled my recommendations for months until the library finally purchased it and I soon picked it up. I glanced at the blurb, making it seem heavy, yet intriguing, and the ratings were high. I don't see poetry novels every day, and it was another hit when I closed the final page.
It starts with Kofi Offin living in the Asante Kingdom in 1860. Well that was a breath of fresh air. I wanted to read a piece of historical fiction that isn't white history or entirely set in a Western country for once. The opening pages look typical until I read 150 pages, and that's when the central storyline darkens the tone from there. It was heavy enough when Kofi's teacher forced him to speak English and not his first language, Twi, but now his future looks uncertain after he accidentally killed his opponent from the other part of the kingdom.
But wait! It gets worse. Kofi's life worsens when he is captured and is now a slave. It's a simplistic plot that's easy to follow, but it's a fascinating look into what slavery was like through Kofi's POV. The pacing is slow, almost lasting 400 pages, but it didn't feel tedious or repetitive as there was always something happening. The Door of No Return isn't a coming of age story like a quote on the front cover told me, it's more like a piece of historical fiction in verse.
Alexander executed the writing style well, meeting my expectations, since he wrote compositions I enjoyed before this one. The final pages were heartbreaking as Kofi's fate is up in the air. Other than that one miss I still regard him as an excellent writer. The Door of No Return is the first instalment of a planned trilogy, which explains the abrupt conclusion, so I'm excited to see what happens next....more
**spoiler alert** Representation: Character with a physical disability Trigger warnings: Loss of limb (arm,) drug use, abuse and addiction mentioned in**spoiler alert** Representation: Character with a physical disability Trigger warnings: Loss of limb (arm,) drug use, abuse and addiction mentioned in the past Score: Seven out of ten. Find this review on The StoryGraph.
It looks like I finally read this one. I haven't read from Jennifer L. Holm in almost two years, but I needed to complete the Sunny series (which I read out of order, since I read the first and then the fourth instalments) so I picked Swing it, Sunny, up. I headed in with high expectations and found it enjoyable.
Did I mention this one is one of the few illustrated novels I haven't read yet until now? It starts (more like continues) with Sunny Lewin moving away from Florida after the events of the first novel and now enters her first year of middle school. I initially thought it would only be another story in the list of school narratives, but it goes deeper than that. The only intriguing subplot is one involving her brother, Dale, who had to attend boarding school because of his drug abuse issues. I appreciated the pictures, which looked engaging and the likable characters, though I couldn't relate to the dysfunctional family, with Dale distancing himself from his siblings and parents, but I'm sure others can relate.
The pacing is enough to keep the book going, with its length barely over 200 pages, so I didn't find it too slow, overwhelming or filled with filler pages that add nothing. Even when Dale briefly visits Sunny during Thanksgiving, an American holiday, she thinks he changes, but he eventually warms up to her, showing intriguing character dynamics and development. I don't see settings like the one in Swing it, Sunny, that often, as Holm set this one in the late 1970s, allowing for a fascinating look into what happened at that time. Some readers may feel young in a way, but I didn't mind that much. Not all side characters are the same, with some being memorable, and others, not quite as such. Developing more characters beside Dale would improve the reading experience, though. At least the conclusion is heartwarming. I'll write my thoughts on Sunny Rolls the Dice after reviewing this one....more
**spoiler alert** Representation: First Australian characters Trigger warnings: Death of a child from a dingo attack Score: Seven out of ten. Find this r**spoiler alert** Representation: First Australian characters Trigger warnings: Death of a child from a dingo attack Score: Seven out of ten. Find this review on The StoryGraph.
**spoiler alert** Representation: Black and Asian characters Trigger warnings: Death in the past Score: Five out of ten. Find this review on The StoryGra**spoiler alert** Representation: Black and Asian characters Trigger warnings: Death in the past Score: Five out of ten. Find this review on The StoryGraph.
What a massive disappointment.
I hoped I would enjoy Coming Back by Jessi Zabarsky and find it an improvement over Witchlight, but she underwhelmed me again. I haven't read from Zabarsky in almost three years, but so far her books don't deliver. I shouldn't have even picked this one up, since the low ratings warned me to avoid it.
It starts with Preet and Valissa living typical lives in a magical all woman society (what happened to the other genders, though?) The only catch is Preet has magical abilities and Valissa doesn't, rendering her as a human, but I'm tired of books that have two types of people like this. Soon enough, their lives separate, with Preet going off exploring a new realm outside the human one, while Valissa is left behind to continue her life without her. Let's start with the positive aspects, I mostly liked the art, even with a limited colour palette of white, black, brown, coral, and sometimes blue and orange, except the faces put me off, as the eyes are only dots. Why is the font rounded? I'm unsure. Unfortunately, that is where the likable aspects conclude.
The characters don't have any depth or development, making me disengage from the creation, but writing the characters better would help. There are some intriguing worldbuilding aspects of the setting, but some aspects are vaguer, much to my confusion, as it leaves behind unanswered questions, like where did the Shifter and Shaper come from? Were they always there? Are they the creators of everyone and everything here? These two all powerful beings birthed humans, both magical and non-magical, into existence, but what about the other magical beings Preet meets, like the race of cloud people? How did she meet these deities? Preet literally grew a child, Lue, who grew quickly in a few pages, and then she turns from a human to a humanoid hedgehog, making me wonder what happened to her (so that's why other genders are unnecessary.) In the concluding pages, Valissa had had enough, so she searches and finds Preet, bringing her back into the village. That finish is heartwarming, but not enough to redeem the rest of the novel....more
**spoiler alert** Representation: It's complicated. Trigger warnings: Death and murder of people, blood depiction, physical assault and injury, near-de**spoiler alert** Representation: It's complicated. Trigger warnings: Death and murder of people, blood depiction, physical assault and injury, near-death experience, pandemic Score: Six out of ten. Find this review on The StoryGraph.
This one was alright. I had the sequel to Forestborn, Elayne Audrey Becker's debut, Wildbound, on my TBR, until I took it off after realising I would read out of order. I put this one off for months until I had to transfer it to my library, but after I got it from my library and when I closed the final page, it was okay.
It starts with Rora living her life in a magical land entirely different from ours, as she can shift from a human to up to three animals, and impersonate faces. How powerful is that? Unfortunately, the pacing is slow for a book lasting 350 pages, and it continues to be this way until the second half, where it picks up steam. I wouldn't say Forestborn is disappointing, though. Rora meets another character, Wesley, and starts to develop a relationship, but not before going to another part of the world. Let me explain. There are two parts to the realm seen in Forestborn: The Forestborn part, where people with magic live, and the human part, where the humans live. The only problem is this leaves behind some unanswered questions, like where did the magic people come from? Did they come first and humans evolved from them or the other way around, where humans came first and magic people came afterward? How can they shift?
Anyway. There is a magical pandemic all over the land, and the only cure is stardust, which one can find in the Forestborn part, the last place Rora wants to be, but she has to go there to save her best friend and prince, Finley. I appreciated the writing style, which allowed me to immerse myself in the settings, both natural and human-made. I also like the concluding pages with some battle scenes resulting in a heartstopping finish and the murder of the king, but I only knew him for a few pages, so I didn't care much about that. I wonder what Wildbound is like, though, but I hope it's better than Forestborn....more
**spoiler alert** Representation: N/A Trigger warnings: Animal death, murder, blood, grief and loss depiction, physical assault and injury, sword viole**spoiler alert** Representation: N/A Trigger warnings: Animal death, murder, blood, grief and loss depiction, physical assault and injury, sword violence Score: Four out of ten. Find this review on The StoryGraph.
What a disappointing reading experience.
Yvain, an illustrated retelling of an Arthurian myth by M.T. Anderson, with by Andrea Offermann, could've been much better. I wanted to read it after seeing another person I knew read it, so I picked it up from a library shelf. I glanced at the intriguing blurb, but the low ratings warned me to avoid it, and when I closed the final page, I was underwhelmed.
It starts with Yvain, a knight, wanting glory for himself, so he sets out to fight and eventually defeat a lord, leaving behind his partner, Laudine, and her servant, Lunette. Gawain, however, wants Yvain to go on an adventure across the land, and so he goes off to fight dragons, mythical beasts and who knows what else. Other than that though, there isn't any other plot to Yvain, but there are a lot of problems I want to discuss about Yvain, I'm unsure where to start, but I'll try.
First, the characters. Yvain the knight and other side characters like Laudine and Lunette lack depth or character development, making it difficult to connect or relate with them, but adding more depth and expanding the arcs would've been an improvement. The pacing is enough to keep Yvain going, with a length of slightly over 100 pages, but I would've liked to see more of the worldbuilding, which felt underexplored, but adding more pages dedicated to answering questions I had would make Yvain better. Now that I think of it, I don't think there were enough pages to tell the story. At least the art is engaging, especially during the few battle scenes I got to see, with Yvain easily slaying any beast in his path, and the pictures can sometimes speak for themselves, except for some parts with fog covering the pictures. How am I supposed to read the text through that? The conclusion is heartwarming as Yvain returns to his land after so long, but M.T. Anderson's debut in the illustrated novel genre (as he wrote prose until this came out) didn't resonate, so perhaps his traditional creations could be more enjoyable....more
**spoiler alert** Representation: Asian characters Trigger warnings: Military violence and war themes, near-death experience, physical assault and inju**spoiler alert** Representation: Asian characters Trigger warnings: Military violence and war themes, near-death experience, physical assault and injury Score: Six and a half out of ten. Find this review on The StoryGraph.
Is it me or am I enjoying the This Woven Kingdom series less and less? I waited for months to get All This Twisted Glory by Tahereh Mafi after enjoying This Woven Kingdom and These Infinite Threads, and I picked it up at a library when they got it. I glanced at the intriguing blurb, but when I closed the final page, it was okay.
It starts (more like continues) with Cyrus and Alizeh living separate lives, as the former is in a torture chamber for most of the narrative and Alizeh in another location, presumably a kingdom full of jinn. Like the previous two instalments, All This Twisted Glory has a slow burn style of pacing, but it is barely below 400 pages, compared to the 500 and above 400 page lengths of the works that came before it. The slow burn only works to advance the existing relationship between Alizeh and Cyrus, but when Mafi only focuses on that, she misses the opportunity to put in more subplots to take a break from the central storyline. I started to disconnect from them because of the minimal character development since they were in the same state as the last part.
Mafi established the worldbuilding already in This Woven Kingdom, so I can't say anything about that, but the world remains the same, with no further expansion. Why is this? I'm not sure. The antagonist, Iblees, is mostly in the background, and I don't see much of the side characters like Prince Kamran until the concluding pages. The pacing only picks up from there as there is a battle scene, resulting in a heartstopping conclusion. That begs the question: when will this series end? Initially, I thought the series was a trilogy, but now the front cover says it's the third book. Now, there's a possibility of a fourth and even a fifth part, which makes me feel it might get boring to read over time if the quality doesn't improve. When does the next one come out?...more
**spoiler alert** Representation: N/A Trigger warnings: Military violence and war themes, animal death, death of a relative, blood, grief and loss depi**spoiler alert** Representation: N/A Trigger warnings: Military violence and war themes, animal death, death of a relative, blood, grief and loss depiction, World War One, gun violence, physical assault and injury, conscription, racism, racist slur Score: Six out of ten. Find this review on The StoryGraph.
An ANZAC Tale was better than Noodle Pie, that's for sure. I wanted to read this book to coincide with ANZAC Day, and I did, but it could've been so much better. I saw it on a library display shelf, so I picked it up, hoping for an intriguing read based on the blurb. However, when I closed the final page, it was okay.
It starts with Wally, Roy and Tom volunteering to fight for Australia during World War One in the opening pages. They soon land on ANZAC cove in what is now Turkey, but the battle doesn't go to plan. Instead of the adventure Wally and the others expected to have, they faced the reality of war, reminding me of a certain anti-war poem. Even though this one was better than Starke's previous work, it still could've been so much better if she made some improvements to it. I'm unsure where to begin, but I'll try.
I like that An ANZAC Tale is there to teach people about ANZAC Day, but it is under 100 pages, making it more like a picture book than an illustrated novel, but it's not quite the former, because of the words. The art was okay, but the characters were hard to connect or relate with, making me disengage from An ANZAC Tale. Why was there white space in some pages? That space could've been used, but Starke left it empty. Exploring the efforts from POC during World War One would've added to the length and substance to An ANZAC Tale, like the Indigenous Australian efforts in the Australian Imperial Forces or the Vietnamese soldiers that served for France. Because the entire narrative doesn't last 100 pages, the pacing would have to be swift, and it was, but it was also disjointed, as one page I saw Gallipoli and then a dawn service on the concluding pages many years afterward. How does this make sense? Adding more pages could reduce the disjointedness. The finish is bittersweet....more
**spoiler alert** Representation: Asian characters Trigger warnings: Racism, death of a father from a terminal illness, blood, grief and loss depiction**spoiler alert** Representation: Asian characters Trigger warnings: Racism, death of a father from a terminal illness, blood, grief and loss depiction, physical assault and injury, bullying, military violence and war themes, displacement, refugee experiences Score: Seven out of ten. Find this review on The StoryGraph.
Okay. This one was brutal. I liked this illustrated adaptation of The Kite Runner, but I don't want to reread this one. I only saw it on a library display shelf a few days ago and decided to pick it up. I glanced at the intriguing blurb, and when I closed the final page, I enjoyed it, but it was heartrending.
This specific version of The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (with artwork from Fabio Celoni and Mirka Andolfo) starts with Amir in the 1970s living his life in Afghanistan, but most prominently, he spends some of his time flying and fighting other kites. That is until the Soviets invade Afghanistan, forcing him to flee to America, but that is only one part of the narrative. The first half or so focuses on Amir's life in Afghanistan, which can be difficult for him sometimes, because of expectations from his father rooted in toxic masculinity, like having to physically fight off people, when Amir would rather read and even write a book. Scratch that. It was a lot more than difficult. The second half, lasting only a few pages, revolves around Amir living in America in the 1980s, then going back to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan in the early 2000s in the bittersweet final pages, which looks entirely different to the Afghanistan he knew.
I don't know where to begin with The Kite Runner, but I'll try: I mostly liked the art, except the intense and graphic scenes that appeared sometimes, which were harder to read. I liked the characters, especially Amir, as he developed his character, and showed traits I appreciated. I know this edition of The Kite Runner is less than 150 pages, making it short, it still uses every page and nothing goes to waste. The only white space are the margins. The pacing is swift, too. I liked this one, and wonder what the original is like....more
**spoiler alert** Representation: N/A Trigger warnings: Ableism, military violence and war themes, World War One, World War Two, physical assault and i**spoiler alert** Representation: N/A Trigger warnings: Ableism, military violence and war themes, World War One, World War Two, physical assault and injury, blood depiction, torture, near-death experience, fire, explosions, plane crash Score: Five out of ten. Find this review on The StoryGraph.
I wanted to read Sandpiper by Michael Pert when I saw it displayed on a library shelf but put it off for months. I saw it hiding on another shelf and picked it up. The blurb seemed intriguing, but when I closed the final page, it was underwhelming.
It starts with a prologue in 1916, with one character, George Findlay, defecting his country, then it cuts to two times, 1938, where George is now the Sandpiper, working for the Germans, and 1944, where Yvette and Andy prepare for D-Day. The novel promised to be a thriller, but it was like historical literary fiction with its slow pacing, almost 400 pages.
I can see why when I read some action scenes that tried to engage me, but the pacing issues disengaged me. Literary fiction is character-driven, but the plot drives Sandpiper with little character development. That led to the characters being hard to relate with considering their minimal traits. The writing style had long sentences and tons of immersive description, but I only had a problem with a former. Sentences like those drag everything down and make me disconnect from the narrative.
I surmise Pert intentionally made the Sandpiper unlikable, since he is on the enemy's side. The multiple POVs didn't work as it made the work too disjointed for me to enjoy it. Still, the story is in the 3rd omniscient POV, making it easier to distinguish each character. Using a single POV would work better. Making the progression more linear would improve the reading experience. The climax features the Sandpiper becoming a prisoner of war. WWII concludes soon after....more
**spoiler alert** Representation: N/A Trigger warnings: Military violence and war themes, death of a mother from a train accident and a sister in a bod**spoiler alert** Representation: N/A Trigger warnings: Military violence and war themes, death of a mother from a train accident and a sister in a body of water in the past and murder, beheading, physical assault and injury, blood, grief and loss depiction, explosions, fire Score: Seven out of ten. Find this review on The StoryGraph.
Surprisingly, Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross was better than Divine Rivals. It was more difficult to get a hold of this one since no library or bookstore had it. I had to request it from a library, and I got it a few months later. I glanced at the blurb and headed in with low expectations, but when I closed the final page, I found it more enjoyable.
It starts (more like continues) with the characters that need no introduction, Roman and Iris, living their separate lives with Iris fighting for one all powerful being, Enva, while Roman is stuck in enemy territory with another equally potent being, Dacre. Ross solved almost every issue I had in Divine Rivals with this instalment, and those changes made such an improvement. The characters, hard to connect or relate with initially, eventually grew on me as I read more about them, particularly Roman and Iris, but other characters are still in the background.
At this point, the two protagonists weren't rivals or enemies anymore, since they already started their relationship and now I see them deepen it. Ross brought more of the worldbuilding and fantasy aspects into the spotlight when I saw more of the ongoing war, specifically Dacre's side, and Enva got more page time, but there was no backstory, but it's fine. Divine Rivals said the two deities have always been rivals. There's no explanation on where they came from, though. The slow pacing works now because of the characters, when previously it was tedious to read, but the writing style tells more than shows, and the setting is one I don't see every day (a historical urban fantasy.) Perhaps adding more detail could further improve the reading experience. At least the climax is a high note when Enva and her side win the conflict....more
**spoiler alert** Representation: Jewish characters Trigger warnings: Death and murder of parents, mass death, antisemitism, World War Two, military vi**spoiler alert** Representation: Jewish characters Trigger warnings: Death and murder of parents, mass death, antisemitism, World War Two, military violence and war themes, imprisonment, concentration camps, poverty, explosions, displacement, refugee experiences Score: Six and a half out of ten. Find this review on The StoryGraph.
Well. Alias Anna circled my recommendations till I saw it on a library display shelf when I decided to pick it up. I glanced at the blurb, making it seem unique as it was a biography-in-verse about a young musician set in World War Two. I picked the book up and when I closed the final page, I enjoyed most of it, except for one part.
It starts with the first person I see, Zhanna, living peacefully as a child in the late 1920s and early 1930s in what is now Ukraine in the opening pages. Everything changed in the late 1930s when the war began, but not much happens initially until 1941, when the Germans invaded Ukraine, forcing Zhanna and her family to leave. There is a crucial subplot involving Zhanna becoming a pianist from her early childhood and her sister, Frina, later joins her, which I found intriguing.
Soon enough, Zhanna and Frina were alone and the only action they could do is escape to any safe place they could find, but most prominently, they had to change their names to Anna and Marina respectively, so no one could discover who they were. Zhanna and her sister continued to use their aliases until the end of the war when they found peace in Berlin due to other helpful people, but I had a problem with one page. The narrative says music was a way to bring the Nazis and the Jews on the same level away from the war on that page.
The authors, Susan Hood and Greg Dawson, could've removed it, but it stayed there. What is the point of this passage? Is it trying to say that all people are equal and music is a way to bring them together and a coping strategy to ignore the war? The Nazis and the Jews are not on the same level. I could've given Alias Anna eight out of ten, but those words alone made me knock off a point and a half. I liked the writing style, which is all in poetry and not spaced out prose like other novels-in-verse, the overarching theme of resilience and the extra reading material in the end. The conclusion is a high note when Zhanna moves to America after the conflict. That's it....more
**spoiler alert** Representation: Black and Native American characters Trigger warnings: Near-death experience, death and murder, dead bodies, physical**spoiler alert** Representation: Black and Native American characters Trigger warnings: Near-death experience, death and murder, dead bodies, physical assault and injury, sword violence, disappearance of a father Score: Seven out of ten. Find this review on The StoryGraph.
I haven't heard of Compass South, a historical novel composed of illustrations until a few days ago when I picked it up at a public library while I tried to search for other books that sadly I missed and and now weren't available. The blurb made it seem intriguing and when I closed the final page, the novel was enjoyable.
It starts with a prologue set in 1848 spanning a few pages before cutting to 1860 where the central story begins with Alex and Cleo who join a gang to try to find their father who disappeared, but that doesn't go to plan. Alex has to work on a ship while Cleo goes on another ship to look for him, all while a pair of twin brothers have gone missing but are still alive somewhere. Compass South shines in its action scenes and fast pacing, but sometimes the plot can get disjointed and do too much with the multiple POVs. Prose novels handle multiple POVs better than illustrated ones most of the time so that could've been a better choice and the characters are likable and ones I could root for but they're not the most relatable. Other characters were in the background, but I'd loved to have seen more of them like the other pair and that one Native American character or that Black captain (who only got a brief appearance.)
I thought Compass South ended too quickly since it was barely over 200 pages, but at least there's a sequel but it's unclear if any library has it yet. Compass South has a theme of questionable moral choices, especially the ones Alex and Cleo make, implying that morals can go out the window when times get desperate. The conclusion can work fine by itself as all the characters achieve their goals as Alex and Cleo reunite and the other pair aren't missing anymore, but I question why the series needs a second instalment....more
Representation: N/A Trigger warnings: War themes, blood depiction, physical assault and injury, sword violence, death and murder of people in the past SRepresentation: N/A Trigger warnings: War themes, blood depiction, physical assault and injury, sword violence, death and murder of people in the past Score: Six out of ten. Find this review on The StoryGraph.
Well that was a unique reading experience. I wanted to read Assistant to the Villain for a while to try romantasy again after other books like Fourth Wing and Iron Flame disappointed me. No library had it so I had to request one to get it for me. I glanced at the blurb, but I wasn't that intrigued, and when I closed the final page, it was okay.
(view spoiler)[It starts with Evie Sage looking for a job until she finds an opportunity to work for The Villain, which happens in the opening pages. The concept, the theme and message of unexpected romances were okay but there were flaws in the execution that forced me to lower the rating to three stars. The worldbuilding was lacklustre since the narrative focused more on the romance than the world itself, and the characters are hard to connect or relate with. The plot is average and didn't engage me enough due to the filler pages hampering the pacing. Removing those could've increased my engagement, as well as writing the characters with more depth and expanding on the world. Conflicts arise as Evie quits her job (what for?) and the kingdom of Rennedawn starts an uprising against the Villain (he's a false antagonist, mind you) but there are more filler pages afterward, until the conclusion, which has more action and a cliffhanger. (hide spoiler)]...more
Loading...
