Monica
Beautiful art from Junji Ito as always.
I don't know how to explain it, but the dialogue in a lot of manga, including this one, feels stilted and campy. Not a big deal in most cases, but tree are times it doesn't fit with the tone of this particular story. I chalk it up to something getting lost in translation.
Considering it's supposedly autobiographical, simply said this is a sad tale. I'd never heard of the author until now and it has me curious to seek out Osamu Dazai/Shūji Tsushima's works
Tanabe's art is beautiful and eerie, he really captures creeping tension and even manages to make the Deep Ones appear to writhe across the page. I initially thought the details were indistinct and some scenes a little too dark, it makes sense for Lovecraft's work: suggestions of unfathomable horror and dread.
Lovely stuff. Definitely gonna check out Tanabe's other works and I guess his next adaptation is Call of Cthulhu so looking forward to that.
Great art although the action scenes can feel a little messy. Don't have much of an opinion so far, but I'm willing to see where it goes. Plus my fiancé has the whole box set so why not? A fun quick read for inbetween other books.
This is marketed as gothic fantasy, and while there are some elements of that, it feels more just like a regular fairy tale fantasy. I wouldn't call this a romantasy either. It's there, but it's not the focal point. I prefer that personally, but just an fyi if you're looking for more romance...
This whole book is completely predictable. There's no intrique, no surprises. The plot twists are not twisting and when they finally happen, you're left thinking “yeah I knew this 100 pages ago.”
The magic system (magic-granting tarot-ish cards) is neat, if underutilized.
It might not bother everyone, but I noticed very quickly that the author has a terrible habit of repeating certain turns of phrase, descriptions, titles, etc. (her lips curled, Captain of the Destriers, slick like oil, his gray eyes, among others). It makes reading so tedious.
Elspeth... in constant need of saving from beginning to end. Everything interesting (and useful) about her comes from The Nightmare: the only remotely interesting character.
If you go into this specifically wanting an easy, light read then I think you're good, but oof. I don't really understand why this has such high ratings.
I was (more so) a fan of A Natural History of Dragons so I mostly enjoyed this, though it's not worth the hype it's getting. Love the whimsical, eerie nature of the faeries, Emily's occasionally a vibe and Bambley made me picture a friendlier Astarion.
It does have its issues though. The “slow burn” rivals to lovers romance is basically nonexistent so when the declaration of love happens it feels really jarring.
I'm conflicted with people claiming Emily is autistic-coded. As an ND person myself, I can def see that the author chose ND-ish traits and how people can relate to her... but I don't love the perpetuation that ND people are very unsympathetic to the plight of those around them. Tbh I read that more as a flaw in Emily's character because let's be real this book (and I assume the rest of the series) is light on the plot so they needed to give her SOMETHING of an arc.
What little action there is is summarized in a perfunctory way, draining any tension from the scenes.
The climax felt very, well anticlimactic unfortunately.
A fine read if you're looking for something simple and chill. You definitely have to be in the mood for it though, otherwise it'll feel slow and dry.
I can see how some readers would find this book boring: it's a pretty fast read, but it's very quiet and moody. Reid's books typically deal with abuse, trauma and violence against women and it shows in Effy's nature and her view of the world. It's a little lighter here (maybe because it's YA?), but it's done compassionately and is no less relatable. I find it weird that some people didn't seem to understand why she'd start off as a timid and paranoid character, but okay. I'm not sure how I feel about a couple choices: like the overall mystery is kind of predictable and the romance while genuinely sweet sometimes, lacks chemistry. It's beautifully written though and the atmosphere is thick. Reid really captures the murky relentlessness of the ocean and water in general.
I kept putting this book on the back burner, thinking I’d get back to it since I’ve already put so much time into it. After realizing it’s been over a month since I last read it, I’ve finally decided to just DNF.
This is kind of a weird one. I do like the relationship between the main protag, Charlie and his dog Radar. There are genuinely moments that make you go awwww, especially if you’re an animal lover. However, this book really should’ve been edited down. You just… kind of forget you’re even reading a fantasy story. By the time you get to any fantastical elements, you’re already nearly 200 pages in (according to my Kindle) and the first few characters Charlie meets in the other world are so dull I found my attention slipping.
Honestly, I eventually read a synopsis and the next several hundred pages sounds like uninteresting fantasy tropes, including Charlie’s hair and eyes changing color to show he’s the Chosen One.
Hate to admit it’s an absolute slog of a book.
This was a SLOG to get through. Supposedly Maas’ first series in ADULT fantasy and… man, it doesn’t read that way. This is a YA fantasy with a lot of juvenile writing, stilted swearing and an unnecessary amount of horniness. It’s like a hormonal teen’s fanfic about a bunch of different fantasy worlds shoved together with cursing thrown in left and right “Alphahole?” I cringed every time it was uttered. Second-hand embarrassment from beginning to end.
There’s no cohesion to the worldbuilding. There are so many species and mythological figures that she pulls from and yet there’s no real connective tissue between any of them.
This was so long for no reason. It easily could’ve been cut in half. Saying it gets better after page 500 is a bonker. The amount of infodumping is ridiculous, made worse by the fact that it was mostly shallow. I.e everytime a character popped up, it was followed by literally paragraphs of background info.
All the characters are often objectified, the female characters especially and the MC in particular. This whole book is oddly written so heavily from the male gaze. The MC can’t be in a scene without someone looking at, describing or admiring her ass/body. Why is she reduced to a body for most of the novel?? This book is filled to the brim with slut-shaming, ageism, and objectification.
Speaking of MC: Bryce is the hottest, most badass, smartest, best at everything Chosen One Mary Sue = BORING. As I understand it, all of Maas’ MCs are written like this.
There’s a weird admiration towards the oppressors in this society and blaming the oppressed groups and framing them as terrorists when they try to fight for their rights and freedom. I can’t believe that’s such a strong message behind this book.
Random side note: this kind of reminded my of the later Anita Blake books by Laurel K. Hamilton, who is incidentally praising the book on the back cover
Cute and I like that the much of the drawing style matches the show's, but besides a couple of stories a lot of this is fluff
Great book on protection magick, informative. Some of the example rituals/spells that are suggested aren't likely to be used by me, either because materials would be hard to come by or the spirits/deities invoked aren't my go-tos, although Miller himself does make a point to customize each rite as you choose so
Mostly just a collection of superstitions and old wives tales. Very little here that I would actually use for my practice. I don't hate it, it's cute, but not particularly informative
Beautiful artwork! The short stories are cute, but lackluster.
I read a couple of stories with my 10 year old nephew and even he was mostly just perplexed and disappointed by the endings instead of intrigued or even mildly spooked. Like me, he did love the art though.
Male violence is a big theme. It's the men who become too emotional and hysterical (stereotypical traits that are disliked in women), driven crazy by Tomie's beauty. I guess it can be argued that Tomie's responsible for her narcissistic behavior, but her murders often expose male entitlement and their objectification of women.
I guess I could see the idea of the affects of the cycle of abuse on you and the relationships around you. Or a comment on society's unhealthy obsession with possessing and/or destroying beauty.
The art greatly improved as the story went on. Overall, this one didn't sit great with me. Maybe my opinion will change over time. For now though, I liked Uzumaki more
Great for historical info and sources, but I don't think you can apply much to your practice as it feels fairly inaccessible
I'm going to get my nitpick out of the way first: this book could've had a little tighter editing, there can be some repetition sometimes within just a few sentences (one example being the fylgjar entry). But like I said, a nitpick.
I loved Ryan Smith's Way of Fire and Ice and SpinningWyrd didn't disappoint. There's so much here, including comments from other practitioners such as Esteban Sevilla that resonate with me so much.
Of course I haven't done all the exercises yet (I'll be slowly making my way through), but the description of Breathing Fire and Ice made me tear up:
“Will help you loosen the hard lines imposed by the world around you ... can also be used to give yourself a burst of energy for mystical workings or to help swiftly shift focus in times of stress and difficulty.”
The last few years have been exhausting: professionally, personally; I lost my faith in humanity as a whole and even fell out of my spiritual practice. This was a nice kick to the butt.
I look forward to more from Smith!
Overall good, but I can't get on board with Zuko forcing this promise onto Aang and Katara of all people agreeing to it, especially within literal DAYS of the show ending and their Agni Kai with Azula. That just doesn't sit right with me.
Some interesting bits of info, though it can be a little full of itself sometimes as well as repetitive. Love the art
On one hand, while I like the conversational tone, I do wish someone sat down with Dante to help him better express himself at certain points. More editing could've tighten things up some, as he could be a bit repetitive and scattered ....but in his defense he does point this out at the start! I think it helps to view this as a stream of consciousness letter he's sent you, him signing it at the end gives it that vibe.
Stories are hit or miss (when they hit, they hit and when they miss, they miss) but overall enjoyable
Maybe a couple of new tidbits, as I've read other books on ADHD, but mostly an overall good reminder. It's a little repetitive here and there, but given it's target audience I don't blame him
Maybe it's because I've read other neurodivergent books and/or picked up info/exp elsewhere, but I felt as though I personally didn't pick up much new info here. That being said, if you know nothing at all about autism, then this is a helpful intro. However, it can get repetitive and probably could've been edited down some.
