Lisa Cole

3.5*

4.5*

What a beautiful, unique book; I'm blown away.

4.5 *

I was really looking forward to this book. I'd heard so many people rave about it. Wow, was I disappointed. It read like mediocre fanfiction and an Avatar the Last Airbender rip off to me.
The characters and their situations/arcs are cliche. I didn't care about any of them.
Ugh, too bad.

4.5*

I'm disappointed. I found ‘The Institute' underwhelming. I never felt any sense of tension and the writing itself is meh.

2.5 *

Mediocre...characters are underdeveloped, especially Marlena. It's predictable and in the end I really didn't care about anyone.
The look at the inner workings of a circus in 1931, all the shine that the public sees removed, is interesting, though.

Fantstic. I was entranced from the beginning and loved every word.

Now I want to read all of Hobb's books.

Enjoyable read with a good cast of diverse, interesting characters. The ending is quite beautiful.

5 * for the gorgeous language alone. It was fascinating to experience Red and Blue falling in love through their letters across those myriad strands of time.

I just love Saga so much....the writing, the gorgeous art, the wonderful characters, all the worlds we get to visit. It's genius, all of it.

Merged review:

I just love Saga so much....the writing, the gorgeous art, the wonderful characters, all the worlds we get to visit. It's genius, all of it.

A truly wonderful epic.....I had a hard time putting it down. The world and characters of The Priory are rich and complex. I absolutely love this book.

3.5*

Excellent cyberpunk mystery.

The story is good and the art is brilliant.

2.5*
I had high hopes for Jade City. I was disappointed. I didn't like the jade power, didn't like any characters, thought the warring gangs thing was stupid.
It's just not my cup of tea. It's the tea of choice for many others, though.

I loved every page and anticipate the sequel.

Some okay ideas but the prose is painful to read sometimes; clunky and awkward.
I suppose the best thing about the novel was the twist at the end.

4.5 *

I love Vandermeer's prose. He's fast becoming one of my favourite writers. And his stories are always compelling, his vision of our possible future scary and somehow beautiful.

I found ‘Blackfish City' very compelling. The prose is lovely, the characters are intriguing and the concept of nano-bonding fascinating. I love the city as a character also. ‘The Breaks' as more another form of family rather than a disease is beautifully expressed.

More a 3.5*. Liked bits. Didn't like other bits. Trying a bit too hard to be funny, maybe.
I think my favourite part is the observation of the Deltan humanoids.

4.5 *

Excellent. I loved the setting of Alexandria and the Great Library's various buildings. I'd come to have affection for the heroes and was satisfied with their endings.
It's a wonderful series overall, one I have enjoyed reading very much.