Elizabeth
This was a lot of fun. Very unique world building and magic system, great descriptive writing, good cast of characters to root for and against. I see this being billed as the author adult fantasy debut, but it did still read very YA to me. Will read the second in the duology.
Interesting idea for a Sleepy Hollow retelling but for me there were too many loose threads & unanswered questions at the end to make the story feel satisfying.
This started out a little shaky for me - I had expected a more serious drama, and it was delivering very much a straight romance. By the end the story won me over, and I ended up enjoying it quite a bit.
Definitely a fun read. A few plot holes that kept me from rating higher, but I wanted to keep turning pages to see how it all played out.
There really was a lot to enjoy here - where it fell short, for me, was that I didn't realize going in that it was a YA novel. My expectations were just for something with a bit more substance, and this felt just a tad surface level for much of the read. Definitely entertaining!
Having not yet read Pet, I didn't have any preconcieved notions about the characters or writing style going into Bitter, so it was a completely fresh reading experience for me. I can see why readers love Emezi as a writer - their world building is fantastic, and so much was unexpected. I found the relationships between characters to be so truthful - the friendships, the jealousies, the teen angst - all rang true. This novel tackles activism, feelings of insecurity and imposter syndrome, mental health and ptsd, and the desire to find a place in the world where one belongs, and I felt each were handled with compassion and honestly. Very entertaining and well worth the read - I'm excited to read more work by the author.
I started this novel in print, and found it to be tough going. Several weeks later I tried again as an audiobook, and found this to be the way to go. The reader is fantastic, and brings to life the inner dialogue of our unnamed narrator in a way I wasn't able to achieve with the print version. Even so, this is a challenging read - so bleak as to almost feel dystopian, but set in a very real, not-so-distant past. I found the reading of this to be much like the reading of Virginia Woolfe - if I can find the rhythm, the novel will flow. I'm not surprised this is a divisive novel - I can't say I enjoyed it, but I do find myself still thinking about it several weeks after I've finished.
I have to admit I feel a bit deflated after finishing this book. I think this is one of the best fantasy series possibly ever, and while I am sure I will choose to finish the series, the longer this novel went on the more I had the feeling that there is no way this series can end in a way that won't leave me feeling unsatisfied. I don't necessarily need a “happily-ever-after” type ending, but the feeling that the characters were given their due - that the story came to the resolution that was inevitable - that the ending fit the rest of the tale - these are the things I need. Martin just has SO much going on, and things are heading in such a tragic direction, that I'm having a hard time forseeing how it can possibly feel complete or satisfying in the few novels left to the series.
That said, this was, as usual, an excellent and engrossing read. Getting lost in Westeros is still one of my favorite ways to spend an afternoon, and if you are a fantasy lover who hasn't jumped into this world, it's time to start.
This was just ridiculously good. Impossible to believe I haven't read it yet, but now I want to call in sick to work until I've read the rest of the series. Rich, complex, stunning.
While this was probably my least favorite in the series, I didn't dislike it nearly as much as other readers. I am also apparently the only person in the world who doesn't hate Cersei. I am taking a break from the series for a while in anticipation of the 6th book being released....some day.
Engrossing and captivating, this novel was a big hit for me. Despite the obvious comparisons to The Sparrow, one of my all-time favorites, The Book of Strange New Things was able to hold it's own & become a winner in it's own right. My only complaint - I want to know more! It feels like the story of Oasis still has many unanswered questions - I would read book 2!
Well, this novel was a delightful surprise. I received it as a Christmas gift, and guessed from reading the synopsis that I would enjoy it. I was certainly right about that.
This book feels VERY French. Now, I've never been to France, so I could be very wrong about that - but reading this book felt like taking a trip across the ocean and experiencing life in a Paris apartment, and in the countryside of Provence. There was just something about the pace - the tone - the language that was slower, more deliberate than an American novel. This book was about the experience of reading as much as it was the story, and I loved the experience.
This book is, of course, a celebration of the love of reading. It was such fun to read the references peppered throughout to various great books of history. It is also a book for readers who love the written word, and the way a story looks and sounds on the page. I found myself purposefully reading slower, to savor the time I spent in this world.
I had not heard of this book before my friend gave it to me, so I likely would not have found it without her. I am thrilled The Little Paris Bookshop found it's way into my life. It was a lovely, heartbreaking, and spirit-lifting experience. Definitely recommended.
I had actually kind forgotten about this series until I came across book two, and I'm glad I discovered it again. I think Sybella's story is much stronger than the first book in the series, and her character development felt realistic and honest. She's not a typical heroine, and watching her come to accept the dark parts of her heart made for a compelling read. As per the YA fantasy rulebook, there is a romance that was telegraphed basically from the first time the two characters meet, but overall my issues are minor. Very strong book two in a series I'm eager to continue.
As expected in such an expansive collection, the stories were hit or miss for me. Interesting to read some of the history of short story writing in America along with each decade's stories. Fiction seems to be getting better and better if this collection is an accurate representation.
Stunning, heartbreaking, revelatory, hopeful. This story about five queer women in Uruguay creating their own family is beautiful and hard, but never feels stifling. Each of the novel's main characters is given depth and intention, and together they weave such a magnificent tapestry. Will be one of my top reads of the year. (Trigger warnings for rape, suicide, conversion therapy.)
I think I wanted to like this book more than I actually did, and I think in part my choice to read this as an audiobook played a part. The reader for the audiobook has a rather flat tone, and I found it to be much less engaging as an experience than I'd hoped. I found this novel to have much that was interesting and challenging as a whole, but I think it would have worked better for me in print.
Clear case of some books needing to be read at the right time. This is the third attempt at this one for me - first two times it didn't grasp my interest. This time I was hooked from the start. Fantastic character work, excellent writing. It does take a while for all the threads to come together, but I'm so glad I finally get the hype.
The older I get, the more novels about families speak to me. I think it's the realization that comes with age that every family is broken - every family imperfect in some way - that makes me gravitate toward novels that show those damaged families still struggling to live and love and remain together.
The Al-Menshawy family is certainly damaged, and the novel opens at the one-year anniversary of the tragic events that turned their lives upside down. As the reader peels back the layers of this family, we see the ways in which each member carries responsibility for the tragedy, and how they push each other away while simultaneously reaching out for help.
I found myself fully engaged from the very first pages. Will definitely look for more from this author.
Entertaining for the majority of the book, although the end felt a bit detached. I was much more invested in the Arjun storyline than the Guy storyline. This did break me out of a fairly significant reading slump, so that certainly makes it a good read for me.
I started out writing that I thought Anne Tyler was an under-appreciated writer, and then I remember that she won a Pulitzer, so perhaps that's not exactly the correct term.
I think people don't realize the skill it takes to write her novels. While I haven't read all her work, the common thread, for me, is that she writes about ordinary people in ordinary situations. She doesn't write Jodi Picoult novels - these are the “headline-of-the-month” type stories; they also aren't thrillers, or mysteries, or any of those other types of books that sell a bajilion copies. This is just an ordinary family, doing ordinary things, with ordinary conflicts and troubles. And somehow in Tyler's hands, their story becomes utterly fascinating. She has a way of taking characters that are not the most likable - sometimes even pretty distasteful - and teasing out the bit of humanity that allows her readers to sympathize with even the hardest cases.
Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant isn't really about anything - and yet somehow, it's about everything. Recommended.
I'm not entirely sure how this is the first time I've ever read this classic YA novel, but it was about time. While I did find a few places that seemed to drag just a bit, and I could very much tell that this novel was written in a different era, my overall impression was that this is a great piece of fiction. I particularly enjoyed the author's ability to give each of her young characters flaws, and allow those flaws to be an integral part of the story's eventual resolution. The message of embracing our differences is certainly one that remains challenging and meaningful today. I very much enjoyed this book.
Suffered a bit from being read directly after a novel that blew me away, but still fun, smart, and with a great message. Libba Bray has never disappointed, and I love how she constantly imagines something new and unique. I would recommend for older teens.