Nico
This is a perfectly fine manga. I wasn't blown away by the story as it was clearly a set up for the rest of the series.
Audiobook review I think folks who like the dramatic tone and wild-west-esque atmosphere and landscape of the tv show Justified (but with mutants, bionic humans and space guns) and the family aspects and/or audiobook narrator of Kings of the Wyld will enjoy this one. The final showdown and action did not disappoint me. Though I'm left wanting more, I think I found a gem of a self-pub and this is one of my favorite books of the year. This is clearly flying under the radar as it's been out for over a year and only has 12 ratings, which is not enough I say.
I'm fairly conflicted about how I feel about this book. Perhaps it was my mood or this book just didn't work for me, I don't know. But alas I was quite bored with the characters and action in the beginning and the climax. The middle was the best part for me. With the ending, I didn't feel the high stakes, anticipation and investment in the results like I did with “Wrath.” I'm glad I read it, but I don't think I'll reread this series like I'd like to one day reread The Faithful and the Fallen. On the fence between 3- or 4-stars, but for now 3-stars
I would describe this as an urban fantasy thriller with horror elements and it had my heart pounding throughout. If you like to go into books blind I would not read the synopsis, but it is a dark story about a family and a group of immortals. This was difficult for me to read because it gave me anxiety from time to time (I don't do well with horror or thrillers) but I thought I'd give it a try this for this time of year. Overall I'm glad I picked this up and I think it's an underrated book. It has complex villains, great character development, and a powerful and emotional story.
Wow, absolutely perfect. Tied for my favorite read of the year and getting added to my favorites of all time list.
I was a tad bummed that I didn't connect to this story the way so many others have, but I did find that I am in love with Becky Chambers' writing style. In terms of plot, I was not blown away. There were a couple times throughout the novella where I was excited by new twists, however the pieces that grabbed me never became major parts of the story and I was less interested in the direction Chambers takes the reader. Another disappointment was that character depth never felt more than that of a caricature. Overall the grand take aways and deep messages other readers report were missed by me. All that said, I can see the brilliance that is Becky Chambers and I am VERY excited to get to The Way to a Small, Angry Planet this year.
This superb memoir-but-also-fantasy-fiction is one of the most feminist things I've consumed, and possibly only intersectional feminist book at least in my memory. I'm judging this like I do memoirs: my rating is based on storytelling and moving the reader through stories and time. It was just excellent. It took me a minute to get into it (when does it not take me a minute?), but of course I eventually did. I loved the fantasy elements as metaphor, even if they were obvious I loved them regardless. I also thought Echo Brown did an excellent job with characterization and depth of side characters even though the story is told from one POV - the best authors are able to do this is in my opinion. Highly recommend for all readers teen and up. For those who pay attention to trigger warnings, I would look those up before starting this book. P.S. fantastic as an audiobook.
A must read for those who want to learn, unlearn and relearn concepts around gender. This is like a memoir-essay in Penguin's Pocket Change series, so it's not fully fleshed out like a full memoir or non-fiction book, but it does what it seeks out to do.
This is a collection of four related short stories and folks who like emotional deep dives into character relationships will like this. The first was my least favorite, but I adored the last three.
I'm half-mad I read this without the rest of the series being completed. This is one of those books where I'm impressed by what an author can do in short amount of pages, it managed to have an epic fantasy feel. I became enraptured in the story and characters early on and loved the magic of the world and imagery throughout. Perhaps if I'm going by my rating rubric this would be a 4 out of 5 stars, for some very minor lack of character depth and plot arc issues, but I so thoroughly enjoyed this book I'm going with my gut. 5 outta 5!
Really, the perfect and most brilliant YA in my opinion. It reminded me of Twilight, but 80 billion times better. I compare it to Twilight only because of the parallels of a character being plonked down in the middle of a world they didn't know existed, the tension, the hints of young romance, and the ride the protagonist goes on. But better than Twilight because of the layers that I think are critical for teens to read (and the writing is just excellent). The themes, the issues, the interactions, and the conflicts are so important and needed by young readers to see and consume, and it's a page turner with every chapter being a new twist. Fantastic plot, fantastic characters, fantastic depth and complexity, it's just a fantastic book.
This prequel-prequel to “Practical Magic” is brilliant. Fantastic writing, storytelling, rich character development and complex character relationships, and plot. I often go into books knowing little about them, so I was surprised to find it is historical fiction covering the end of the Salem Witch Trials in the US and more. I was constantly looking things up and who knew a fiction book would lead me to learn more about Dengue Fever. I also thought I knew how this book was going to end, but I was very pleasantly surprised.
This was a super interesting and unexpected read.
Dual POVs, one of Lynesse, Fourth Daughter of the Queen who seeks the centuries old Elder sorcerer to save the neighboring peoples from a demon. The rest below is a bit of a spoiler.
Nyr, junior anthropologist, was left on the world to study the peoples of the planet. I really loved the contrast between the two POVs, and it makes you wonder what is fantasy and magic and what is science [fiction], and are they so different after all.
3.5 stars. This started as a slower Cork O'Conner book to me, but turned into a hard-hitting and gut wrenching story about the past.
I can confidently say at this point I'm a huge fan of mythological tales especially those mixed with historical fiction. This book checks both boxes. I am disappointed however because my library classifies this as adult fiction and it read very teen/young adult to me. I felt the depth of the characters was not very strong and the plot was very predictable. I knew from the start I was going on an adventure with Casiopea, but by the halfway mark I became quite bored and disconnected from the protagonist, and that never changed by the end. Still a very cool read and recommend to those interested. 3.5 stars.
As an adult, I really enjoyed the first audiobook. As someone whose spooky reading level is “wimpy” I decided to pick up the second audiobook for this spooky season. I didn't enjoy this one as much as the first; it felt slower and I didn't feel as curious or spooked out as I did with the first one. Still a recommended read for elementary-aged young ones or curious adults.
I read this because I love memoir and fantasy (not at all that this is fantasy). In short this is a spectacular book that is beautifully written and I highly recommend it.
I had DNFed this one a while back early on in the book because I wasn't feeling it. So happy I made it through this time. I can't quite articulate why it's not 5-stars for me, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and if you love fairy tales this is a must-read.
This is one of those rare novellas where I'm in awe of what an author has done in a short amount of pages. I'm not surprised that Clark has done it though (since I felt the same about A Dead Djinn in Cairo), but here in 180-pages, the monsters, the alternative history, the powerful story, wow!
In some ways this gives me Star Trek TNG vibes with a kiss of Voyager. If that makes no sense, for me I thought the species and culture exploration super cool, impressive and frankly brilliant. I'm not sure what it is about this book that leaves me confused about how I feel about it - like what are the gaps for me to prevent it from being 5-stars? - especially ‘cause I went straight to the sequel. Perhaps I was missing an enthralling plot? Idk, 3- or 4-stars for me.
My personal enjoyment was 2-stars, if I'm being fair 3-stars, but rating it on my YA rating, 4-stars. I highly suspect fans of Shadow and Bone and ACOTAR will like this one. For me this is was a no, likely for hitting the same tropes around toxic BS man, kidnapping, manipulating, blah blah blah, mixed in with romance and “I love you, you're so special,” no thank you! This may be blasphemous, but I think it's a MUCH better book than the former and either on par or better than the latter, IMhumbleO. It is cool to see a story merging and inspired by Western and Persian mythology and I do think there are some good lessons/themes for teens. I am certain 15-year-old me would have loved this for the world, fast-paced story and probably too for that stupid trope, gah.