Sasha
WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL?
-My thoughts at the end of this book.
Pros:
Plot:
I enjoyed the slow parts for the characters' interactions and the fact that the reader gets to see Hugh and them learn more stuff, actual magic and become more powerful becomes more and more rewarding each time the action comes around.
Plus the ending was absolutely amazing for me.
Characters:
Talia had a lot more growth and exposure in this one and I think I've moved on from my neutral standpoint on her and actually begin to like her.
She isn't perfect but still enjoyable to read about.
Hugh was a bit whiny here but I don't hate it because it was realistic and I don't think I can explain without going into spoilers.
Got a lot of insight into many different characters, students, masters. Artur and Alustin. Especially Alustin. I can't wait to see more in the following books.
Action:
It shifts, there's lots of povs, lots of things happening that intersect with one another and I love it. Because I love knowing what effect an event can cause on different characters.
Plus I love it when Hugh smiles. :D
Cons:
Plot:
The pacing might be dragging for some and not really enjoyable at all.
Not everything might make sense. And I think if it wasn't for the ending I might not have enjoyed this much. Just might.
Characters:
So, while I love the positive character interactions in this book, it feels there's a bit of disconnect with the series and gruesome part some times. I would completely understand if someone drops this series just because of that.
But the part of me that loves healthy relationships still enjoys this very, very much. Even if it does sound unrealistic, I'd like to believe it isn't because it's a fantasy world setting. It's fiction. Things can happen and having positive and healthy relationship interactions even if there is danger shouldn't be the most illogical thing. I willing to make an exception here because I'm tried of screaming angsty relationships in books and want the shouting angsty arguments then to stop being a norm.
Action:
It shifts a lot. Even though it's the reason I enjoy it, for someone else it can be thoroughly baffling. Admittedly I did have to re read stuff even if I did enjoy reading.
All in all, this book gets 5/5 stars for me for that spectacular ending.
Like I said in my book 2 review.
THE ENDING!!!
Edit: sometime having passed I have changed my mind. My final rating now is : 3/5 stars
There were some amazing thought provoking moments that got punctuated with some extremely unnecessary details about the sensual. I kept questioning why it was there at all since it had no relationship with the topic being discussed. It could have saved itself with the ending but it didn't.
I hope lit fic authors realise that throwing around random scenes about porn, sex, rape, etc doesn't exactly make your book “mature” or “Avant Garde”. It just looks like a child talking about something they have no idea of.
16th June 2022:
What can I say about this book except that it was absolutely amazing. Surprising twist kept coming up and till the last minute I was at the edge of my seat. I had a bloody good time.
Polly, the main character was relatable and just amazing. I loved her. Her and all the cast. They had so much personality.
The themes were very well displayed and talked about and that's not something I expect at all. I loved it. Especially the talk about loyalty to country.
This was a full on ride that I thoroughly enjoyed.
Final rating: 4.5/5.0
24th May 2022:
Interesting idea but nothing big happens. What did make me enjoy this book was the main characters' pov. The emotional abuse of her relatives is seriously no joke though.
Final rating: 3/5
The way to write a historical fiction book I believe is to neither diminish the people of the times the book is set in, nor uphold them as a end all be all standard.
Frustatingly, just 4 chapters in, what happens in the book is the former. The half of the so called “girl group” are held in an image of cowardish women because the two rather stay away from war and because one has a very attractive body. And apparently any men this girl attracts is super dumb cause of course she's the slutty dumbfuck of the group.
Which makes it seem like everyone the character doesn't like is just dumb anyways. Not that there's reasons for their own beliefs or anything.
Woah boy, that was a ride.
First things first, I read this as a buddy read with 3 chapters each that. I think the best way to experience this book is to limit yourself and not rush through.
Now then. What can I say about the plot? Thrilling. Absolutely thrilling and nail biting. That also might just be being very easy to scare but also the book being that suspenseful.
I love the characters in this. At times there were people that get you so angry but at times some that just make you want to hug them.
Also, this book is not very plot-centric but rather character driven. It's hard to go into details without giving spoilers.
The flaws? One of the modern day Caroline and also one of our main protagonists, goes on her weekend anniversary trip alone after her finding out her ex cheated on her and finds something historical in her attempt to get away.
Not very original. And kinda unrealistic. I found myself questioning that how easy it must have been for someone to do the same things as her. Someone who lived in the very city.
All in all though, the ending created a lot of discussion in my group and while we had different yet welcome opinions, we all walked away appreciating this newest addition to our shelves treasuring all the characters and the adventure that this book made us experience.
Final thoughts:
Kinda cliche, at times unrealistic yet intriguing and personal at the same. I rate this 4/5 stars as a very enjoyable read.
I really liked how realistic and touching the beginning was but at the end it went very downward. I wish it could have been different.
SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
Beautiful. Complex and yet beautiful.
I still wish though for Elend and Vin to have had some more time or like have a family but I understand why the ending had to be the way it was.
5/12/22:
This was not exactly a cheerful book but not exactly a despairing one either. It is simply an exploration of the choices and circumstances of the characters mentioned. Ursula LeGuin for me is an author who's very good at portraying the themes she wants to explore in her books. In contrast to the previous book where Ged is the protagonist, the reader follows a different character here. We view the world through their lens and see them experiences changes and also coming to terms with those changes.
Its a bit hard to precisely place this book in terms of plot and mood. Some might it's terribly bland and some might say the opposite. I rather just enjoyed it for what it was.
I guess for now I can only say I'm looking forward to reading the other books in the series.
final rating: 4/5
17th december 2022:
I would like to say that this book was enjoyable but unfortunately it was just an okay read. The main character was quick to place her suspicions on a character when earlier in the book she mentioned a potential suspect not having a motive. And the motive she does end up finding doesn't seem well founded at all.
I had a problem with that because it was obvious the author was guiding things to happen in a certain way instead of me following the character in her investigation.
I appreciated at least because it was intriguing but that's about it.
Final rating: 2/5 stars
4th May, 2023:
I have never read a book that uses “the less you say, the more it will be,” this well.
Things introduced always came around full circle. And everything held a good delicate balance. Themes, monologues, flashbacks, action scenes, everything told in the right place, at the right time without being too overwhelming.
It reminded me a little of Ursula K LeGuin's writing even though this wasn't a fantasy read.
Final rating: 4/5
18 May 2022:
Okay, credit where credit's due. This books hits all the spots and tangles all the questions it puts forth to the reader and even if my knowledge of science is very limited I thoroughly enjoyed this.
Project Hail Mary's strengths lie in the fact that it minimises any reasoning loopholes as much as it can why still providing a hooking enough plot, utilising the science it talks about, to the utmost. Yet, the cherry on top is the hints of emotional sentimentality that is subtly conveyed to the reader in all the interactions it has to offer. No ones a completely irrevocable villain and no one's an absolute hero either.
This was an amazing read though it did start a bit slow for me. I loved the ending but a part was really reluctant to close the book when I reached the end.
Final rating: 5 out of 5 stars.
23/02/23:
It was a fun and okay read. Like not particularly exciting but also not particularly boring. The MC's musing and observations were fun to follow, like comments about bureaucracy. I didn't enjoy the male gaze parts though. Its not at the level of Dresden files but still there, which not going to lie, made me really uncomfortable. Not to say there weren't varied personalities of female character. The MC is just horny and makes it really really obvious. If I could reach inside the book and smack his head I would rate the book much higher. (jk)
Final rating: 3.5/5
17th May 2023
Feet clay follows the previous books in city watch series, asking readers to ponder about the same questions but with a twist.
Discrimination is never a one way street. Politics and life are always that tad bit more complicated than one thinks.
And all this was once again brilliantly woven together with the plot. Nothing overtaking the other.
I will say, I love the beginning half of the book better than the later half, because it felt like a lot more happening then.
Nevertheless, Vimes was a badass as usual.
Final Rating: 4.5/5
20th May 2022:
I don't think a book ever made me this happy while reading it. I love the monologues and observations, they were absolutely hilarious. But the one thing that didn't made it for me was the ending. I wanted a something a bit more. It felt like the author couldn't see a way to go ahead so it felt like a cop out.
Nevertheless I enjoyed what I enjoyed.
Final rating: 4/5 stars
24th October 2023:
I would have liked to give this a 4 but the plot of this book towards the end was very, very lazy.
The strong points were how it didn't shy away from the real and cruel history even at the end. The epilogue for one, was what saved the book for me but not enough to excuse how the middle and last part were written.
Final Rating - 3.75/5
A historical YA novel that I read a few years back and still read to this day. I just love all the lines in this novel and all the characters. John and his relationship with Elzevir is an unusual one and just amazing in its own way.
Interesting idea but it didn't work much for me. The monster heritage part first of all because obviously Joan has seen her cousins display power and yet no one explained to her anything in detail. Especially considering how she could try to travel without borrowing time and kill herself. Not to mention if the Olivers are so hostile that they're ready to kill Joan for fun then there's no way her family would've allowed for her to be that oblivious with that family grudge between them.There's little details that don't make sense at all like Joan is covered in blood after the massacre but when she and Aaron get to the hotel the lady at the counter doesn't even look at them twice over.
The the way the MC still had feelings for one of the characters didn't sit well with me because the relationship hadn't even begun, she just crushed on him. There's no proper exploration of a relationship and yet she hurts so much for a guy who killed her family. Didn't like that at all.
23rd May 2022:
Honestly, I don't know what to say about this book. It conveyed what it wanted to convey but it didn't feel like it was spectacularly new. I guess simply put it was not a boring book but not really my cup of tea.
Final rating: 2/5.
24th April 2022:
This was a barely okay read for me. The plot was okay and the action didn't start until the very very end which was still lackluster. The high stakes didn't feel high at all.
Merlin felt very surreal and more like a stereotype than an actual character. Susan didn't feel like a part of the setting and more an anomaly which just took me out of the story.
It also had the worst writing I had ever read with sentences like these littered throughout the book:
“The team of four blinkered Clydesdales drawing the dray could be no more oblivious to the occupants of the frustrated cars behind them than the smock-wearing drivers.”
Which makes no sense whatsoever unless you're a horse person and know what a smock is and whatever the hell a dray is. It wasn't fun having to google every third word in every paragraph. There are too many references without actual descriptions to explain things. For example, saying brand names of clothes than actually explaining what kind of clothes they are.
If it wasn't for the writing I maybe have given it a higher rating.
Final rating - 2/5.
1st October 2022:
It was so-so. I only enjoyed the beginning. The characters were interesting but romance was forced and there was no build up. You can see it's pushed into being one. And the cliffhanger.
12th May 2023:
If Guards Guards was about saving a city, that didn't have much worth, from a dragon, then men at arms sets our protagonists against saving a city from its own vices.
I can imagine in any other series or book Vetinari's way of letting things be would be explained away by character quirkiness and left to its own devices.
Men at arms throws itself full force into the problem.
It questions again and again, what does it mean to let things be if the system works. Is no change at all the only way to make things function in a stable environment? Then should everything be changed?
Sir Terry Pratchett never gives out solutions in addressing these question. In fact there's no solutions every provided at all.
He just shows the reader what a person can do if they allowed themselves and others a moment of empathy.
I honestly never expected at all that the book would go in the direction of ethnic differences but it did and everything was depicted so brilliantly. I couldn't believe the time it was written in with how well done it is and had to look at the publishing date twice.
My one teeny tiny grip was just Lady Sybil. I wanted to see how she would address Vimes' silent disgruntlement. But I can also see why the relationship is not addressed because the book is more about individual struggles than focusing on romance.
Final rating: 5/5
21 March 2022:
I didn't expect anything other than “something” was going to happen.
The first part was a slog ngl, but at exactly the half things got really interesting. And I loved the ending.
I'm glad I stuck around till the end.
Final rating: 4.5/5.0