Josh

Long mystery and thriller series are hard for me to stay invested in. At some point, it starts to feel like the same material is being recycled. The characters have already grown as much as they are going to, the plot becomes familiar, and the overall story starts to feel stale. For me, this book was the point where the series lost all of its momentum.

I know the characters are deep and nuanced from the earlier books, but that doesn’t come through here. They feel mostly one-dimensional. The journalism angle that added so much to the earlier novels is almost entirely absent. Lisbeth feels flat. Blomkvist’s personality barely comes through. There are also elements from Larsson’s original trilogy that seem to have been intentionally downplayed or ignored. One example is Berger’s relationship with Blomkvist. Her role had already been reduced in the previous book, but here it is virtually nonexistent until the final pages. Even then, her brief appearance seems to exist only to create conflict around her relationship with Blomkvist, potentially so it ends. That could have been fine if it were given proper attention, but instead, it is rushed and doesn’t quite fit with what we know about these characters.

In the earlier books, the first two-thirds were usually solid, but it was the final third where everything came to a head that really pulled me in. That section always made me want to keep turning pages, no matter the time or whatever else I needed to be doing. Unfortunately, that did not happen with this one. I found the story predictable, at times unbelievable, and ultimately not very engaging. Even the climax failed to hold my interest, missing the 'thrill' in thriller. Suffice to say I think this is the point I'll be stopping with this series

Trigger Warning: If animal cruelty/abuse makes you squeamish then I highly recommend finding a summary of chapter 16 that just hits the key points if you decide to read it. Even as someone who is not a highly visual reader I found this chapter grotesque.

I immensely enjoyed this novel, but having said that there are parts of it that I loathed. I loved the magical realism and how seamlessly it was woven into the story. There's something about the writing and how surreal things are that sucked me in and kept me turning page after page. I enjoyed the abstraction of reality and surprisingly enjoyed that the puzzle is left up to one's own interpretation for the most part.

But on the other end of the spectrum there are parts of this novel where I rolled my eyes, visibly cringed and wondered if I was even reading the same author. There are scene's that go into an absurd level of detail, often very awkward or crude, detail. Some of the characters feel more like vessels to spit out philosophy than they do actual people or are simply tools for the plot and feel paper thin. The biggest thing though is definitely the way sexuality and the commentary around it is written. The writing of this book is damn near lyrical, until it comes to sexuality and women and the jarring crudeness of that contrast sticks out like a sore thumb.

I hate the notion of "Its great if you just ignore x, y, and z", but that's legitimately how I felt about this. It is what it is. 4 Nakata's out of 5.

There are a couple things that put me off this book a bit in comparison to the original trilogy. One of those is just the nature of some mystery thriller's. Each book tends to escalate the mystery that needs solved and it reaches a point where it becomes so large I can no longer suspend my disbelief.

The other one is that this is a new author. Putting aside what I personally think about the Larsson estate issue, any time you have a new author trying to fill very large shoes you're going to have some growing pains. I do feel Lagercrantz by the end had gotten a handle on the characters, so that while not quite the same, still captured that familiar voice.

There is an odd disconnect between the third book and this one though. Millenium is having familiar issue's, but it not only doesn't feel convincing but serves no real purpose to the narrative imo. Blomkvist has a relationship by the end of the third book, but that's mysteriously missing, not mentioned in any way, so it's back to the status quo 'ladys man' which I was never a huge fan of.

It's not all bad though, the payoff still delivers and one benefit of Lagercrantz writing is that he's not nearly as prone to writing about the minutia of the characters lives. There's no grocery list included or a detailed breakdown of what's for breakfast and I certainly can appreciate the lack of that as it was one of my main complaints with the trilogy.

I'm still not certain this series needed to go beyond the trilogy which was a nice wrapping up point. None the less 3 big brothers out of 5.

I have two major pet peeves in storytelling: instant love and telling instead of showing. Unfortunately, this book contains both, though the latter in a different form than I’m used to. To avoid spoilers, I'll use an analogy.

Imagine I tell you a story about a child who trains for years to become a master swordsman. I assure you that his training is complete, that he’s now skilled enough to compete with warriors who have spent a lifetime honing their craft. But when the moment comes to prove himself, his skill is never truly shown. He fumbles, he falters, yet I still insist he is a master. Despite never demonstrating his abilities, he somehow goes on to defeat the greatest swordsman of his time.

That’s what reading this book often feels like. The prose is strong, the plot itself is engaging, and I loved the ending, but the overall execution leaves much to be desired.

I read a quote on Melodramatic Book Club that encapsulates how I feel about this book to such an extent, that I couldn't say it any better, so won't.

"It takes a concept and uses the most flowery, purple prose to describe events which is what obscures the whole point. If you're layering a story under so much weight of the language, a reader like me is going to be more frustrated than spellbound."

I get why people gravitate towards this book, but it's just not for me.

First of all, kudos to the translator. In my experience with Backman's books (at least the ones I've read so far), the translators have been top-notch at capturing his unique voice and the distinctive style of his writing.

When it comes to Backman, it's almost guaranteed that I'm going to enjoy the book. His ability to write complex characters, capture their duality, and explore the human condition resonates so strongly with me that I can't help but love his work.

That's true in this book as well. It is a book about a bank robbery, about a hostage situation, but above all it's a story about a group of idiots trying to make their way in the world. T the way he explores those idiots, is at times funny, frustrating, and deeply emotional.

A perfect score for a book about imperfect people.

Miller's writing is beautiful as expected and while I said this in the Song of Achilles review it bears repeating. It takes a special type of talent to take a story we know and tell it in a way that captivates. She has that talent in spades.

She takes some liberties of course, but in doing so Circe is given agency and becomes a multi-faceted character who questions, rages, sinks into despair, and builds herself anew across her immortal life. I daresay I even enjoyed it a bit more than Song of Achilles, though I hold both in high regard for different reasons.

I have mixed feelings about this series as a whole. I still maintain that it's really the 'villains' (the humans not What Waits) that carry the story, especially for YA. They are the most interesting characters, but through the books the other characters did grow on me as well and I genuinely enjoyed some of their interactions such as Dom and Sorasa.

This book, like the one's before it though, has sections where everything is moving at a snail's pace and I was, to put it plainly, wondering if it was ever going to get to the point. I was even wondering if there was going to be a climax in this book or if there'd be another cliffhanger and a fourth book as I was approaching the end and all there had really been was 'reunions'. There is a conclusion though (mostly), one I found underwhelming and rushed, but there none the less.

I'd say worth reading if you enjoy the Tolkien formula. I'm still sitting around a 3 to 3.5 but I will say this much. I enjoyed it immensely more than Aveyard's other series Red Queen. Partly due to it being more Tolkienesque and partly because it does a better job imo of straddling the line between YA and Adult.

It was good to be back in this universe again, and there are definitely things I liked about the book. I was personally curious about Yun Tianming's journey and the Trisolarans in general, so getting more on that front was satisfying. That said, I can't say I truly enjoyed it as an entry in the series, published fan fiction or not. The story blends fantastical, theological, and sci-fi elements in ways that are certainly mind-bending, but they never quite come together into anything that feels meaningful or grounded.

I also quite dislike how the third story in particular ends. The final moments of Death's End were powerful precisely because they left so much open to interpretation, both emotionally and philosophically. This follow up tries to offer more definitive answers, and in doing so, it diminishes some of what made the original trilogy’s ending resonate so well with me.

2 collapsing dimensions out of 5.

The author lays out on the first page the themes of this book and what his intentions are. “I wanted to look more closely at how our sense of morality both mutates and crystallizes as we come of age. I wanted to explore how hatred can complicate love, how love can make us blind to the danger around us, and how racism and hate are at work even in the lives of those who don't think they've chosen a side”.

Well, if that's what the author wanted to show, then I think he did a very good job. Let's start with the prose though. This is going to be a matter of preference, but for me, I enjoy descriptive. Perhaps it's because my first love is Fantasy, but world building matters to me. I enjoy being able to paint an image based on the prose. Zentner has a very sparse prose though, that while I was able to get use to it, it is far from my favourite. It is however very simple and quick to read.

Small quibble aside there, this is a story about a kid who has to reconcile various facts and come to terms with what they might mean. In this particular case he has a step father who is patient, will study algebra so he can help the kids with their homework, believes in hard work, treats his mother well, doesn't drink, doesn't swear, believes in God and family. But he's also a racist. And that's one element of the book. Jessup trying to come to terms with where he stands in context to his family and battling with the fact he loves them.

Another element of the book is his step dad trying to reconcile with his beliefs on family and the fact that his bigotry may not be what's in said family's best interests. These themes are so frustrating, hard to read at times, saddening, and at times downright touching through out the story. Such a myriad of up and down emotions that was so compelling.

Then we have the plot. I don't want to spoil anything here, but suffice to say I was feeling it at first, but then it entered a territory that I thought was frankly a bit to far over the line of believability from a story standpoint and I felt that characters arguably develop to fast. A pet peeve of mine is characters that feel like they're doing a 180 rather than gradual changes. I wouldn't say it felt quite 180 here, but it's definitely not gradual either.

So what do I rate this? You know what it's got significant flaws, but as I sit here contemplating the rating, I realize, I don't care. It's not perfect, but the engrossing themes, the emotional rollercoaster, and depicting a very sensitive issue with humanity...it's a 5 in my book.

This is a retelling of the 12 Dancing Princesses fairytale. I'm actually not familiar with that fairytale, but my suspicion is this novel is a lot more creepy than that tale. In fact the novel really excels in two area's. The horror elements are genuinely quite creepy. I'm not overly familiar with YA Fantasy Horrors, but I enjoyed those elements here a significant amount.

The second element which is really paired with the first is the atmosphere in general. The author is quite talented at painting the world. She does a great job making you feel like everyone is really on this rocky, cold, island that survives off the sea. The type of place where the smell and taste of salt permeates everything. 

The plot lands slightly below these two for me as I was quite enjoying the mystery build up, but it did start to become quite predictable. I'd still say it was enjoyable though just because of the horror type elements through out it. I didn't really care much for the romance plot lines though. Extremely cheesy stuff...

The real let down for me though is the characters. The sisters for the most part are just slight variations on the same person. They are vain and boy crazy. Those are for the most part, the two things that define them. The only two exceptions are the main character, who is defined by one extra trait, and the youngest who is far too young to be interested in boys or status. If you took the name's out of the book, I legitimately don't think I'd be able to say which one was speaking at any given moment. I wouldn't say I enjoyed any of the other characters either outside of perhaps Fischer.

I enjoyed the creepy story/atmosphere enough though that this still hit a 3/5 for me.

Superb atmospheric writing. Ernshaw does a wonderful job selling Pastoral and building it up in your mind with her fantastic prose. I enjoyed all the characters for the most part and there are some of them where their actions match their personality so incredibly well.

But this book's not a 3 star or higher for me, because there are a lot of plot holes and the twist itself to me, is just something I can't believe as an explanation at all. The atmospheric writing is so strong that this may not actually matter to many people that read the novel, but for me I read a mystery for the mystery. Here the mystery just isn't on point imo. 

There's some value as an introduction to issue's surrounding tech and addiction, but there's not much in the way of analysis of the studies and factoids presented. The latter portion of the book does offer something in the way of solutions in harnessing addiction for the greater good, but I personally found it left a lot to be desired.

 Not a scary book in the traditional sense, but definitely one that I found very unsettling and the tension runs high reading it. I don't think anyone writes crazy, quite like King does. He's written a lot of nasty bad guys, supernatural boogeymen and antagonists of other sorts in his time, but Annie is definitely up there as one of the most memorable and compelling to me. A bit over the top at times mind you, but overall she's what makes the book work.

If you love psychological horror then this is one I'd definitely recommend. 

Quite an enjoyable book although not always the easiest to read. It can be violent, bleak, and quite dark at times although not without purpose. I wanted to point out something I appreciated from the start though, so on a bit of a tangent!

I was hooked to this book almost immediately and the reason for this is how it displays mandatory training. It reminds me a lot of basic training. Exaggerated and embellished of course, but if someone had told me Hurley had been in the military I wouldn't have batted an eye. What do I mean? Small things, for example, the mantra's about killing they yell out during bayonet training are very similar to some of the same things you will say in boot camp. The Drill Sergeant will yell things like “What makes the grass grow green” the response of course “blood, blood, bright red blood”. “Who are we?” “The Quick.” “Who are they?” “The dead”. The dead being figurative here as this was actually before Iraq or Afghanistan, but I digress. 

She even writes about that burning desire to be praised and recognized by the very people yelling at you and making you do push up's. There's enough element of truth to what Dietz is saying and experiencing during said training, that I instantly understand and have an immediate connection with the character.

Moving on though, overall I quite enjoyed the journey. I like the theme's it brings up about war, power, governance, and the power of the people. None of this is new and you can find many stories like this out there, but not every book needs to re-invent the wheel. Sometimes it's enough to add something to existing theme's and execute on it well and that's what we have here.

My biggest complaints I suppose is outside Dietz I don't have any attachments to any characters. Some people die...it's war obviously...but I don't really feel much outside of how it effects Dietz, because I don't ever feel like they're really that important. The other complaint and the main one is that the ending is kind of...well for lack of the better word lame. I would certainly have liked something a bit different in that regard, but while cliche, sometimes it is true that it's the journey and not the destination. Last bit will be in a spoiler even though not integral to the story it's something I certainly missed.

When I was reading this book I thought Dietz was male. It's never stated that they were male, they have relationships with both sexes through the story, so it begs the question why I thought that. Could write a paper on that likely, but I appreciate that the book caused that kind of reflection without it feeling unnatural or shoehorned in.

This is a heavy one in a way that only historical fiction can be imo. The fact I can remember all the stories about unmarked graves just a couple years ago from schools such as the one's in the book just adds additional gravity. Because you know that while the story you're consuming may be heartbreaking, the scope is so vast that there are thousands of Kenny's, Maisies, Howie's, etc out there. Many, many thousands who never had a voice to tell their story.

I appreciate this book immensely for telling the story it does, because it reminds us that tragedy isn't localized especially when your policy is essentially “kill the Indian, save the man”. Systematic racism like this ripples out and touches entire communities for many, many generations to come. And it's important to recognize that when discussing current issue's that effect such communities.

So the subject matter, the emotional impact, and the historical/cultural importance...I'm there for all that. But having said all the above, the writing just doesn't jive with me. From characterization, to dialogue, to what I felt were plot conveniences etc. There's just too many things I didn't personally like that pulled me out of the book.

I'd still recommend it though, because I firmly believe that understanding the abuses of the past is key to understanding communities of the present. And I think this book can be a starting point towards that for some. 

The first book I read in a couple days and it was very good. I found the mystery, horror, and Sci-Fi elements interesting. I was enjoying the Biologists perspective and all indicators were pointed towards a series that would make my favourite's list. Then the second book came and it was so incredibly slow, meandering and filled with so much bureaucracy that it completely killed my interest in the series.  It also doesn't help that I didn't like Controls character much at all and he dominates the second book.

The third book had a few more interesting perspectives such as Saul, which make it better than the second book imo, but similar criticisms in that it's slow and nothing much really happens. Area X itself is very interesting, but the books for me end up drowning in the minutiae.

Extremely fast read due to it's casual/conversational writing style. It's got a pretty interesting premise, but it doesn't really go much beyond said premise. I'd go as far to say If you read the synopsis you already understand 75% of the book.

There is a plot of sorts, but it's pretty underwhelming and not the focal point of the novel. It's a fun read though and I had a few chuckles, but ultimately wish it had more depth.

The problem I often have with stand alone novella's and short stories is quite simply the length. It doesn't allow for the type of character development or plot progression I prefer. This novella also falls in that category and I just find I wanted more. I personally thought the stakes were too high and the discussion on good, evil, and hate to grand to be condensed to fit in under 200 pages. I did enjoy the characters and thought they were rather well developed for the page count, but some of the moments that are meant to hit hard, didn't land for me emotionally. 

I found myself thinking several times while reading that, I think I would have enjoyed it more in movie format then novella. Your mileage may vary though, if you tend to like stand alone novella's, body horror, and such. I will say if you are going to read it, know that a lot of it is written in dialect (Southern, some Creole, Gullah Geechee etc), so if that's not your cup of tea for visual reading the audio book may be the way to go. Personally, growing up in the South did help me on this front I think, but even then I did have to re-read sentences (particularly Gullah) and puzzle out what was being said. Anyhow, would put at 2.5 if half stars existed on this platform.

While this was a very fast read, I'd be hard pressed to recommend it to anyone. You have subplot after subplot that have nothing to do with the main plot. You'd think like most mysteries maybe they're there to misdirect, but you'd think wrong. 

The ending is completely shoehorned in and one of the most contrived I can recall in recent memory. The novel is essentially nothing more than the serial killer you didn't see coming and only leaves you asking ‘why' to so many things.

The characters also suffer from the same type of shoehorning. The main character is a group therapist, but yet there are no boundaries you'd associate with therapy or even interactions that would remind  you of therapy. Instead there is a massive amount of projection and inappropriate behavior from the main character that one would not expect from a professional. I understand an author is not necessarily an expert in the fields their characters are employed in, but there should be enough knowledge so the reader doesn't have to completely suspend disbelief. And given the huge role psychology plays in the book, you just expect something more then what felt like the depth of an intro to psychology clause. 

None of the other characters are much better mind you so suffice to say I found it disappointing on nearly every level.

 It's an incredibly heartwarming, cozy and at times very amusing story. This is in large part due to the characters that just tug at your heart strings. Lucy in particular is my favourite for his flare for the dramatic and his dark sense of humour. But all the children have their quarks and endearing moments. It's also quite enjoyable to watch Linus develop as a character over the course of the story.

That's the strength of the novel. The weakness? In my opinion, everything else, because it's just to simple and shallow for an adult novel which is what this is marketed as. Even if viewed as for young adults though, I don't think there's enough depth or nuance in the plot or world building. You get a barebones ‘dystopian' world with some black and white overt morality, but little else.

So...the book isn't perfect shrugs...it's still a very enjoyable ride because it simply makes you feel good and at the end of the day that counts for quite a bit. 

I thought City of Lies was good, especially for a debut novel, but I think the sequel and conclusion here is even better. There are two main elements of Hawke's writing that really stand out to me. The first is the world building. There are different cultures, languages, religions, magics, and races found in the novels that makes for a very interesting and real feeling world.

The second element is the characters. The representation in this book is amazing imo, because it never feels like a character is defined entirely by just one thing. They are fleshed out, nuanced and very representative of what you might find in a city. So you have among the cast non-binary, homosexual, mental illness, disability, religious belief (extremism and faith), with complex behaviors, emotions, beliefs, etc. The world feels lived in, in part because of how well the society and the people that make up said society are written.

It's not all praise though. The pacing felt very slow to me. I did think the book could have been quite a bit shorter and been better for it.  The bigger issue I have though is you alternate between two POV characters and while they are distinct from a personality standpoint their narrative voice to me is very similar. The chapters are named after the POV so you can keep it straight that way, but if you removed their names it would be very hard to distinguish which character's perspective you're in depending on the chapter.

The other thing I dislike is just preference, but I've always preferred mysteries where you can deduce the bad actors, rather than getting surprise information out of nowhere. Be that as it may, a great second novel and would highly recommend to anyone that likes their Fantasy with a lot of politics and a mystery/thriller plot.

I would say is if you are a person who prefer descriptive prose over dialogue heavy then you might find this one a bit more challenging, as it's almost entirely plot driven prose but even then I would still recommend giving it a try.

This is a story about a modern black woman is teleported back in time to the 1800's through a connection with a white ancestor who lives on a plantation. This creates an interesting dynamic with their relationship as she obviously has a vested interest in his survival, given that her own relies on it, but at the same time having to balance that with the horrific events that unfolded during this time period. A period that said ancestor is very much a part and product of. That's the premise of the book without spoilers mind you and it sets up very complex interracial relationships with themes centered around power dynamics, guilt, bigotry, racism, trauma, comparing modern sensibilities to past beliefs etc.

Every once in awhile I'll read a book where I don't really understand the praise it has received. Typically even if I think a book's not for me, I can understand why it's well regarded. This is a case though where I don't get it. The prose is nice albeit long winded at times and I feel like Yanagihara has done a decent job capturing some of the behaviors that may be exhibited by people who have been abused. Some of the content is for sure heartbreaking and even I shed some tears.

Yet, I dislike this book considerably because of how sensationalist it is. How exaggerated aspects of it are and how contrived the story is. I couldn't help but feel as a I read it that Jude was suffering just for the sake of suffering. To me, it actually began to feel like the author was reveling in said suffering. I don't believe every story needs an uplifting message, but if your characters are going to go through trauma it does need to feel organic and that is where I think this novel fails as it comes off as very emotionally manipulative imo.

It's too bad, because there is a great novel in there under the mountain of melodrama.

I read this because I thought the premise sounded interesting. We get a lot of stories about poisoners in fantasy whether it be assassin's or what have you. It was interesting to me to see a premise about a family that proof's the chancellor's food and drink i.e. tests them for poisons before consumption.

In the end it wasn't quite what I expected as it was more of a mystery then anything else, but said mystery was interesting with nice world building and a few fantastical elements thrown in there. Nothing really blew me away, but I thought it was very solid.