alex
hmm...
Character descriptions were really strong and this came through when she is indoctrinated into their cult and calls them all “bunny”, yet the reader can still differentiate between each of them. I thought that the bits with Ava were really special because of this as well. The book reminds me a bit of “These Violent Delights” in that I enjoyed it, but there was some integral part missing that kept me from really loving it. But overall an interesting and well-executed novel. One thing that did aggravate me was Awad's use of the term “so much” or “so many” (as in, “the [blank] [blanked] like so much/many [blank]”). I noticed this on the first few pages when she used it twice in two or three consecutive sentences, and then I couldn't stop picking it up, and she uses it quite a lot. Most authors have certain words that they use over and over it their novels, and I don't usually mind when I notice, but this particularly grated at me because she uses it so much in really unnecessary places where the sentence would have been just as poetic and maybe read better if she had taken it out. But this minor gripe aside a fun and addictive read, would read another by her if I saw it at the library and the synopsis grabbed me.
very excellent poems. but also quite racist in some places which i have never really seen people talk about when recommending it? idk it just shocked me a bit which i suppose it shouldn't have?
im not really sure how i feel about it but to its credit i did stay up all night to finish it so
4.5, riveting and very well written. I felt like she had too many revelations (“at that moment I realised.....”) but then again it is her life.
The content was fine, a good introduction to 17th century philosophy. The art was nice but in a style I'm not a fan of personally. I'm quite picky with graphic novels so this is really on me. Mostly I felt that the way the content of the book was presented was super jerky and difficult for me to read. I appreciate that it's quite fun to show how the lives of these philosophers cross over, to put things into perspective, but I don't think many of the transitions were very well executed. As well as this, I feel like heresy as an overarching theme was often shoehorned in just so the title continued to make sense, and so they could have something to tie all these people together (and keep doing those clunky transitions). A lot of straw-grasping in this sense imo. Not a bad book, but not for me.
So I have mixed feelings about this series because I have read better books (much and lots of) but also it is what it is and I've read quite a few of these now so really what can I say. Also a book is a book is a book and I read because I love it. Anyway, this was my favourite out of all the ones I've read by a large margin, this series was pretty good overall (I couldn't get through the spinoff ones for some reason, I think that there was like 120% more technical hockey talk and I would just zone out), and this one has (in my opinion...) the most interesting story and the nicest pairing, also I like babies. Obviously there are clear and major flaws but idk if I start to criticise it will get pedantic so I think I'll quit while I'm ahead...
look. i got halfway through a court of wings and ruin. i decided just to read the rest of plot on the wiki page and get to this one. which turned out to be just as bad but it was only 200 pages so i got through it. cassian and nesta's chapters were semi-interesting? so i will read the next one and see how it goes. i think feyre and rhysand are about two books overdue from retiring as the main characters bc the first two in the series were ok. anyway im quite jaded but i must persevere and finish the series.
Wow!! et in arcadia ego rocked my world!!!!!!!!!!!! lots of ‘b' books lately.....should get on that
upping to 3.5 stars because I enjoyed this so much more than when I last read it, I think helped by the illustrations. They really amplify and improve the text, best example of which imo is pg. 96-97 when Tristran is travelling with the Babylon candle for the first time, those were gorgeous and super evocative. I'm not a huge Neil Gaiman fan generally (his books tend to be super hit or miss for me, for the most part I think his screenwriting and comics are better than his novels, exception being the Graveyard Book which I love), but the illustrations in this edition made up for the prose things he does that annoy me, the plot is super well executed, and the imagination and whimsy is lovely.
The writing was engaging and hugely readable, the plot...less so. definitely got better at the end imo, maybe because I became acclimated to the level of seriously unfortunate tragedy that permeated his life. but the sheer degree of tragedy seemed almost ridiculous, which i suppose i am in a privileged position to think but how many pedophiles in america are there really?? like his childhood went pedophile monks—>pedophile orphanage people—>pedophile truckers—>pedophile psychiatrist???? I suppose as predators they are noticing that he is vulnerable and go after him at a higher degree, but it seemed kind of overwrought, literally every grown man he met up to the age of 15 was horrible. Just as Jude's childhood was unbelievably awful, he himself was unbelievably perfect. He is a genius mathematician and incredible lawyer, fluent in multiple languages that he learnt at a later age, an incredible pianist and singer, perfect homemaker, dazzlingly handsome (but he cannot see it) etc etc. And the people in his life love him, for these reasons as well as his seemingly effortless kindness and charisma. It just felt a little heavy handed when combined with the extreme tragedy of his upbringing (and of some aspects of his later life, these being events that he brings upon himself because of the self hatred stemming from his upbringing). Ultimately this book was more good than bad: I liked the bits about the purpose of life, and at the end how deeply and unconditionally his parents loved him. It was also a fast and hugely engaging read, definitely a result of the prose rather than any light-heartedness in the plot!
fun but all the women who dislike jane austen are evil witches (kind of respect). messiest ending in the world which I actively encourage (bear with me here, this is from pg. 287): “‘So you've read my book,' she [Charlotte Bronte] said ‘I'm touched.' ‘Your book?' said Lucy ‘But that's from-‘ [...] Suddenly the door to the storeroom burst open. Jane looked up to see Byron striding into the room. ‘You!' she said. [...] ‘How dare you come back here?' said Walter ‘Jane told you she wants nothing to do with you.' ‘Jane? This is the guy Bryce has been sleeping with' ‘YOU'RE Grayson?' ‘You left me!'” etc. etc. ad nauseum... I mean it is perfect.
IRKSOME writing style omfg.....the way she leads up to big events in the plot is deeply terrible