Fiona

This is a five star read from a plot and world-building viewpoint; characterization is strong, pacing perfect. I enjoyed it immensely and look forward to the next book in the series.

But the “Irish” accent assigned to Agent Fiona, which consisted of substituting “ye” for “you” while ignoring contractions like “you'll” struck me as straight-up lazy and was really grating to my internal ear. I'm holding an unreasonable grudge about this because she has my name.

Also, in multiple conversations characters become talking heads as there is no body language or action to ground the speaker; it was most noticeable during a scene where one character was literally a disembodied head.

Overall though, fairly awesome and highly recommended.

Didn't suck me in quick enough so I'm admitting defeat for now as I have too many new books that are due back at the library soon.

Lest this book be pigeonholed as “for girls”: I left my review copy on the table when it arrived and it was nicked by my 87-year old father. He devoured it quickly, declaring it, “very interesting” and that he was impressed by how dedicated the scientists profiled were. He is a picky reader so this is high praise.

My favorite part of this book is the science, where each subject's subject of expertise is explained; we learn about how video games are made, the role of 3d printing in medicine, the importance of pressure, tapirs, conservation, fission vs. fusion, exoplanets, microbes in space, human immunity, fertility after cancer, how light refraction effects colour, and the difference between qualitative and quantitative reasearch.

This was exactly what I needed this week: angry but sometimes funny and, ultimately, redemptive.

Very interesting world-building and well done overall. Characterization is flimsy though, and I never felt emotionally moved by anything that happened. (But I'm having a terrible week health-wise so it might be me.) There were also several scenes that did not flow in the narrative and there were more logical places for them.
I am eager to see her next book because the plot itself is creative and solid.

The artwork is lovely but there's an infodump about a third of the way in that I am finding insurmountable. The plot isn't strong enough for me.

Incredibly well-constructed and written. I really needed more of the protagonist's rationalization and emotional state at the end of part 2 though; I just wasn't buying it, too abrupt.

I'm a third of the way through this but just done; I do not have the mental energy to read about Emil Gerhardt's fictional thoughts on Petra Kelly's clitoris.

Exceptional. Regretting that I didn't wait until the sequel was released before reading. Stupid anticipation.

Rereading now sequel is out: the premise is quite genius and the pacing is perfect but the supporting characters are largely indistinguishable. I also find the romance subplot wanting; the attempts at banter are weak and I'm not feeling the chemistry. Excited to read what happens next!

Cudjo's narrative itself is quite fascinating but I found the arrangement and choice of supplemental information frustrating. For instance, footnotes from the editor claim Hughes' assumptions about Cudjo's African hometown to be erroneous, yet never offers the correct information or how we know she was wrong.

Unger details the history of Trump's long-standing relationship with Russia (notably laundering money for oligarchs through real estate and parroting Russian policy in the American media) followed by all the other people in his sphere before pivoting to Opus Dei and William Barr. The Opus Dei stuff isn't as well documented, but it wouldn't be much of a secret society if it didn't diligently keep secrets. Then Jeffrey Epstein and Robert Maxwell are examined. It sounds amorphous but all these threads intersect at Donald Trump; although the author doesn't establish the sort of over-arching conspiracy favored by fiction, there's much to be disturbed by chronicled here.

Really drags in the middle.

Good read, rushed ending.

If I were going to rank Gordon Korman's books, this would come near the bottom of the list. Its basically all groundwork for the series and terribly bland. The premise is interesting though and the set-up intriguing enough to justify reading the next book.

Floca cleverly juxtaposes the full-colour tale of landing on the moon with single-toned flashbacks tracking the evolution of mankind's obsession with the moon and the science of getting there.

There is important information here but Kendzior writes like an academic with footnotes for everything, instead of like a journalist who outlines the proof and then links it all together. Consequently, the book is weak and wouldn't convince anyone in need of convincing.

Fairly satisfying.

Very odd. The plot is about as thick as a sweet dream romance but its set in an alternate reality. I wish I knew what point the author was trying to make here.

Couldn't get past chapter 2; weak opening.

Cute little piece of fluff (with bonus depression and anxiety!). The last chapter ruined the book for me though; it really comes across as preachy and unnecessary and makes the book about “issues” instead of the story, which is fairly tidy and predictable. It would have been a 3 star read otherwise. The long-term use of SSRIs by Mrs. Wu is problematic for me because that's not something that should be normalized. The data does not support it.

Far too long frankly.

A three-star story but bonus points for having such a clear author's note separating fact from fictional liberties.

I am not a spiritual type and was expecting more metaphysics than soul. Still, I enjoyed this. Levy is a fine writer and manages to make a topic I usually find tedious worthy of deep consideration.

I was really keen to read a book set during the Rodney King riots but this tale is higgelty-piggelty. Uneven pacing and inconsistent writing style, and the plot is thinly executed.

I wonder if the real problem is with publishers who want to put out diverse books because they know there's demand but are too racist to assign good editors to these non-white writers.

Formulaic but cute. I read the beginning and the end and skipped most of the middle but didn't feel like I missed all that much. Lots of good information on marine conservation (which I totally can't read about because its too depressing right now).