Kayla Savard

I read this book for a miniature book club, and that is the only reason I continued past the first two chapters — and while there was a run of chapters and characters in the second half of the book that I really enjoyed, and therefore I'm glad that I read it, overall it is just not my style.

For the pros it definitely makes for a great in-depth discussion piece, sometimes the flowery language serves the story well, and there are certain characters (mainly Remedios the Beauty and Meme) that are genuinely intriguing and entertaining.

The cons however include the fact that the pacing is extremely choppy and bizarre — to the point of being introduced to a character in one paragraph, they get married at the end of the paragraph, and then half a page later they're dead. You really never get a chance to spend much time with each character, and they generally don't act like human beings in any sense of the word (a “highlight” of this bizzare behavior that sticks out to me was when one of the characters is eating dirt, throws up green liquid and leeches, sees her brother laying in a hammock and is overcome with the need to have sex with him, and then they break off her previous engagement to marry each other in the next paragraph).

As a person who likes to connect with characters, the format and style of this narrative felt so remote and unengaging most of the time unfortunately, and even though the process led to great discussion with my reading partner I think it is a major issue for the book that I would never have continued reading it on my own.

Giving up at ~65%. I was going to try and complete this, but I know that I would only continue flipping through the pages and basically just pretend to read.

I didn't like this at all, from the very first page. The prose is very stylized (as in, by the end of the second page I'm pretty sure about 15 or 20 semi-colons had already been used) and choppy, and it nearly completely obscured my ability to absorb anything cohesive. On top of that, the narrative floats from mind to mind without warning or any clear difference in how characters think (since everyone's brains are just full of semi-colons and sentence fragments), and it made it impossible for me to care about anything that was happening (or appreciate any beautiful lines or ideas that may have been buried by the surrounding mess).

I need to stop trying to read contemporary romance, because no matter how well-loved by others, I end up feeling like the stakes are non-existent, the characters are bland and nearly indistinguishable from one another, there is no tension or actual emotion felt on my end, and I just don't care.

I think my primary issue with this book was that the central “conflict” in this story ends up kind of just being about whether a book was plagiarized or not, and it turns out that that is just not super interesting to read about. Yes, there are other things going on, but barely, and the other things going on (the fantastical/hallucinatory episodes, and the “romance” if you can even call it that) were equally as lifeless, and failed to get me to care about anyone or anything that was happening.

A secondary issue is definitely that the worldbuilding is so thin that at multiple points I found myself wondering why this wasn't just set in Edwardian England, but with a very minor fantastical twist. In this “world” we are in, there is an unexplained war (that is super important, but also completely irrelevant), the country rivalry (what is it about? who knows, but we hate them and think they shouldn't be allowed to read our books), the North/South differences (what is the difference? idk, people in the south are willing to live in houses filled with water and black mold I guess), any clarity about the magic (seems people mostly think its fake, but also the “Sleepers” are super important to the war?), any clarity about technology in this world, even a good reasoning why this author/book is somehow the most important person/writing to ever exist etc. were all so opaque, way more distracting than intriguing, and kind of completely inconsequential to the story that was being told.

I think the only part that I feel was handled in a satisfying way was showing, through Effy's perspective, how trauma can present itself – and how difficult overcoming those experiences can be. Unfortunately, that one thread was not nearly enough to carry the rest of the book on its back, and I found myself just trying to get through the last 50% on the hope that something would spark in an interesting way, but was left disappointed.

I will admit that I am predisposed to disliking Shakespeare, so take this with a grain of salt, but I did not enjoy this story. My complaints mostly consist of me not caring about the characters, being unable to connect with them because they don't act like people, the villains being over-the-top comical villains who cackle and deliver mustache-twirling villain monologues about how evil they are, and the plot itself being stuffed full of “shocking” moments with no emotional weight attached to them – and don't even get me started on the "honor killing" of the rape victim. Not a fan.

I am a little speechless about how much I loved this book, which makes writing a review consisting of intelligible words a little hard, but I will make an attempt.Things I Knew About This Book Before Reading It: that it was a highly recommended fantasy series that was still in progress (but with an author that is good at keeping to a schedule), and that the only nitpick-y negative said-recommendations mentioned was that the prose isn't great. That's all I knew. I didn't read a summary, or even a single sentence description, I just knew I wanted to try out fantasy for the first time since I was in High School, and this was what I landed on.Things I Discovered After Like Three or Four Chapters: I really love the prose, so that negative was non-existent for me pretty much immediately. I clicked with it so quickly, and I honestly said “Ah, this is so well written!” out loud quite a few times throughout the book. But here is the meat and potatoes to my voracious enjoyment of this book: the characters. The characters! I am definitely a character-focused person, so if I connect with the characters I could easily read a thousand pages of them just sitting around a fire talking to each other, and these characters are so real, sympathetic (in the “I care for them so much” kind of definition), and delightfully intriguing. I literally love everyone. Shallan was definitely an early favorite, and I look forward to diving deeper into her character in the future, but the stars in my eyes by the end of this book were definitely for Kaladin and Dalinar. Their character arcs were so strong, I absolutely loved reading the intricacies of their experiences and feelings, and I think (with no knowledge of their journeys in future books) they are the best Good Guy characters I've ever read. They are both just so excellent, and I don't think I've ever been so excited to read about two characters meeting for the first time. The Fantasy Stuff: You know, the magic, and the maps, and the new words, and the history lessons. I ate it UP. There were dreams-that-weren't-dreams, and intense time-travel visions, and potentially-friendly invisible hooded figures, and powers, and storms, and lots and lots of gems. And honestly I could have read way more of Shallan just sitting in the library reading history books, so that I could also read them. Mainly, I am a total sucker for people unearthing some deep ancient power within themselves while having creepy but intensely profound imaginings, so this was all right up my alley. The Plot: This book is definitely more character focused, partially as at the beginning a lot of the characters barely know more about what is happening than the readers do, so there isn't some change in setting, or dramatic event, happening every other chapter. Personally I loved the pacing of that, because I was so into the characters that even little hurdles and triumphs in their stories felt impactful – and by the time huge blows or major victories were occurring, I was so into it that I was pacing around my living room in my anxiety and excitement while holding up this 1000 page hardcover book. And the closing chapters really blew my mind with connecting a bunch of little details I had been ruminating on throughout the entire book, and supplying me with the best kind of reveals: somehow it never occurred to me that this was the answer even though everything make SO MUCH SENSE now. So in conclusion: I literally made myself read a book I didn't like in the middle of reading this book, for the express purpose of slowing me down because I just didn't want this book to end. And even though I finished it, thankfully it kind of won't end because I am picking up [b:Words of Radiance 17332218 Words of Radiance (The Stormlight Archive, #2) Brandon Sanderson https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1507307927l/17332218.SY75.jpg 16482835] from the library tomorrow. I am also already excited for the day that I've made my way through the available books in the series and I can come back and re-read this book to (I'm sure) appreciate it in a totally different way. Onward!

I have no words, it was just insanely amazing and somehow I liked it even more than the first book.

My love for this came completely out of left field, because if you described this book to me as “fantasy vampire Hunger Games romance” I would assume at the very most I would give it 3.5 stars, purely if it was entertaining. Instead, I devoured this book in a couple days and found myself so into, and very impressed by, the interesting and dynamic characters and relationships (the very complicated father-daughter dynamic, the various class dynamics, the various faction/political dynamics, all so well done), brutal and impactful action sequences that really hit hard, really well-delivered world-building (never info-dumped on you, and very naturally integrated through scenes and conversations throughout), a romance with great chemistry (where I actually was shown why they would make a good pair, and wasn't rolling my eyes because their trust and attraction was written to build up very naturally), and just an overall excellently paced book that had me saying “...ok, just one more chapter” over and over.

So glad I get to jump right into the next book in the series!

3.5 Stars I'm coming right off of [b:The Way of Kings 7235533 The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive, #1) Brandon Sanderson https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388184640l/7235533.SY75.jpg 8134945] (as this was a recommended detour before I continue on with [b:Words of Radiance 17332218 Words of Radiance (The Stormlight Archive, #2) Brandon Sanderson https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1507307927l/17332218.SY75.jpg 16482835]) so I can't help but compare the experiences. That is probably unfair to this book, but it did happen and it definitely didn't inspire the same level of intense insta-love that I felt through WoK. I was entertained and it was an enjoyable reading experience, but that is about all there was.The main feature that keeps this from being great in my eyes are that the characters feel a little thin and underdeveloped across the board. Their moments of growth felt like that happened so quickly, and thus their arcs felt a little cheaper and less moving overall. Honestly my favorite character was easily Nightblood, because his level of depth was similar to many of the other characters but since he is just a semi-sentient sword with a taste for blood and a very child-like, yet morbid, sense of humor, my expectations were not that he feel like a fully-formed human the way I do expect that from the other characters. Overall it was a very well-paced, lighthearted story (with quite a few laugh out loud moments and a handful of very fun and quippy characters with a lot of page time), and it made for a fun weekend read.

Exactly the warm and lovely story I was looking for.

3.5 stars.

I went into this one on quite a high from binging the first two books in this series, but this installment definitely had a hard time finding momentum in the plot, and I actually didn't like that we added Raihn's POV, as I honestly felt like it really didn't give us anything we couldn't have understood through Oraya's eyes, and in fact kind of just diluted the connection with Oraya's POV and made the book feel much more incongruous. As these are pretty large elements of the book, it definitely brought he enjoyment level down consistently for me throughout the entire thing unfortunately.

I did continue to enjoy learning more about this world and the politics, and I thought the effort put towards Oraya's very complicated grief was very successful – but those things weren't enough to blow my mind all on their own, and I definitely found my mind wanting to wander through at least half of the pages. The final ~20% was definitely the strongest chunk of the book though, so we ended on a pretty solid note for this story. So: it was just okay, but I am still very excited for the next book!

I love when a book that is not the type of book I would usually enjoy manages to surprise me. Going into this book, if you had told me that there is basically no plot, the mystery is never solved, and there were barely scenes let alone chapters, I absolutely would have assumed I would be cynically dragging my feet through the book, unable to connect and probably complaining a bit. Instead, I found myself nearly immediately clicking with the structure and voice of the story, and detaching from any subconscious expectations for where it would take me.

If my 4am existential crises were put to paper in a creative, yet comprehensible, fashion, I'd imagine it would end up looking something like this – and in one of those 4am moments, when I write things down that I know no one will ever read, I will definitely think of this book.

I honestly enjoyed the overall story and gothic elements, and even enjoyed the bug descriptions, but the primary thing dragging my rating down is that the main character was driving me insane with her state of denial and never-ending “logical” explanations for things. Even after she sees that her grandmother has risen from the dead with a body made of rose branches and petals, she is still trying to say that the house fell into the ground because of a natural sinkhole...like, please just live in reality! I honestly would have been fine with this being her perspective if she got with the program earlier, but those comments/thoughts were still occurring at 85% and it was very frustrating.

Meh.

4.25 stars. A very well-paced story that excellently mixed historical fiction with magic and mysticism, and dug deep into extremely consistent and interesting themes of religion, the horrors of humanity, and the idea that every villain is the hero of their own story.

Man, SO close. This would have been a five star book if it didn't have that “final reveal” at the end that made little to no sense with everything we'd read up until that point. Still think it's worth reading as it was a truly delightful and charming murder mystery, with very charismatic characters and some lovely relationships, but I really really wish the author hadn't pulled the reverse UNO card on the entire story at the very end.

Checked the audiobook out from the library on a whim, and even though historically I do not enjoy short books/novellas, I ended up really loving this! The writing style was a perfect balance of being poetic and eerie without being too self-indulgent, and the vibe was immediately giving me “Stepford Wives” energy which I loved.

This book just didn't do it for me. Right from the start I wasn't into the short, choppy sentences, nor was I into the very bland and uninteresting “character building” (literally in the first real chapter, after like 4 paragraphs, the main character just blatantly thinks "I made a mistake and I need to make amends" -- and that is the way that we discover that she has made a mistake and needs to make amends. How riveting!), nor did I enjoy the choice to flip-flop between first person and third person throughout the entire book.

Probably for a good portion of this book though I was feeling it was a solid 3 stars. It wasn't blowing my mind, and as I said some things immediately didn't click with me, but the creepy, ghostly atmosphere was definitely there, and I was curious and entertained enough by the plot to want to keep reading. But then it all fell apart for me as the creepy, ghostly atmosphere turned into more of a cheap Halloween costume atmosphere.

1. This ominous figure, who we are randomly following for intermittent chapters, turns out to be Jack's brother. And it turns out that he killed Jack's (kind of estranged) husband. And then even later we find out that this brother also killed their mother and the pedophile. Maybe this all would have been meaningful if his story wasn't so weirdly tangential.
2. And then we figure out Jack is Merry. This reveal didn't bother me so much until the end, when I realized that she actually remembered her childhood. I had this whole idea that she was so confused and didn't know anyone or anything about the town, or the murders, because she had blocked it all out, or because there was some satanic ritual done on her to make her forget. But no, nothing like that, she just knew the whole time, so...why does no one know her? Why is she constantly confused about the various roles and personalities of everyone in the town, when she used to live here? Maybe I'm just stupid, but I really don't get it, and it felt clunky and underdeveloped.
3. The thing that really made my enjoyment drop down was that nothing was nearly as ghostly or witchy as I wanted, and expected from the title, and the cover, and the blurb. The recent murders weren't anything spooky or witchy, just some over-the-top psychopathic (and annoying) teenagers. Really? The older disappearance of two girls, mirroring the original burning girls, also just normal murder and a runaway, as was the priest from 30 years ago found in the cellar of the church. That friend of Poppy's that died? I think just a murder, though I'm not sure if that is ever explicitly confirmed. Creepy cellar with mysterious coffins? Just a family trying to keep up appearances. And apparently the absolutely horrifying actual ghosts of the original burned girls? Just some friendly, neighborhood ghosts, trying to help out. How appearing in a graveyard, naked with no head or arms and on fire is "helpful" I don't know, but okay. Basically, the further along this book went, the more mundane it became, and even the actual extremely scary ghosts were just trying to be nice.

In the end my complaints piled up, and this one just flopped.

I would have probably given this 2 stars based on my enjoyment and for the “story” (or lack there of) but given that the story is a translation and re-telling I suppose that wasn't really up to this author. As for the other elements, it was just not my thing at all. I found it much too long for what it was, with a lot of the page count taken up by repetitive character beats and near-identical scenes, the characters weren't compelling or three-dimensional, and overall it was just a very dense, underwhelming reading experience.

I will give props where they are due though: the use of language and world-building was effective, and the blending of real history and fake history was interesting. Also liked the plentiful and specific food descriptions.

3.5 Stars. I enjoyed it enough to put the sequel on my TBR, but I might wait to commit until the final book is released before I continue on. This was a pretty quick read, pretty entertaining, with some enjoyably creepy (if sometimes hard to imagine) magic and creatures, but my main gripe was just that all I really cared about was Lin's plot, and therefore the other chapters often felt like chores I had to accomplish before getting back to the actual story. Also, unfortunately, I accidentally predicted the end twist that Lin and Bayan were constructs about 200 pages before it was actually “revealed”, so said “reveal” wasn't as exciting as it would have been in theory.

Like I said, still putting the sequel on my list, but will more be a thing to pick up if I don't have inspiration to read anything else instead of a book I'm chomping at the bit to read immediately.

Look, was this book technically “good”? No. But if what it takes to break my very long reading slump is a pulpy, cliché-ridden fantasy romance series, who am I to argue. I actually had a good, cheesy time despite my assumption that I'd hate it — and I'm going to read the next installment, so it did something right!

3.5 stars. Totally solid book with a likeable protagonist and some thought provoking ideas. The book may never reach any soaring heights, but also never drags on or gets lost in pretension or self-congratulation. Basically, I feel like I could recommend this book to nearly anyone and be assured that it will be an entertaining read for them — but I also wouldn't expect this to become anyone's new favorite book that totally blows their mind.

3.5 Stars.

Well-written lovely little slice-of-life story about race, identity, and family. My favorite part of the book was that, like life, there was a poignant theme of “Okay, and now life goes on...” that was woven so strongly throughout the entire narrative.

It committed the cardinal sin of being extremely boring. The characters were pretty bland, and not nearly as charming or charismatic as I would imagine given the description, the initial murder was boring, the continuing mystery had zero tension and was just...boring, and the writing itself also was just doing nothing beyond the bare minimum.

Clearly I am in the minority, but I didn't laugh, I didn't gasp, I didn't even crack a smile at any point - I just kept glancing at the page number, counting down until it was finally over.