Silviya

It was okay, but I wouldn't call it groundbreaking.

The book is entertaining and uses some rather flashy language (as can be seen by the title) and while it isn't without merit, I found it shallow and at times contradictory.

Still, if you are feeling lost and looking for a read to borrow some good mood from, this might be it, as long you don't expect a clear and practical step-by-step strategy to deal with your issues.

This book is a collection of relatively short stories showing us the “origin story” of Celaena and I will highly recommend you read it after book 3 of the series - Heir of Fire.

Say what you will about Sarah J. Maas, the woman knows how to write addictive books and just when you think you've got her all figured out, she goes and sneaks in some subtlety.
I quite enjoyed this collection even though Celaena was fairly unbearable for a big part of it. But given that this is pretty much the beginning of her character arc, it's rather understandable. And we did see hints of improvement.
I am ashamed/happy to say that this book made me cry and experience some serious dread and sorrow. The hours where Celaena is waiting for Sam to return but he doesn't and you know he never will... this part killed me. I felt like it was I who was waiting and I have rarely experienced such sorrow from a book. It was masterfully done.
Great book!

DNF at 54%.

Why I DNFd:
- Boring - How can an author make a dark academia story about he library of Alexandria boring? This is an achievement in and of itself. There was no atmosphere and no gripping mystery. I am losing my inspiration to live just thinking about this book.
- Pretentious writing style - the author is writing like I did in high school - all full of imaginary wit and ignorant revelations. It's kitschy and stale.
- Empty and annoying characters - pompous fools, who wouldn't stop bitching and moaning about the weight of all the magnificent gifts they were imbued with. Don't you just love it when a bunch of self-centered pseudo intellectual elitists, who haven't had to cook a single meal on their own, wax poetically about the woes of capitalism and oppression, even while scrunching up their noses at everyone who isn't them, because they're so much better? We have the unintentional irony of the most pretentious characters I have ever seen bemoaning “high society” whilst being the epitome of it. Yeah, I hope you enjoy that if you're planning to read this book.

Once again, Olivie Blake has demonstrated a profound lack of awareness, relatability and ,sadly, skill.

3 - 3.5 ⭐️

For a fantasy that is less than 200 pages, this one did quite well.

This is a fairly standard (or so I thought initially) YA urban fantasy, about a girl that moves to a small town and starts to discover weird things. It gives Harry Potter for girls kind of vibes, though it is admittedly less developed.
Quite fast paced, with short chapters, most of which end on a cliff hanger, which makes you want to read more.
The world and characters seemed a bit underdeveloped and the writing style was a bit simplistic, but considering that this book is very short and the author's first one, I think it's understandable.

I did quite enjoy the story, it managed to surprise me and keep me interested. So, I will continue with the series.

What is the meaning of suffering? What was the point of this book? These are the questions I asked myself upon finishing it.

This is a massive book that follows a few generations of people during a very difficult period of time in Korea and Japan.
For what is worth, I found the historical components of this story (of which there are many) quite fascinating. There is so much I didn't know and managed to learn from this book; it sparked interest in exploring the history of Korea and Japan more deeply and for that, I have to give it praise.
I also would like to highlight the beginning of the story - both the plot and the characters of the first third of it were fascinating and I ate it up greedily.
But there are things about this book that left me very dissatisfied and a bit bored.
To begin with, the book is too long (much like this review). And this comes from a person who prefers longer books.
For one, the pacing of the book is completely unbalanced. We would spend a ton of time on some minute detail about a certain aspect of life, which while interesting on its own, was ultimately irrelevant to the story and as such slowed it down to a glacial pace for a period of time. As a contrast, we would barely brush over a massive world shattering event, as though it's an annoying fly to be rid of. For example, she would spend pages upon pages on the minutia of cooking and then spare a single sentence on the death of a very important character. Either end a chapter with “And then he died” - no preamble or anything, or start a chapter with “After his death...” - again no lead up to it.
I felt as though the author had no idea what we're here for.
Secondly, we follow way too many characters. We witness the lives of almost 4 generations of people pretty much entirely (I say almost because the first generation we only follow for a chapter of two).
And the truth is, there are only so many people one can care about. You can't both develop a generation of characters and fully complete the entirety of their lives' arc in a third of a book. And then successfully transition into another generation of characters and keep our interest. That is applicable to me at least.
In all honesty, the further I got into the book, the less I cared. I loved the first third, I was lukewarm on the second and outright did not care one bit about the third. I felt like the story overstayed its welcome which led me to view the youngest generation as intrusive strangers who are wasting my time.
I firmly believe that it would've been way better to split the story into 2 or even 3 books. This way we wouldn't have to cut down on the historical and daily life details, but we would be able to spend more time with the big important moments. And the newer generations of characters would have the chance to be the main focus of interest in their own books.
And lastly, this is a very tough book to read. From the abuse of Koreans, to the abuse of the poor, to the abuse of women... There is no end to the frustration one experiences reading this book. And while it's important to have these aspects of history represented and portrayed in an honest way, i believe it is equally important to offset that by some deeper meaning. At least in fiction. Why? Because this is where the value of fiction lies. This is why reading and writing fiction is important as opposed to nonfiction.
Let me explain. Nonfiction is meant to represent the facts objectively and portray historical events as they were (as much as it's possible). It is as it is - sometimes bleak, sometimes horrible. We learn what got us here and what not to do. That's how we evolve as a society. Fiction on the other hand gives the author the ability to take the background of these awful bleak events and weave a story that can give them meaning. Allow us to view tragedy and suffering differently and make sense of it. This is how we evolve as individuals.
So when you have a story that follows such bleak reality and no philosophical way to look at it, you're just left with the frustration. And no matter how historically accurate it is, to me it's borderline meaningless to read.
So the 3 ⭐️ I am giving are only earned by the setting and the first third of the book.

Another fantastic entry in one of my favorite series ever written.

We get (a little bit) more of Reacher's back story and a super exciting and mysterious plot revealed in a masterful way. I was on the edge of my seat for 90% of this book and if I didn't have an adult's responsibilities, I would've read this whole thing within 24 hours.
The book also delivered in terms of tough emotional moments and humanised our rather stoic main character slightly more.

Probably my favorite book of this series so far (I say this about every book of this series).

This book is basically The Hunger Games, but stupid.

We have a post-apocalyptic adjacent world, comprised of 2 cities, some countryside and maybe another state.

We follow a handful of placeholder characters, who are somehow badass before we meet them and go through no evolution through this whole story.

Both world and character “development” are done exclusively through exposition and boy, oh boy, was it boring to read!

The plot is so shallow and half-done, that it falls apart under the slightest scrutiny. So, if you've come for the thrill of action and discovery - don't bother.

And if you've come for the romance - still don't bother. Our characters “fall” for each other over nothing more than physical attraction and in no time at all, despite having nothing remotely gentle between each other. I couldn't see chemistry, nor proper reciprocation between the two of them. All I saw was dysfunction and that ain't cute.

But I think the worst thing about this book was its female “protagonist”, who has nothing to offer but rudeness, stupidity, selfishness and cigarette smoke. I will never understand why so many contemporary authors, who want to write strong female characters, can only imagine them as having nothing feminine about them. A woman doesn't have to be masculine to be worthy of respect. A woman doesn't have to be nasty to be worthy of fear. A woman doesn't have to be sarcastic to imply depth. Have we lost all sense of subtlety?

The sad part is that there could've been a great story here and there were a couple of nice twists. But it was like finding a couple of nice bits in a bucket of slop.

I will not be continuing with the series.

Another great entry in this series!

I liked that the plot happened on such a big scale and how it was set up. The twists and turns were plentiful and very well executed. And the ending was slightly ambiguous which left me wanting and expecting more from some of the following books.

Very exciting read and masterfully executed by the queen of the mystery.

Can't wait to continue with the series!

Good story, nothing spectacular, but cosy. Could've been better, but the writing style was a bit disjointed and severely affected the enjoyment of the read.

I never thought I'd give a book written by Joe Abercrombie 3⭐️ but here we go...

I loved The First Law trilogy mostly because of the author's character work. And I am sad to say that in this one he fell short.
Let me explain.

Moral consistency.
Your characters do not need to be good people, they do not need to be likeable and they do not need to be impressive. All I ask for is moral consistency.
In the First Law trilogy we followed flawed, terrible, selfish, lost and brutal people, doing some of the nastiest, most gruesome things imaginable. Yet, I loved every single one of them, partially because the books took their sweet time introducing us to every single aspect of them, but mostly because they were who they were and the author did not pretend like they were better. They were flawed assholes doing what needed and did not wax poetically about how they have been wronged. And if they did think about it, it was in a self-deprecating way. There was moral consistency between the actions taken by the characters and their representation in the narrative.

In this book, we have the exact opposite.
We have a lead character who we barely know, and who is represented in a more and more hypocritical way, the further in the book we get. We do get multiple points of view, but I think it's save to say that the main character here is Monza (and to a smaller extent Shivers). I find Monza utterly unlikeable and not only because I believe her to be fundamentally a bad person, but because of the way the author tried to pretend like that's not the case. And since we are talking about her entire arc, I have no way of discussing this in a non-spoilery way.
The whole shtick here, is that at the end of this book, we are supposed to realise that Monza is not guilty of what she considers herself to be, but a victim of the misrepresentation, bad decisions and manipulation of the terrible men in her life - namely her brother. Except, in this relationship, she had the power this whole time. She knew what and who he was, yet did nothing about. Each time she had a choice in the matter and each time she chose to go with it and even took initiative whenever needed. Not to mention that her actions post his death were plenty indicative of her true nature.Let's examine some of the evidence:1. Benna conspired with Orso to have Monza take over the thousand swords by betraying Cosca - a man who took them in when they were nobodies and showed them tremendous kindness, and she just went with it. But not only did she CHOSE to go with the plan to take his place, but she didn't even warn him and as such put his life at danger. Not only that, when she ran to ask his help later, instead of apologising or at least talking normally to him about it, she insulted and abused him continuously. Why? 2. And even if I was willing to grant that Cosca's betrayal was Benna and Orso's fault only (which I'm not), wasn't Monza the one who manipulated Day to betray Morveer? Wasn't she the one who, in her desire to work with someone more amiable, whispered in her ear lies (proven lies, since Morveer was never going to betray Day). And why? Because she didn't like the way he exposed her own hypocrisy when it came to killing many people to get to one? 3. Benna's incompetence and utter lack of interest caused the deaths of thousands of people, including little children and what did she do - jack sh*t. All she did was say "Ah, c'est la vie, let's be more careful next time" (paraphrasing here). And that's not the end of it. Not only did she tolerate her brother's nasty ways - she slept with him. And that is not cute, no matter how you try to present it to me (and yes, there is enough evidence throughout the book that she actually messed with her own brother - disgusting). 4. You'd think that Monza would've empathised with Shivers when he shared that he had lost his brother. Instead she felt only boredom... towards the person she slept with, when he shared something so personal and so similar to her own pain. Great gal...There are many many more examples of her being a nasty selfish asshole - I don't have all day to write them all here.And all of that would've been okay for me, had it not been for the "plot twist" the author was going for. That all this time she was not the monster she thought she was, but a victim of other people's manipulations, who stoically took all the blame. Where is the accountability, sir? So Monza is pure and blameless, despite all the murdering of innocents she did, because she was "manipulated" by men, but Shivers is a terrible person for becoming dejected and wanting revenge after suffering, being mutilated and at the end, ultimately being manipulated by a woman? Where is the moral consistency?
On top of that, I'm gonna admit, I felt bored through a big chunk of this book. I couldn't care less about these battles and these power struggles. Because I didn't know the people who were involved. We took close to no time to get to know anybody. The author counted on some notable “cameos” from the original trilogy and while I loved seeing them, I was ultimately uninterested in this cast.
And if it wasn't for the amazing writing style, strong beginning of the story and, of course, the one and only Nicomo Cosca, I would've probably given this book a lower rating.

4,5 ⭐️

What a great find this book was!
The collection features 23 short stories by some authors I admire and some authors I had not heard of before. Each one comes with the promised twist ending and while I can't honestly call all of them masterpieces, I definitely did not dislike any of them.
The book was definitely worth reading and I highly recommend it.

Here's a bit about some of the stories that stood out to me the most:
- The Open Window, Hector Hugh Munro (Saki) - this is my most favorite of all the stories as it got me through a wheel of emotions. It takes all of 5 minutes to read, so if you have the opportunity, give it a go.
- The Lady or the Tiger, Frank R. Stockton - this one... I am still thinking about it. It has one of the most frustrating endings on the planet, yet I still liked it. Mostly because it offers such a morbid dilemma and I can't help but ponder it on occasion.
- The Case of Lady Sannox, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - This one grabbed me from the beginning. The author offers a curious mystery within the first two paragraphs and I was hooked instantaneously. I kinda wish it was longer, but it was still great.
-The Bet, Anton Chekhov - I wouldn't say I liked this one, but it did prompt a lot of thinking. If you are interested in partaking in some existential dread, this one is for you.
- Myra Meets His Family, F. Scott Fitzgerald - This one was so entertaining and the twist was so fun! Now, mind you, I did not like the beginning and 2 pages in, I was convinced that the story, and the author's writing in general, aren't for me. But I am so happy I disregarded that conviction and gave the story a chance. Probably the most fun of all the stories in this collection.
-The Monkey's Paw, W.W. Jacobs - if you're interested in scaring yourself to death, I would highly recommend this one. The story is super sinister and dark and I liked it, even though I generally avoid scary things.
-Our Aromatic Uncle, Henry Cuyler Bunner - “It is always with a feeling of personal tenderness and regret that I recall his story.” This is how the story starts and this is exactly how I feel about it too. It's heartwarming and heartbreaking and I loved it so much! On top of that, the writing style of the author is exquisite, so I can't recommend it enough. But there is so much more to it, especially towards the end.“Why? Don't know. Been a fool all my life. Never could do anything but make money.” This monologue still gets me.

All in all, a great find and I'm so happy I got my hands on vol.2 :)

The book started quite promising and up to the 30% mark I was having a great time. Interesting characters, fascinating world and an exciting quest.

And then some patterns started to emerge that soured my enjoyment and doomed me to struggle all the way to the end.

The book is VERY derivative of other works. And while I have no issue with tropy stories, and unpredictability isn't end all be all to me, copying characters and scenes from other stories and pasting them into your own exactly the same will always be worthy of scorn. Samuel - the former seeker was basically a counterfeit of Gollum from The Lord of the Rings. There was also so much "borrowed" from Star Wars and The Wheel of Time, among other things, that I had to wonder how anyone who's ever consumed these works could possibly enjoy this one. Of course, I am no gatekeeper of the virtues of literature, so if you did enjoy it, then please disregard this rant - your enjoyment does not require my approval. :)
But even worse, when you have predictable story lines, but are dragging them around for ages as though they are big secrets, it makes me feel like I'm waisting my time. You can't create and maintain suspense when your reveals are obvious from the start. Prolonging the reveal and continuously dropping little hints only works if your “mystery” isn't obvious to begin with. And we had quite a few of those. It left me feeling as though many of the scenes were overwritten and overstayed their welcome.

If there is one thing that can turn me off from an author almost instantaneously, that is unnecessary s**ual violence against children. I'm not saying it should never be in books, but it should makes sense to be there. And if it's not needed, like in this case (literally, if you remove those parts NOTHING will change for the story), then that means the author only added it because he wanted to. And I can't help but derive conclusions based on that fact.

And lastly, the author has tried to create a highly philosophical work (my observation is that he has borrowed quite a bit from Ayn Rand in that aspect), and has for the most part succeeded. But on quite a few occasions, he has failed to maintain moral and logical consistency in his musings. Which left me with the impression of performance rather than actual conviction. And that extended to the moral triumph of the main character, which did not ring true (no pun intended).

ALL that being said, the story is vast and if you are able to ignore the obvious “influences”, could be interesting, so I feel comfortable giving it 3 stars.

Unfortunately, barring unexpected circumstances, I will not be continuing with this series.

Is this book for children - absolutely not. But is it a great book - indeed it is.

We have an intricate plot, set in a world that is our own (except that it isn't), and carried out by some of the most intriguing and duplicitous characters, that will never leave you indifferent.

The book is full adventure and whimsy and lovely winter atmosphere and I read it within a day with no desire to stop at any point.

Highly recommend.

This is such a fascinating story and such a quick read!
There is a plethora of plot twists and a rather ambiguous ending, so be prepared for that. The book requires a lot of thinking and even after I am done reading it and thought about it for a long time, I am still not 100% sure that what I think happened, actually happened.
I quite liked this read and I would recommend it, but beware - there are some very heavy subjects being discussed and displayed in the book.

I am so conflicted about this book.

Let me start with the extraordinary - the author's writing style and skill with words, especially when it comes to sarcasm and creative insults, is worthy of praise. I do not enjoy crass language in books, yet I find it tastefully executed in the books from this series.

I also love our main characters, as well as some of the supporting ones (captain Zamira Drakasha for example) - they have managed to carve themselves a place in my heart and I am deeply interested in what happens to them.

However, the plot of this book was a total mess, to say the least.
We have a saying here - the author brought water from 9 different wells, trying to create a web of mystery, only for it all to make no logical sense at the end.

We begin with the fallout from book one and this part I actually enjoyed, to the point that I started predicting a new favorite.

But then, the author seemingly decided that this is not grand enough and threw another plot line with another villain.

And then, at about 40% of the book, all of sudden he changed his mind on what the book will be about and introduced a whole new setting and yet another plot line. It felt so abrupt and, in my opinion, completely unnecessary, to the point that I lost all interest.
Then a chapter before the end, we are back to the original plot line, which made it feel disjointed and rushed as though it was an afterthought.
And just to clarify, I did like the place where the characters ended and the cliffhanger that was introduced, but getting there was exhausting.

I also didn't like the fake morality the author tried to inject. I mean, you are writing a book about two thieves who steal for the fun of it, sir. One of them literally overtook a gang by beating little kids to assert his dominance. Any financial and social morality you'd like to share rings hollow in this context. Locke isn't Robin Hood - he is literally a “priest” of the god of thieves. He steals for the sake of stealing. He is not interested in doing honest work who benefits honest people. I don't care that he steals from rich people, he has no high horse to sit on. And I liked him in book 1 because he didn't pretend to be anything else.

All in all, the book is okay, but I had very high expectations and am definitely disappointed by it.

I do plan to continue with the series and hope for going back to greatness in book 3.

There goes Brandon Sanderson again, saving me tons of money in therapy.

I love where this book went and the characters it brought to the forefront. I love how it broke them all down and built them up again. I love how much the world expanded. I love how the author broke my heart. I love how he united them (if you know you know). I love the shock it delivered at the end and the worry it sparked in me.

I love this book. I can't wait to re-read it!

2.5-ish ⭐️

This is one of the weirdest books I have ever picked up and one of the least enjoyable to read. It reads like a fever dream more than a story and at the end I am left to wonder, what was the point of this entire word salad?

You have a fusion, or should I say, a confusion of post-apocalyptic, western and Arthurian fantasy and pretty much no coherent storyline. Scenes follow one another in whatever order, pacing is a myth and you couldn't find character motivation to save your life.

The book had tons of potential and terrible execution, and reading it left me feeling bored and/or lost and/or disgusted, depending on the chapter.
I was indifferent to pretty much all the characters pretty much all the time, to the point of hating them for wasting my time.

I would've given this lower rating, except, as I said, I did like the setting and the story did have some more lucid moments (hopefully it will go somewhere better in book 2).

P.S.: I am looking forward to the day I will read a Steven King book that doesn't feature child molestation.

Temporary DNF at 20%.

I'm simply not in the mood for this book right now. I will likely come back to it one day.

Can you be disappointed by something you ultimately admire?

I think this story itself is quite meaningful, as well as surprisingly prophetic in some ways, given when it was written. And it could've been really interesting, except that it was ruined by one of its most admirable features (this sounds nonsensical, I know) - the writing style.

This whole story is written like a fever dream and though it follows a linear storyline, it often doesn't feel that way.

We have characters whose behavior is so erratic, that it feels illogical at times, which made me struggle to follow and understand their motivations.

The scenes were unfolding chaotically and the book as a whole had a very awkward pacing.
And I get it, this style is meant to represent the confusing neutered state in which humans have been trained to live in the new society. It was very impressive how precisely the author has managed to illustrate the general fuzzy reality and our main character's struggle to think through it. I get the intricacies and complexity this style carries and I am dully impressed.

But... I didn't like it still. Reading a full novel written in this abstract style is frankly uncomfortable and to me it was unpleasant. Trying to follow a storyline through the muddled half-thoughts and neurotic existential monologues of semi-lucid people was draining, and kind of made the story itself secondary. And as such, it killed both stakes and suspense.

I think had the book been written a bit more “conventionally” it would have made the story way more accessible and impactful. At least to me.

What an amazing book this was!

If you ever wanted to read a classic fantasy book, which features all of your favorite tropes, but still manages to surprise you every time you think you've got it figured out, then this one is for you.

We have a vast intriguing world, a huge cast of characters, an amazing atmosphere, mystery, history, action, quests... And all of this is written in such a clever way! We have a beautiful and solid writing style, which left me feeling like I can trust this author to tell an enchanting story. Which he did.

The one thing you need to be prepared for is this: the book is SLOW! And while I enjoyed it and definitely think it's worth it, it might be an issue for the faster readers. The author takes his sweet sweet time to introduce this world and his many characters and stories, and doesn't shy away from putting scenes on page, just because they make the story cosier.

So, if you're planning to read this one, make sure that you're okay with not being hasty, then pick it up and enjoy the ride.

DNF at 40%

Despite enjoying immensely this world and loving book 1, the further I got into the series, the more frustrated I felt.

I started to realise that the way this author tells her stories does not work for me whatsoever.
More specifically, I find the way she introduces and resolves conflict boring and unsatisfying.
Her characters are interesting, but inconsistent, which can drive any character driven reader crazy.

As such, I choose to DNF this series, at least for the time being.

4.5 ⭐️

Indiana jones for team players! Same spirit, more characters and set in (relatively) modern times.

This was the perfect mixture of thriller, adventure and sci-fi to get me super excited!
And the execution matched it perfectly!

If you're looking for an exciting, mysterious and adventurous thriller, in the style of Indiana Jones, this one is definitely for you!

This story was kind of all over the place, but I liked it.

It started very calm, with the typical for King sort of slice-of-life introduction to a character, which I think I enjoyed the most.
Then we switch gears to another point of view and while that part was the proverbial meat on the bones, I found it slightly stale. Things were happening, but I was neither particularly intrigued, nor scared. I found myself mostly looking forward to the moment when the two perspectives would overlap.
And when they finally did, I did enjoy it. I think the way the author did it was appropriate and satisfying. And it pretty much saved the book for me.

The whole premise of this book is very good and it could've been really scary, but it was executed with so many conveniences, that all possibility for horror flew out the window. My biggest gripe being with the way the bad guys were portrayed. When you put a super smart protagonist, against a group of lazy and at times stupid villains, you simply can't maintain an atmosphere of fear.

I would qualify this book as a sci-fi thriller more than anything else, though given the slow pace in the first half of it, you might not feel too “thrilled” for a while there. But the second part and especially the ending definitely redeem it all.

I do want to point out something that upset me a bit though. And that is the inappropriate innuendo about children private parts in every other chapter, as well as the weirdly detailed thermometer scene (if you know you know). All of this was unnecessary and the plot wouldn't have suffered one bit if it was removed. So the author added it just because he wanted to and that really made me give him the side eye. I was ready to DNF the book then and there and while I'm happy I didn't, it has changed my opinion for the author as a person in a negative way.

I would recommend this book to those looking to explore (somewhat of) a sci-fi thriller with a paranormal aspect.

I am having so much trouble writing this review, because I have been stunned speechless by this book.
I feel like nothing I say will be good enough to praise this book as much as it deserves.
So instead of evaluating and talking about what it is, I'll just talk about my day.

I woke up this morning, I made myself a coffee and casually flipped through this book to see if I could potentially add it to my reading for the week. Then nothing else happened. Because I spent the day reading it. I think I smiled, I know I laughed, and I definitely cried (in the good way, after which you feel like spring rain just washed your soul).

I couldn't love this book more. Thank you for recommending it, mom! ❤️

What I really like about The Dresden Files novels is that after reading one i feel like I do after having a small nutritious meal - I don't feel too full and I don't feel hungry. I feel satisfied and looking forward to the next one. There's always a lot going on in these books, but the author somehow manages to keep it short and sweet.
Another thing I enjoy are the characters, especially Harry Dresden himself. I find him charming and endearing, while still being able to acknowledge his shortcomings. Of which there are plenty, but the author is not pretending like they aren't there which makes them seem intentional (which they are. Plus they make the character more understandable and believable.
Why I took away a star is because I didn't like how the backstory was thrown in seemingly haphazardly. We left book 2 at a certain spot and then all of a sudden we pick up like a year later and we're told about things Harry did and villains he fought, but we never get to see those (and they are important). It was referred to at multiple key spots and in such a manner as to imply we have already seen this. So much so, that I started considering that I might've missed a book or something. I went to the internet multiple times to see if there was another book I was supposed to read before this one, but there wasn't.

Regardless, I still enjoyed myself quite a bit and can't wait to read the next in the series!