Nathalie

Oh, this is something very special. I assumed this went more towards atmospheric horror, so I was surprised to find this had some very heartwarming moments. I cared for the characters and their relationship by the end (the book is like 100 pages in total so that's a feat!). There's just something about stoic characters learning to care that gets me. Really unique setting too.

3,5 stars ultimately, and after debating with myself for a while I ended up giving it 3 stars.

I did not have high expectations. The only reason I wanted to read this is because I was curious, and with the movie coming out soon it gave me a deadline to finally get to it.

The world that is built here is impressive. There's a lot to learn at the start, but you'll grasp the concepts eventually. There's a history to everything, including the planet and its people. And of course, politics!

However, what usually attracts me the most to a book are its characters, and although there were a few nice moments here, I found most of them to be rather “matter of factual” instead of more on the emotional side, if that makes sense? I found most interactions to be rather cold and so I found it difficult to really get invested in the characters and their relationships. That's probably the only thing that stopped me from caring too much about what was happening sometimes.

It was nice to read an actual complete story for once, though. I mean, I know there are continuations, but they're mostly seen as optional. The ending here ties everything up nicely, and as someone who's more used to series, this was very refreshing.

Weirdly interesting! If you care about language (or at least the English language) at all, I would recommend this! Not too long either, so it doesn't overstay its welcome.

If I had more writing talent I would try to sneak the proper use of a semicolon into this review, but alas; you'll have to make do with this abomination of a sentence.

A return to form! My second favorite of this trilogy, probably. And I just really like Eli Vanto.

Thrawn remains an interesting character, but it still remains to be seen how interested I'm going to be for his other upcoming trilogy. He does need interesting side characters for it to work, otherwise it's just getting stale.

This one was, aside from Rebels, also very intertwined with Rogue One and the Death Start project. And therefore also featured a lot of inner Empire and their politics which I find fun to read about.

I think this might actually be the first time I enjoyed a grimdark story. The grimness of it in this actually feels earned and not just miserable for the sake of doing so or to be edgy. At times it gets very dark, like... I was in shock they went there haha.

Characters were great, in theory, as in the writing they kind of beat you over the head with their treats. Tinnstra is a coward and we have to hear that multiple times in all of her chapters. Dren is very angry. The villain is... well, very villain-y. It's very not subtle as you know those are what their character developments throughout the book are going to be about. It wasn't bad, and especially in the later chapters it's not an issue, but especially at the start it is something you might roll your eyes at :D I'm at least surprised how much development all characters were able to go through in just eight days and it not feeling too forced.

Writing wise it was very easy to read. It's not overly flowery, but also not overly simplistic.

Kinda curious about the sequels!

Started out promising, but unfortunately I just wasn't into it. The characters and story were eh. The politics in it were also very heavy-handed and so extreme it just bordered on ridiculous. It felt very much meant for an American demographic.
I imagine this is fun if you are from (or very familiar with) New York though. Unless you're from Staten Island

3,5 stars. I went up and down while I was reading it, but I gotta round it down.

The story of this is your average revenge story (that reminded me a bit of Arya Stark's) which I wasn't really invested in as the one guy he focuses on the most was very obviously the one least deserving of it. I liked basically anyone else better than our main character (Tau) and found him too selfish to care for. I liked it when other characters called him out on it though.

There are some really interesting parts in this. The cruelty at the start that shows you how evil the Nobles could actually be was great. I also liked Tau's unique way of training.

I just didn't love the world too much, and there was a bit too much fighting involving characters I couldn't remember or cared about. The only ones I found interesting were Uduak and Kellan.

While I was getting nearer to the end, I was debating whether I would check out the sequel, as apparently that has multiple POV's other than Tau's, which could maybe work in its favor. But the way the story ended, I'm not sure I'll be interested enough in the main story for it to be worth it.

A nice little short story in which the magical students' exam test is returning one book to the Living Library. The tone is light and at times absolutely ridiculous, but it works!

It's pretty fun, and works perfectly as a short story. It's not something I'd want more of, so this makes it a great format for this.

Originally I wasn't going to read this, as it looked quite nonessential and not super exciting, but I was able to pick it up for free during a May the Fourth sale. And I have to say, I'm pleasantly surprised!

As Queen's Shadow is about Padmé's transition from Queen to Senator, this book isn't very much high stakes or super thrilling in any way, but I did find it an interesting and enjoyable read. The politics in this are fun, and it's always great to get some more info on Palpatine, the Organas or Mon Mothma. There's a few side characters here as well that Clone Wars and Rebels fans will recognize. It also gives you a bit more insight into Padmé's relationships with her handmaidens, who were not as prominent in the movies.

Overall, not an essential book to read in terms of catching up with the new canon, but still a nice read if you want something quick and light. It's definitely not a waste of your time.

This took me aaaages to get through. It's very long, and the start of it and certain parts were so slow that I had to really get myself to keep reading. The good parts are good though, and I like where things left off for the third book, whereas the end of the first book was a bit more open. Overall I think I was more invested in Master Of Sorrows, maybe because of the school system and everything was more focused. Making everything grander (with multiple POVs and more worldbuilding and everything) was necessary, but also worked against it at times.

There are some old fantasy books that still hold up when reading now, but this wasn't one of them. Just very, very outdated fantasy in general. Characterization, relationships, storytelling... I didn't really like any of it.

I randomly found this title when I was in my Final Fantasy phase (and to be fair, when am I not) so I was on the lookout for fantasy books that were inspired by it or drew from it.

I found this had a bit of a rough start. Sal, our main character, at first comes across as you average stereotypical badass tough female “men writing women” character. Thankfully that evolves later on, though she still remains a hard character to root for as she is very self-sabotaging. I can like that kind of character when I really get a sense of where they're at and I can see myself in that position, but this unfortunately wasn't it.

I really loved the side characters like Liette and Cavric. To the point where I couldn't understand why they kept putting up with Sal, when she just kept giving them shit over and over.

The world felt great, the story was entertaining enough to not put me into another slump (lmao) and it was overall pretty enjoyable. Apparently this is part of a series though, and I think I'm fine with leaving it here.

Incredibly interesting and engaging read! I had never heard of Theranos before I listened to this, but it is super fascinating to read about how it all went down. I'm not sure there's a lot more to find out about this (except for more from Holmes' perspective) but I'm still interested in watching other media on this subject. Also great to hear that there's apparently a feature movie announced for this!

This is something really special. Who would have known that a book starring an accountant could be this interesting?

That is a very simplified way to say it though, as there is way more to it than that. A woman rising up through the ranks of the enemy in order to use their own secrets against them - but at what cost? (This is not an accounting pun.)

Baru uses money in order to manipulate things, and uses people and situations just to her advantage. This makes her a very cold and calculating character. But there are cracks, so it's not as if she's completely robotic. She starts out with the best intentions, and her reasons for revenge are reasons you can get behind, so in spite of her not being very in tune with her emotions, you do want to root for her.

The writing is weird, because at times it reads like a retelling of historical events. It's distant, and at the same time not. There are certain events that happen that hit extra hard just because of the tragic way in which they are described. There's a certain moment in this book that I actively think of that is exactly this.

It is really rewarding to read slowly and read between the lines. Things aren't always explicitly explained to the reader, but you can kind of guess it from the context. Then there's also tons of foreshadowing (some I caught, some I absolutely didn't), which is cool as well. I also learned a ton of new words from this book as for once, a lot of what I didn't know wasn't made up! (This genre definitely likes making up words!)

The negative part of it is that at a certain point it all became a little bit too much. Suddenly you're keeping track of so many characters who each have their own alliances and morals and motivations and it would be easy to mix them up. The names I found difficult to remember as well. I'd recognize them while reading, but I wouldn't be able to spell them out afterwards. Even a name that's as simple as “Muire Lo” is an example I had to look up just to be sure, and then you have Pinjagata, Ihuake, Lyxaxu, Dziransi, Xate Olake and Xate Yawa, Unexekome.... You know? I have a sense of who they are when I see their names, but I easily forgot the names themselves. If you are able to really tell them apart and keep your attention 200%, this would definitely be a non-issue and even a plus, so that might just be me.

The further the book went, the more distant Baru becomes, and the more distant the writing becomes, and so I started caring a little less the further it went on. The ending is still great though, and I figure this story is going to stick with me for a while which is why I'm rating it more than four stars.

I really enjoyed this! It's a classic coming-of-age story, but with a few twists to make it stand out.

Reading wise, the beginning felt a little long-winded and it took me a while to get through it. I never felt like skimming any descriptions or action scenes though, so I really took it all in. The story was interesting enough and never got overly confusing or too simple.
As for the world, we haven't seen too much of it yet aside from the village, so there's lots more to explore there in the future.

But what always remains most important of all to me: characters!

I appreciate that our main character was allowed to have and make faults and be frustrating, while at the same time not begin rewarded for it and learning from it.

Sodar is the type of character that I normally like (father figure, emotionally vulnerable, protective) so him and Annev's relationship hooked me from the start. Too bad Annev had to be a total young adult about it though.

Titus is the sweetest and needs to be protected at all costs.

I am also strangely invested in a potential Fyn/Annev friendship, or just more Fyn in general. I really liked the growth he went through.

I loved the “romantic” relationship in it. As in, the reader could see that this was not any good, even if your main character couldn't. And you just hope that the writer is on the same page and doesn't try to sell it as the end all, be all of romance. I love that this didn't end up in the traditional way.

There's a lot of potential here and I am definitely keeping a look out for the sequel.

I can always appreciate novellas. They can do so much in so little time. This one clocked in at about 100 pages and still had great worldbuilding and a complete story.

I wasn't into it enough though to warrant more than 3 stars for me. The author very much has a unique voice which I can appreciate and did fit in with the world, but wasn't something I was particularly into. A lot of the dialogue you had to read aloud to know what they meant. And sentences like:

It make my feet want to dance and it seem like the whole world is moving with me.

It adds to the world but for me it more often than not just takes me out of it.

I can say though - there are some very unique characters to be found in here, most of them female. I actually thought the author was a woman while reading, so I was a bit surprised to see that he wasn't. The nuns were my favorite!

The story itself was okay. Nothing too engrossing. This was definitely more about the characters and the world.

It started off well enough (I do like Clone Wars era stories, and I like the idea of it) but I got tired of it about halfway through. I've mentioned it before, but I think I would have preferred this story (or well, the flashback parts of it) in the The Clone Wars series itself. The present day parts had a way too talkative Vader and it just didn't really feel like Vader to me. Just not interesting enough for it to be an entire book.

Very interesting and very enjoyable. Stephen Fry writes it in a very entertaining way, and the way he tells the stories makes it even better.

The initial complaints I had here got better (at least for me). Some good moments, nothing really noteworthy overall.

Oh, this was super fun! The entire book's chapters are separated like episodes, in that they each have their own story but have a few overarching elements, which ramp up a bit more towards the end. My favorites were the parts where we got to know a bit more about each of the main characters' history, especially Frank's.
Definitely a few cool takes on traditional fairytales, which is always interesting!

We haven't had many new canon books focused on Luke yet (except for Heir to the Jedi, which we don't talk about). I think his stories will be free roam as soon as The Last Jedi releases, but until then, we get very, VERY, small tidbits.

This one doesn't really add anything to the overall canon, or to the character of Luke himself. What has this book confirmed once again? Luke is a pretty good dude.

The stories (or “legends”) told here though, have to be taken with a grain of salt. This is established as the first story sort of retells the start of A New Hope, and refers to Luke as “Luke Clodplodder”. Other stories are about the characters in this one talking about their experience meeting Luke, and they all range from “really?” to “cool”, but nothing that really stands out. I for one refuse to take the “Jabba's Palace” story seriously, while I did like “I, Droid” a lot.

A fun and surprisingly short read, but not a required one.

Revenge of the Sith, although in my opinion the best of the prequels, might not be the greatest movie of all time, but it did have one great story hidden in there. Not as executed as well as it could have, but the novelization more than makes up for it. The politics aspect is great, and how Palpatine's influence over everyone and Anakin is described. Anakin's turn is way more believable and it hurts way more if you also have access to all the characters' thoughts, both him and others such as Obi-Wan and Padme. I found it to be very gripping and entertaining to listen to even if I obviously knew all scenes that were going to take place. It really makes the story shine.

Really liked the first part, was less invested in the second part. Somehow I expected things to go a little further as far as the downspiral of Rin went? Not sure if I'm into it enough to continue, but I liked it.

Genius Foods is not your typical food or diet book as the precedent is protecting your brain when ageing, with the motivation being the author's mother suffering from Alzheimer's, and asking the question: Can we prevent this through our diet?

The premise is interesting to me as we do have Alzheimer's in our family, and it is an interesting subject in general. I found it overall to be very informative and I've already made some small changes in how I approach food.

But, as with any of these, don't ever take any advice concerning nutrition at face value. The book holds a few controversial opinions, and research that he did might not apply to what you have locally available, or might not just work out for you personally. At one point very late into the book, he suggests getting a trash bag and throwing a very large amount of supposedly bad food in there (including pasta, bread) which I wasn't personally a fan of. I mean, suggest that you think twice about buying them, but don't advocate for throwing them away?

It's not all about food though - there is a lot of focus on brain health in general, so he also explains the benefits of good sleep and exercise, and how to get the most out of them.

It is overall very informative, and it encourages you to be more aware of where your food comes from and what's in it. I liked the book when it was just informative, and less so when it was very specific in what you should be doing diet wise. The first 75% of the book works very nice as a reference, and that was great, but in the last half it becomes very “this diet is best” and “you should be doing this” while I would have liked to draw my own conclusions from the information I was given earlier on.
The book also includes meal plans, but I didn't really like that aspect of it. It's great to get ideas from it, but following those to a T will become boring very quickly. I get that they're meant to give you ideas though.

Even though the author says it's not, I do see it more as a reference book, with your own research from good sources as a backup. Even if there are conclusions that I don't agree with, at the very least it's made me more aware of what I choose to consume and, yes, be sure to eat those veggies!

I don't know why, but this took a while to click for me. The first 20% of this went so fast plot-wise and read like it was targeted at a younger demographic than I was, but then at some point it all started to come together and I was into it.

People weren't lying when they said it could be compared to Assassin's Apprentice (though this one has more action). Not that much that this could be considered a ripoff, but in the “if you liked that, you might like this” way.

The story (which is almost like a whodunnit) was great. I'm a bit confused on how the magic in it works exactly, but that's fine. My favorite were the characters! Girton is alright, but I gotta give it up for Rufra and Nywulf!
I liked the dialogue between Girton and Rufra especially. It was done in a way that really made their friendship believable and why they enjoyed each other's company so much.

On the other hand, I didn't care for Merela that much, which I think is partly because Girton keeps referring to her as “master” (which is probably the most used word in this novel) and we don't get to know her much as a character of her own.

Really liked it!