Nika

What an absolutely charming story. Super quick and my only real complaint is I would've loved more.

So I read this because a friend of mine's wife had a baby, and one thing to keep him entertained while he was up at odd hours was me reading this book and sending him summaries and reactions. (We both loathed Ready Player One, so it seemed fitting.)

This book. I genuinely feel bad for Cline and I feel like he doesn't have support. Because he clearly took a lot of the criticism from book one and tried to either fix it or write a better book. Because you see the pieces. However, overwhelmingly, the book fails in so many ways.

It still has the infuriating pop culture details that are in no way significant to the story and therefore you're like “Why does it matter to me that he's wearing this certain Jordan shoe?” (The answer is nostalgia but like, with nothing to make it magical. Only the name is supposed to scratch that itch.)

It sort of gets better in the middle, if not a bit slow, but then the ending is not only unsatisfying its cringeworthy because as it tries to be hopeful, it's actually horrifying cyber hellscape.

So like, Sanderson is definitely one of those authors I can read. But the more I read him, the more I'm frustrated by certain obvious beliefs he holds. And this book read distressingly like copaganda, which after 2020 is a little hard to stomach. Sure this is in a fantasy world, but it's hard not to take the message at face value: that the law and law enforcers are on the people's side and not the rich.

A solid 3.5/5 for me.

This is a perfect example of just not the perfect audience for this book. I do like the themes and the pastiches and the references. However, Moore's work will always rub me the wrong way in how he treats his women characters. How there is always a theme of very underaged girls with older men; rape/threat of rape being a constant source of drama/reveal/torture; etc. etc.

Glad I read it. Glad I read a library copy. Probably won't read it again.

CW: rape, murder, physical abuse, drug abuse

beleaguered sigh I have come to accept that Bardugo is hit or miss for me. Six of Crows duology are two of my favorite books of all time and I loved her take on Wonder Woman. The Grisha trilogy was lackluster for me, but I figured that was because it was her first books. But then King of Scars came out and was baffling.

The Ninth House took me almost two months to read and again I'm left a bit baffled because similarly to King of Scars, Bardugo couldn't decide what kind of book she wanted to right. (Granted, TNH was much closer in tone as a whole than KOS.)

Overall, I wasn't impressed. I'm a huge Agatha Christie fan and I just found the mystery difficult to follow. What makes a good murder mystery (for the most part) is that you know all the players almost immediately and it's watching them squirm for the entire book as they all get introduced and slowly start to unravel since all of them had motives. The suspects were too slowly introduced and spread out that I frankly forgot about half of them when the book finally picked up. And when it was revealed who the murderer was I didn't even care.

The second twist/reveal (which played more to the horror side) was surprising-ish, but frankly really downplayed the whole murder mystery reveal even more.

I'm going to talk about three “plot important” sexual assaults under the spoiler tag below.

But my main beef with this book was the inclusion of rape. I'm going to try and keep it succinct. Mainly, I believe that you do not need rape 99% of the time. It is usually, as in this case, used for shock and disgust value where authors struggle to either show danger, vulnerability or horror.I almost quit reading when Alex was raped by a ghost in the bathroom on middle school field trip. It felt so unnecessary. I cannot for the life of me think that Bardugo had to go that far to show why Alex was ostracized and turned to drugs.It gave Alex the excuse to be frankly a jerk for the whole of the book. She rarely was funny in doing so and often I was on the side of the police or whatever random adult she was pushing away.The death of Hellie would've been traumatic without the overblown characture of Ariel being a sadistic rapist as well as murderer.The only rape that made sense to include was Mercy's, but even then at that point all I could think was Bardugo was reaching for ways for people to be absolute monsters and she only had one answer.

Over all I found the book gratuitous in gore with little horror with a main character that came off more like an asshole than clever. Never once did I think Alex was a step ahead or figuring things out until it was time for her to “know”. Suddenly she had answers and it was pretty much out of nowhere. 

This started as a two star review but after writing all of this I couldn't really think of a good reason to give it another star. 1.5/5 because sometimes the magic was interesting.

If you're a fan of RWARB, you'll probably like this OLS. McQuiston shines where she shines best, with characters and dialogue and chemistry. What stops this book from being as good as her first, is that McQuiston tries to do too much. Not only do you have time travel/ghost mystery, you also have a long lost missing uncle mystery, a beloved local diner about to go out of business, and the side characters, while lovable, sometimes overwhelming everything.

If I were an editor on this, I would've recommended to cut some stuff out. Like, for example, in the beginning one of August's roommates has a dog (a poodle named Noodles) and the dog is mentioned like one other time 2/3s of the way into the book and never again. So what's the point?

I would not say that anything was a bad idea, but I think it could've done without the long lost uncle. Just make the mom estranged from her family and that codependency being what August struggles with. You can have August really into true crime and doing detective stuff and if you sold it as something she was into on her own, it's a much more believable passion.

Just one or two more takes, is what I would suggest.

That being said I really did love this book. Jane Su is probably everyone's crush by the time they finish it.

So. I give this a strong 3/5. I'm rounding up because I do know Bardugo gets better, but I am so glad I read Six of Crows first. Because this book had one of my most hated YA tropes (girl goes on and on about how ugly she is but somehow gets the attention of the two most attractive boys in the series). Not to mention, Alina doesn't really do anything. The plot just kind of happens to her. Even at the end, it's just like “well, I guess we have to go after this MacGuffin” just ‘cuz.

Bardugo definitely comes in more on her own in SoC at least character-wise. And I will continue with this series because I want to know more about this world. But I don't care about Alina. She's not incredibly likable or sympathetic.

I feel like I can't give this book a fair rating because I am clearly not the audience for this book. But that's probably because I'm dead inside.

I found Henry to be a jerk and Clare to be so-close-yet-so-far-almost manic pixie dream girl. There are some real gross moments that are “okay” because time travel. (i.e. - him kiss her when he's forty-something and she's fifteen, but it's okay because they're going to be married.) The rules the author chose to follow when it came to time travel (everything has already happened therefore you cannot change it) also helps excuse the squickier stuff (him sleeping with her on her 18th birthday).

It was hard not to think of him grooming her.

So... yeah... I just don't buy the whole soulmate deal.

Alina is such an aggravating MC. She's so passive and basically only moves thru the book largely to things just happening to her rather than her own choices and making up her own opinions. In fact, she continually falls back on whatever few opinions she forms. She's incredibly unlikable for most of the book and just meh for the rest.

I'm going to go into some light spoilers so if you want to read past this point, you've been warned.

The love rhombus or whatever you would call it is messy and there's only one real winner (Nikolai). Mal is just boring and I continued to wonder why he was even around for most of the book until it was revealed why in the climax. And the Darkling is that brooding character who really has nothing going for him other than that he is “hot” in the Hot Topic sense of the word. If you're going to make a character not age physically but stay conveniently looking like they're in their late teens, early 20s, but not make them compelling or likable, all I can think of is that if they had aged, no one would want them.

The best characters are the side characters (Zoya, Genya, David, etc.) and I maintain the book would solve half of its problems if it wasn't in Alina's head but from the POVs of those around her wondering if she's really a saint/going insane/what's the point of it all.

There's also some incredible leaps of thought and self-awareness in Alina that doesn't make sense or makes me lose all empathy for her. Especially when she's like “I'm turning into a monster” but then does a horrible thing any way.

Bardugo definitely came more into her own in her characters in her duology Six of Crows and I am happy I started with that series than this one. The fact that she's only gotten better and seems to have fixed large problems (don't be solely in someone's head; making characters more likable; etc.). I wouldn't recommend this series at all unless you're a completionist or wanted to see an author's origins. I don't think you would lose anything from reading it, but it's definitely not a favorite. (The fact that it took me a full month to finish should tell you something.)

(2.5/5)  I have been struggling how to describe why this book was consistently falling short for me. I finally settled on the word “sloppy”, as many of the same things that bothered me with A Darker Shade of Magic were present in Viscious as well.

Now, Schwab does succeed in one thing: plot. It's well-paced and you want to know what happens next.

Where Schwab falls short is characters and (in the case of Viscious) rushing through and over simplifying the world building.

First the characters: Neither Eli nor Victor is likable. Worse, they're almost boring in how flatly they're written. There is little to no set up on Eli's character, except for passing comments in the beginning that Victor recognizes that Eli has a dark side which eventually manifests itself into a God-complex? But then that God-complex is never delved into.

It comes across as lazy, since God is only mentioned by name but there is never any scripture mentioned or why Eli is religious. It was like Schwab didn't want to put in the research in the manifestations of God and what are the best motivations for Eli to turn to God as a sign he must kill EOs. (Also, EOs or ExtraOrdinary, is a stupid name for super heroes in otherwise every day world.)

Another note about EOs: Schwab obviously feels the need the need to explain the origin but it's super rushed and (once again) lazy.

As for the other characters, Sydney is not a believable 12 year old and it doesn't make sense why she should be attached to Victor at all. (I'd believe Mitch, but not Victor.)

The only character that was interesting and believable is Sydney's sister, Serena. Who started as probably a spoiled teenager/college student but then gains the ability to control people just by requesting them to do something. And she goes off the rails, gets bored and disillusioned by not being able to trust anyone's true feelings, and exploits her powers. Her psychosis makes sense where Eli's falls short.

Selena would have been a better villain.

Oh and before I forget: they sort-of-kind-of fridge a female character at the beginning. I hesitate to call it a full fridging because even though Eli's girlfriend does die as a result of Victor gaining his powers, it's not really a motivation for either Eli (even though he mentions it every now and then, although it seems more like an after thought) or Victor.

Oh, and Victor... I don't understand why any one finds him sympathetic at all. His entire motivation is revenge from the moment he escapes jail, and possibly even before that. (Also he feels paternal towards Sydney for some reason? And both Sydney and Mitch are compelled to follow Victor even though they have ABSOLUTELY ZERO REASON to?)

The only thing I felt an understanding of is that jealousy of wanting to possess something your friend has that makes them special (Victor when Eli gets powers) or wanting to be the only person in possession of the thing that makes you special (when Eli gets powers before Victor). That nasty feeling was the only true motivation I could identify with in either character.

Schwab just can't sell her characters and motivations and therefore what drives her stories to me. The only reason why I can finish them is because I want to know what happens next, but all of the characters could die and I wouldn't care.

It made me think back a lot on why I didn't like A Darker Shade of Magic and then I realized that I couldn't remember any character's name from ADSoM. Which shows just how memorable they are.

This is very clearly Sanderson's first book. And he definitely got better. There are hints at what makes Sanderson so great, but it's over shadowed by cliche after cliche, flat character after flat character. (And ugh a not-like-other-girls character that is juuuuuust perfect enough but still needs saving in the end... and another character falling in love with her for no reason except to show how special she is... and how no one thought she was pretty until she met the one... gag)

I wouldn't recommend this book. But if you're curious to see an evolution of what I consider to be one of the best current fantasy authors, start with his better books (Mistborn, Stormlight Archive) and then read this. So at least it won't turn you off of the better stuff.

I found Lauren through her viral article about being a cable guy/blue collar worker with PTSD as a lesbian. When I learned that she got a book deal I immediately put it on my TBR list and it doesn't disappoint. Every essay is a brutally honest accounts of her life growing up in a cult, her integration into “real life” not once but twice, her experience and discharge from the air force after receiving death threats and being the victim of arson.

Hough does not paint herself as a victim or a martyr or someone who is now in a better place because she was able to make good decisions. She's honest about her shortcomings, which combined with the lack of resources and being trapped in systems that consistently make it impossible for her to reach a maintainable lifestyle leave her in vulnerable to most.

Is Hough someone I would want to hang out with? Probably not. But she's a good a writer with a very compelling story that examines the pitfalls of her own mental health and the systems of America.

I only bought this book for Chamber's short story, which was excellent. But none of the other short stories could hold my attention or felt like they required me to be familiar with/like other authors' works. The only other one I kind of liked was Martin's.

cw: attempted rape

When I finished this book I was leaning more towards a solid four but I'm afraid I have two big issues (and a few smaller ones). I have w/ this book bring it down to a 3/5 stars.

That being said, I really did enjoy this book and would recommend to most people.

The writing is engaging, the author clearly knows the mid-60s to 70s southern culture. I actually caught myself slipping back into a “Jawja” accent.

Overall, I think the handling of abuse and isolation on the main character, Kya, is well handled. Sometimes it's frustrating because at some points you can just see Kya is stopping herself/hurting herself with destructive behavior. But as someone familiar with mental illness, I cannot blame her (or any of the abused parties in this story) for the actions they took.

However, outside of Kya's family, most of the characters are pretty one-note. There's not a lot depth in Tate or Chase or Jumpin' or Mable. (Tate has some depth, but is still a pretty shallow character.)

But that's a small nitpick–a lot of people say they like “deep” characters but in reality have enjoyed many media where the characters are not as well rounded but still tell a good story.

My bigger issues (and more spoilery) are below the tag.

My first big issue should not be a surprise to anyone who knows me, but I am upset that the biggest conflict comes from attempted rape.The tl;dr of the soapbox is that I feel rape is a cheap way to increase drama and stakes. It is mostly used to victimize women. I'm not saying it can't be used affectively (I've seen it done), but my litmus test for this is if you change rape/attempt rape to another traumatizing human event (say war/ptsd, the loss of home, murder of a loved one, etc) and can get a similar emotional outcome (in this case: the loss of personal safety), then you don't need rape and shouldn't use rape.Okay, off the soapbox.My second issue is that all of Kya's most meaningful relationships are with men. The only significant relationships with women are with her mother (who leaves in the first part of the book and we don't really hear about until the end) and Mable, a kind black woman who gives Kya clothes and teaches her about puberty.Mable isn't really given a lot time and is glossed over. Kya's relationship with Mable's husband, Jumpin is given more weight.And it's not like the book ignored the importance of women's relationships, but Kya is never given a female confidant or friend. And in a world that needs more positive examples of these kinds of relationships, I really wish this book had stepped up to it.

Overall it was a quick good read, great for the beach or a bookclub (definitely guaranteed to get a good discussion going on a number of subjects). Not life changing but not every book needs to be. :)

You can absolutely tell this is Valentine's first novel. I picked it up because over a year ago, I read and adored her second (I think) novel ‘The Girls at the Kingfisher Club' (which I highly recommend). I struggled to rate this book because there ARE good ideas here and a compelling story. However, its extremely sloppy and the inconsistent narrator and writing style makes it very difficult to sit a read straight through.

I really enjoyed Novik's first book ‘Uprooted'. The book is not nearly as good. I think it fails the most because of the number of different POVs. Uprooted only has one so it's stilted fairy tale-esque language is a feature of the book. This type of language really doesn't work when there are multiple first person POVs. When there's a change in narrator, it can take a bit to figure out who's talking because there's really no change in the tone. And a lot of it doesn't feel necessary.

Also the plot is super convoluted and there were quite a few times where I thought “what was the point of that?”

There will be some spoilers towards the end, so you have been warned.

I was so excited about this book/duology. I had been hoping that Bardugo would have used what she learned writing the Six of Crows duology and she did to some extent. I'm glad that after the Grisha trilogy she doesn't write in first person and she switches up the POVs. However, what came back from the Grisha trilogy was this macguffin-driven plotline which is not super compelling.

It was the same problem with going after the amplifiers, it seemed really random and convenient and it took what could have been a really cool premise, which was Nikolai dealing with this monster inside him into seemingly directionless storyline. Not to mention seemed to be more focused on bringing back a popular character (the Darkling, or–as I like to call him–Hot Topic) rather than saving Nikolai. Even Elizabeta's betrayal didn't seem like a twist just because it fell so neatly inline with what the end goal clearly was.

With Nina's storyline, which I found much more compelling, it felt like two very different books together. I'm guessing that the second book there will be this “THIS IS ALL CONNECTED” twist thing, but this first book... it literally was like jumping between a generic fantasy macguffin plot and this really gritty horror mystery plot. This made it a lot easier to put it down if something wasn't grabbing my attention.

I think Nina's story was the stronger of the two because it focused so much on her character which was already so well established and showed her growth as well as her burgeoning relationship with Hanne. Bardugo's at her best when the stakes seem more personal.

With Six of Crows, yes you could argue that the jurda parem is a macguffin, but the real threat was how dangerous it was to the individuals we know and love vs. Nikolai's macguffin where they keep tying it back to Ravka and what would happen if he wasn't king etc. etc.

Overall, better than the Grisha trilogy, but not Bardugo's best. I might just get the second book from my library.

I truly enjoyed the first three books of this series, but this book falls flat. It honestly feels like Bray did not know how to end the series and therefore had to invent a lot of rules about the Diviner's powers and about the King of Crows last minute. For a series that took place in NYC, all of the characters are inexplicably separated for half traveling cross country to all get to a town in Kentucky and then Nebraska to meet a new Diviner, who really doesn't do much?

It's been a while since I read the first books in the series, but I really could not remember a strong through line from the first book to this one. To me, it just felt very flat and not as fleshed out as the others.

4.5/5

SLIGHT SPOILERS FOR A BOOK ALMOST 150 YEARS OLD. PROCEED WITH CAUTION.

Wow. I am so glad I picked this book up again. I can't say I was never interested in classics (I went through a huge Jane Austen kick in high school), but for the most part many left me could. (coughWuthering Heightscough) Austen has aged incredibly well compared to many of her contemporaries haven't. Little Women seems to have the same staying powers in some ways, though I totally get why I couldn't read it until now (in my mature 29 years).

While P&P specifically has aged so well, you can basically change the setting, the characters but as long as it keeps the core of the story, the story never really suffers.

Little Women is much more of a product of its time and while has themes and characters that definitely defy the time period (Jo in particular). I don't think I would've had the maturity to read this book before now.

I should start off before I go into a slight tirade that I absolutely did love this book. I get why it's considered timeless. There's a humor and a wholesomeness and such love for these characters that I now share. And for the most part, a lot of the advice in this book is still applicable today. (Also, the Marches are the og Weasley family. Change my mind.)

However, I do know why it took me so long to read it. The book is unfortunately somewhat dated in some of how it talks about family dynamics. But there's enough humor and spirit, it's easy to see that a more modern retelling could still keep the heart of the book and update some of the values.

While the spirit of a lot of the morals of the book are commendable, there is a certain gendered and/or religious tone that sometimes is jarring. Not to mention that the morals are much more blatant than say, in Austen's novels, because Alcott will literally spell it out for the reader, which can sometimes feel condescending if you're not buying the wholesome tone.

I think that if you were to do a modern retelling, a few things would change:

- Hannah

Oh Hannah. Probably the most problematic part of LW. Hannah is clearly black and working for the family. She's not a slave, and as the story happens during the Civil War, we can assume the March's stances are anti-slavery and that she is employed. However, it is often stated how poor the March family is, so who knows what Hannah was being paid if at all. She is treated fondly by the family and not her own character.

I have not seen any adaptions, so I don't know how Hannah is handled in any of the movies, but it wouldn't surprised me if she was cut out entirely. I think the only way to include Hannah or a Hannah-like character is make her a friend of the family because I do think she's integral in at least Meg's story. She could be a family friend.

Or, I think that a more progressive approach to a more modern retelling/adaption, is changing the race of the main characters. Which I think would be very timely.

- The morals would need a slight adjustment for modern audiences. Specifically the ones that are more gendered.

For example, Meg's issues when she's figuring out balancing her marriage with having children. It can definitely come off as the woman needs to make sure her ~man~ is taken care of. But really it's about remembering to take care of each other and not neglect needs and let your spouse/other people help with the children. Which are really good points! Maybe remove the husband/wife dynamic and it's golden.

- Joe probably shouldn't be married at the end. Or maybe would be LGBTQ+

I'm pretty sure it's safe to say Jo is the most popular, most empathetic, and most idolized character and it's not hard to see why. While all of the other little women have their quirks and faults, Jo is everyone's bombastic friend that's up for adventures and has dreams higher than her station can afford. (Not just monetarily–since Meg and Amy both wish for more comfort in that area–Jo also wants freedom that being a woman at the time simply does not allow.)

I can see a lot of romantics wondering why Laurie and Jo didn't end up together, but I'm happy that Alcott recognizes they're not a good romantic match. And I don't hate Jo ending up with Professor Bhear, but I can imagine her story not ending up with anyone and making her own way. Or figuring out that she's not attracted to men. Or that she might be trans. Although I can see many people getting unnecessarily angry at those insinuations.

I think that a better outcome for Jo did not lie in marriage and it felt forced and might contribute to what makes LW feel more dated than say P&P.

I do want to reiterate that I did love the book and can see myself rereading it. I look forward to watching the newest adaption and maybe the others. :)

I guess this was supposed to be some terrifying commentary on our world a'la-A Brave New World. However, like ABNW, The Circle imagines a world to an extreme that makes it seem cartoonish.

Mae is an idiot, an unbelievable character. And the “antagonists” to The Circle (the company that the book is named for) are not likable or are able to make compelling arguments. (Granted, everyone working for The Circle seems braindead, so there's that.)

I prefer my apocalypses more... elegant. I'll stick with Orwell.

I got to read an ARC and thoroughly enjoyed this sweet, sassy romcom with heart at the very center. It plays into Pride and Prejudice vibes (egos and miscommunications) but not overly so, or not unbelievable. And the cast, both the main characters and their friends and family, are all lovely. Makes you want to move a small town and grab a papusa at Josie's Tias' restaurant.

Rating these kinds of things is harder for me because sometimes there are things about a culture that just rubs me the wrong way and in this case it's historical legends and beliefs. And like most historical things, women are often if not sources of evil, reasons why good men fail. And that is something I never enjoy or like reading about and negatively affects my experience. So I'm not going to rate this title.

This was really cute. I really enjoyed the personal stories. However, I am a little disappointed in the end.

In his search for what went wrong in his relationships, he found that a lot of the time it was his own insecurities or reservations or social cluelessness (the last one can only be cured by making the mistakes he mentions in his books) that was his own downfall and only when he was happy with himself and not actively looking for a girlfriend did he find one.I saw it coming a mile away, because that's the answer, isn't it? Be yourself, do what you love, and you will find someone for you. But as someone who is very frustrated with her love life, I can't help but be a little ‘meh' about it.

Usually when it takes me forever to a read a book that's a bad sign. But this time it took me a while because I had to put it down due to my anxiety. It was a really good book but very high drama and I just have not been in a mood for that kind of story. Can't wait to read #4. Will probably wait a while.

I could not finish. It was a slog to get thru and Diana and Matthew are incredibly unlikable.