kou
There comes a point in every man's life where he can rail against the unfairness of the world until he loses, or he can do his best in it. Remain a victim, or become a survivor.
I honestly picked up this book because I was simply captivated by the cover and the title. Even went ahead to get the audiobook. No regrets!! The entire storyline was paced well and captured my attention with every event and Vis's action as he climbed up the Academy and encountered various situations. And that ending!! Can't wait for the next book to find out more!!
Will definitely pick up Islington's Licanius Trilogy soon!
TWs: Death of a child, gore, mention of sexual assault/rape of a child
4.25 rounded down; this was well written and the very short chapters made it easily bingable! Ultimately the chaos was caused by a demonic spirit that possessed others which I felt was anticlimactic. Would've loved it much more if it was actually caused by the group's will to escape the Catholic orphanage to retaliate against the adults that were clearly abusing and mistreating them. Then the true natures of children with trauma might have delivered a more impactful delivery and message. Regardless, it was still a great read! Frustrated with that ending though lol
TWs: (mentions of) sexual assult
4.25 rounded down
I really enjoyed the concept of it and quite funny because they all seem like really nice people despite working for The Villain lol Maybe it's just where I'm at right now but it felt a little slow with all these side stories. About the halfway mark I suspected the dad so huzzah!! But wow he is a disgusting (probably up there #1) antagonist ;-;
In regards to the writing, I personally wanted more because I read so much lit/fic and not so much romance. This felt more romancy than fantasy but lol hurray for short chapters though
TWs: Suicide, gun violence, depression, alcohol/drug abuse
How easily one can slip from depression to suicide if they aren't careful.
What a story. It's one that will linger no matter how long, and remind you of the horrors of media and the visuals we consume. Depression sucks people right in. Suicide snatches people away. Battles fought; some persevere, some lose, but perhaps never won. It's painful but a good reminder.
TWs: Ableism, confinement, emotional abuse, death, grief
2.75 rounded up; It had such a great start to build up the tension between Oghi and how his life spirals downward after the car accident that kills his wife. Then the ending... I understand the message but it wasn't as strong as the beginning and it feels abrupt, unsatisfactory, and so frustrating!!
In the beginning, I felt bad for Oghi and how the mother-in-law was treating him, which was understandable, considering he as the driver was alive, and the wife had passed away. But as the history behind the characters unravels, it turns into a lot of hatred and frustration with all of them. Simply, they're all crazy lol Oghi especially. Such a selfish and self-centered human who feels that no one cares about him and that life is just moving without him, despite his achievements. Possibly intentional, where Oghi is the only character that is actually named.
Major props to the designer, that hole getting bigger each chapter is so crazy and terrifying. A visual so simple, yet impactful and unnerving!! It wasn't in the Korean book, so great addition!!
TWs: misogyny/sexual stereotypes
「普通の人間っていうのはね、普通じゃない人間を裁判するのが趣味なんですよ。」
3.5 rounded up; This book was frustrating because of the misogyny and Asian cultures have this norm, and it's tiring. Keiko repeatedly being told she's not normal, and how she needs to be changed in order to fit the woman stereotype. The journey toward the end was interesting, but I think I was just angry/frustrated most of the time lol
4.5 rounded up; Despite not reading anything by [a:Kurt Vonnegut Jr. 2778055 Kurt Vonnegut Jr. https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1433582280p2/2778055.jpg] or [a:Dan Wakefield 182983 Dan Wakefield https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1650187470p2/182983.jpg], I really enjoyed this biography! The second-person narrative with the integration of letters made the timeline much easier to understand and emotions to be delivered. I love the incorporation of the pictures and art of Vonnegut. Maybe because it's intended for YA/juveniles, it was really easy to read too. Excited to pick up books by both authors in the near future!
I kind of enjoyed the storyline, but I think the writing.. I couldn't take it seriously – maybe it's just not for me. (It kind of sounded like Olivie Blake's Atlas Six minus all her fancy prose lol
I think the idea of the 'being' in the house being a wax figure, and like Amelia said, "We could have shaped it into anything we wanted it to be" symbolizes many of the thing that could be shaped, like their feelings for one another, or continuing this path. I had to look on gr for other people's insights, and it does sound like the house wants them to stay together, whether if it's with good intentions, or wanting to trap them.. who knows..
Waaaahh!!!! Beautiful story!! Made me tear up at the end ;-; The narrative and the storyline was awesome as Clark maneuvers his days through the time loop and figuring out how to get out of it! Clark moving through the days as he learned about each person was so heartwarming. I'm glad it ended with a happy ending and understanding for each other. A pandemic-inspired story as we all battled with loneliness.
TWs: Use of drugs/drug abuse, death of a family member3.5 rounded down; I really enjoyed the first half, then it kind of got all muddled and boring ;-;Though Lev and Sasha's romance immediately started like BAM in the beginning and was weirded out by it, I did like how silly Lev was and eventually developed into something more. Once Lev's death happened and everyone started to just come back alive, it got really repetitive, even with the writing. I think Blake writes beautifully, but that's one thing I noticed she does -- write things over and over for drama/tense feels. It's a love/hate relationship ;-; I was hoping for more magic stuff but it was more drugs, which I didn't expect, and felt like it could've been more.. The Bridge being this middle man the entire time became really boring too.. sighLoved it more than [b:The Atlas Six 59058504 The Atlas Six (The Atlas, #1) Olivie Blake https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1639472883l/59058504.SY75.jpg 75499539], but less than [b:Alone With You in the Ether 61126612 Alone With You in the Ether Olivie Blake https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1661863300l/61126612.SY75.jpg 84581419]
