Tabea

What did I read?

Nothing of the blurb gives away that this story is actually set in modern day New England, complete with smartphones and SUVs. Made me halt when I started reading. Then when she's at the school, there is no reason to think that we are in modern times (no mention of anything more modern than paper - including letter openers). So setting was already an issue for me that made no real sense. But I guess authors choice, whatever, fine.
Now characters. There wasn't much relation between characters from the FMC to others. Well, besides lusting over the age-old school director. Which in itself is already problematic.
And last, the plot. Um, what plot? Some revenge served with a side dish of, oh, the dirty deed. Maybe I was not paying enough attentional the „actual“ plotting and scheming but the finale came out of nowhere and I still don't know what happened. I was way too confused as to how it ended up as it is, and not in a good way.

Felt like back at school
Having read a poem-style story now in adulthood, I can confidently say... that I'm no fan.
It took me a while to get into the style and honestly, interpreting what a stanza or canto was supposed to mean made me feel like back in class. Not sure that without the notation I would've understood much.
That being said, the writing style was hauntingly beautiful once I got used to it.

Double-retelling of Sleeping Beauty for wolf shifters

Sleeping Beauty doesn't appear once but twice in this story which admittedly bewildered me. But they're not even the focus but rather someone else entirely. Mother sleeping beauty / wolf shifter queen had twins and one is also put to sleep. The other twin was usually in the shadows and is now put front stage. Besides venturing out to save the twin, they end up finding themselves. It sounds a little cliche but the strict wolf pack structures are definitely a not so subtle nod to patriarchal society and within this, the character development makes sense. This mostly took a backseat in favour of the plot and for me, it ended up being a little too random and not sufficiently felt and developed (but then again we never had much of a story „before“ where these aspects could have been better included and pondered).

Italian fantasy version of Shatter Me

Initially it felt very much like Shatter Me, just removed from dystopian to fantasy and adding Italian flair. This did change throughout the story and it became more of its own thing, while remaining very strongly in the realm of The Chosen One trope.
The solution to the problem was somewhat new-ish but by no means a surprise following the laid out plot. The theological and philosophical pondering elements gave the FMC a nice touch of remaining human and relatable. The MMC gave me weirdly enough the same vibes as Edward from Twilight.

Re-read (or first time listening)
Tolkien started my love for fantasy but ever since the first time reading it when I was a teen, I have only watched the movies which are my favourites of all time.
I had only read it in the established translation to German but knowing the genius of Tolkien, I have long wanted to read it in its original English version. Now for reading I didn't have the time but I listened to the audiobook read by Andy Serkins. He is an amazing voice actor and this added yet another beautiful layer (although heavily influenced by the movie version and his co-actors)
I forgot plenty of minor details from the first read (because impatient and action-loving teen me wanted the plot not the blablabla surrounding it).

First, LotR is a musical, and I'll die on that hill. What the hell?

Somehow nothing entirely new and yet absolutely captivating

When I read in the synopsis that it's about jinns I imagined more of an Arabian or Persian setting with deserts and heat and a bit more distinct elements. While this wasn't really the case (I think, jinn are the new fae in this book) it is immensely entertaining.
The MCs display lots of depth, their interactions and also interactions with minor characters seemed relatable and the overall story progressed well-paced. The side kicks were just as interesting (hope to find out more about them!) and the magic system was introduced nicely.
Having read some of the books in the Shatter Me series by the same author, I was somewhat torn on what to expect by the writing style. It's not as distinct as in Shatter Me. I didn't need time to get used to the writing, instead I found the writing incredibly smooth and weirdly soothing? And now the highlight of this book which gives it a half star plus: my copy from the the library came with plenty of annotations! While I personally don't annotate, you do you - with your own copy. However, the comments were so entertaining and spot on, I am hoping that the same person borrowed the second instalment and graces me with the same awesome annotations! Whoever you are: thanks for the additional fun

DNF ~35%
This book presents itself like something full of social critique while it was just horrible.
We are promised a young woman outside of slim beauty standards who (while somewhat unsure of her own body because of its shape) is smart, witty and capable to successfully run a country at a 10 year long war. We get a deeply insecure, timid and self-loathing grey mouse with no sign of outsmarting the society she's thrust in. Throughout the parts that I read it fell flat on all promises. There is a trigger warning about the fat phobia and body shaming but I went into it expecting uplifting defiance at some point. Instead it pulled me down with it.
The supposed love interest (enemy to lovers? Responsible for her physical disability?) is a horrible and demeaning person and would get domestic violence warnings as another trigger.
Maybe, just really really maybe, the book would have started to become what it promised but it was overly shaming that I couldn't deal with it.
I will give it the point that it read fairly smoothly simply from a language view.

Intriguing setting that somehow delivers and doesn't

I was quite excited to start reading this book with a retelling of Scheherazade and the grander scheme around it. We get these bits at the very beginning - and then it sort of fizzles out, I think we're supposed to guess that it continues? That was a little disappointing but still the rest of the story is beautifully told and the developments between the two main characters are cute. Two of the other POVs to me always seemed like an interruption of the main plot. While one makes sense for the finale, the other one just seems unnecessary and meandering, it could have been either completely omitted or blown further up with the development of the rebellion playing a larger part. That's my main critique but I have hopes for the next to delve deeper into that aspect.

A little more bewildering than the first

The first book, I immensely enjoyed because it was so different from the rest (regarding both characters and a unique magic system). This does continue in this book and we learn a lot more especially about Inara and Skedi. From the story arc, it was very similarly structured as the first book, with three distinct storylines that eventually intertwined, and I'm somewhat torn on this aspect. We have quite a few plot twist that were very entertaining but one character development leaves me scratching my head a little. Here's to hoping that it will resolve in the next book which I'm very excited to be reading

Not bad, not good, somewhere in between

I have grown wary of hyped books and this was no different. While I did enjoy the very character-driven story, I feel like there was not much of a plot. Characters were also not too nuanced in their broodiness and rage, but somehow I did feel their chemistry. The structure and story arc are also something different which I'm not yet sure if I like it or not. The magic system seems to be closer to steam punk but was quite fun.
Overall, I'm not swept away by it but was still sufficiently entertained.

Maybe I read this book to close in time to Trial of the Sun Queen. But I felt like I was ready pretty much the same story with a few tweaks and differences here and there. Most of the plot was standard and the supposedly shocking plot twists were unfortunately quite obvious. Characters and their development fell rather flat IMO and again, this story didn't seem unique at all. Highly debating if I continue reading.

Important topics in a gripping story with real and relatable characters

I so much loved the character development our FMC had in the first book and it continues in this one as well. Friendship, loyalty and fearlessness are the basis for the main theme of realising what's just, what are lies and we want to stand for. I think the message is incredibly important looking at the current state of our world. The packaging of said message reads easy and is super entertaining, most times I had to force myself to put the book down. Admittedly, some parts of the story were hard to read but not language-wise but plot-wise. Looking very much forward to read the next book and where the plot leads us!

An important topic in a nice package
Overall, it reminded me of somewhat of Babel, questioning the legitimacy of white superiority and alienation or rather cultural bulldozing - just with a less bleak outlook. Magic is approached in a very scholarly scientific manner. And then there's dragons and a school to learn dragoneer stuff! (So basically a cooler and nicer version of Basgiath) we readers now experience a lovely blend of learning about dragons as well as cultures, both Native American and quirks of the “English” cultures while not seeing either one as superior and saviour of the other.
Note on the world: it's fairly easy to draw the parallels between fictional and true worlds but my highlight was reading the English version with random German borrowings.
Regarding the main characters, I kept forgetting that most of them are around 15/16, there was rarely childish behaviour but a lot of grown up reactions and still plenty of character development.
I am pretty excited to continue on this journey!

Depressing depiction of war for the sake of war

This is not a book to read when you want cozy happiness. It's brutal, it's depressing, it hits you with everything thinkable.
Our heroes are actually sad excuses for heroism, they are traumatised, have unhealthy coping mechanisms (violence, self-harm, addiction) and cannot seem to get a lucky break. While in a lot of other stories, the heroes (or at least most of them) manage to turn the tide with some clever master plan when faced with unwinnable situations, they... do not. While all this might seem like I think it's a bad book, that's not quite true: it is very raw, frankly disturbing and yet so powerful and important for all the ugly aspects of war.

Potato Chips Book
I was recently introduced to the notion of a “potato chips book” which is a book that is objectively bad but you still nibble it away.
Our heroine Arwen (that's already the start of it, there can only be one Arwen in fantasy!) is such an annoying pick me girl looking down on girls actually liking girly stuff. The MCC is cookie cutter good guy with a terrible secret only she can know. And only she can save him - or doom him. So yes, the plot was fairly predictable but had a story line that I thought absolutely weird.
And now the last weirdness: the ending of this book basically gives away the ending of the second book which apparently is somewhat at the same time. Why would the author do that?! (Even though the ending might be just as nicely predictable anyway)
That all being said, it was somehow entertaining and an easy read. Maybe a little bit of “so bad it's good again”? Keep your expectations low and it could be fun.

Worthy ending of a great series

I kept putting off finishing this series, partially because I read a spoiler in the Crows duology (or so I thought) and partially because I didn't want it to end.
There is again set backs, fights, and fear. But most importantly the story emphasises friendship and what even a ragtag team can accomplish if the put their differences aside and focus on their shared ideals and goals.
Bardugo also doesn't shy away from including the ugly sides of war concerning the people fighting in it, both physical and mentally.

Just like many other SciFi stories, it had me wondering at times about the science. Most of them try to sell it as quite likely (and not some basically fantastical mumbo-jumbo) and this was no different.
The timeline of the story arch was complicated as it was to be expected. I only realised now that it's supposed to be a series of books and otherwise I would have felt that the ending was not satisfying.

Even better than the first
While I thought the first instalment was pretty good, I was not as blown away by it as some bookfluencers have hyped it (yes, I‘m easily influenced). Specifically the MCs weren't as interesting as some of the side kicks.
Well, NOW I know why the series as a whole was hyped. In this second instalment we have different POVs and we have a slightly shifted focus on whose story is the focus (of those more interesting side kicks, yeah!). The storylines fuse intricately into each other and while they conclude the duology nicely, there is an opening for more. And those storylines were interesting and fun to read. Actually, „fun“ might be a wrong choice of words...
The setting remains very gothic and mysterious, I still couldn't shake the feeling of a play with limited props. But this time round, there were a few setting changes so it felt less claustrophobic.

Okay, everyone seems to love this book but I just...don't? I already felt meh with the first instalment but at least the games made the plot interesting and entertaining to read (what does that say about me?). Now, this second was a lot happening and nothing happening at the same time. Solutions seemed very out of nowhere ex-machina style. Interesting aspects (like a society of vampires frozen as children with a deeply disturbed „mother“) were over in the blink of an eye. And there was no character development, just learning to wield powers (that again were pretty ex-machina convenient)

Sufficiently entertaining for a long car ride but it tried to outsmart itself way too hard.

What a convoluted story. Entertaining enough to keep going while on a longer car drive, but still not too complex too keep in mind while having breaks in between.
Now, we were listening to the German audiobook (and I don't know if it'd be different when reading or in a different language). There are time jumps between present time of Niemi as detective and previous time of Niemi as a late-teen on a quest to find herself in Italy; the jumps between these sections were stumbles really. In the beginning it seemed like the audiobook had skipped chapters or parts were missing as in a bridged version (all was in order) while there was no instrumental interlude between present and past; however there were interludes between immediately subsequent moments of the present. It was absolutely confusing and normally I don't shave problems with different POVs or times. To make this even worse, the story in Italy does not seem to have much to do with the present time plot line and at best gives some background info on relations but has no consequences for the case.
And the case... it wanted to be utterly “meta” as murders recreating fictional murders of a thriller - all within an actual thriller.

I'm somewhat angry to have read this - and wasted time on it.
The first instalment was okay, somewhat predictable, nothing novel; but still entertaining enough. Now the second instalment... WTF
My major problem with this book: it pretends to be plot-driven while having what felt like at least 50% spice. Maybe I was naive going into it but I did not expect that much spice scenes while it's supposed to be plot. And those spice scenes are... bad. Both as in written badly and even if I could see past that, it's supposed to be the best sex ever and the description is of a normal BJ or something.
There has to be at least one nickname and of all words it is either “inmate” (and at some point when overheard explained with aforementioned spice, specifically role play) and it kept giving me the ick, or her true identity within the grander scheme of things - and if someone overheard this, you're all dead! Stupid.
Now to the little plot that we were gifted with. Again nothing novel, but making somewhat sense in the development. The love relation was unfortunately (besides the spice) pretty repetitive of getting it on - and then rejection “to focus on what matters.” Our FMC keeps emphasising that everything she does, she does for her siblings. Well then stop telling me that and actually do something?
Overall, I am seriously contemplating if I should continue. Having read some reviews, my opinion on this book is not alone and judging from reviews of the third instalment, it is not as bad. Maybe I'll have a peek if I have nothing else to read... (TBR laughing in the distance)

Conclusion with a major bang

This book feels so very essential human. Throughout the trilogy, we as readers are constantly confronted with questions what makes us “us”, how we take set backs in our lives and how far we are willing to go.
I was first taken aback a little because there is a large time jump of 2 years from the last battle on Gaelung to this, and lots has happened. Somehow, I wished these happenings would have been part of the story and not just in flashbacks. But that would probably have made it way too long and badly paced.
Our MCs are all various shades of grey and no one is beyond redemption or always acting angel-y like good. For me this is the part that memes the story so compelling, how and why they act as they do.
This instalment gave us even higher stakes as before and delivers. It is no cookie-cutter story of either just drama or just sunshine and rainbows and unicorns - but just like real life, brutal but with a glimmer of hope.

Entertaining as audiobook for a long car ride. But not revolutionary.

Very current topic with frightening implications

When I started with this book, I had my doubts. Kling has for me been associated with light-hearted comedy, absurdity and tongue-in-cheek criticism of society. Now, a thriller by the same author? Could be a hard fail. But it wasn't
The topic is one of the most current and heated debates currently in Germany, concerning immigration, immigrant criminality and the right growing ever stronger. Again.
The crime in question, a gang rape of a (white) teen by multiple (black) immigrants, is heinous and the reaction of society is frightening real and likely. A later discovery of the investigation team makes it even more frightening.
Throughout the book there are heartfelt moments between the investigators, specifically between the main investigator and her daughter. Every now and then, there is even a moment for a grin.
Overall, I feel like this book will live rent free in my mind for a while. And gives me plenty to fear for where society is headed.