rogier caprino
This was a mess. Only Taste of a kiss by roselle lim 4/5
And Sometimes in September by Byron Graves?? 4/5 where worthwhile. I can't wait to read more from Lim and Graves
I've always loved fairy tales, folklore and mythology growing up. Seeing the names in At Midnight I had to jump in. I really enjoyed this one. I liked the majority with three stars here and there. I liked that Lesser used and / or lesser known Hans Christian Anderson and Grimm where chosen for inspiration. I liked that I became aware of Fitcher???s Bird ( heavy bluebeard vibes ) The anthology has hit after hit right of the jump. With classism, racism , body issues, colonialism addressed in the stories. Not every story but it was needed for the stories that did. I sadly had disappointments. And I have my favorites. Others weren't a surprise cause I enjoy their writing and of others I need to read more and I don't care in what format I need more. Malinda Lo , Gita Trelease, Stacey Lee , Rory Power , Tracey Deonn , Meredith Russo , Darcy Little Badger were the GOAT. I can gush about each so much . Power ‘s was like a haunting fever dream, Little Badger was so fun and enjoyable, Lee was sad and fierce and had thematic similaries with Trelease, Lo could be described as Sapphic yearning , Deonn as beautifull and Russo equally tender and monstrous.Russo ‘s story was the most creative and inventive. I never thought of using The little mermaid as a trans fairy tale. So good.
My ratings for each story in at midnight
The City Beautiful takes place at the backdrop of The 1893 Chicago. The White City. Alter Rosen, a Romanian Jewish guy has lived in the US close to 3 years now working at a low paying job to have his mother and little sisters brought over to escaping oppression in Europe. This is an amazing book about Jewish immigrant life in the US with a gothic horror core. A friend found dead possesses him to act revenge. Yakov ‘s Dybbuk is angry, antagonistic and yet you feel sympathy for this lost soul. You get to experience horror filled imagery which is full of Jewish lore and mythology. But the real life horrors are more terrifying: the exploiting of workers, the reasoning of killer, how discrimination is systemic and chilling how individuals see others as filth. A warning , the anti-Semitism is intense 80% into the book, it is mentioned in the dialog of two chapters.
I loved how Jewish this book, the customs, the food , faith and everyday life. The City Beautiful is a part thriller and murder mystery with but seeing Jewish life is really special. WW2 novels are important but I'm glad that publishing pushed out more non WW Jewish fiction. The action scenes and character building moments were well paced. The plot has a medium paced and it will be a disservice to you and the story heading in for the action. The action is intense but the characters matter more. Every page was needed to tell this story.
I adored Alter, Frankie and Raizel so much. I'd would love to be in their company. Each had a great arch but Alter has to be my favorite, embracing himself fully as a person and being queer , dealing with survivors guilt and not losing his kindness after the much needed self defense. Alter and Frankie are have faults, have messy feelings, are angry, have violent moments and are not desexualized gay guys. I'm so happy that they don't fit in the squeaky clean mold that popular YA media portrays. They showed love, passion and lust as much possible in a YA novel. Frankie is the ‘bad boy' from Alter's past. Frankie has a lot of trauma and it's respectfully written and mentioned. If I would label attach a trope to their romance it would be rekindled friends to lovers.
Aden Polydoros is 100% an autobuy author of mine after finishing The City Beautiful. Gah, I hope people read it. They are totally different but i had the same joy after finishing it I had with cemetery boys. I can't wait for the Bone Weaver next year, the MG the year after that and many others in years to come, I speak it into existence. READ THE CITY BEAUTIFUL for well researched historical life in Jewish ghettos, a well plotted story, a sweet romance that gradually builds , great rounded characters and a male lead that you want to hug immediately.
will damron is so good and read lee's words so beautiful.
can;t wait to read and listen to more of both
Stories can be held captive, blemished with falsehoods it doesn't matter how long but the true story will break free.
Human touch are what everyone craves for. Tarisai has only ever known stories, knowledge and memories growing up. She grew up with people around her but she was lonely. Her mom the Lady showed no affection and was cold towards her and her mentors never touched her only ever lectured and instructed. Family is the only thing Tarisai ever wanted. She's instructed to get it and destroy it. She was born out of magic. Out of the Lady's wish. Tarisai needs to grow close to the crown prince , belong to his beloved , make him love her and kill him. Tarisai won't be a pawn in her story no matter what.
This world and magic system is enchanting but the true magic are the characters and that makes Raybearer all the more worthwhile. The book is very character driven but each character, even to the minor ones sets the plot in motion. Tarisai is the lead, we fall in love with her council mates the way she does with the eleven and we notice the prejudice and injustice lurking underneath bit by bit as she does. Tarisai is strong leading lady ,the emotional abuse makes her scared to be loved in every way possible. She's terrified it will be lost and will be taken away. It was a pleasure seeing her grow, be confident in herself and shine like a brilliant sun. Her loved ones, the council, the other eleven but in 3 particular stand by and show her that she's worthy of love. The council consist of people of different cultures and ethnicities but I'll spotlight Kirah, Sanjeet and Dayo. All 3 so different and immensely important to her. I'll let you'll discover for yourself. Speaking about love, Raybearer speaks about the absence of love and the different kind of love. The familiar bond between friends and romantic love has equal weight in importance. All types of love should be important.
The slow burn romance that Ifueko crafted and slowly build is a beautiful one. Still on the topic of love I'm so happy Ifueko included an ace character, Dayo - the crown prince. Dayo crushes on boys and girls. Being ace and homoromantic , I was so happy when I read it and hope others will too.
The opposite of love is destruction. Ifueko writes rage inducing about the horrors of colonialism and assimilation. How people in power will and have tried to destroy cultures and societies through law and military force. I can't wait to see people's reaction.
Worldbulding and magic
This is such an unique world and feels so fresh. The way 12 regions or realms are different but feel like one collective culture. Seeing character with different skin tones: Black, brown and white. I had to be extra creative when imaginating it and it's so easy with the help of Ifueko's beautiful writing. It helped me and challenged me to try to dismantle my learned Eurocentric mental picture. I envisioned Sanjeet with brown skin but ones or twice I saw a white person and that's an issue I have to combat. Seeing how Sanjeet is favorite character of mine.
The magic system is beautiful to see. We have pixies and black fairies.Hallows are gifts one is born with. Any possible power imaginable. Tarisai interacts with memories of objects , nature and people whenever she touches. The council , her friends have different power each. I can't wait to see how her gift and the others flourish. To see how the world and magic system will be further explored.
Raybearer is a rhythmic cultural practice on the page. It felt like listening to orally told story when reading. Suriname has loads, every culture different but still Surinamese. Raybearer stands on it's own and will enrich the already published African YA fantasy and the ones to come next year and years to come. I know without a doubt the audiobook will be magical and and an experience.
It read like classic 2012 - 2015 ya fantasy but with better writing. Half mad max and frozen meets ice road truckers. There are brown ppl than Lilly white YA fantasy. The brown ppl are made of stone and rock. I like how Dittemore created the fantasy origin myth. . This book is about colonization. How the native people helped a marooned foreign royal but she betrayed them and caused a forever winter. It's about the exploited coal miners and native population starting a rebellion against The Majority. Our protag is an orphan who influences and mentally talks to winter. She's not human but has pale skin. Imagine Elsa. She's a bad bitch driving a magically enhanced ice road truck. She's a loner type but gradually cares for the ragtag group she unwillingly goes in a bargain with.
I docked stars because I found that some parts of the worldbuilding did not mesh with other parts. I'm also tired of straight couples and I'm very picky. It's a 3 star and still recommend it
Finished howl by Shaun David Hutcherson at 4:50 this morning. It's a solid book. The writing does its job. It's good for people who don't like overly descriptive, beautiful writing. The characters are decently fleshed out, especially Virgil- our lead, Tripp ( actual name Buckley), and Astrid less so. I like the inclusion of high school theater. I didn't understand lycanthropy as a metaphor for sexual assault fully. Hurt people, hurt people?. Go into this book knowing that the horror part is used to illustrate trauma and dealing with emotions surrounding it. It's not a slasher, reading reviews some people thought that. But I'm not going nitpicking into it because Hutcherson has used his own experiences as inspiration and it's a personal book for him. I wished the writing was lusher. I still enjoyed the experience. It's a 4 for me
Merged review:
Finished howl by Shaun David Hutcherson at 4:50 this morning. It's a solid book. The writing does its job. It's good for people who don't like overly descriptive, beautiful writing. The characters are decently fleshed out, especially Virgil- our lead, Tripp ( actual name Buckley), and Astrid less so. I like the inclusion of high school theater. I didn't understand lycanthropy as a metaphor for sexual assault fully. Hurt people, hurt people?. Go into this book knowing that the horror part is used to illustrate trauma and dealing with emotions surrounding it. It's not a slasher, reading reviews some people thought that. But I'm not going nitpicking into it because Hutcherson has used his own experiences as inspiration and it's a personal book for him. I wished the writing was lusher. I still enjoyed the experience. It's a 4 for me
This was a sweet debut. Women in history are often ignored and forgotten. There were women in battle but media rarely shows it. Kit Sweetly knows this erasure being a history nerd and working at a medieval fast food and entertainment joint. It's nice to see that Jamie Pacton has written about lower income protagonists in both of her YA contemporaries. The struggles being poor brings. I love how friendships and found family is a huge part of this debut, which is a repeated theme in her second book ( lucky girl 5/5) and most likely in her newest one this fall “ the vermillion emporium “- a ya fantasy debut.
Because the book happens in a span of two weeks. Not every side character could be fully fleshed out but you still feel the essence of the characters. The romantic tension and subplot felt believable. Friends to lovers for the win. Jett is such a sweet guy.
Totally read kit sweetly for the tackling gender roles, the friendship dynamics, bits of romance and the desire to eat pancakes right after. Damm I really want
My thoughts
Cover:I really like this one.The cover i mean. Its simplicity and eye catching appeal drew me in.I like collage like covers.It seems like warmth is spreading.
Book: It was in my galley grab and i looked it it up. A YA debut so I thought'‘cool i'm so reading this for my DAC of 2012'' which is hosted by Kristi @ the story siren
First I have to say I know writing is hard work “cough”cough”my writing sucks“cough so far. Practice means perfect.Second I do not bash authors and only share my feelings in a polite and mannerly fashion.
The title is misleading! It's not a dystopian or apocalyptic but rather a contemp. I've started to love contemp. But EYNTSTA[acronym for Everything...need..apocalypse] was rather disappointing for me. But he that's me, i read gr8 reviews on goodreads, amazon and blogs. People differ.
It has religious/christian undertones. No biggie for me at all. But it was boring and long. I finished it.^_^. The characters did nothing for me; meaning i did not get to know them like ‘‘real people''. Was a tad preachy ; that was a bit iffy i have to say.
I did not like the characters in EYNTSTA except Rebecca, the romantic interest.Who was likable.
Philip our protagonist. I did not like him at all. He acted like a real like teenage dude, a real life jerk. He was annoying at times.
And his friends; Mat and Asher. Did not know why they were buddies.They scold and humiliate each other.My dude friends hit each other till their fists turn red.[hurts] but not that.
The writing was likable and this is told in 1st person narrative.
Charlie Vega is our titular lead. Her personality jumps from the page. She's smart, funny, artistic and a go getter. She and her mom. It's about a plus size young woman of color navigating through life. It deals with with being brown in a white neighborhood. Maldonado did a great job fleshing out Charlie and her relations with other people. People at work, school and at home. This title touches on diet culture and how mothers can love their daughters and be toxic at the same time. Heads up on that. I And I'm glad that there wasn't a situation were suddenly everything is okay because that kind of relationship really can???t easily be ???fixed???.
I love how the romance and Charlie's friendship had equal importance. It has an HEA and a non white interracial couple, heck yeah.
I recommend Fat chance, Charlie Vega for the lead alone. She truly is the MAIN CHARACTER. Living her MC life and i say this with lots of love. I know that many will fall in love with her
3.5
My thoughts
( I could not find real american foot ball audibles* ,so I created one)
B24 B 22 C 10 ,Hut Hut Hut .
( an audible* cry out )
American football is one of the four major sports in ‘Merica . As I'm from South America , specifically Suriname , I have never experienced or seen a live match on TV . I've only come in contact with this sport through American media. Ok now a bit on the sport !
American football (known as football in the United States and gridiron in some other countries) is a sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field 120 yards long by 53.33 yards wide with goalposts at each end. The offense attempts to advance an oval ball (the football)down the field by running with or passing it. They must advance it at least ten yards in four downs to receive a new set of four downs and continue the drive; if not, they turn over the football to the opposing team. Most points are scored by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone for a touchdown or kicking the ball through the opponent's goalposts for a field goal. The team with the most points at the end of a game wins.source ; Wikipedia *Now that we know what american football is I can share my thoughts on this novel . I know little or nothing at all of the sport .Out of the pocket has been the first American Football centric novel I've read ,I do have others on my radar or on my shelf but this is the first. So I can not say if the author represented well enough but I could feel as if was a part of the team trough Bobby's eyes . I could feel the comradery between the team mates and the rush of adrenaline on the green during a match . Bobby Framingham has it all ,he is the school's star quarterback , popular and dating a cool weird chick. Ok kinda dating . But he's is hiding something , his attraction to men . His not coming out because it could damage his future foot ball college career . Involuntary coming out of the closet changes his carefully crafted cocoon. He's outed by a school reporter .Ok that's a quick rundown on the Out of the Pocket . ( it's really paraphrased version of the synopsis , hahaha) ok now on the characters , pacing and all that jazz.The charactersBobby has a great voice trough out the book. A great friend and team mate who would have had my back in a match if I was one of the characters in this novel. It took me a quarter of the book to emotionally attach to him with this said it does not mean he was annoying or anything. He felt like nothing special but at end of Out of the Pocket I felt for him dearly . And I like how he handled the situation caused by the outing and how dealt with the kid that outed him . Bobby was of course furious but calmed down did nothing stupid and handled it well. Up to bro . ( tiny 5'4 roro tries to hive five him lol ) . I don't know or can't remember but I envisioned bobby to be 5'9 ^^. The remaining cast of characters were okay. Nothing special but the ones that sticked with me are his parents. They were in his life. A lot of times YA novels don't have present parents and if they have some the parents often take a back seat in the scheme of things ( hope I'm using the expression correctly ). Bobby is very consumed about his parents and especially his father and after I thing that happens they grow closer. Coming out and an other thing started the growth. *I hope I have an great coming out experience when I come out. My dad thinks it a face and mum does not know yet . Ok enough of my life drama ( you're here for the review gosh darn it lol , tnx for the eventual comments of what I just shared )
The plot and such
Out of pocket is written in first person past tense. The things that made it special in my opinion were the sports articles appearing at certain moments in this book. I loved one in particular. Just saying
2nd.The other thing that I loved to read about was the football terms , I've was never interested in American football. I must watch one now . Name your favorite team in the comments and do say so why ^^ .
One thing I did not like and which dropped the rating with 1 1/5 star was the notion being gay is okay as long as your not effeminate. I don't know if this is intentional but it appeared at least twice in Out of the Pocket. It's only okay when you're a jock/ athlete .AKA very masculine . I'm not effeminate but I would get crushed at a football match . I'm more like the artsy skinny kid but this rubbed me the wrong way. In the past I felt like effeminate gay guys gave the gay community a bad rep but I now I don't think that way anymore . That's who they are . Ok back to the review . Later on Bobby come to same conclusion but I did not take way what already was done . Maybe I'm bitter or hypocritical but effeminate statement should not have happened. Also the new upcoming romance has an open ending I which I don't like. I wish it did't ( the open ending )
My final thoughts
I've had this book on my wish list since 2011. By then it was already 3 yrs old . Every time I had the opportunity to buy it I did not. I was planning to buy it early 2012 when I would win cash again but my access to the internet was cut 2013 so I was not able to. Now 2014 it is out of print . I bought a kindle version with the sum of credits I had left and some I had recently won at the time . It is freaking $ 14 . Overpriced and I did not love it 100% but still happy I gave it a try. I hope you all give it a try . Library lend it or find it at second hand bookstores . $14 dollars is not worth it for the kindle . Time flies for sure . When this book was published not a lot of current day athletes came out but recently that has changed. Ranging from nfl players to a WWE superstars and even Olympic divers like Tom Daley and Matthew Mitcham ( he's 26 or soon to be and he's so adorable , search him up on YouTube his ukelele videos brighten up my day immensely ) . I can't wait for openly straight but hopefully I won't wait till it's out of print
*audibles: Audible, a tactic used by quarterbacks in American football to change a play at the line of scrimmage
4,5. I know a little of Japanese folklore. You could say all my knowledge is gathered from the ghibli films. The is so amazing , I read volume 1 the moment I flipped the last page. I can't wait for volume 2.
My thoughts
Hi all, your fateful netherling guide is back * he twirls around in a sickly green mist and reappears in a gothic attire resembling to a tattered rag clown * Did y'all miss me , heh???
A lot happened in Splintered . Yesiree bob , a lot, a lot. Stuff happened and we were acquainted with lovely mad creatures and quite few will be present on todays trip* toot toot??So what has happened to Morpheus * cat scratch *, Jebswoon* and Allysa . Let's take a look.
The plot: we were rather soon head first in wonderland in the previous book but don't expect that in this book. Character growth, motive and secrets are more important in the sequel . Some people found some parts dragging and were bored , so it is better seeing the sequel as a whole other book. A different book but still the same .(my first attempt was difficult for this reason but after I figured this out I liked it more at my second try ) There are still enough maddening wonderland madness in unhinged for those that are wondering. I have re read Alice in wonderland and trough the looking glass months before I picked up unhinged and I I feel like that more of the looking class is incorporated in the sequel. More of wonderland was used for it's predecessor ( is that the right term , O well ). Maybe to avoid repetition. I don't know. Splintered had a nice rounded up ending and I asked me self how Miss. Howard would continue the story . I can quite surely say I'm not disappointed.
Ok ,that's enough reviewer. Let's talk about the characters ect ect . It is quite hard being a half half . Don't you all agree. Hihihihi hahahahahahaha ( the human and other half constantly butting against each other)
We have more chessie . I'm referring to the Cheshire Cat for all that don't know who that is He's far more prominent in unhinged. A happy Cheshire grin from me. I love how he interacted with Morpheus, Allysa and other characters
Ok now onto The Boys. I'm undecided on what team I'm on at the moment. Both had heartfelt moments with Allysa and also did some or had some dastardly moments. I will not go in to detail but boys. You . $&$@!? I know it is not completely there fault but still . I want them to be both happy. Now sedge way into the romance triangle part, it was fine but not my favorite part of the book. I liked it more in Splintered because the good and the bad boy were recognizable but in unhinged both qualities intermingled. That is good in away because people are not one thing.* the naughty streak comes out * will any of you write Morpheus /Jeb slash . The ship name could be Jebpheus . If any of you does it , gimme a tweet will ya * giggle*??
Now onto Queen Allysa . I can imagine the stress of keeping parts hidden from society but she was selfish at moments. I still liked her but even more so when the secrets were revealed, how she acted when they were revealed and how she did not fall apart after the incidents in the end. Any toot else Where toot !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So we are coming to an end. This review is shorter for obvious reasons: Spoilers. I hope you all liked this review and comment away away away ( echoing ) I hope to see more character growth, more madness in Ensnared. And hopefully they will be alive, it is okay that they will be more than a little scarred but they need a pulse when I'm at the end. The title is ensnared and I'm anxious to see how it continues. I love youuuuuuuuuuuuu.Tooot, Toooot , Tooot ! ( you will know what I'm referring to when you're finished with unhinged )
2.5/5
My thoughts
Liar, Liars, pants on fire . Fire ... FiRe FIREeeeeeEeee !!!! mad cackle
This lovely summer abode is full of half truths, half lies and loss somewhere, here and there. I'm not allowed to go into specifics so let start what I'm able to mention.
We were liars consists of 90% of nothing that happens. Yes there are conversations between characters ,flashbacks and king leer fairy tale-esque chapters. The excitement only happened in the last 40 odd pages. I have enjoyed slow moving or plot lacking books in the past. And in most cases my love of the characters are the reason for this . I can not say this while reading we were liars . And here I say I did not feel attached to any of them . They are spoiled rich kids and their spoiled fucking family ( pardon for my language ) . I felt meh towards the MC.
The writing
I have grown fond of lyrical and poetic prose. But miss Lockhart did not do it for me. I do have to add that I loved the king leer chapters. I've recently studied it in English class and it was nice to see it used in someway.
I did however not like the description of the Indian male love interest. I don't know what's she means with it but could she not have worded it differently . A sentence from the galley
“He was contemplation and enthusiasm. Ambition and strong coffee “ 5%
Maybe I'm overreacting . Does she mean coffee as a likeness to the darker skin tone.
Romance
The romance is nothing special but useful to me personally. I used my real life crush to in the place of the love interest ( btw my straight crush is Indian also ). And used him in the story to get over my unrequited love/ crush thingy . The big reveal and the circumstances were used to get over it. #amIMorbid ?. Unrequited love thingy is a bitch . So that's something personal . #stopFalling4thestr8'ies
To wrap this up I found this book pretentious. I'm not ashamed to be the black sheep and also will not pick an other book John Green praises and blurbs. I've not read any green book but I'm 100% I will not like it as well. The same with Rainbow Rowell . I do however maybe want to try Lockhart ‘s previous books . I did not like it but you might . A lot of people surely do.
Don't you hate it when you finally read a book that was on your tbr for close to 10 years and you don't like it . It was a take on selkies. The writing flew over my head . It's well written. That makes it hurt more