Apoorva
4.5/5
Solid ending to the trilogy.
This series has made it to my all time favourites list!
Still can't wrap my head around how it went on for so long unnoticed... While reading this, I watched countless interviews and god damn it, she really did sound convincing. But I suppose anyone with a little bit of scientific knowledge would have been able to see straight through the lies... It's crazy how far she got with the deception. She's really got some skills. Gotta give her that.
The book is extremely captivating, keeps you glued till the very end.
Easily the best non fiction I've ever read.
StoryWorthy is a book designed to help you become a better storyteller. Whether you want to use this skill to get better at conversing, teaching, presenting, public speaking, whatever.
Matthew Dicks not only gives us fantastic and easy to follow tips and tricks to do this but also offers invaluable life lessons through his stories and experiences.
This book reads like a memoir. Dicks is so honest and authentic with the stories he tells about his life and I'm completely stumped. He proves in this book that his techniques will most definitely work cause dayum can this man tell a great story!
Like I said, not only will this book teach you the super power of being a great story teller but will definitely show you how to be a better sibling or partner or a person in general. It'll teach you to appreciate the littlest moments in life. It'll teach you to value your friends and family. I cannot begin to explain how this book has affected the way I see the world around me.
The author has a great sense of humour, knows exactly where to lay those gut wrenching punches.
This was so good! Easily the best book I've read this year. Probably the best non fiction/self-help book I'll ever read.
I recommend to check it out on audio. It's phenomenal!
4 stars purely for Murderbot and ART's dynamic.
Again like the first book, I wasn't particularly invested in the plot but I love Murderbot as a character and for that reason I will continue to read the rest of the series.
I finally understand the hype!
Part 1 of The Poppy War reads like any other YA fantasy book. Angsty teens trying to get ahead in school, a strange and enigmatic mentor, one character the protagonist hates and wants to beat at all costs etc. etc. You get it. Nothing especially unique. However, I thought it was a clever way to setup the world and the politics, give us some info dumps, give us a sneak peek of the magic system and show us the cocoon our characters live in.
(If you're thinking of picking this book up, do not dnf at this point ‘cause the story takes off immediately after and we get thrown into the grim dark world this book promises.)
Part 2 and 3 I was truly not ready for.
Before I read this book, I looked up the history of the two Opium Wars and the Sino-Japanese war and I that really enhanced my reading experience.
The way the magic system is built around opium consumption is brilliant. Our characters are forced into battle and undergo such trauma. My goodness!
This book shows us the atrocities of war and the effects it has on human minds and how helpless one can feel. It depicts loss and grief and the thirst for revenge. And as the characters are amid this chaos and trauma, how no one can answer the question “Why”. It's brutality in the guise of patriotism. The execution was fantastic in my opinion. It felt very raw and alarmingly real.
Now coming to things that I think could have been better.
I felt like we missed most of our character growth. We saw our characters in school and suddenly friendships have been built, our characters are stronger and are different people altogether. I wish I was on that journey with them.
Altan! God! I wish I got his POV sometimes instead of Rin's all the time. He would have made for a very interesting morally grey character to follow but that's not necessary a con. I just wish I had his POV.
So yeah, the pacing and jumping around aside, this book was brilliant. The writing was pretty darn good and the audiobook narration, even more so. She made me cry. That's how good the voice acting was.
For the amount I've thought about the story, I think it deserves 5 stars. Onlllyyyy not giving it a 5 ‘cause it started off as a 2.5-3 for me. 4 is still fantastic though.
Definitely worth reading.
Oh how I wish I could wear a helmet so people couldn't see my feelings written all over my face!!!
Murderbot is a really well written, very relatable character. The story itself is simple and predictable but I do think it makes for a great short, funny, quirky and fast paced sci-fi read.
I will definitely be checking out the next book purely because Murderbot is so precious and I want to protect it with all my being!
I adore stories with unlikely friendships!
The prose is simple but so beautiful. The setting felt so perfect to me. The cherry blossoms, the little shop, the sweet doriyaki, an old lady and a lost young man both with a dark past trying to make it through life... everything.
This one really surprised me. Although the story was a little predictable, it had so much depth and was really moving. Such a lovely little book.
Arg!!! I wish this book was longer with lesser time jumps and more world building! I wanted to really experience and understand the Slack ‘cause it's so freaking cool!
It took me a while to feel connected to the story and characters because of all the jumping around but I really appreciate the representation and story line and themes explored.
The author has done a really good job with this. I especially enjoyed the writing. It was beautiful and atmospheric. The writing pushed this novella from a 3.5 to a 4 star read for me.
I'll definitely be trying out more of their work.
Also my goodness! The cover art is so stunning!!!
The conclusion I'd been waiting for!
Now I can really appreciate all the events from the previous books leading up to this insane ending!
Lady Trent - The most practical and also the most deranged protagonist and I love her to bits!
Freaking awesome!!!
This is definitely my favourite of the four I've read. The author has done a fantastic job with the world building. God! How I wish I lived in this world and did the stuff Isabella does!!
My favourite character from the previous book is back in this one and I enjoyed it so much! Ahhhh!
Only one more book to go!
I love Royce and Hadrian so much! I can't get enough!
If you're looking for an entertaining read with great humour and banter, a brilliant friendship and fun action sequences, this series is for you.
Go in expecting to have a good time and sit back and enjoy watching these characters go on their adventures.
4.5/5!
Mind boggling and life altering. This book has left me heart broken and awestruck. Extremely influential and fast paced. If you do believe/ agree with the author, you shall certainly end up being more skeptical about everything you see and everything you believe in and that may not always be a bad thing...
Absolutely brilliant.
While reading this, I really really regretted not having the habit of writing in my books.
I wish I knew what I thought as a kid the first time reading it. Did I believe it was Hagrid? Did I ever suspect Ginny? Did I know Dobby jinxed Harry's broom?! Arg! Guess I'll never know...
Anyway, read it for the nth time, knew exactly what was going to happen and was still left awestruck at the end and have the uncontrollable urge to pick up the next one!
3rd year here I come!
(I feel like a 12 year old again! Teehe
Phew! What a ride!
I finally picked up The Wheel of Time! Thank you Amazon for pushing me to read it in a rush! :')
This book was a joy to read. I'm always hesitant to start something new and tend to reread books that I'm familiar with and have loved. Inspite of this being my first time in this world, it felt so familiar. It reminded me so much of LOTR and Eragon and it felt like coming home and I LOVED it!
The writing is beautiful and I actually really enjoyed the vivid descriptions. I could imagine every scene, I could smell the pungent odours and I could visualise every character. It was such fun!
The plot line was great. The pacing was great. The action comes in bursts so I have some time to breathe in between :'D
I loved our protagonists. Each has such a distinct personality. At the beginning Rand had all my attention and then I met silly and happy-go-lucky Mat who reminded me so much of myself and I loved him too. Finally I was introduced to Perrin and he stole my heart! :')
*** Minor spoilers I guess? **So why 4 stars? Stupid Ba'alzamon! He ruined the experience a little for me. He felt sort of like a cartoon. Maybe that's because he isn't physically there yet but I was craving a scary villain and I didn't get that. :') *************
I can't wait to see where the story takes my boys (and gals of course) . I can't wait to watch the show!! I'm so glad I finally read this!!
I always thought this volume was my least favourite amongst the three, but I've changed my mind. This is an absolute stunner!
I savoured every second of the story.
Some of my favourite things about this book:
1. The relationship between Gimli and Legolas. It grows over the second half of book one and has evolves so beautifully in this book.
2. I really enjoyed the pacing and the way the plot unfolds. I loved how it starts out with the ents and their complicated words and lore and songs, the action sequences that follow, the descriptions of the cities and landscapes, the part where they meet Faramir, the creepy tunnels with Shelob, absolutely everything! There was not a dull moment!
3. We get so much more of Gollum. His monologues are some of my favourite scenes in both the movies and the books. The constant internal struggle between good and evil...gosh, just so brilliant! We loves it! Yes we does!
The Two Towers:
Absolute brilliance.
This book was so good!! Oh my god!
This has been a trend with me and MJS's series... They start off okayish imo but they get better and better as they go and oh my goodness did I love this book! I think it's my favourite of his works so far!
The character arcs were outstanding. Every single character in this volume was amazing.
I was hooked to the story the whole time! The pacing, the writing, the dialogue, the politics, the action sequences, the romances, the suspense phew! I loved everything!
The world has suddenly taken a dark turn and it just got so so epic!! I can't wait to read the next one!
Treasure, that is what you are
Honey, you're my golden star...
I know I took a long time to finish this but it's a fantastic, fantastic book!
Bancroft is an extremely talented writer. The world is absolutely nuts and so bloody fascinating!
The character work is amazing! Not only is the main character one of the best I've ever read, the side characters, chef's kiss!
I loved literally everything about this book. Great humour, hella engaging and also philosophical, really fascinating world and fantastic characters.
Amaze.
I finished Riyria Revelations before this book and so I already knew part of this story but The Crown Tower still had me wanting more and kept me at the edge of my seat which goes to show the brilliance of the writing!
I LOVED being back in this world with my boys!
Love at first sentence!
This book is nothing like anything I've ever read before and yet it has everything that I absolutely love in a novel!
The story is written as a memoir of Lady Trent, a Dragon naturalist. She is one of the most well written characters I've read this year! It took me one single sentence to fall in love with this character.
Sassy old lady telling us her story? YES PLEASE!
This book literally has everything. It's hilarious (had me cackling constantly), it sounds like it's set in the Victorian era (which by the way is one of my favourite settings of all time!), it's filled with adventure, it has a thrilling mystery, it has the most adorable romance, the narrator so witty and such a badass and most importantly (as you've figured from the title) has dragons!
I listened to this on audio (Kate Reading is the narrator so I just HAD to check it out) and it truly enhanced my reading experience. I couldn't imagine a more perfect portrayal of Lady Trent's character and voice. It was absolutely phenomenal! If you decide to pick it up (if you're still undecided, drop me a message and I'll convince you to pick it up) please please consider the audiobook. It's perfect!!!
