andra_mihaela_s's reviews
462 reviews

 From me, The Martian gets 3.5 stars!

This is a famous standalone sci-fi book by the acclaimed Andy Weir in which we follow Mark Watney as he struggles to survive on Mars after being left there by the Ares 3 crew.
I'm sure that everyone and their mother knows the plot of this book and / or have watched the movie.( I didn't)

CW: starvation, constant talk of iminent death by various means, extreme isolation, the vastness of the universe ( for those like me who absolutely fear deep space)

I was deeply disappointed in this book🥲..it's not a bad one by any means or poorly written...it just kept me at a distance from our protagonist. Mark is really unlikable for me...and judging by the way he's written in comparison to other characters...that's what the author went for.
This simple matter of not caring about the MC, let the atmosphere of Mars and the stakes to be really meh for me. 😕Thank God for the balance offered by the people on earth / the Ares 3 crew. 😅

My favorite character was Venkat Kapoor..the responsible for the mission...he really felt invested, frustrated, angry and always worried about Mark and the fate of this mission...from the way in which he is portrayed...I feel the author wanted to highlight him as a potential second MC...don't know if this is only in my head...but that's what I believe .🤷‍♀️..I really enjoyed seeing him interact with everyone ( especially with Mindy) and I was really frustrated with Mark when he decided to do things 'his own way'. ( I know it makes sense when he proves capable to survive but I don't think all that sass and complaining of perfectly reasonable suggestions was necessary 👀)

Next we have Mitch...the guy responsible for the crew...he didn't impress me much but he was clearly defined and sometimes I even agreed with him.

From the crew...maybe Lewis?...🤷‍♀️...and only because the book tricked me into believing she and Mark would have a special connection with all that talk of her TV show and music tastes...to all be in vain when we find out a pretty important thing about her...😤...

Plot : I don't think this was bad by any means...as I said...I deeply enjoyed what happened with the people on earth and the crew!🧐 my issue was Mark's narrative. He has hurdles to surpass and stuff to figure out but most of them are resolved after only a night's rest 🤯🫠...I'm sorry what?😕...my friend..I know you are one of the few people chosen for this very difficult mission...but I cannot understand how he knows everything and how on earth he's sooo lucky to always get away with basically no consequences ( I'm deeply upset that the long-awaited big thing of this book..the journey to Ares 4 site...and that storm...were so easy...😅 I mean...what happened to giant storms covering the whole planet?? Or things like....actually losing acces or sustaining damage to things during a journey like that???🤯). I feel that if the author decided earlier to not give sooo much thought about everything.. This glaring issue of mine would not have existed 🤷‍♀️... And don't get me started on Mark being in outer space after sustaining 12G and basically waltzing out of the VAM like that...

Anyway....overall I think this must work better as a movie where the actor can portray Mark as a more approachable person. The final part with all the convenient stuff, our MC and the fact that for a book on Mars I wanted to see the people on earth...I feel 3.5 ⭐ is adequate. 

 3.25 stars

This is science fiction romance with an alien love interest... Sooo🤷‍♀️...if you're interested, read on! ☺️

rating : Tempting Auzed gets ⭐⭐⭐.25 from me ;
format in which i read them : audiobook

CW: kidnapping, near death experiences in nature

romance trope : miscommunication and forced proximity ; arranged marriage and fated mates

This book is all about priorities in life and what is important for the people in the relationship (family and old connections, jobs and lifestyle or the new partner)...not to mention how all those weight against what seems to be a temporary one👀
The atmosphere is perfect, the book oozing drama and scrutiny as per the situation our MCs are put into.(they have to fake an agreement in front of a city ^^)
The world building is once again rich with landscapes, animals, customs, society norms, religious beliefs and political intrigue. (Or at least the beginning of it🤭)
I will reiterate what I said to previous books...the stories emphasize mutual respect, getting to know each other and working together through problems! 😌🤌

My only issue with these was the fact that the male character are way more developed and frankly deserve better partner 🤷‍♀️... I understand why our FMC is the way she is...with issues, backstory and distinct personalities, but I didn't find her ideal for the guy 🥲..call me crazy 🤷‍♀️

Fave things : Wilson and the City in the trees 🙌 oh...and the marriage games!

Anyway..I highly recommend trying the audiobook for this as the voice actor is top notch! Also, the story is perfect as a cleanser between heavier reads with a 50/50 approach with romance and plot! 

 

This is science fiction romance with an alien love interest... Sooo🤷‍♀️...if you're interested, read on! ☺️

rating : Saving Verakko gets ⭐⭐⭐.75 from me ;
format in which i read them : #audiobook

CW: kidnapping, lying by omission, manipulation as special ability, near death experiences in nature

romance trope : miscommunication and forced proximity ; arranged marriage and fated mates

This book is all about trust and honest communication, with a heavy dose of choice; is about priorities and what is important for the people in the relationship...not to mention how all those weight against what seems to be a temporary one👀
The atmosphere is perfect, Saving Verakko being full of tension as it is a survival story.
The world building is once again rich with landscapes, animals, customs, society norms, religious beliefs and political intrigue. (Or at least the beginning of it🤭)
I will reiterate what I said to previous books...the stories emphasize mutual respect, getting to know each other and working together through problems! 😌🤌

My only issue with these was the fact that the male character are way more developed and frankly deserve better partner 🤷‍♀️... I understand why our FMC is the way she is...with issues, backstory and distinct personalities, but I didn't find her ideal for the guy 🥲..call me crazy 🤷‍♀️

Fave things : the bling-bling lifestyle of Verakko's hometown 😂 while they refuse adopting new tech🤣;

Anyway..I highly recommend trying the audiobook for this as the voice actor is top notch! Also, the story is perfect as a cleanser between heavier reads with a 50/50 approach with romance and plot!

 

 From me, Starling House gets 3.75 stars! ☺️

This is a standalone adult fantasy with a healthy dose of gothic and paranormal mixed in with some mystery aspects! 🙃 In this book we follow Opal as she gets an unexpected job as a house keeper at the dreaded Starling House 👀🫣, with the sole purpose of getting her brother out of Eden, Kentucky - just another dying, bad-luck town known only for the legend of E Starling, author of Underland - a creepy children's book.

CW: bigotry, exploitation of people of color, mentions of slavery, white supremacy, homophobia, colorism, sexual abuse, etc..😅

I want to begin by mentioning that I always had a great time while reading this! Both our MCs, Opal and Arthur, were interesting people, flawed and even unlikable in some aspects...something that I enjoy.
The problem for me was the whole thriller? Mystery?🤔🤷‍♀️ with Miss Elizabeth Baine...frankly...her role wasn't defined enough for me to accept it... Otherwise, this gothic house story of found family and societal issues disguised as fantasy was amazing! 😺

Sooo..I guess the main problem you could have here is with the conflict, as what I deem as writing craft and context - Eden and the careful stitching of the narrative with its history - was without reproach! 😤👍

Let's say some more about #story and characters : I found myself rooting for our MCs relationship! I sympathized with Arthur as well as with Opal..although she is definitely more difficult to like as a person. Saying that, her care and dedication for Jasper is to be admired and despite coming from a flawed POV, she cares deeply and tries her best to protect and support him. Jasper is also compelling and clever! He knows how to push with his sister and when to take things into his own hands...I really liked that he chose for himself and helped Opal do the same!

As for Bev and Charlotte, wasn't vibing with them in the beginning, to end up admiring them! 😂
Now...E. Sterling....👀🫠...I don't know what to think of her...I felt her pain but punishing Starlings like that...yeah... I'm glad things got resolved as they did.

Overall, I recommend this. 

 From me, What the River Knows gets 4.25 stars 🥳

This is a first book in an Egyptian inspired historical fantasy duology targeted to a young adult readership that tells the story of Inez Olivera, a bolivian-argentinian young lady of the upper society of 19th century Buenos Aires, as she embarks to Egypt in hopes of finding out how her parents died and why.

CW : death of parents, grief, violent murder, mentions of drug use, alcoholism, abandonment, colonialism

This book is correctly marketed as rivals to lovers, thank God 🤭, but I didn't find this aspect of the story taking over our MC's every thought and action.( More like 30- 70 ratio for plot).

In my opinion, the author has talent in portraying such an acute feeling as abandonment, grief, denial and coming face to face with who your family is/ was. I cannot express how happy I was that Inez was constantly denying her parents forgiveness while also understanding why Egypt was soo magical to them.

The atmosphere was on point, quite nostalgic and mysterious, with an undertone of sadness.

Our characters were pretty well defined. Inez is vivid on the page, you cannot mix her up with other heroines! 🥰 While her coming to Egypt might seem a little bit too easy...let me tell you, is not impossible for something like that to have occurred! She is feisty while smart about keeping her cards close to her heart; she's suspicious of everybody but not overly so; and she's barely a young woman who's trying to grapple with her new reality. I deeply connected with her story and genuinely liked her.

The love interest, Whitford Hayes, or Whit, gave me #historicalromance book vibes from the start ☺️🤭
..and that's not a bad thing! After all...we are in that period....sort of....
He's full of secrets, charming, useful to those he deems worthy and in search of something...the end of the book left me gasping! 🤯 is he the bad guy????👀 🤔

Another 2 characters I want to mention are the uncle, Ricardo, and Elvira, the cousin. Well I liked Elvira...and that's that 🤧. As for Ricardo...I had sooo many doubts! 😤 the author really wrote a good mystery!
Sooo yes! This book is a good mystery! At least for me😂 Inez's suspicions grew and morphed as she found out more about her parents and what happened. I really enjoyed that!😌

Quick note before i forget : this book tackles colonialism and oppression in subtle ways of native people! We also discuss #artifact robbery and the morality of letting the world know about history through the specific lense of #archeology !! I really enjoyed this!

Back to the plot which is carefully mixed in with Inez's emotional journey and ancient magic 🥰🪄

Although this is a low fantasy ,the plot being based in our history with a twist , it really feeds your imagination!

In the end, the summary on Goodreads says it all, Inez needs to find out the truth , or risk becoming just a pawn in a much larger game!

So, why only 4.25??? I found the middle to be a little slow and towards the end of the book, something happened that changes Inez's course of action..and although is appropriate for a ya, logical and a bold move for the author..I still saw it coming. :( ...but don't mind me! this book is great!

I highly recommend you try this! ☺️ 

 This is my first read from this author and I can only say: GIVE ME MORE!!🤩

genre : paranormal historical fantasy
rating : ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

CW: ugh...mentions of violent deaths, murder, demonic possession

Thoughts ⛪
Soooo...in my opinion , this book was the perfect combination of actions and discussions.
We follow an unnamed MC , an exorcist, who's job is to expel demons from the people in his area...pretty boring for him...but what can he do🤷‍♀️... work is work.😅
The focus of the plot is the interaction between our MC and the Prosper of Schanz, a genius who's determined to raise the world's first philosopher-king...too bad he is possessed 🤭🤷‍♀️

I'll let you discover why Parker is such a talented man. Be prepared to learn some stuff about bronze horses and also, be shocked in regards to our MC's view on life.🤭
The novella is written in such a way you'll read it in a sitting 😉. The protagonist is NOT a good person, or even a good employee ( given the fact that he exhibits extreme denial, indifference and possibly sadistic inclinations)...but you want to see what he does/ says and how the other characters react.👀😳

All in all, I loved the ending and what it said about our MC😂, and I'm fully prepared to read more by this author!

I highly recommend you try this is any of my ramblings sounded interesting, or if you enjoy morally grey characters and philosophy mixt in! 

 This is one of the most well-known books in this genre, full of comedy, adventure and scifi shenanigans!🤭

rating : ⭐⭐⭐💫
format in which i read it : audiobook read by Stephen Fry

CW: nothing I noticed..maybe death of a planet and some cops🤷‍♀️

Thoughts🚀
In this book we follow Arthur Dent as he tries to save his house from demolition in the last day of Earth's existence ...(as it will also be demolished by someone else👀) and barely escapes death due to his friendship with an unusual fellow 😅..one Ford Prefect.

This was delightful for the most part! I really enjoyed the very British humor of the author; the adventure was good and the characters were interesting to say the least 🤔

As a first book in a series, we get a pretty good understanding of the Galaxy and how it is run, from the administrative perspective to be exact. We have a ironic situation directly from the start..with the whole demolition..but that's not the only such instance, a thing I really enjoyed! ☺️

The world building is interconnected with the action both in terms of scientific advancements, and historical importance ( an example of this is the whole thing with the ancient planet Magrathea), and I cannot wait to see what happens / what importance will it play further in the series! After all, I have some questions about the dolphins...that phrase is memorable and no wonder it is use as a future title; and also..what happened with the old man???👀 🤔 have the mice truly left? why the plant thought that??🧐 AND why no one asked who killed the cops???

Reading all this, you might ask me why only 3.5 ⭐?
Well, after the halfway point I got a little bored and the questions above felt valid and very unanswered 😅..not to mention the characters aren't very special 😕.

I enjoyed the most Zaphod Beeblebrox and Melvin, while Ford came as a close 3rd...meanwhile, Arthur, Trillian and the others weren't anything to write home about...sorry!🫣

Overall, I recommend this if you want something light and easy and sci-fi! 

 From me, The Winter of the Witch gets 5 stars!

This series encompasses everything I want in folklore inspired fantasy, and this final book...is just perfect 🥰

After the events in The Girl in the Tower, Moscow and it's people are looking for someone to blame...and this is all you need to dive into this #magicalworld again!

CW: witch hunting, mentions of slavery, war, death, horror elements, cruelty and death of animals, weaponized religion, extreme discrepancy between genders, plague, etc.

I won't try to dissect this final installment as I usually do...instead I'll let myself ramble about what comes to mind.
Obviously, my #rating reflects my belief that this book is close to perfect.

It opens with strong repercussions for our MC, and it goes to give you blow after blow of flawless writing, top notch atmosphere and amazing pacing!

I really felt that the pacing and atmosphere were just right for each scene. As most of the action takes place at midnight, I will poetically describe this novel as a dream of lost memories...

Coincidently, the background music for this series matches my description : Memories by @fludjy, creator of the yt channel EternalDepth...you're welcome and happy listening 😉

Back to our story : important parts are driven by individual character growth, powerful emotions, consequences, political repercussions, supernatural and human elements.

With this being said...my favorites are as follows : Vasya, Morozko, Konstantin, Sasha, Medved, Pozhar,Lady Midnight and Marya.

I love every part and every character, so...that list isn't complete...

Characters :
Say what you want about Konstantin...and yes, his greed and hate is awful..but I couldn't help myself and cried 😭...maybe that's why I love Medved as well...

Solovey...cried and eventually came to peace with it...

Morozko....perfect portretization of Winter...every time he was on the page I felt I the middle of a forest at midnight.

Sasha...great brother and man...now I'm obsessed with his real life counterpart 😅

Vasya...well...she grows with EVERY SINGLE PAGE 🥰...as she should!🥰...I'm soo happy I met her...that's all I have to say..

As I said above Medved came to be dear to me...maybe as I saw his connection with our MCs...and how lonely eternity is...chaos is life, as winter is eternity.

Let's switch it up and say a few words about the action : I really loved how Katherine Arden moulded her historical fantasy with Russian folklore and actual historical events...I was there at Kulikovo..and I cried 😅

Even if I didn't mention Dmitry Ivanovich as a favorite.. His role and the perspective he offered the reader completed this magical story with the necessary elements of the real world!

Favorite scenes: the pyre , everything up to the Lake and there🤭, Kulikovo, at the edge of the lands of winter, at the campfire..all of them😅🤷‍♀️🤭

This is it! Please read this trilogy and lose yourself in a winter Midnight😌...don't forget to stop by the Lake😉