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ashurredly's reviews
453 reviews
Return of the Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
5.0
Oh my heart. This was such a good end to the series & also I still wanted more.
I was very worried this book wouldn't be what I wanted it to be, but then it was all I wanted and more. I laughed, I felt apprehensive, I worried about how things would turn out. The writing is so good and the characters stay consistent. Often, it seems like a series goes on and the writing gets more rushed and consistency goes out the window. That doesn't happen here. I was bummed when the publication date got delayed last year, but this book ended up being so good that I will forgive it.
I was very worried this book wouldn't be what I wanted it to be, but then it was all I wanted and more. I laughed, I felt apprehensive, I worried about how things would turn out. The writing is so good and the characters stay consistent. Often, it seems like a series goes on and the writing gets more rushed and consistency goes out the window. That doesn't happen here. I was bummed when the publication date got delayed last year, but this book ended up being so good that I will forgive it.
Jade City by Fonda Lee
5.0
Jade City is so good! It goes very quickly for the first half and drags a bit in the second before picking back up again. The world keeps me interested, the characters are fleshed out, and the fight scenes are really well written.
Jade Legacy by Fonda Lee
5.0
Amazing end to the series. I loved it enough that I will probably go subscribe to Fonda Lee's Patreon so I can read all the short stories and extras she's posted there.
The Jade Setter of Janloon by Fonda Lee
5.0
Loved this. It was fun to see No Peak and the Mountain from an outside perspective and to learn more about the role of a clan that is meant to be neutral. Overall, a quick read that fleshes out Janloon even further than the original trilogy.
The Faithless by C.L. Clark
Oof, this is a mess. A certain amount of bad decision making is to be expected, but it feels like the characters don't have even the vaguest sense of their own priorities or willingness to actualize them. Certain plot points are sort of pulled out of thin air in ways that feel unbelievable and unearned. I wanted to love it because, yes, give me queer messy drama but this was messy in a way that wasn't interesting.
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I don't get why when the poison didn't work, Luca didn't just find another way to kill Nicolas. Or at least talk about why she's not going to do that! Instead it's like "oh Sabine failed to poison Nicolas" and then the book moves on to Luca abdicating. And then, somehow, however much later the poison kills Tiro instead? I can handle Luca and Touraine not being able to figure out how to interact with each other, that's some reasonable messiness, but I need the political intrigue to be intriguing and it just fell flat over and over again.
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I don't get why when the poison didn't work, Luca didn't just find another way to kill Nicolas. Or at least talk about why she's not going to do that! Instead it's like "oh Sabine failed to poison Nicolas" and then the book moves on to Luca abdicating. And then, somehow, however much later the poison kills Tiro instead? I can handle Luca and Touraine not being able to figure out how to interact with each other, that's some reasonable messiness, but I need the political intrigue to be intriguing and it just fell flat over and over again.