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epsyphus's reviews
319 reviews
The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.0
I thought this was a good conclusion to the series. It wrapped things up and ended in a way that felt true the characters. I felt a little jumbled, like not necessarily the pacing, but I was left feeling a little like "wait how did they get from that place to that place??" and that distracted me a little. Still, very cool world.
The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Honestly, just wow. The way this story was told was incredible. Once the book established that the story would be told through this theatre production dreamscape I was a little worried that it would overly complicate the storytelling, but I worried for nothing. The way the story was told was so intrinsic to the story itself and I loved that. And the narration, the way we got little glimpses from all sorts of different people? Fantastic. I loved the twists and turns, it was very engaging. My only complaint though was when I was reaching the last little bit of the book and I was disappointed they sacrificed themselves, I was like "really?? I wanted more of a happy love story!" And then the book was like "no no it is let me prove it" and I was like "damn it Simon you had me for a minute there that was beautiful thank you". It doesn't quite scratch my brain in that particular way like my 5 star books do, but I really, really loved this.
The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.0
This one kept me just as much, if not more, engaged as the first one. One of my primary concerns with this series is that it's going to drag and while it's still early days yet, I'm optimistic. I'm really excited for the potential of character development and I'm quite invested in seeing how the romance arcs will end up even though there hasn't been much romance to speak of yet. I'm excited to read the next one.
The Beast's Heart by Leife Shallcross
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
I loved this! I've read a few Beauty and the Beast retellings but never from the point of view of the Beast. I loved the atmosphere and writing was beautiful. The characters were so sweet and the pining was so good it made me cry. I want to read this one again after a month or two.
The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.0
I liked this one, but I did feel like a lot of the criticism I saw about the first book that I didn't really notice or care about before were more prominent in this one. We got to know more characters and more details about enclaves, but the plot felt a little non-existent and I felt like some of the characters dropped off the face of the earth. Like we heard hardly anything about them for reasons that didn't feel very believable.
Painted Devils by Margaret Owen
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.0
I liked that there was a little tension between the main character and the love interest that lingered from the first book, but it wasn't drawn out and they resolved it in a sweet way. The plot was a little less engaging than the first one but there were some twists that I really enjoyed. The ending felt a little bit repetitive, but it wasn't super surprising that it ended that way.
Iron Gold by Pierce Brown
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
I was equal parts excited and nervous to start this book. I'm always apprehensive starting these kinds of sequel series, especially when there's a time jump and the Red Rising Saga is one of my very favorite series; I didn't want these newer books to some how ruin the first three for me if that makes sense. But I shouldn't have worried, it was great! It was definitely different to have multiple POVs (and there were definitely POVs I enjoyed more than others but whatever) and I can admit there were some repetitive parts, but it felt in character and I still was on the edge of my seat.
The Concise Guide to Bipolar Disorder by Francis Mark Mondimore
3.0
Read this for some friends. Good overall introduction to the topic, touched on several aspects of it. It felt like it was more geared toward someone who has been diagnosed rather than friends or family of someone diagnosed.
A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
I loved this! It took me a hot minute to figure out how the world worked, especially with how much of the book was internal dialogue, but I didn't mind either of those things. I really liked the main character and I loved the dynamic that came out of her having power and affinity for magic that was very inconvenient to her. Her relationship with the others was also really interesting. This felt different than her other two books I've read and I'm excited to see where the series goes.
King of Immortal Tithe by Ben Alderson
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
2.0
I was rather disappointed with this and while there were aspects of that that I felt weren't really the book's fault, I was still disappointed. It didn't feel like it was a Hades and Persephone retelling (or at least it wasn't a very good one) and it just overall wasn't what I expected. It was a lot more heavy on the romance (if you could call it that) and the smut, which is fine but just not my cup of tea. Those thing by themselves I think could be forgiven, but I thought it was rather poorly written, I didn't buy the romance, and the fantasy elements felt overcomplicated and underexplained.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content