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freethefrican's reviews
254 reviews
The Jade Setter of Janloon by Fonda Lee
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The Davenports by Krystal Marquis
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Age of Vice by Deepti Kapoor
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I really enjoyed this and was so sure it was a 5-star read until I got to about 80% and everything started to fall apart. The plot points that were painfully constructed started to look like they were all for nothing and I sort of lost the point of over 300 pages of story building. It didn’t help that it was all mostly the same story told from over three POVs but also, maybe it was my fault for expecting 100% redemption for all the characters.
I genuinely preferred Ajay’s POV because it showed a poor young man with very few options whose blessing of access to the wealthy through service quickly turns very sour. We follow Ajay up to a point before the story shifts focus from him to mainly follow his boss, a lost pseudo-intellectual rich kid with daddy issues and the equally lost young woman with confused morals—and an inclination to be intentionally blind to questionable excesses when it suits her—that he falls for.
The perspectives shifted often and not in ways I liked. There were some I didn’t find necessary to the story and there were storylines I needed more information on like Bunty and Vicky Wadia’s relationship and the actual intricacies of their business because those alone drove many of the decisions and choices made by the main characters.
It is an engaging story that’s cinematic in scope and filled with a lot of violence, love, and pain. I loved how well it depicted the stark difference between the wealthy and the poor and how it honed in on the dark side of wealth and power and how these factors corrupt everything when given the chance. The dialogue is fantastic and the world is vivid. I will be reading any more books set in this world and I will be watching it when it comes to the screen.
I genuinely preferred Ajay’s POV because it showed a poor young man with very few options whose blessing of access to the wealthy through service quickly turns very sour. We follow Ajay up to a point before the story shifts focus from him to mainly follow his boss, a lost pseudo-intellectual rich kid with daddy issues and the equally lost young woman with confused morals—and an inclination to be intentionally blind to questionable excesses when it suits her—that he falls for.
The perspectives shifted often and not in ways I liked. There were some I didn’t find necessary to the story and there were storylines I needed more information on like Bunty and Vicky Wadia’s relationship and the actual intricacies of their business because those alone drove many of the decisions and choices made by the main characters.
It is an engaging story that’s cinematic in scope and filled with a lot of violence, love, and pain. I loved how well it depicted the stark difference between the wealthy and the poor and how it honed in on the dark side of wealth and power and how these factors corrupt everything when given the chance. The dialogue is fantastic and the world is vivid. I will be reading any more books set in this world and I will be watching it when it comes to the screen.
The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Sign Here by Claudia Lux
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
You would think a story that’s supposed to center a demon’s quest to sign more souls would actually be about the demon but it mostly wasn’t about him well until the very end. It largely felt like reading two separate stories that were interspaced for some reason. They were individually compelling but lacked the much-needed connections that would have made it all one good cohesive story.
I want to believe Peyote having no discernible qualities was intentional as he’d lost all sense of who he was (because, well, hell) except for his singular goal. While it would be understandable if this was the case, it made it difficult to connect with him or root for him until late into the book when things were revealed. Cal was more focussed on and though I found her game and history very confusing, I was able to understand her rage. I also think it would have been more believable if Cal were the protagonist tbh.
Now, the Harrisons. They had such an intricate and layered story that was reminiscent of a Celeste Ng and it’s easy to see how their’s would easily overshadow the supposed protagonist’s. I was satisfied with how it all played out for them but the story was a little jumbled with random characters jumping in and out and the past and present being interchanged a little shabbily.
It's going to be adapted so I'm excited to see that.
I want to believe Peyote having no discernible qualities was intentional as he’d lost all sense of who he was (because, well, hell) except for his singular goal. While it would be understandable if this was the case, it made it difficult to connect with him or root for him until late into the book when things were revealed. Cal was more focussed on and though I found her game and history very confusing, I was able to understand her rage. I also think it would have been more believable if Cal were the protagonist tbh.
Now, the Harrisons. They had such an intricate and layered story that was reminiscent of a Celeste Ng and it’s easy to see how their’s would easily overshadow the supposed protagonist’s. I was satisfied with how it all played out for them but the story was a little jumbled with random characters jumping in and out and the past and present being interchanged a little shabbily.
It's going to be adapted so I'm excited to see that.
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I liked this well enough. It had a strong start, lagged a little in the middle, but managed to have an ending that tied up well. Also, the sort-of-talking dog added extra points.
Now, one thing that made me a little confused was this: it’s set in the 60s so we know to expect a lot of overt sexism and misogyny but I found it all to be a little on the nose; to the point of the antagonists being like caricatures. They were there to serve the purpose of being bad and not much else and it got tired at some point. The one who managed to “redeem” herself, in the end, was the exception as they gave us some background to her.
The story’s quirkiness did not, in any way, tone down the shock of the violence, sexual assault, and pain within it (not that I expected it to). One minute we’re following something silly like the dog counting numbers, next thing there’s a stark rape scene.
All in all, I liked the message of this book and how the story was told and I particularly enjoyed the unexpected and achingly beautiful love story within it. Defiant protagonists have my heart and Elizabeth Zott was defiant to the very last page. This was a solid debut and I’d love to read more from this author.
Now, one thing that made me a little confused was this: it’s set in the 60s so we know to expect a lot of overt sexism and misogyny but I found it all to be a little on the nose; to the point of the antagonists being like caricatures. They were there to serve the purpose of being bad and not much else and it got tired at some point. The one who managed to “redeem” herself, in the end, was the exception as they gave us some background to her.
The story’s quirkiness did not, in any way, tone down the shock of the violence, sexual assault, and pain within it (not that I expected it to). One minute we’re following something silly like the dog counting numbers, next thing there’s a stark rape scene.
All in all, I liked the message of this book and how the story was told and I particularly enjoyed the unexpected and achingly beautiful love story within it. Defiant protagonists have my heart and Elizabeth Zott was defiant to the very last page. This was a solid debut and I’d love to read more from this author.
Bliss Montage by Ling Ma
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
3.0
“It would be such a relief to be older already, unburdened by the pressure to leverage your ever-fleeting beauty for whatever.” — G
I really enjoyed the author’s writing. It was clear and with just the right amount of whimsy to spice up the surreal story-telling. Some of the stories were a miss for me but the ones that worked, worked really well. I especially liked G and Peking Duck and I really want to talk about G with someone.
I really enjoyed the author’s writing. It was clear and with just the right amount of whimsy to spice up the surreal story-telling. Some of the stories were a miss for me but the ones that worked, worked really well. I especially liked G and Peking Duck and I really want to talk about G with someone.
Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I’m a little conflicted about this one because while I enjoyed Celine and Brad’s cute banter and their individual oddities, there were many technical issues with the story.
The pacing was janky and there was a time jump that made no sense. It also felt very rushed for some reason. Their characterisations weren’t too bad but Brad’s was better than Celine's even though Celine had more plot points for a richer and more complex story—a girl whose father left when she was younger and is now dealing with rejection issues definitely needed a little more than a pretty terrible conversation with her older sister and a barely-there one with her mum. Speaking of her mum, Celine is being raised by a single mother who is said to be very important to her but we barely see her mum in the story. The absent dad is mentioned a lot though and to what end? The possible conflict from there died a sad death.
Celine’s injury early on in the story irked me with how it was handled. It was barely acknowledged even though it would have affected the dexterity she would have needed at the camp.
The camping thing sucked. For something that was meant to be competitive and with pretty competitive people involved, It was dull and I hated every moment of it.
I could also mention how quick Brad and Celine went from hating each other to love declarations but they're teenagers so I'll allow it.
I’m a little disappointed with this one because I’ve loved many of TH’s books but I guess there’s plenty time for improvement seeing as this is her first YA.
The pacing was janky and there was a time jump that made no sense. It also felt very rushed for some reason. Their characterisations weren’t too bad but Brad’s was better than Celine's even though Celine had more plot points for a richer and more complex story—a girl whose father left when she was younger and is now dealing with rejection issues definitely needed a little more than a pretty terrible conversation with her older sister and a barely-there one with her mum. Speaking of her mum, Celine is being raised by a single mother who is said to be very important to her but we barely see her mum in the story. The absent dad is mentioned a lot though and to what end? The possible conflict from there died a sad death.
Celine’s injury early on in the story irked me with how it was handled. It was barely acknowledged even though it would have affected the dexterity she would have needed at the camp.
The camping thing sucked. For something that was meant to be competitive and with pretty competitive people involved, It was dull and I hated every moment of it.
I could also mention how quick Brad and Celine went from hating each other to love declarations but they're teenagers so I'll allow it.
I’m a little disappointed with this one because I’ve loved many of TH’s books but I guess there’s plenty time for improvement seeing as this is her first YA.
The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
I was prepared to be wowed but I was a little disappointed with this one. I thought it was impressive how such a short story could have such beautiful imagery and pretty solid world building (if I can call it that) because it certainly had a very strong sense of place. However, I just didn’t like the story as much as I’d hoped I would.