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giulianasbooks's reviews
190 reviews
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
El mensaje que quiere transmitir la autora con este libro sí que me ha parecido súper bueno, además que en el libro ves cómo los personajes son tratados y estereotipados por sus razas/colores de piel, así como una misoginia tremenda hacia las mujeres que, por desgracia, aún sigue pasando. Los personajes me han encantado, sobretodo Victoire y Ramy, y me encanta cómo la autora ha plasmado a Letty para representar lo que una persona blanca nunca podría llegar a entender (la razón por la cual llevaron a cabo el desmantelamiento de los planes que tenían entre manos los profesores de Babel con respecto a China) básicamente porque nunca ha tenido que pasar por racismo.
Aunque yo tenía otras expectativas, no es un libro para nada malo, pero ha habido veces que se me ha hecho insufrible, y no es hasta más de la mitad del libro que empiezan a pasar cosas interesantes. Lo del tema de la traducción me ha parecido bastante interesante, eso sí. A eso me refiero a lo de mi relación toxica, porque me parece un libro súper pesado pero que está increíblemente escrito.
Por supuesto, leeré más libros de R. F. Kuang. La verdad sea dicha: ella es increíble.
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The toxic relationship I have with this book is inexplicable. I bought it because of all the hype it had and from the synopsis it seemed like a pretty interesting book. It took me a while to get to it because I had other books on my tbr, but after a few months, I was finally able to read it. The truth is that the author writes incredibly well, her pen is amazing. I know perfectly well that it is a historical fiction book but I had been told that it was a a dark academia with a lot of magic (Harry Potter-ish vibes) but it wasn’t like that at all. On some occasions it even seemed like I was reading my high school history book and the truth is that that disappointed me a bit, since magic appears much less than I thought and honestly, there’s information that could have been omitted from the book (because, in my opinion, it had more pages than needed) and it could’ve been much shorter.
The message that the author wants to transmit with this book is incredible, in addition to the fact that in the book you see how the characters are treated and stereotyped because of their race/skin color, as well as a tremendous misogyny towards women which unfortunately it's still happening. I loved almost all the characters, especially Victoire and Ramy, and I love how the author wrote Letty to represent what a white person could never understand (the reason why they carried out the dismantling of the plans of the Babel professors regarding China) basically because they’ve never had to go through racism.
Although I had other expectations, it's not a bad book at all, but there were times when I found it insufferable, and it's not until more than halfway through the book that interesting things start to happen. However, all the translation stuff was quite interesting to me. That's what I mean about my toxic relationship with it, because it’s such a dense book but it's incredibly written.
Of course, I will read more books by R. F. Kuang. Truth be told: she is amazing.
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Islamophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, War, and Classism
Moderate: Suicide attempt and Alcohol
Minor: Drug use
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I think this is one of the most beautiful books I’ve ever read in my whole life. The way the author writes, how it captivates you since the very first page… I don’t have words to describe this incredible book, I don’t think this review will give it enough justice.
I loved every character. Iris and Roman have my whole entire heart forever and ever. I’m very new to the romance genre and a good friend of mine <b>(Helen ily and I love reading with you and sharing our thoughts and scream and cry together okbye)</b> told me to give it a try together and that’s what we did. I kinda went into the book without not knowing too much about it, only that it was a rivals to lovers and that mythology was involved. That trope is one of my favorites and I love mythology so I said “why not?” and OH. MY. GODDESS. How it started, how the author makes you feel as if you were Iris yourself (I also felt like in some ways I could identify with her a lot), the banter between her and Roman, how it started as a competition and ended up as one of the most beautiful romances I’ve ever read… so many good things and so many feelings. I actually cried, and I NEVER cry, that’s what you do to me, Rebecca Ross. I loved how they had their own problems and insecurities but loved each other regardless. The letters were each one better than the other, it was so beautiful to see how their relationship kept on progressing with each letter. I think I’m in love with Roman, and I’m not kidding. Every time I picked this book up to read it, he kept on getting better and better and better, and now I’m depressed because he’s the standard and men like him don’t exist so basically I’ll just die alone.
How can Rebecca Ross portray such incredible and deep feelings just with her writing? How she talks about grief, about being insecure, about war (as if she were there herself), about being/feeling alone, about their love that made me cry and laugh, and giggle and smile and about so many things… My heart ached all the time.
As always, unfortunately there’s always a but, and the only “bad” (there’s nothing wrong with this wonderful book) thing I would like to point out is that it barely talks about the main plot (the Gods Enva and Dacre), only at the beginning and at the end. By how it ended (what a huge cliffhanger omfg) it looks like in the next book there will be more of it and I just. can’t. wait.
It is a huge crime that:
1. This book is not that recognized and it’s really underrated.
2. That I have to wait until april of 2024 for the next book to be released.
Everyone needs to read this book, period. Like, there’s no excuse. It has mythology, rivals to lovers, amazing main & side characters, he falls first, etc etc etc ♾️, and it just fulfills your entire being, it makes you feel whole, complete.
I don’t think I can write any quote because I literally underlined the entire book, but here are some of them that I particularly loved🤍:
<i>Grief is a long, difficult process, especially when it is so racked by guilt.</i>
<i>I think we all wear armor. I think those who don’t are fools, risking the pain of being wounded by the sharp edges of the world, over and over again. But if I’ve learned anything from those fools, it’s that to be vulnerable is a strength most of us fear. It takes courage to let down your armor, to welcome people to see you as you are.</i>
<i>But I think there is a magical link between you and me. A bond that not even distance can break.</i>
<i>The world is about to change. The days to come will only grow darker. And when you find something good? You hold on to it. You don’t waste time worrying about things that won’t even matter in the end. Rather, you take a risk for that light.</i>
<i>You are worthy of love. You are worthy to feel joy right now, even in the darkness.</i>
(I’m going to stop with the quotes now because I’ll just end up writing the entire book).
Last but not least, if you’re planning on reading this book, check the trigger warnings before doing so (tw such as: death, war, death of parent, grief, gun violence, alcoholism, medical content, car accident, etc.)
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Violence, Medical content, Grief, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Mental illness and Blood
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Vomit, and Car accident
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
You are telling me, Taryn dear, that you’re choosing a man over your other half aka your twin sister??? A man that’s not even worth your fucking time!!!!!!!!! Like be fr girl when did you decide Locke was the love of your life?😂😂😂 grow the fuck up. That’s not the worst part though, because YOU blamed Jude for all the bullying she was receiving, and why? Because she was strong enough to defend herself???? This is why spanish is the best language to curse because EN QUÉ COÑO ESTABAS PENSANDO PUTA LOCA????? I don’t have enough words to describe my hatred towards her, omfg😭. You’ve tried to fit into a world where you’re not welcomed and yet you decide to get manipulated by your sister’s bully… Men are not that worthy/important honey, trust me, and you made it even worse by forcing Locke to marry you… I hope you get what you deserve in the next books.
This is the worst “apology” I’ve ever read in my entire life. This is just Taryn looking for someone to pity her, and she just doesn’t deserve Jude at all. I have so many more things to say about this but I’ll stop here before I throw my phone through the window.
Regardless of all of this, Holly Black’s writing is amazing (again) and I can’t wait to keep on reading not only this trilogy, but the other books about the Faerie world.
Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
⚠️Esta reseña contiene spoilers⚠️
Este libro es fantástico. Ya entiendo el hype que tiene, está totalmente justificado y merecidísimo.
Me encanta cómo escribe Holly Black, nunca había leído ningún libro de ella y la verdad es que su pluma es increíble y preciosa. El mundo de Faerie es súper original, pero me hubiera gustado saber más acerca de él. Si que es verdad que al principio se me hizo un poco lento y, a veces, me pareció que los capítulos eran demasiado largos, pero se me ha pasado volando y lo he disfrutado un montón.
Jude (la protagonista) es genial. Me encanta que la autora plasme sus defectos y cómo va evolucionando su personaje a medida que va avanzando el libro, y su relación con Cardan es un enemies to lovers 100% que he amado y que no puedo esperar más a leer cómo va tomando forma su relación. Al principio Cardan no me gustaba tanto por el tema del bullying (ya que es un tema que no puedo apoyar bajo ningún concepto) pero al final van saliendo a la luz varias cosas que te hacen cambiar de parecer. Los demás personajes, en general, me han parecido buenos (menos Taryn obviamente, y Locke🤮), y es súper curiosa la relación que tienen Madoc y Jude teniendo en cuenta su situación extraña.
Poco más tengo que decir al respecto. No puedo esperar más a seguir con esta trilogía y ver cómo los personajes van creciendo/evolucionando y cómo su relación se va creando.
No le doy 5 estrellas porque creo que el segundo me va a gustar mucho más y porque he sentido que este libro ha sido más bien un “calentamiento” para los que se vienen.
Si te gusta la fantasía y el romance, tienes que leer este libro sí o sí.
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This book is fantastic. I understand the hype it has, it’s totally justified and well deserved.
I love how Holly Black writes, I've never read any of her books and the truth is that she writes so beautifully. The world of Faerie is super original, but I would’ve liked to know more about it. Yes, at first it was a bit slow for me and, sometimes, I thought the chapters were too long, but I read it so fast that I didn’t even noticed and I enjoyed it a lot.
Jude (the mc) is amazing. I love that the author captures her flaws and how her character evolves as the book progresses, and her relationship with Cardan is a 100% enemies to lovers that I loved and I can't wait to read how their relationship evolves. At first I didn't like Cardan so much because of the bullying issue (I cannot support that under any circumstances) but in the end several things come to light that make you change your mind. The other characters, in general, were really good (except Taryn obviously, and Locke🤮), and the relationship between Madoc and Jude is super curious considering their strange situation.
I have little more to say about it. I can't wait to continue with this trilogy and see how the characters grow/evolve and how their relationship takes shape. I'm not giving it 5 stars because I think I'm going to like the second one much more and because I've felt that this book was more of a "warm-up" for the other books that are coming.
If you like fantasy and romance, you have to read this book no matter what.
(English is not my first language, if you find any mistakes, please let me know)
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Empezaré diciendo que este libro no me ha parecido malo, pero es de estos que tienen tanto potencial que la autora lo ha malgastado de una manera increíble.
Creo que lo mejor sería empezar por lo que más me ha gustado, y es que me parece que Kerri Maniscalco tiene una pluma buenísima que ha hecho que me haya leído el libro súper rápido sin ni siquiera darme cuenta de las horas que pasaban. Cuando leí la sinopsis lo quise agregar a mis lecturas porque me pareció una idea estupenda: ¿quién no quiere leer sobre brujas y demonios? Emilia, la protagonista, me ha gustado bastante por lo fuerte y segura que es, al igual que Wrath (que encima tiene tatuajes, qué más se puede pedir). Que esté ambientado en Italia también es un punto a favor del libro, nunca había leído un libro situado allí y me ha encantado.
Como siempre, ahora vengo a hablar de cosas que me han tocado la moral bastante: para empezar, no sé a quién se le ocurrió catalogar este libro como enemies to lovers cuando simplemente se odian porque Emilia es bruja y Wrath un demonio: no hay más razones a porqué son esos supuestos “enemigos” así que, para mí, esto sería más bien un haters to algo porque es que no hay romance casi. Odio cuando no evolucionan como “pareja”, básicamente han ido de odiarse a querer arrancarse la ropa en dos páginas: ¿perdón? No, así no vamos; antes he dicho que la pluma de Maniscalco me parece increíble pero también me parece que hay demasiada información innecesaria: perfectamente podría haberse ahorrado cien páginas o más; sabemos que está ambientada en Italia, como he dicho anteriormente, pero ¿en qué época? ¿tiene eso influencia en el libro? bueno pues aparentemente eso te lo inventas tú, porque nunca se sabe, simplemente das por hecho que es en el siglo XVIII-XIX por cómo se describen las ropas que llevan los personajes, poco más se sabe, y creo que podría haber añadido eso y quitado unas cuantas recetas, que ojo, amo la comida italiana y puedo entender que me quieras explicar algo de su cocina ya que los padres de las gemelas son dueños de un restaurante, pero no hacen falta tantas, me ha quedado claro que les gusta comer, muchas gracias; el libro empieza con las gemelas Emilia y Vittoria siendo inseparables y, de repente, Vittoria está muerta y ni me he enterado. La protagonista da mil vueltas al mismo tema para luego irse por las ramas con otro asunto y luego se vuelve todo un lío porque simplemente este libro está desordenado; tampoco me ha gustado cómo han aparecido los hermanos de Wrath, me ha parecido demasiado fácil la manera en cómo pueden moverse del infierno al mundo de los humanos, y sin hablar de cómo conoce Emilia a Lust, que me ha parecido un capítulo de relleno que no tenía sentido alguno; hay tantas preguntas sin resolver que sé que probablemente no serán resueltas, pero si me pongo a enumerar todo lo que está mal del libro me tiro el mes entero con esta reseña.
Si quieres leer un libro sobre brujas para pasar el rato, este es tu libro, pero no esperes una obra de arte impresionante porque como ya he dicho, este libro tiene un potencial malgastadísimo. Seguramente (100% probable) seguiré con la trilogía, pero ya mis expectativas no son tan altas como las tenía con este.
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I’ll start by saying that this book wasn’t bad at all, but it’s one of those that have so much potential that the author just wasted it in an incredible way.
I think the best thing would be to start with what I liked the most, and it seems to me that Kerri Maniscalco has an amazing way of writing that made me read the book super fast without even noticing the hours that passed. When I read the synopsis I wanted to add it to my tbr because the premise looked amazing: who doesn't want to read about witches and demons? I really liked Emilia, the main character, because of how strong and confident she is, just like Wrath (who also has tattoos, what more could I ask for?). The fact that it’s set in Italy is also a point in favor to the book, I’d never read a book set there and I loved it.
As always, now I come to talk about things that have touched my morale a lot: to start with, I don't know who came up with the idea of classifying this book as “enemies to lovers” when they simply hate each other because Emilia is a witch and Wrath is a demon: there is no more reasons why they are those supposed "enemies" so, for me, this would be rather a “haters to something” because there is almost no romance. I hate when they don't evolve as a "couple", they've basically gone from hating each other to wanting to tear each other's clothes off in two pages: sorry? No, that's not how we go; as I said before, Maniscalco's pen seems incredible to me but it also seems that there is too much unnecessary information: it could have perfectly been a hundred pages or more less; we know that it is set in Italy, as I said before, but in what era? Does that influence the book? well, apparently you make it up by yourself because you never know, you simply assume that it is in the 18th-19th century, because of how the clothes worn by the characters are described, little else is known, and I think the author could’ve added that and removed a few recipes: don’t get me wrong, I love Italian food and I can understand that you want to explain something about their cuisine since the parents of the twins own a restaurant, but you don't need that many, it has become clear to me that they like to eat, thank you very much; The book begins with the twins Emilia and Vittoria being inseparable, and suddenly, Vittoria is dead and I didn’t even noticed. The MC goes around the same topic a thousand times and then goes off on another subject and then it becomes a whole mess because this book is just simply messy; I also didn't like how Wrath's brothers appeared, the way in which they can move from hell to the world of humans seemed too easy to me, and not to mention how Emilia meets Lust, which I thought was a filler chapter that it didn't make any sense; there are so many unanswered questions that I know probably won't be answered, but if I start to list everything that's wrong with the book, I'll spend the entire month with this review.
If you want to read a book about witches to pass the time, this is the book for you, but don't expect a masterpiece because as I said, this book has a very much potential. Surely (100% likely) I will continue with the trilogy, but my expectations are not as high as I had it with this one.
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Child death, and Vomit
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Although it’s not obligatory to read it (because this is just Pip playing a mystery game with her friends), in this short novella of less than a hundred pages you can take a peek of how the main character likes to solve mysteries and how/why she decided to solve the case of Andie Bell for her school project (which is the main plot of the first book). It was a really fast read so I recommend it to anyone who wants to start these books.
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Cancer, Cursing, and Terminal illness
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Creo que Sanderson a estas alturas es incapaz de decepcionarme y por ello es uno de mis escritores favoritos, y aunque tenía expectativas bastante altas con este libro, es el que menos he disfrutado (pero sigue siendo muy bueno).
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Grief, and Murder
Minor: Grief and Death of parent
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Bullying, Cancer, Death, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Abandonment
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, and Abandonment
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
<i>Los mandamientos de los segadores:
1. Matarás.
2. Matarás sin prejuicios, sesgos ni premeditación.
3. Concederás un año de inmunidad a los seres queridos de aquellos que acepten tu llegada y a todo aquel que consideres digno de ello.
4. Matarás a los seres queridos de aquellos que se resistan.
5. Servirás a la humanidad durante el resto de tus días y tu familia recibirá la inmunidad como recompensa durante toda tu vida.
6. Llevarás una vida ejemplar, tanto de palabra como de obra, y escribirás un diario en el que dejarás constancia de lo acontecido cada día.
7. No matarás a ningún segador, salvo a ti mismo.
8. No tendrás más posesiones terrenales que tu túnica, tu anillo y tu diario.
9. No tomarás cónyuge ni engendrarás.
10. No acatarás más leyes que estas.</i>
Este libro me ha gustado bastante. Aunque se publicó hace un tiempo y todo el mundo lo ha leído, yo siempre llego tarde y decidí leerlo antes de acabar el mes de mayo.
La verdad es que sabía que era una distopía pero no me esperaba para nada que fuera así. Todo el tema del Nimbo tampoco me ha parecido una locura considerando los tiempos que vivimos de que la tecnología está completamente transformando el mundo cada día más y más, y no me sorprendería para nada que llegase a pasar lo ocurrido en el libro. Entendiendo el punto de los segadores e incluso puedo llegar a comprender su oficio y lo necesario que es. En esta “utopía” gobernada por el Nimbo aparecen, cómo no, problemas que ellos mismos van a tener que enfrentar: no sólo en cuanto a cribar, sino también entre los segadores.
El libro empieza con una de las protagonistas, Citra, recibiendo al que más tarde sería su mentor, el segador Faraday, en su casa. Después conocemos a Rowan, el otro protagonista, que conoce a Faraday después de que un compañero suyo de clase sea elegido para la criba y decida quedarse con él durante el proceso, haciéndose así el segundo novicio elegido por Faraday. Ambos protagonistas me han encantado, son los dos bastante diferentes el uno del otro: Citra es una chica decidida, fuerte, capaz de cualquier cosa, y nunca se rinde; Rowan es apodado “el lechuga” porque como él dice, siempre es al que menos le hacen caso la gente, el que no importa, el que sobra, pero su evolución como personaje es una brutalidad y la verdad es que le amo. Aunque sea bastante leve, el autor introduce un pequeño romance (o afecto sería mejor) entre ambos y tengo bastante ganas de leer los siguientes para ver cómo evoluciona. Hay otros personajes (aunque aparecen nombrados los familiares de cada uno, no salen lo suficiente para poder dar una opinión concreta de cada uno), básicamente otros segadores, que tienen una ética moral bastante diferente de cada uno y está muy bien reflejado cómo impactan sus actos en el libro.
La verdad es que me ha encantado y la idea del libro me parece bestial, pero sí que es verdad que no deja de ser una introducción a todo el mundo de esta trilogía, y se nota que el segundo libro viene fuerte porque el final te deja con muchísimas ganas de seguir leyendo sin parar. En algunas ocasiones se me ha hecho un poco lento, pero es comprensible teniendo en cuenta que este tomo es básicamente cómo aprenden los protagonistas el arte de ser segador/de cribar. Le doy un 4,5 porque sé que el segundo libro me va a encantar y en este hay cosas que no me han acabado de convencer (aunque sean poquísimas, como ya he dicho).
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Bullying, Torture, Grief, and Abandonment