mayastef's reviews
175 reviews

library loan ran out

I told myself I’d at least push to 15% before DNFing but I couldn’t even do that. Not to be a misandrist but I think I could blind ID male author’s writing. (in a negative way if that wasn’t clear) 

library loan expired, I'll circle back eventually but I wasn't captured by this book. 

Conceptually, the worldbuilding here is simple enough but fun. I could've used more lore on the lands, but enough was given to understand the plot and overall vibes. The nightmares coming to life because of a curse is not a super high fantasy confusing magic system, and I really appreciated that. It gave the characters more chance to shine. I think the characters that the author takes the time to fully flesh out are fantastically written but a few side characters fall a bit flat in the personality department. Rebecca Ross also does a fantastic job of writing this unique enemies to lovers but they are both kinda annoyed about it thing. Great read but I am mentally comparing it  to her other works that I liked significantly more. 

You say you want unhinged female leads? Well, this is the book for you, and it is not in the gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss way but in the Vengeance, Violence, and Vendettas way. I read this book so quickly and enjoyed it a lot. My gripes were that sometimes the protagonist's rage is a bit much, but I think that's warranted and an intentional part of the storytelling. It is more so the decisions the rage pushes her to make somewhat impulsively not the emotion itself. I had minor issues with the piloting system, but they were not major enough to go into detail here. 
I loved the Chinese cultural influence in this book; that type of integration into fantasy/sci-fi is always a drawing point for me in books. 

I don't know where to start. Such a great book and such an incredibly strong pair of books. Yeah that's all I got, its so great im at a loss for words. 

An absolutely stunning book; there's no other way to describe it. The characters and setting are so rich. A lot of times in fantasy, it can feel like pieces of worldbuilding are missing, but there is absolutely no feeling of that in this book. Everything makes sense, even plot twists/revelations that seem to come out of nowhere are actually supported by the text. You'd think these things are the bare minimum to publish a book, but noooooo. 
I loved Jack and Adaira. The shift in their relationships with each other throughout their lives is such a beautiful part of the plot. They have always been and will always be two parts of a whole even if they abhor each other, their actions and feelings are still majorly driven by one another. 
All of the characters experience immense growth, and every facet of their personalities and roles fits so perfectly together. There are various romantic elements, such as new blossoming love, old love being reborn, and older love impacting the foundations of the world as our characters know it. Gorgeous. 
I have a hard time comparing this book to anything else I've ever read. It has a beautiful writing style that is somewhat similar to some Greek retellings I've read, but otherwise, I was unable to draw any parallels between this book and others I had previously read. 

Emotionally, this book is 5 stars; if I really break it down, it's slightly less than 5 stars. I love a heist book, I love a little motley crew moment. As I was reading, I felt like I was missing bits and pieces of information, but then it all made sense because the things I felt I was missing ended up being integral parts of various reveals/twists. So I can forgive the feeling of being a bit lost for a while. I wish 2/5 of the heist crew characters got developed better; I think this lack of feeling of development came from the other 3/5 having chapters written from their POV. So the two POV-less characters feel less fleshed out because we don't get to read from inside their brain. 

Never go into a book expecting it to be as good as Six of Crows but if you liked Six of Crows...... you maybe might consider enjoying this book a little bit. As long as you go in knowing THIS IS NOT SOC.

This series really explores the ties between humanity, storytelling, and the question of who and what possesses a soul. The energy is very ‘is this a found family or a polycule’ but not in a cringe way. They all contain different kinds of love for each other. They also can contain multiple types of love and not act or express certain ones. 

This book was not perfect but it did make me shed tears out of my real life eyes.

The pace wasn't quick enough for me, and there are a few loose ends (maybe two), in my opinion, and I don't love that. 

I ripped through this book but liked it slightly less than the first one in the series. I think that both of these books have incredibly strong story buildups but then the bubble burst doesnt always match the caliber of the buildup. The pacing is just a bit slow for me I think, I'd probably consider it medium paced but I am impatient. 
The characters were definitely at their worst in this book, just not being very lovable, but they are literally in hell I should've been under no assumption that they'd all be nice and perfect all the time. 
I'd like some elaboration on certain events in this book that I hope to get clarity on in book 3. 

Hero almost dies too many times in this book for my personal liking.