mint_renegade's reviews
169 reviews

Will likely reread this one a couple of times 

thrilling to begin with; some lag especially where real historical events were concerned, where tolstoy gave leave to his own voice and opinions; lackluster, is the word i ascribe to it 6 hours after...well, not finishing it per-se, i couldn't bring myself to finishing part ii of the epilogue. the story is that i'll read it sometime in the future but this, in-and-of-itself, is not a good indication of a favorite book. i loved 1,150 pages of it, in the end, that is to say, in the last 50 or so pages, i came to loathe it. harsh? perhaps, but a 5 star for me is a gut feeling, rarely something attained after a period of deliberation (6 of crows notwithstanding although that 5 star is on thin ice). 

i look forward to going through the annotations, taking out all the quotable quotes, all the angst and death motifs; i want to tattoo page 814 onto my body. 

having now read 2 works by tolstoy, i'm beginning to understand his methods. i despised resurrection for its lack of pay-off; i'm somewhat hesitant to read anymore of his works this year, palette cleansers only, anna karenina, i will be with you momentarily, but no rush.  

What's a marker of a not-5-star-read? 

- i read the last sentence and my first thought was "i guess". 

- I'll read the 2nd book eventually but I'm not clamouring to buy it. 

- I rolled my eyes at the 'female lead gets used as insurance/gets kidnapped because of course this had to be a series' trope. Just as I was about to declare to the universe that I enjoy reading YA, it suddenly dawned on me that fresh ideas died with twilight and willy shakes. And if I wanted to read YA I would have to innoculate myself against the same dusty corpse/husk called TROPE whose parched veins all YA authors (I've read from exactly 2 YA authors in the last 2 years) insist on sucking on.

- i can see it now, through the mists of time. when I recall it, it will be through google that i source the title, through wiki that i confirm the plot. It will be in the pile of books i want to donate when i eventually downsize my collection. When i recall it, it will only be in relation to the other books it reminded me of. One where dessert djinn are persecuted for their powers, one where canal rats pull a heist only to fall short at the close (Locke Lamora). You see it all reeks of the same colour, even the memorable ones have no names, no depth, just light descriptors. 

- for God's sake, no one even kissed. 

A 3star isn't bad, it's worse...its middling. Fencing,  undecided, both bad and good; where neither camp could defeat the other so they remain locked in endless struggle. 

I've leant heavily on the crutch tilted to 2, now let's focus on its counter. I fell in love with the love these characters had for each other. At each moment of tension, my muscles clenched, my kneepits began to sweat and I braced against a punch  declaring to the world "I swear to god leigh, if you let Wylan or Jesper die I'll do...something". The banter, the devastating cruelty of choice and chance. The little lines hoisted at the gallows,  tethered to hope. 

How do I move on from this? 
Read another book? 

I may flounder on thr decimal, given time; but the reality remains true. as things stand, this isn't surpassing .75

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i cant stop thinking about this book. (10.04)
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Original rating 3/5) An unjus  review? 15.04 and I can't stop thinking about Matthias. Why do I feel like he dies at the end?

when called to adventure, don't let the threat of blistering death discourage you. you could die tomorrow under showers of dragon fire or on this night at your table, chocking on a morsel of broccoli. 

die you will, there is no may about it. live you may, yet this requires a greater will