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noellerose's reviews
424 reviews
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Oh boy.
To start off, I know a lot of people had trouble getting into Six of Crows because of the world building and storyline. Luckily, I didn't, but in hindsight, that's probably because my knowledge on soc before going in was more extensive than the average reader. Because damn, this book was difficult to get into.
The first 100/150 pages were just a confusing mess for me. I didn't understand what the societies were (and I still don't completely), I didn't know the roles the characters played within these societies, and I most certainly did not know and can confidently say that I still don't know, what the fuck Lethe is. Maybe it was mentioned at the beginning and it got swallowed up by the other confusing elements, but from what I understand, they're sort of there to police the societies? But then they're funded by the societies as well, which doesn't make a lot of sense to me, because who would pay to get policed?
The first third of this book reminded me a lot of Legendborn. That book also took me a good 200-300 pages to really get into, so I wasn't ready to give up yet. And luckily, it did get better! I still didn't fully understand the societies but as they were mentioned more often, I got used to them and could sort of connect the dots. This made me able to focus more on the storyline and the characters, which suddenly became a lot more interesting.
From the start, I liked the dual POV. Darlington's POV started when Alex was new, so he explained a lot of things, which was better to follow than Alex's already established role in the societies. I also started enjoying the story more once the murder-mystery element was added.
This definitely didn't read like other Leigh Bardugo books, probably because the type of fantasy elements are different and because it's adult instead of YA.
Lastly, can we please start a petition for Leigh to write shorter chapters???
To start off, I know a lot of people had trouble getting into Six of Crows because of the world building and storyline. Luckily, I didn't, but in hindsight, that's probably because my knowledge on soc before going in was more extensive than the average reader. Because damn, this book was difficult to get into.
The first 100/150 pages were just a confusing mess for me. I didn't understand what the societies were (and I still don't completely), I didn't know the roles the characters played within these societies, and I most certainly did not know and can confidently say that I still don't know, what the fuck Lethe is. Maybe it was mentioned at the beginning and it got swallowed up by the other confusing elements, but from what I understand, they're sort of there to police the societies? But then they're funded by the societies as well, which doesn't make a lot of sense to me, because who would pay to get policed?
The first third of this book reminded me a lot of Legendborn. That book also took me a good 200-300 pages to really get into, so I wasn't ready to give up yet. And luckily, it did get better! I still didn't fully understand the societies but as they were mentioned more often, I got used to them and could sort of connect the dots. This made me able to focus more on the storyline and the characters, which suddenly became a lot more interesting.
From the start, I liked the dual POV. Darlington's POV started when Alex was new, so he explained a lot of things, which was better to follow than Alex's already established role in the societies. I also started enjoying the story more once the murder-mystery element was added.
This definitely didn't read like other Leigh Bardugo books, probably because the type of fantasy elements are different and because it's adult instead of YA.
Lastly, can we please start a petition for Leigh to write shorter chapters???
Unbound: My Story of Liberation and the Birth of the Me Too Movement by Tarana Burke
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
fast-paced
I'm always so amazed by the fact that people can dedicate their entire life to fighting for a social cause. These people are doing some of the most important work in our society, and they put their everything into it.
Burke's story was personal and sugarcoated nothing. It spoke of sexual abuse, rape, shame, familial struggles, racism, betrayal, etc. It really made an impression on me and it's given me new insights. The writing is beautiful and made me feel for the people she was writing about, whether she was talking about herself, her child, or the girls around her.
Burke's story was personal and sugarcoated nothing. It spoke of sexual abuse, rape, shame, familial struggles, racism, betrayal, etc. It really made an impression on me and it's given me new insights. The writing is beautiful and made me feel for the people she was writing about, whether she was talking about herself, her child, or the girls around her.
From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
- 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
This was a very sweet middle grade about a girl seeking justice for a man she barely knows. I liked the pace and how the seriousness got balanced out by Zoe's lighthearted passion for baking.
The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS!!!
When Nina was introduced, I thought she was slightly annoying - childish and naïve to a fault. But I also realised this was probably done to highlight the difference between Valerie and Nina: one poised and elegant, the other young and indecorous. And I must say that for the first 50 pages, I was sort of rooting for Hector and Valerie?
This changed pretty quickly, though. I just started feeling very sorry for Nina. She was falling for Hector while he was obsessed with Valerie, and neither he nor Valerie cared about what their whole spiel was doing to Nina and how much it was hurting her.
About a third of the way into the book, and Nina found out about Hector and Valerie's relationship. I liked the timing of this because it gave her enough time to fall in love with her but the whole thing didn't get drawn out. This kind of trope, the 'person A is hopelessly in love with person B but person B is only using them and doesn't realise they'd fallen in love until they've lost person A' thing, I absolutely love. I'm dying for it. I'm gagging for it. And while I think Hector got over Valerie a <i>little</i> bit too quickly, I didn't mind it that much.
Miscommunication is my least favourite trope ever and it seemed, a few chapters from the end, that this occurring trope would be drawn out for the entirety of the book. But then Nina surprised us all but simply saying 'fuck it' and running back to Hector. There were a few points of drama that got resolved quickly, which is just the way I like it!
The pining! So much of it! I loved it!
When Nina was introduced, I thought she was slightly annoying - childish and naïve to a fault. But I also realised this was probably done to highlight the difference between Valerie and Nina: one poised and elegant, the other young and indecorous. And I must say that for the first 50 pages, I was sort of rooting for Hector and Valerie?
This changed pretty quickly, though. I just started feeling very sorry for Nina. She was falling for Hector while he was obsessed with Valerie, and neither he nor Valerie cared about what their whole spiel was doing to Nina and how much it was hurting her.
About a third of the way into the book, and Nina found out about Hector and Valerie's relationship. I liked the timing of this because it gave her enough time to fall in love with her but the whole thing didn't get drawn out. This kind of trope, the 'person A is hopelessly in love with person B but person B is only using them and doesn't realise they'd fallen in love until they've lost person A' thing, I absolutely love. I'm dying for it. I'm gagging for it. And while I think Hector got over Valerie a <i>little</i> bit too quickly, I didn't mind it that much.
Miscommunication is my least favourite trope ever and it seemed, a few chapters from the end, that this occurring trope would be drawn out for the entirety of the book. But then Nina surprised us all but simply saying 'fuck it' and running back to Hector. There were a few points of drama that got resolved quickly, which is just the way I like it!
The pining! So much of it! I loved it!
The Fate of Stars by S.D. Simper
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
This was a sweet tale of a mermaid and a princess going from enemies to lovers. I don't have a lot of thoughts about the story. It felt flat at times, the lack of description bothering me. I was also bored near the end and skimmed through the last three chapters.
The Sky Blues by Robbie Couch
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
YA romance contemporary books aren't really my thing so they've already got one thing against them. What I dislike in a lot of YA contemporary books is that the narrative voice is childish and too quirky. I think it's just a product of adult authors being out of touch with teenagers' behaviours today. The same thing happened with Sky in this book. He tried to be too relatable and funny and said a lot of things that a stereotypical teenager would say. This negative influenced my reading experience because Sky was not relatable at all.
That being said, it's the only big critique I have. I think the story and characters were sweet. It was easy to feel sorry for Sky because he wasn't wallowing in self-pity after the whole promposal wall got revealed. I'd wished there would've been a little more gay pining for Ali, but I understand the author wanted to close that chapter as soon as possible. I also liked that almost the entire school was supportive of Sky.
My personal pet peeve in books is characters lying about their identity to save themselves. Sky pretending to be someone else so his father's old friend wouldn't know it was kind of annoying to me, but again, it's a personal thing. I do wish Sky could've stood his ground with Gus.
I liked the romance part of it. Teddy seems like a nice person and though we didn't really get a lot of interactions between Sky and Teddy, it still felt like a realistic pairing.
That being said, it's the only big critique I have. I think the story and characters were sweet. It was easy to feel sorry for Sky because he wasn't wallowing in self-pity after the whole promposal wall got revealed. I'd wished there would've been a little more gay pining for Ali, but I understand the author wanted to close that chapter as soon as possible. I also liked that almost the entire school was supportive of Sky.
My personal pet peeve in books is characters lying about their identity to save themselves. Sky pretending to be someone else so his father's old friend wouldn't know it was kind of annoying to me, but again, it's a personal thing. I do wish Sky could've stood his ground with Gus.
I liked the romance part of it. Teddy seems like a nice person and though we didn't really get a lot of interactions between Sky and Teddy, it still felt like a realistic pairing.
Romantic Tales from Old Korea by Brother Anthony of Taizé
medium-paced
This collection of short stories from Old Korea was not great for me. The stories are, quite obviously, horribly outdated. They fell flat for me because they were so short and the characters were one-dimensional. I also felt like some of these 'tales' can hardly be called romantic. One in particular had nothing to do with romance whatsoever and I wondered what it was doing in this collection. Only the last story, which took up half the book, was worth it in my opinion. Still too flat and way too convenient with the way every character had dreams in which they were told exactly what to do. But this story had more depth and the characters came together nicely.
In the introduction, it was said that this collection of stories is a translation from the French stories. I wonder why the decision was made to translate the French stories about Korea rather than translating the actual Korean stories? Surely they exist if they're tales of Old Korea and French translations were made?
Perhaps I would've liked these stories more if I were able to understand Korean and read these stories in their native language. Korean is supposed to be a poetic language and I don't doubt the stories would've made a bigger impression on me had I read an untranslated version.
In the introduction, it was said that this collection of stories is a translation from the French stories. I wonder why the decision was made to translate the French stories about Korea rather than translating the actual Korean stories? Surely they exist if they're tales of Old Korea and French translations were made?
Perhaps I would've liked these stories more if I were able to understand Korean and read these stories in their native language. Korean is supposed to be a poetic language and I don't doubt the stories would've made a bigger impression on me had I read an untranslated version.
Reign the Earth by A.C. Gaughen
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
This was both a typical YA fantasy book and not at all.
I was a bit confused the first 40ish pages because I thought there would be an enemies-to-lovers storyline between Shalia and Calix. So when he was shoving his tongue down her throat after only a few hours, I was surprised. I think the relationship between Shalia and Calix was written well. He's an abusive manipulator, which means there will be moments where he's nice and thoughtful and Shalia doesn't hate him. But then he would do something to bring that all back.
I really enjoyed Shalia and Galen's relationship. I liked them from the moment they met and was quite glad, skimming through the book, seeing parts where they were being lovey-dovey. Their relationship is strong and I appreciate the communication throughout their friendship and relationship.
However, some of the interactions between the characters fell a bit flat for me. Shalia has just found out Calix tortures Elementae and is horrified. However, later in the chapter, she's laughing and joking with Galen and the other guards. Those interactions feel not well-timed.
I also felt there were some inconstancies in Galen's character. At one point, he tells Shalia to lie to Calix so he won't hurt her, apparently completely aware of his abusive personality, and the next he is encouraging her to share her opinions with Calix, saying he'll listen to her and that she has to give him a chance.
I will probably pick up the second book!
I was a bit confused the first 40ish pages because I thought there would be an enemies-to-lovers storyline between Shalia and Calix. So when he was shoving his tongue down her throat after only a few hours, I was surprised. I think the relationship between Shalia and Calix was written well. He's an abusive manipulator, which means there will be moments where he's nice and thoughtful and Shalia doesn't hate him. But then he would do something to bring that all back.
I really enjoyed Shalia and Galen's relationship. I liked them from the moment they met and was quite glad, skimming through the book, seeing parts where they were being lovey-dovey. Their relationship is strong and I appreciate the communication throughout their friendship and relationship.
However, some of the interactions between the characters fell a bit flat for me. Shalia has just found out Calix tortures Elementae and is horrified. However, later in the chapter, she's laughing and joking with Galen and the other guards. Those interactions feel not well-timed.
I also felt there were some inconstancies in Galen's character. At one point, he tells Shalia to lie to Calix so he won't hurt her, apparently completely aware of his abusive personality, and the next he is encouraging her to share her opinions with Calix, saying he'll listen to her and that she has to give him a chance.
I will probably pick up the second book!
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
adventurous
medium-paced
- 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
4.0
The Storm of Echoes by Christelle Dabos
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5