onejadyn's reviews
63 reviews

This was an odd read for me. I definitely had no idea what I was getting into, but I knew I wanted to read another Neil Gaiman book after reading his short story, How The Marquis Got His Coat Back. 

And this was a lot like that—partially because the Marquis himself is from (or in) this story, which was a pleasant surprise. 

I actually really liked the beginning of this book, and I really liked it from a bit past the middle to the end of it, but from about 20% through to 50%, it really wasn't doing much for me. At that point, I just didn't care about Richard, or any of the other chatacters, or what they were doing. I did certainly get the feeling of being a fish out of water, but without a character to anchor to, I didn't enjoy it very much. 

Once it picked back up though, and Richard stopped existing listlessly, and we started to learn what Door was trying to achieve, it was fun and enjoyable and altogether a great read. 

I loved the writing style of this story, and when the story was good, it was great. I wish I could've loved the whole thing, but I'll take what I can get and leave with an overall positive impression.

So first, I really liked the first page. It just felt so carefully honed and very fun, with so much about Kell and magic told simply through this coat. So the book and I started rather well off. 

Honestly, I had fun. This book had all the comfort that I miss from YA in my teens, but held my attention in a way that reminded me of being a teenager reading this stories, rather than trying to relive them now and realizing they fall short of my expectations. 

Which isn't to say that this story was flawless or perfect or wowed me. Truthfully, Lila felt like the classic tough female heroine that I've read hundreds of times before, and Kell was not too far off the classic all-business caring blank slate. 

But honestly, at the end of the day I had fun. I liked them even if I'm not sure why, the premise was interesting and the world building was cool and visual, and I liked it. 

I guess that's it—I liked it. It was an enjoyable read and I have no regrets reading it. I liked it. 

This book was enjoyable, but not for me. Though I liked reading in Murderbot's perspective, at the end of the day I didn't feel very attached to any of the characters (main character included) and I never ended up caring about the story. 

It was an interesting perspective and premise, but it fell very average to me. Not mad that I read it, but definitely not for me in the end. 

Despite what you may believe by the star rating, I didn't dislike the book. I'm just extremely lukewarm to it. 

Despite its acclaim, I honestly just never ended up fully invested. Noemí was alright as a character, but I never fully clicked with her. While I liked the tension between some of the characters, I was never sold on the creepy or horror elements, and I was never fully drawn into the setting. 

It was interesting, but it wasn't anything special for me. I rooted for the main character, but almost more out of habit than out of a liking for her. 

Overall, an average read. Not as horror driven as I was hoping, though it features some interesting character dynamics. I don't regret reading it, but it's not as fantastic as I'd been hoping for me. 

I'm going to have to come back to this review in more detail. But I binged this book in less than a day and it's late and I've got to sleep sooner or later.

This book was the perfect child of the Princess Bride (which Brandon Sanderson states as an inspiration for this novel) and the Hobbit. Which is to say that it's whimsical and lovely and adventurous and classicly fantasy in a way that makes you want to curl up with a tea and just end up absorbed. The sort of story you want to tell again to see someone else's reaction to something timeless. 

I loved it. Something about the tone, the execution, it was just fantastic. I loved all the characters, I loved the spores. The journey was just too good. 

<spoilers>
THE REST OF THE REVIEW WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS.

Honestly, if I had to pick a negative side of this, it would be the end. It was almost too neat of a bow, even though it's an ending perfectly befitting the tone of the novel otherwise. 

Besides that, it was fantastic. A seafaring adventure (the best kind of adventure), a suitable amount of mystery, wonderful characters, a perfectly whimsical narrative voice, and the spores! They were fascinating. The seas and the ways the spores reacted to water, all of them so different—they were a real highlight here. I loved learning more about the spores through Tress. 
</spoilers>

I don't have words for this book right now. I didn't know anything going in and I'm glad I didn't. I was engaged throughout all the perspectives, and the tone was simultaneously tragic and dry—like every character we read about was just constantly broken in some way, in a way they have long ago decided was normal. 

The magic system and the politics around it is incredible and the state of society and the world was just so engaging, you couldn't help but dive right in. 

The rest of the review will contain spoilers, where I doubt I'll have many words to justify the way I'm feeling. 

THIS ARE SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

So. Damaya, Syen, and Essun. One and the same. I wish I could say I saw it coming. Perhaps I could've been so clever as to figure it out when it was mentioned that Syenite was not Falcum born. Or when it was revealed that Essun too has been trained in the Falcum. But I missed it. Right up until Damaya announced her new name, and Essun recognised the woman she traveled with. 

And wow. In the space of few pages, I feel like I've spent a lifetime with this character. I'm mourning for Corundum more than I expected. Syenite loved him but she wasn't the doting perfect storybook mother that we typically see when a woman pours everything into protecting her child — and it didn't matter. There was a grim reality, a pain, that came when Syenite killed Corundum. When Essun found her son. 

I feel like I shouldn't have loved this book. Speaking of the idea only vaguely interests me — a girl trained from a young age in a harsh school to use her powerful abilities for what is considered the good of the society. And yet I fell to pieces for this book, because no summary can capture how real and hurt and separated and cold these characters are.

It's a life of pain that isn't captured through tears and screaming, but careful withdrawal and calm. And yes, when someone breaks then—you pay attention. 

I loved this book. I cried when Syenite killed Corundum. I can't understand how a summary of Syenite's life (Damaya's, Essun's) mattered so much to me. How these snapshots created a character that I fell so hard with. But it did. And I did. 

This was a strange read for me. It felt like I was simultaneously invested and impatiently awaiting the end of a chapter so I could put it down. I had some issues with the writing style. It often felt like the main actions of the plot were secondary, and if I was paying any less than complete attention, I'd miss the specifics of what happened, as all the specific details of even major events felt buried. 

Still, I liked it. I liked watching the Gunslinger's journey, and watching him interact with all he found on his way. For all the faults I find in the narrative style for my preference, it did well at demonstrating a character that is so singularly focused and almost dry that it's hard for anything else to matter. 

Overall, I enjoyed this book and I'm glad I read it. There was something about the interactions between characters that felt like it should've been bland but was instead fascinating. The world it is building up was surreal and confusing, and you couldn't help but wonder how it came to be this way, and why everyone is the way they are. 

It's rare for a book to edge me nearly into boredom while also grabbing me for investment, but this one managed it. I rarely cared to pick it up, but when I did, I generally enjoyed it. 

I might continue this series one day, or I may not. But I'm not sad to have read this entry.

For some reason, while reading this book I lost interest at about 35% through and ended up failing to pick it up for over a week.

I couldn't explain why, since I loved the setting and I loved reading about the protagonist—a former renowned smuggler turned family-driven mother who still had a taste for the sea. I wanted to love it, but for whatever reason I just wasn't picking it up and my library time was ticking.  

I returned it to the library hoping I'd want to pick it up again. 

Not a couple weeks later, I got an opportunity to take it out of the library once again and wow. I'm invested once again. 

I'm not sure what caused my lapse—it may have just been personal stresses—but I'm so glad I picked it back up. They set to sea and have landed on the island they're looking for—and everything is so eerie and unsettling in such a subtle way. Finally we have a reveal of a character I desperately want to know more about and let's just say I wish I could skip work today and keep reading. 

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So I finished it. Quickly. It's insane how much this turned around. From the time of my last review, I was just flipping pages until it was over with no reprieve. I was so invested and excited for the grand journey of Amina al-Sirafi and did not disappoint.

Honestly, it was just fun. Amina al-Sirafi is a mother and an adventurer, once retired but still in love with the see. Reading through her journeys, you can't help but root for her and empathise with her. She's got slippery morals but lines she won't cross. The adventure was fun and palpable, but real, with real stakes and fears, and it was just exciting. I don't know if I'd call this book profound or life-changing, but I will say I just enjoyed it mightily.