serinas's reviews
331 reviews

I rated it 4.75 stars. I loved this one! The plot was interesting and engaging, and the characters were amazing. I have to say, I was so angry and frustrated many times throughout this book - but in a good way. Some characters had me raging, and I got angry on behalf of the main character Silas.

The pacing was perfect - towards the end it got a little wonky, but it was great otherwise. It felt natural, and I felt like I had a pretty good overview of the events and things that happened. 

The plot was woven well with the pacing, and matched really well. The plot was interesting, new and tense - I didn't know where the story was going at first, but I was happy with the way it went. The Veil sickness and Violet eyes concept was really cool, and I enjoyed this aspect of the plot a lot. There probably could've been more explanations or theories about people with violet eyes and Veil sickness in the book, but I was satisfied with what we were presented with.

Silas will definitely hold a special place in my heart from now on - I will never forget him. I truly love him, his character was so well-written. I felt what he felt, and could relate so much to him. I got so angry and frustrated with the way people engaged with him - which was the point.

I can't speak on how historicaly accurate this book is - but many of the atrocities described has definitely happened at one point in history. Not only relating to queer and autistic people, but also people of color. I found the historical aspects well done, and they added a lot to the plot and characters. It also raised some questions about morals and what is right versus wrong.

I've also noticed a trend that I won't spoil, but the 'villain' in the books have the same characteristics in The Spirit Bares Its Teeth and Compound Fracture. This might become a problem of predictability if this is a trend that continues, but otherwise the villans were well-written.

I have read Compound Fracture earlier and did not like it that much, but this definitely was a winner. The writing style is very similar, but the plot and pacing were better in The Spirit Bares Its Teeth (in my opinion). If you weren't a fan of Compound Fracture, I would still recommend you to try this one.

Now I'll have to read Hell Followed With Us, as I loved this one.

Nell lives on a remote island with seasonal work. She used to be a fairly known artist who traveled the world and displayed her art, but that life is in the past. She dreams about her past life, but is convincing herself that this is for the better.

One day Nell gets a letter at her door from the reclusive Iníons that find refuge on her home island. They ask her to make an art piece that is based on their history, and she accepts the proposal. What unfolds after, is not at all what she imagined.

I rated it 3.5 stars. The start was confusing, as the time skips wasn't super noticeable. It wasn't that exciting either - but it picked up the pace around page 70. I felt the tension, and was always wondering what would happen next.

Since the book is only 300 pages long, I feel 70 pages in is too late for the tension and creepy vibes. The start is really slow - and it doesn't really make one connect to the main character Nell or the islanders, as it should have. You get to know more about the unnamed island, sure, but many of the earlier mentions are also mentioned later in the book. 

If you don't feel like reading 70 boring pages before the book becomes fascinating, I'd suggest to not read it. I did think it was worth it, but I know not everyone will be willing to read one third of the book before anything happens.

I did see where the mystery was going, especially towards the end - but the suspense and tension were still there. I couldn't stop reading, as I really wanted to know what would happen next.

In the beginning I found the book very confusing, as we switch POV's several times - and it's not always obvious which perspective you're reading. Later on I found it easier, but it was still confusing at times. The perspectives didn't necessarily give more depth to the story, especially a very specific POV, which was a little annoying. I think the book would have been much better with a more in-depth perspective from Nell or the Iníons, and scratch

Cleary's

POV. 

The romance was also awful and added nothing to the story - except showing that Nell was not wife material (as they called it in the book).

Overall, I enjoyed the book. It had way more potential though that was not used, which is a bummer. I wish we got to know more about the Iníons, as I think this would add more to the story and could've made the book better. Especially as we know literally nothing - some stories could've added tension and suspense, and make for a great plot. It may have explained the ending better as well - 'cus at this point, it was kind of confusing.

Unfortunatly it's too slow for me, so I'll have to DNF. I might come back to it, but I doubt it

I read Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries for my bookclub, as it was this months book, so here are some of my thoughts on it.

Emily Wilde is the first person to write an encyclopaedia about faeries, and she wants every kind of fae in her book. On her last chapter she is writing about faeries from Ljosland - and she is the first to document faeries here. While she is happy to be in Ljosland, the climate is rough and cold, and she has about 6 months to finish her research before her book gets published. She is in a rush, and things take a turn she did not expect.

I rated it 3.5 stars. The lore about faeries was interesting and intriguing, and made me curious about them. The plot was great - I was quite unsure about it, as I thought it would be more similar to an actual encyclopaedia, but the diary-like writing style really worked with the plot. 

The plot is predictable - but the way stuff happens is not always predictable. This reminds me of cozy fantasy in a way, and are a bit whimsical and silly. It's not bad of course, just be prepared for it.

The ending was underwhelming unfortunatly. I'm disappointed in the lack of action, and the feeling of it being rushed. There could've definitely been more to the ending to make it more interesting.

I honestly can't get past the bad Scandinavian stuff, as most of this is just plain wrong😅 Ljosland is an actual place in Norway, but on the main land, so I'm guessing Ljosland in the book is just fictional. The icebergs would not make sense if it wasn't fictional, as the Gulf stream heats up Norway's coast (therefor - no icebergs there!). I wish I could look past all this, but I truly can't - they speak Icelandic and use icelandic names and such as well! Only Iceland do that, and Iceland is not part of Scandinavia - only Norway, Denmark and Sweden. I know the place is fictional (most likely, at least), but all of the inconsistensies annoyed me so much.

I honestly just continued because the start was strong and had me hooked. I lost interest about 50% in, but decided to finish it because I wanted to see if my predictions were right (I was right, btw). I will not continue the series, unless I change my mind later on.

Will get back to it, hopefully! Just couldn't get into it while I'm in a reading slump

I've heard a lot about this book on booksta and booktok. As it was only 160 pages I decided to give it a try, especially as I've heard mostly great things about The Deep!

I rated it 4.5 stars. I just wish it was a little longer - to explain some things and exploring the relationships between the characters in more depth. The worldbuilding could also use some work - but I'm more forgiving on this as it was a short book.

The story and premise are something I've never read before, and really sucked me in. I really liked Yetu and the dilemmas she faced, and the philosophical questions that followed. This was definitely more of a 'deep' read, that leaves you thinking about life and the choices we make. 

The story was also good, and the origin story of the wajinru was very interesting and sad.

It's unfortunatly true that slaves were often thrown into the sea

, even though the wajinru isn't a thing. The Deep has a cool mix of true and fictional history - which makes an interesting story for the wajinru.

I'll also add that the start was very confusing - but if you're able to push through it, try! It gets a lot better. If you're still not into it 30 pages in, this might not be for you.

I'm not sure what to rate this.
I was recommended this graphic novel - and I love graphic novels and manga. Historical fiction or historical non-fiction interests me, so I thought I would love Justice. I'm not very familiar with Nepal and it's politics, but I do know of the Maoists. 

The story was interesting, sad and tense. I don't know if this is based on someones own experience, but it could be. Someone has definitely lived through this exact scenario, which makes the conflicts tense and depressing. It's short as well, so it's a novel you can read in one sitting.

The drawings and graphic style was not for me. The proportions being off annoyed me, and the folds and shadows being wrong made it hard to focus on the story. This is obviously a very subjective opinion.

If there was a bigger focus on building relations between the characters, the novel would have been better. Deaths and tragedies don't hit your feelings when you don't care about the characters. A bigger focus on the familiy in that way would've improved the novel and make a greater impact on the reader. The ending was rather abrupt as well, so the novel would've benefited on being longer.

Got 30% in and was still not invested in the story. I could not, for the life of me, like the writing style - I absolutely hate it.

I was so excited about the lesbian pirates and bandits, but I can't read more.

Update: I decided to try again and came to about 50%, still dislike it. Definitely a DNF.

I've decided to give a more thorough explanation as well.

The prose is great - but sometimes it gets so dense that I lose track of the plot. It was also very difficult to read, as a non-native English speaker, because of this.

The time skips was confusing, and the big cast that were all dumped on the reader at once was even more confusing. The lack of action, while being filled with action, was also confusing. I know I read about

a train being robbed twice and a massacre

, but I did not 'feel' any action or rush of adrenaline while reading it. I think the prose ruined it for me.

Definitely a miss for me, and I think this is a book that you will love or hate - no inbetween.

I saw great praise and reviews about Mieko Kawakami's other books, and wanted to read a book of her because of that. I settled on Heaven because of the plot, and it seemed like a short read I could read in one sitting.

Heaven definitely tackles heavy themes that are important to write about, and it was part of the reason why I chose Heaven. I'd recommend to check the TW if you are sensitive to some topics regarding bullying, violence and suicide.

The review
I rated it 3 stars. This was honestly a hard book to rate, as I didn't enjoy it. I don't know if the meaning got lost in the translation, or if I just missed the memo.

I couldn't connect with the characters at all, and I didn't really connect with the way the story was told. I didn't find Heaven that meaningful and deep? Many of the observations and things the MC did was surface level, even when he confronted the bullies. There are definitely allegories, metaphors, and a poetic touch to the writing style, but I still found it very basic. That might just be me, as I had high expectations - and that might be why this was a miss for me.

I always expected the tide to turn, but it never did. Nothing changed throughout the book, not until the end. I'm just left disappointed, which is a shame, as I was super excited about reading Heaven. 
The tension that was in the beginning supsided pretty quickly, but I still held on to hope that it might get good again. It didn't, in my opinion. At some point it got weird, the

conversation with Momose is a great example. The MC is 14, and the whole conversation seems very unrealistic - the content of the conversation, the way they speak, and the philosophy they share.

The trauma bond was something I thought would be explored in more depth as well, as there was much potential there. This bond had an abrupt ending, and it made sense story-wise, but much of the plot and character development was lost when

the MC had the conversation about the eye surgery with Kojima

(in my opinion). 

The ending was fitting, as I interpreted it as

a new beginning for the MC where he finally can see the beauty in the world

. Still, I wasn't really a huge fan of Heaven unfortunatly. 

Our Share of Night is a horror book, and I haven't read many horror books in my life.  I'm a huge horror movie fan, and I decided to give a horror book a shot! I've heard great things about Our Share of Night,  which made me choose this one.

Our Share of Night is about Gaspar, a six year old boy in Argentina. The Order, a cult that worships darkness and the demonic, is after his abilities to commune with the dead. They want Gaspar to be the Orders succesor after his dad, but his dad is strongly against this, and flees with Gaspar to try and live a normal life outside the cult.
The Order is on the hunt, and nothing can stop them from getting Gaspar. Will Gaspar be free, or will the Order get him?

I rated it 5 stars. I honestly can't stand chapters this long (150 pages!!!), which affects my enjoyment when reading unfortunatly. But I made it, and finished it in two sittings!
This was sooo good, and is definitely one of the few horror books I've actually enjoyed. 

You know the feeling when a storm is coming - the sky darkens, it starts to rain,  the air becomes humid, and you just KNOW lightning and thunder are right around the corner? And you wait for the thunder. And you wait. This tension, while waiting for the thunder, was constant throughout this book. This is the kind of horror I want more of. I could not put it down once I started. 

The story was so interesting and unique,  and the characters had so much depth to them. Nothing in this book is a coincidence, not even a door that gets mentioned is a coincidence. 

I loved this, I definitely want to read more horror from here on. It is long, but it never dragged out. If you have the patience for 750 pages, definitely give Our Share of Night a go. You won't regret it.