Scan barcode
skywhales's reviews
53 reviews
To Best the Boys by Mary Weber
3.0
Okay, let's start with the good bits.
-The worldbuilding was super cool. Anything where monsters and science coexist is absolutely a-OK in my book, and I would love to read more about its history, the species that live there, etc. etc.
-The supporting characters! Beryl and Seleni were both totally adorable, and I really appreciated the fact that even though Seleni wanted to follow a different path than Rhen (that of a wife and mother) this was never treated as "less than" Rhen's passions, and the two stay friends despite their separate interests.
-The idea of the Labyrinth is a fairly original twist on the whole "secretive challenge with high stakes" plot, and it kept me interested.
-Rhen was, for the most part, a likeable heroine. Her motivations were clear, and her goals were believable. For the most part, she was someone who I was okay following throughout the book. Plus, she has dyslexia, which is something I've very rarely seen in YA, and it was definitely a pleasant surprise. :)
Then there's some stuff I'm split down the middle about. Mostly Ben. I have autism, though not Down syndrome. I appreciate and respect that the author of the book based Ben's character off of people she knew in real life, but his character really seemed to only serve as motivation for Lute to participate in the labyrinth challenge, and he couldn't really stand on his own right as a character, which is...weird to do with a disabled character.
Some stuff I didn't like:
-The plot felt weird and disjointed at times. The whole Labyrinth section of the book seemed to move way too fast, and I wasn't hooked on it the way I had hoped I would be. There's also various plot holes: Rhen's reasoning for dressing up as a boy is never fully explained, considering girls aren't actually banned from the Labyrinth, a fact stated OUTRIGHT by Rhen before she enters the challenge (the invitation is adressed to all gentlepersons, not gentlemen). Was it because of the social implications? Did no one in-world ever pick up on that before?
-As a love interest, Lute was just...boring. I'm sorry, I can't think of a better way to say it. He comes off as this selfless golden boy type with no real flaws or character traits other than being one of the "good" men in Rhen's life. Oh, his reasoning for entering the Labyrinth is so much more selfless and deep than the others! Oh, he saw through Rhen's disguise right away because he knows her so well! Oh, he's standing up for her against those other boys! Like...it grated on me a little bit. Beryl and Rhen's father are also upstanding and kind; it's not like the book is lacking good men. Maybe I'm being too harsh on him. I know a lot of people like a strong, selfless romantic hero type.
In the end, it's something I might reread if I find it at the library, but I doubt I'd purchase it. I'm sure other people will like this more than I did, but it's not really my thing.
-The worldbuilding was super cool. Anything where monsters and science coexist is absolutely a-OK in my book, and I would love to read more about its history, the species that live there, etc. etc.
-The supporting characters! Beryl and Seleni were both totally adorable, and I really appreciated the fact that even though Seleni wanted to follow a different path than Rhen (that of a wife and mother) this was never treated as "less than" Rhen's passions, and the two stay friends despite their separate interests.
-The idea of the Labyrinth is a fairly original twist on the whole "secretive challenge with high stakes" plot, and it kept me interested.
-Rhen was, for the most part, a likeable heroine. Her motivations were clear, and her goals were believable. For the most part, she was someone who I was okay following throughout the book. Plus, she has dyslexia, which is something I've very rarely seen in YA, and it was definitely a pleasant surprise. :)
Then there's some stuff I'm split down the middle about. Mostly Ben. I have autism, though not Down syndrome. I appreciate and respect that the author of the book based Ben's character off of people she knew in real life, but his character really seemed to only serve as motivation for Lute to participate in the labyrinth challenge, and he couldn't really stand on his own right as a character, which is...weird to do with a disabled character.
Some stuff I didn't like:
-The plot felt weird and disjointed at times. The whole Labyrinth section of the book seemed to move way too fast, and I wasn't hooked on it the way I had hoped I would be. There's also various plot holes: Rhen's reasoning for dressing up as a boy is never fully explained, considering girls aren't actually banned from the Labyrinth, a fact stated OUTRIGHT by Rhen before she enters the challenge (the invitation is adressed to all gentlepersons, not gentlemen). Was it because of the social implications? Did no one in-world ever pick up on that before?
-As a love interest, Lute was just...boring. I'm sorry, I can't think of a better way to say it. He comes off as this selfless golden boy type with no real flaws or character traits other than being one of the "good" men in Rhen's life. Oh, his reasoning for entering the Labyrinth is so much more selfless and deep than the others! Oh, he saw through Rhen's disguise right away because he knows her so well! Oh, he's standing up for her against those other boys! Like...it grated on me a little bit. Beryl and Rhen's father are also upstanding and kind; it's not like the book is lacking good men. Maybe I'm being too harsh on him. I know a lot of people like a strong, selfless romantic hero type.
In the end, it's something I might reread if I find it at the library, but I doubt I'd purchase it. I'm sure other people will like this more than I did, but it's not really my thing.
A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab
3.0
not as good as i thought it would be tbh :( i actually forgot where i found the recommendation for this but it was on the same list that i originally discovered gideon the ninth on so my hopes may have been a little high. it wasn't like. BAD? but it didn't really have enough original twists to my taste. and every time i met a side character i knew there was like an eighty percent chance they were going to get killed off, to the point i stopped caring when they did. and i couldn't stand lila....she was too not-like-other-girls to my taste (though the scene where she picked a suit coat over a dress to wear to the fancy party did please my gnc little heart a bit). but rhy was fun at times and kell was gender envy if nothing more
A Complicated Love Story Set in Space by Shaun David Hutchinson
4.0
HUGE fan of shaun david hutchinson in general and this was definitely a pleasant reading experience on the whole. infinitely saluting you, sir, for addressing the consumerist culture that leads to rabid fans who want cute gay boys kissing but don't care about story details, relationship depth, or the people behind the kissy scenes. (hi, half of goodreads, i'm looking at you.) if i'm being honest noa was really annoying for the first bit of the book--i can like sad edgy characters when done well but at some points his moping stopped moving the plot along and started being straight up annoying. i wish we got more information about the world the characters lived in--do actors still exist? is murder your darlings a program you can watch on earth? were noa's memories taken from other kids at the school? is space travel already established in this universe? the worldbuilding felt a little rushed at the end, but also the payoff from the big mystery was really satisfying. ALSO: hot evil robot lady! hot evil robot lady <3
Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente
4.0
i love goofy, campy science fiction comedy dearly, dearly, dearly. my profile picture may give you a brief hint to this, though that sci fi comedy's not really in the same direction as douglas adams. nevertheless, there is a very special place in my dark little heart for anything that doesn't take itself too seriously (but it's doing so in SPACE!). as other reviewers have said, the book does come across as too wordy at times--there's a point at which run on sentences stop being a style and start being a slog. there were parts i found myself skimming because i wanted to get to the next actual important thing. but that doesn't mean there weren't a lot of really good moments, super unique alien designs, and delightful space humor. i feel like the ending was a bit rushed--i wanted to see a little more regarding the aftermath of the grand prix and more final wrap ups between characters (did anyone even get to have a conversation with one another post performance?) but none of that is gonna stop me from probably rereading this in the future. pspspspsps decibel jones you wanna get added to the list in my head of fictional men that i like in a lesbian-y way?
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
3.0
3 stars feels too low and 4 stars feels too high so pretend i rated this 3.5. we good? good.
so going into this i knew it was more character-focused than plot-focused, and i was okay with that! i thought that was cool with me. i don't mind talky books if they're well-written and keep me engaged. and this book is, at times, a little pushy about its messages of friendship and found family, in a way where i sort of felt like they were getting shoved in my face, but i really loved the different alien species and worlds we got to see and i've forgiven much worse books their much worse faults if they have cool worldbuilding. (the worldbuilding in ready player one was like the only thing i liked about it.)
as people have said, the characters were a little one-note at times. it took me a long time to come around to rosemary. i play a lot of visual novels and dating sims and the like (they're a guilty pleasure) and the best way i can describe rosemary's personality is. like. a visual novel main character of a protagonist. she's friendly and smart and pretty but relatively naive and just goes along with whatever her friends are doing because she likes to be included. and everyone accepts her right away and thinks she's so awesome and cool and great when she doesn't...DO that much for a while. i came around to her by the end but for the first 3/4 of the book i thought she was boring.
the main reason i took off stars for a book that was still overall an enjoyable reading experience is that the 'diversity' in this book--at times--felt more like a well-meaning liberal's idea of diversity than just something that naturally occurs. again, it's obvious the author is trying, and the aliens having various different sex differences was neat, but between the strange pronouns stuff and the fact that no human characters seemed to have any sort of complex relationship with gender, i didn't really feel all that included.
but this wasn't a BAD book. it's something i'd read again, and while all the fluffy friendship occasionally toed the line between cloying and cozy, sometimes you need a comfort read or two around. and this does a fine job of that.
so going into this i knew it was more character-focused than plot-focused, and i was okay with that! i thought that was cool with me. i don't mind talky books if they're well-written and keep me engaged. and this book is, at times, a little pushy about its messages of friendship and found family, in a way where i sort of felt like they were getting shoved in my face, but i really loved the different alien species and worlds we got to see and i've forgiven much worse books their much worse faults if they have cool worldbuilding. (the worldbuilding in ready player one was like the only thing i liked about it.)
as people have said, the characters were a little one-note at times. it took me a long time to come around to rosemary. i play a lot of visual novels and dating sims and the like (they're a guilty pleasure) and the best way i can describe rosemary's personality is. like. a visual novel main character of a protagonist. she's friendly and smart and pretty but relatively naive and just goes along with whatever her friends are doing because she likes to be included. and everyone accepts her right away and thinks she's so awesome and cool and great when she doesn't...DO that much for a while. i came around to her by the end but for the first 3/4 of the book i thought she was boring.
the main reason i took off stars for a book that was still overall an enjoyable reading experience is that the 'diversity' in this book--at times--felt more like a well-meaning liberal's idea of diversity than just something that naturally occurs.
Spoiler
coming up with fantasy/sci-fi slurs for species is always something that feels Weird to me, and the fact that they forgave a character for constantly perpetuating species stereotypes throughout the book as soon as he started having his character arc struck me as weird too, especially when we never really got a reason for why he acted like that. the thing that actually pissed me off was the really weird treatment around the pronouns they/them. they were treated as plural pronouns throughout and the only character who used them once again started being referred to with he/him once the consciousness sharing his mind got expelled. there are other neutral pronouns used throughout, but the idea of they/them being used as pronouns for nonbinary people and people with unknown gender is common enough now that it feels weird that an otherwise inclusive book would act so weird about them.but this wasn't a BAD book. it's something i'd read again, and while all the fluffy friendship occasionally toed the line between cloying and cozy, sometimes you need a comfort read or two around. and this does a fine job of that.