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vampires's reviews
369 reviews
How to Tame a Wild Rogue by Julie Anne Long
3.75
this started out SO good but the writing quality kind of uncharacteristically (for this author and series) took a bit of a dive after a while which made me shave off some of the rating. unfortunate, because this had the makings of a fave
Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell
emotional
reflective
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
5.0
i cried so hard
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Grief
Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel
4.0
Definitely a different reader experience than the first book, but some of these scenes were such a masterclass
Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb
4.5
i really liked this but i have such a hard time rating these idk why like there's so much that happened that i can't parse it out for a rating the way i usually do
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Slavery, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Rape, and Grief
Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb
4.75
i can't think of what to rate this other than five stars but i'm sure that if i incorporate the beginning and middle parts into my rating more then it wouldn't be five stars but i read this so fast that it's all a blur and the last part was so batshit (/positive) i just .......
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Dementia, Murder, and War
Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
5.0
What the fuck
it definitely starts slow, which is not a bad thing, but i did not expect it to be 5 stars until everything begins snowballing and it feels like everything is wildly out of control but from an author perspective you can tell that robin hobb had everything so tightly under control and plotted to the minute. her handling of the plot and all the infrastructure supporting it was so good. also, she never pulls a single punch. there were like 2 things that i think she softened that could have been worse, but even then, she only transformed something bad into a different bad thing rather than hesitating on the trigger. like she just aimed the gun slightly to the left instead but still shot it anyway. WILD. i love the complexity of the web connecting the different characters that is gradually spun into place. also i love that the women are real characters and feel like real people, even when their position in the narrative would make it very easy to write them as more archetype (i don't want to include spoilers in this review so i won't name names but there are a couple of characters that applies to). there is the story unfolding in front of us, and then the story unfolding simultaneously off page, and then the story that already unfolded in the past that is dogging the narrative and you can feel its presence and every so often you are thrown a few crumbs to piece together. INSANE
it definitely starts slow, which is not a bad thing, but i did not expect it to be 5 stars until everything begins snowballing and it feels like everything is wildly out of control but from an author perspective you can tell that robin hobb had everything so tightly under control and plotted to the minute. her handling of the plot and all the infrastructure supporting it was so good. also, she never pulls a single punch. there were like 2 things that i think she softened that could have been worse, but even then, she only transformed something bad into a different bad thing rather than hesitating on the trigger. like she just aimed the gun slightly to the left instead but still shot it anyway. WILD. i love the complexity of the web connecting the different characters that is gradually spun into place. also i love that the women are real characters and feel like real people, even when their position in the narrative would make it very easy to write them as more archetype (i don't want to include spoilers in this review so i won't name names but there are a couple of characters that applies to). there is the story unfolding in front of us, and then the story unfolding simultaneously off page, and then the story that already unfolded in the past that is dogging the narrative and you can feel its presence and every so often you are thrown a few crumbs to piece together. INSANE
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug use, and Grief
Minor: Infertility
The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden
4.25
Many thoughts..... i just finished this like 10 mins ago so i am still swimming in my thoughts..... possibly will update