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venanana's reviews
24 reviews
The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black
5.0
Queen of Nothing is actually my favorite of the Folk of Air trilogy! I love when silly shit that totally should not work, does work!
Again, some of the smaller plot revivals can be pretty obvious, which doesn't leave much room for suspense when you already know what's going on. Jude can be frustratingly dense, but that's because character's being dense to romantic things is something I have never liked, but it easy to get past once Cardan does the talking LOL.
I liked the plot and how it wrapped certain character arcs, others could have been better (coughTayrncough) and I love an ending that leaves room for readers to imagine them having so peace at the end.... Until the stolen heir, which is next in my tbr
Again, some of the smaller plot revivals can be pretty obvious, which doesn't leave much room for suspense when you already know what's going on. Jude can be frustratingly dense, but that's because character's being dense to romantic things is something I have never liked, but it easy to get past once Cardan does the talking LOL.
I liked the plot and how it wrapped certain character arcs, others could have been better (coughTayrncough) and I love an ending that leaves room for readers to imagine them having so peace at the end.... Until the stolen heir, which is next in my tbr
The Wicked King by Holly Black
4.0
The Wicked King is a BIG step up from the cruel prince, going in, I already like Cardan and Jude, and other characters and I love seeing how the dynamic changed from book one to book two in what was just a few months for them. From Jude trying to put together all her pieces, from the politics Jude involves herself in and the conflict with the sea folk makes this book far more interesting than the first.
I did dock a star for (Minor Spoilers) Jude has this absolutely weird moment where she talks about pancakes like she doesn't know what pancakes are. You're telling me she spent 7 years, and then a few weeks when she was 9 in the human realm and she doesn't know what a pancake is??? She doesn't know what pepper jack cheese is??? Its such a small thing but it drove me NUTS
Other than that little nitpick, The Wicked King is really cool and honestly, if I went through what Jude does, I too would just watch Yuri! on Ice by the end of the book :)
I did dock a star for (Minor Spoilers) Jude has this absolutely weird moment where she talks about pancakes like she doesn't know what pancakes are. You're telling me she spent 7 years, and then a few weeks when she was 9 in the human realm and she doesn't know what a pancake is??? She doesn't know what pepper jack cheese is??? Its such a small thing but it drove me NUTS
Other than that little nitpick, The Wicked King is really cool and honestly, if I went through what Jude does, I too would just watch Yuri! on Ice by the end of the book :)
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
3.0
The Cruel Prince is the worst of the Folk of the Air trilogy. It took me the majority of the book to like either Jude or Cardan. It's so easy to get bogged down in the high school bullying of it all to even care about either of them until the weird vibes of Cardan being a high school bully is over towards the end of the book.
The major problem this series has is most if not all the plot twists are predictable, and it can be had to engage with the suspense Jude experiences when you already know what is about to happen. I will say I did not know exactly what Jude had planned for the end, which had me pleasantly surprised when I was off about what she had going on!
Other than the High School Bullying(tm) and predictable twists, the Cruel Prince is a very good young adult read!
The major problem this series has is most if not all the plot twists are predictable, and it can be had to engage with the suspense Jude experiences when you already know what is about to happen. I will say I did not know exactly what Jude had planned for the end, which had me pleasantly surprised when I was off about what she had going on!
Other than the High School Bullying(tm) and predictable twists, the Cruel Prince is a very good young adult read!
Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce
5.0
I remember the Song of the Lioness series like the back of my hand, I remember getting the first book and immediately being in love with the world Tamora Pierce created. I remember when my step father brought home the next two books to the series and finally the very last book sometime later. This series made me fall in love with reading to much it inspired me to write, in hopes I could one day replicate this feeling I have in someone else.
It is by no means a perfect book, but it is to me and that little girl reading these books while her mom did her hair :)
If you like concepts like Mulan where a girl dresses up to join the military, then you would love this series. Alanna is strong, independent and yet still finds people she trusts and confides in; it never once feels like Alanna VS the world, because no matter what Alanna has people who she cares about deeply and care about her just the same. She has strong morals, and always sticks to them.
It is by no means a perfect book, but it is to me and that little girl reading these books while her mom did her hair :)
If you like concepts like Mulan where a girl dresses up to join the military, then you would love this series. Alanna is strong, independent and yet still finds people she trusts and confides in; it never once feels like Alanna VS the world, because no matter what Alanna has people who she cares about deeply and care about her just the same. She has strong morals, and always sticks to them.
In the Hand of the Goddess by Tamora Pierce
5.0
Another wonderful book that just takes you up into the world of Tortall and you are all the richer for it. I love the war and foreign politics, I love connects Alanna makes, I love the knighting! I love the trail the knights have to face before becoming knights because I feel the concept itself is very unique!
Perhaps Tamora Pierces plays a bit fast and loose with some of the consistency, like some characters ages, but if something like that doesn't bother you, then pick up the next book!
Perhaps Tamora Pierces plays a bit fast and loose with some of the consistency, like some characters ages, but if something like that doesn't bother you, then pick up the next book!
The Woman Who Rides Like a Man by Tamora Pierce
1.0
This is the worst book of the series, and I know I am not alone in that sentiment. It's essentially a 'bottle episode' of the books, where it majority takes place in one area. It lacks most of the characters we love from the first two books and it truly suffers from the curse of the love triangle; where you must fully assassinate the character of one of the love interests so that everyone is on board with the end game couple.
it took me months to get through because it is so painfully slow at times.
I wonder if it is possible to read the series but skip over The Woman Who Rides Like a Man entirely and not miss anything too major. If someone decides to try it out, let me know how it goes!
it took me months to get through because it is so painfully slow at times.
I wonder if it is possible to read the series but skip over The Woman Who Rides Like a Man entirely and not miss anything too major. If someone decides to try it out, let me know how it goes!
Lioness Rampant by Tamora Pierce
4.0
After the absolute bog of the 3rd book, the 4th delivers on returning to what makes this series so amazing. All of our besties are back and then some, like our new friends Liam and Thayet! More foreign politics and amazing feats of magic, continuing the lore and history of Tortall and other cultures in it.
I did cry, maybe just a bit, it really is a good book and great end to the series.
I do thing Alanna makes some silly decisions in the beginning that put her and her travel companions at risk, but the later half of the book is just so good it outweighs the beginning for me :)
I did cry, maybe just a bit, it really is a good book and great end to the series.
I do thing Alanna makes some silly decisions in the beginning that put her and her travel companions at risk, but the later half of the book is just so good it outweighs the beginning for me :)
Electric Idol by Katee Robert
2.0
I want to give it a 0, but that's not possible... So I give it a 2.
Two because it is perfectly okay for what it is, I can absolutely understand why someone who enjoy this boy. I love Eros and Psyche retelling. SPOILER: this is not an Eros and Psyche retelling. They just so happen to be named Eros and Psyche. There is no real connection to the story or myth at all.
It's bad, and not even in a fun way. I would have given it so much more credit if I had any fun listening to it but I didn't :( which is the real crime of this book. It's not even fun. I started the first book but didn't finish because of a reading slump, so I've been really into audio books because I can listen while I do other things like work and draw.
The smut is alright, I hated Eros calling her 'beautiful girl' that isn't even inventive or a little bit sexy of a nickname. I would have settled for angel, or babe. He calls her beautiful girl because she's fat and good god he can't separate the word fat from ugly, so he needs to reassure her that she's beautiful constantly. Even when she's like 'fat is not a bad word. I can be fat and beautiful'
I wish we saw how bad our baddie Eros was. I know these aren't really the books for that, but just saying over and over again 'i'm a monster' 'he's a monster' 'you're bad' over and over doesn't really land much when he doesn't do anything... at all
My last thing is the relationship between Aphrodite and Eros is abusive. Abusive in a way I found relatable with my own mother. I have always connected more to the Eros of these stories because of the way authors depict the abuse. HOWEVER, there is the terrible narrative Eros should still /love/ his abuser because she's his mother. Hate it. negative a billion out of 10.
Two because it is perfectly okay for what it is, I can absolutely understand why someone who enjoy this boy. I love Eros and Psyche retelling. SPOILER: this is not an Eros and Psyche retelling. They just so happen to be named Eros and Psyche. There is no real connection to the story or myth at all.
It's bad, and not even in a fun way. I would have given it so much more credit if I had any fun listening to it but I didn't :( which is the real crime of this book. It's not even fun. I started the first book but didn't finish because of a reading slump, so I've been really into audio books because I can listen while I do other things like work and draw.
The smut is alright, I hated Eros calling her 'beautiful girl' that isn't even inventive or a little bit sexy of a nickname. I would have settled for angel, or babe. He calls her beautiful girl because she's fat and good god he can't separate the word fat from ugly, so he needs to reassure her that she's beautiful constantly. Even when she's like 'fat is not a bad word. I can be fat and beautiful'
I wish we saw how bad our baddie Eros was. I know these aren't really the books for that, but just saying over and over again 'i'm a monster' 'he's a monster' 'you're bad' over and over doesn't really land much when he doesn't do anything... at all
My last thing is the relationship between Aphrodite and Eros is abusive. Abusive in a way I found relatable with my own mother. I have always connected more to the Eros of these stories because of the way authors depict the abuse. HOWEVER, there is the terrible narrative Eros should still /love/ his abuser because she's his mother. Hate it. negative a billion out of 10.