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yas_sezer's reviews
205 reviews
The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley
3.0
well!
this book was really slow for the first 250 pages tbh; but picked up enough towards the end for me to rate it 3 stars
i liked ben from the beginning, was rooting for him to be alive, but finding out he slept with sophie, had a flirtatious situation with mimi, and had his dick sucked by nick (all the same family) i started to feel a little rubbed the wrong way
this book was really slow for the first 250 pages tbh; but picked up enough towards the end for me to rate it 3 stars
i liked ben from the beginning, was rooting for him to be alive, but finding out he slept with sophie, had a flirtatious situation with mimi, and had his dick sucked by nick (all the same family) i started to feel a little rubbed the wrong way
The Roughest Draft by Austin Siegemund-Broka, Emily Wibberley
3.5
3.5 stars
fiancés notes: build up was too slow and then it just ends, as soon as they fell in love it just ended. would’ve wanted to see more of their relationship after getting together
me on the other hand, am happy it ended where it did. this story was a more of a literary or contemporary romance than the type of romance i was expecting. getting into it i thought it would be just pure fluff but there were some themes of longing, desire, fear of failure and success, LOVE, that i actually found interesting.
the miscommunication though….. them communicating through the page as much as i can understand was part of them and had importance as they’re writers, it just really annoyed me. so much of the book would never had to have existed if they just spoke to each other directly without the pettiness and unnecessary fights. i personally like it when the stakes are higher, when the couple cannot be together because of a reason more solid. not that they just are too pussy to speak to each other face to face.
it was fun to go along with them while they wrote their novel though, and i’ve never read a book where the characters were authors before so that insight was nice. even the setting being in a nice house near the beach was nice, although i feel like there could’ve been more done to set the vibe and atmosphere. it was heavily focused on the characters and their inner feelings (which is fine) i just wish there was a little more of a balance
i didn’t find any of the characters extremely likeable and they aren’t people i think i’ll find myself thinking about in the future. it was good in the moment and the messages put across were good to be reminded of but i think that’s where my feelings will end. who knows, maybe i’ll come back to this review and update it with a lot more love.
summary for me:
nathan and katrina were co writers 4 years ago, and caught feelings for one another however out of fear katrina burnt nathan’s love confession. this created a divide between them which lasted until they had to write another book toheyher because of the contract they had signed. nathan was married back then (divorced after he fell in love with katrina), and in present day katrina was engaged with chris. a lot of back and forth of petty arguments disagreements unspoken feelings etc between nathan and katrina because they were too pussy to speak to each other and instead spoke through their characters. eventually they start to cave into their feelings especially when chris is proving to be an asshat who just wants katrina for her writers side full of fame and riches. she ends things with him and her and nathan finish the book together and get together at the end la di da.
fiancés notes: build up was too slow and then it just ends, as soon as they fell in love it just ended. would’ve wanted to see more of their relationship after getting together
me on the other hand, am happy it ended where it did. this story was a more of a literary or contemporary romance than the type of romance i was expecting. getting into it i thought it would be just pure fluff but there were some themes of longing, desire, fear of failure and success, LOVE, that i actually found interesting.
the miscommunication though….. them communicating through the page as much as i can understand was part of them and had importance as they’re writers, it just really annoyed me. so much of the book would never had to have existed if they just spoke to each other directly without the pettiness and unnecessary fights. i personally like it when the stakes are higher, when the couple cannot be together because of a reason more solid. not that they just are too pussy to speak to each other face to face.
it was fun to go along with them while they wrote their novel though, and i’ve never read a book where the characters were authors before so that insight was nice. even the setting being in a nice house near the beach was nice, although i feel like there could’ve been more done to set the vibe and atmosphere. it was heavily focused on the characters and their inner feelings (which is fine) i just wish there was a little more of a balance
i didn’t find any of the characters extremely likeable and they aren’t people i think i’ll find myself thinking about in the future. it was good in the moment and the messages put across were good to be reminded of but i think that’s where my feelings will end. who knows, maybe i’ll come back to this review and update it with a lot more love.
summary for me:
nathan and katrina were co writers 4 years ago, and caught feelings for one another however out of fear katrina burnt nathan’s love confession. this created a divide between them which lasted until they had to write another book toheyher because of the contract they had signed. nathan was married back then (divorced after he fell in love with katrina), and in present day katrina was engaged with chris. a lot of back and forth of petty arguments disagreements unspoken feelings etc between nathan and katrina because they were too pussy to speak to each other and instead spoke through their characters. eventually they start to cave into their feelings especially when chris is proving to be an asshat who just wants katrina for her writers side full of fame and riches. she ends things with him and her and nathan finish the book together and get together at the end la di da.
A Whole New World by Liz Braswell
3.0
3 stars only because it’s hard to rate these type of books
the twist, aladdin didn’t get to get the lamp back from the cave of wonders, jafar wanted to raise an army of the dead and force everyone in the world to fall in love with him and worship him and take over the world. jasmine and aladdin join forces with the “army of thieves” including morgiana, duban, and few other side characters part of the army.
it was fun to read, and of course easy since the world is already so familiar. buttttt i will say, jafar weirdly didn’t feel powerful enough to me. like he was powerful in terms of the magic he conjured and what he made the genie do for him, but i didn’t get that all mighty powerful fear instilled in me from HIM, like i did in the movies. he just had something a bit off. also the fact that all magic died with him???? NO. was not happy with that ending at all my heart kinda sank with disappointment. i kinda hoped that aladdin would end up with the lamp and make his own 3 wishes and use the last one to set the genie free to bring back elements of the original for a full circle moment. it didn’t happen tho..
3 stars is pretty solid for now, not sure if it’ll change later.
the twist, aladdin didn’t get to get the lamp back from the cave of wonders, jafar wanted to raise an army of the dead and force everyone in the world to fall in love with him and worship him and take over the world. jasmine and aladdin join forces with the “army of thieves” including morgiana, duban, and few other side characters part of the army.
it was fun to read, and of course easy since the world is already so familiar. buttttt i will say, jafar weirdly didn’t feel powerful enough to me. like he was powerful in terms of the magic he conjured and what he made the genie do for him, but i didn’t get that all mighty powerful fear instilled in me from HIM, like i did in the movies. he just had something a bit off. also the fact that all magic died with him???? NO. was not happy with that ending at all my heart kinda sank with disappointment. i kinda hoped that aladdin would end up with the lamp and make his own 3 wishes and use the last one to set the genie free to bring back elements of the original for a full circle moment. it didn’t happen tho..
3 stars is pretty solid for now, not sure if it’ll change later.
Carrie by Stephen King
3.0
this book took me so long to read and it’s so short
3 stars is a perfect rating tbh - not a book i loved but definitely one i’m happy i read. mainly happy i read it because it’s a classic, and its stephen kings first book. in terms of the story though…
not my favourite, not the type of story where i was connected to the characters or the plot. was just there for the vibe, and i don’t even know how much i likes the vibe tbh.
i can see the thematic elements including suffering and pain that give value to this story, with carrie’s perception on the world and the psychological elements that influence her reactions and actions, and it’s interesting seeing it play out with telekinesis involved since it gives the story such intense great power. even thinking of the meaning blood, BOOBS, and animals was interesting, kinda felt like i was in high school again
but somewhere something just didn’t connect. i didn’t feel fully immersed into the story and like i was PART of the world
it might be the disruptions in the flow of the story with the excerpts and documents, but i actually enjoyed them so i am contradicting myself here. as much as it took away from me connecting with the story and characters, it gave it a new interesting feeling and insight. made it feel more real.
in terms of the characters, i like knowing that all perspectives were flawed and unreliable. sue snell, carrie, margaret white, billy, chris, everyone. but in terms of plot, i am wondering why stephen decided to make it originate from a period. coming full circle linking back to her getting her period and bleeding in front of everyone. is this because he deems this to be one of the most humiliating things for a girl? not sure, but definitely felt sorry for her in that situation.
overall, feel pretty meh, but happy i read it and officially started my stephen king journey. i hope it’ll only get better from here
summary for me: carrie white has a crazy jesus lover mother who is very anti everything. no boys no PERIOD because that means you’ve sinned. she is abusive and locks carrie up in a cupboard to think about her sins and repent, this is also due to carrie’s powers which her mother is shit scared of since seeing it in her mum back in the days and in carrie when she was a baby. carrie gets her period in front of everyone for the first time when she’s 16, everyone laughs and bullies her especially chris. sue feels super guilty later on and gives her boyfriend tommy to carrie to take to prom. chris wants punishment for carrie from the school and can’t get that so she gets super shitty and makes her boyfriend who is super weird (billy) to get revenge on her. he has his own motives, but him and his mates kill some pigs and get their blood to organise the whole elaborate prom night blood spilling situation. this happens at prom, and carrie loses it and kills lots of people and causes a shit ton of fires. she kills her mum and her mum kills her, tommy gets hit on the head with the bucket and dies, lots of people burn and get electrocuted.
3 stars is a perfect rating tbh - not a book i loved but definitely one i’m happy i read. mainly happy i read it because it’s a classic, and its stephen kings first book. in terms of the story though…
not my favourite, not the type of story where i was connected to the characters or the plot. was just there for the vibe, and i don’t even know how much i likes the vibe tbh.
i can see the thematic elements including suffering and pain that give value to this story, with carrie’s perception on the world and the psychological elements that influence her reactions and actions, and it’s interesting seeing it play out with telekinesis involved since it gives the story such intense great power. even thinking of the meaning blood, BOOBS, and animals was interesting, kinda felt like i was in high school again
but somewhere something just didn’t connect. i didn’t feel fully immersed into the story and like i was PART of the world
it might be the disruptions in the flow of the story with the excerpts and documents, but i actually enjoyed them so i am contradicting myself here. as much as it took away from me connecting with the story and characters, it gave it a new interesting feeling and insight. made it feel more real.
in terms of the characters, i like knowing that all perspectives were flawed and unreliable. sue snell, carrie, margaret white, billy, chris, everyone. but in terms of plot, i am wondering why stephen decided to make it originate from a period. coming full circle linking back to her getting her period and bleeding in front of everyone. is this because he deems this to be one of the most humiliating things for a girl? not sure, but definitely felt sorry for her in that situation.
overall, feel pretty meh, but happy i read it and officially started my stephen king journey. i hope it’ll only get better from here
summary for me: carrie white has a crazy jesus lover mother who is very anti everything. no boys no PERIOD because that means you’ve sinned. she is abusive and locks carrie up in a cupboard to think about her sins and repent, this is also due to carrie’s powers which her mother is shit scared of since seeing it in her mum back in the days and in carrie when she was a baby. carrie gets her period in front of everyone for the first time when she’s 16, everyone laughs and bullies her especially chris. sue feels super guilty later on and gives her boyfriend tommy to carrie to take to prom. chris wants punishment for carrie from the school and can’t get that so she gets super shitty and makes her boyfriend who is super weird (billy) to get revenge on her. he has his own motives, but him and his mates kill some pigs and get their blood to organise the whole elaborate prom night blood spilling situation. this happens at prom, and carrie loses it and kills lots of people and causes a shit ton of fires. she kills her mum and her mum kills her, tommy gets hit on the head with the bucket and dies, lots of people burn and get electrocuted.
Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood
3.0
3 stars… i think
to be honest it’s hard to place this book on a scale because 1. i read it so quickly and 2. i don’t even know if i actually enjoyed what i was reading
there were so many things that just made me eye roll (galaxy leggings, “omg he’s so big!!!”, “oh he doesn’t love me nO chance!”, “he hates me nope” just to name a few. i couldn’t even look past them because of how often they kept coming up (galaxy leggings lives rent free in my head). i just found bee to be pretty annoying even though i was meant to focus on her strong woman in stem character
levi was aight, gave me butterflies here and there (not that challenging to do in books tbh), and was overall a decent guy. maybe because it wasn’t dual pov i didn’t fall in love with him? i just LIKED him.
it was decent enough for me to be able to read in essentially one day (let’s ignore my motivation being to start the ballad of songbirds and snakes), so it must’ve been decent enough. but if someone’s looking for a cutesy romance, i’d recommend the love hypothesis over this.
summary for me: bee and levi have beef from college becayse she is convinced he hates her when in reality he was just madly in love (shocker!). they work on a nasa project together as co-leaders to develop a helmet. very much strong woman in stem vibes, trying to change the academic system with its tests, men suck. bee and levi hardly communicate, until they do and they work well as a team. they fuck, bee pretends that she wants to be casual with him, has an epiphany when she was about to lose all 3 fav things (her career, her twitter page, and levi). she confesses feelings, they admit love la la la, the helmet is a success. guy is evil coz he’s jealous of levi staunching his position and because bee pretended she was married, so he tried to sabotage her relo and twitter. he gets fired, she gets promoted, her and levi live happily ever after
side note: side character include kaylee and rodico who are pretty much of legally blonde met wednesday. they fell in love after fucking at work the end
to be honest it’s hard to place this book on a scale because 1. i read it so quickly and 2. i don’t even know if i actually enjoyed what i was reading
there were so many things that just made me eye roll (galaxy leggings, “omg he’s so big!!!”, “oh he doesn’t love me nO chance!”, “he hates me nope” just to name a few. i couldn’t even look past them because of how often they kept coming up (galaxy leggings lives rent free in my head). i just found bee to be pretty annoying even though i was meant to focus on her strong woman in stem character
levi was aight, gave me butterflies here and there (not that challenging to do in books tbh), and was overall a decent guy. maybe because it wasn’t dual pov i didn’t fall in love with him? i just LIKED him.
it was decent enough for me to be able to read in essentially one day (let’s ignore my motivation being to start the ballad of songbirds and snakes), so it must’ve been decent enough. but if someone’s looking for a cutesy romance, i’d recommend the love hypothesis over this.
summary for me: bee and levi have beef from college becayse she is convinced he hates her when in reality he was just madly in love (shocker!). they work on a nasa project together as co-leaders to develop a helmet. very much strong woman in stem vibes, trying to change the academic system with its tests, men suck. bee and levi hardly communicate, until they do and they work well as a team. they fuck, bee pretends that she wants to be casual with him, has an epiphany when she was about to lose all 3 fav things (her career, her twitter page, and levi). she confesses feelings, they admit love la la la, the helmet is a success. guy is evil coz he’s jealous of levi staunching his position and because bee pretended she was married, so he tried to sabotage her relo and twitter. he gets fired, she gets promoted, her and levi live happily ever after
side note: side character include kaylee and rodico who are pretty much of legally blonde met wednesday. they fell in love after fucking at work the end
The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak
3.0
this book is gorgeously written, filled beautiful, detailed descriptions. the characters, each with their own secrets and stories, are some you grow to love - including meryem, yusuf, yiorgos, and ada.
my heart broke knowing the love story between kostas and defne could not continue and was not going to be present in the later years described in the book, but their history made it worthwhile.
the turkish and greek traditions mentioned throughout felt like home, especially because they are both so similar to each other - what’s the difference really? i loved that this was a big question throughout.
and finally, the fig tree. a lovely narrator. creative idea of how the tree is interconnected to everything and has a great memory.
missing a star because despite all the beauty, i still felt as though there was a little void left in me that the story did not fill. maybe that was the point?
my heart broke knowing the love story between kostas and defne could not continue and was not going to be present in the later years described in the book, but their history made it worthwhile.
the turkish and greek traditions mentioned throughout felt like home, especially because they are both so similar to each other - what’s the difference really? i loved that this was a big question throughout.
and finally, the fig tree. a lovely narrator. creative idea of how the tree is interconnected to everything and has a great memory.
missing a star because despite all the beauty, i still felt as though there was a little void left in me that the story did not fill. maybe that was the point?
Layla by Colleen Hoover
3.0
this book was so strange
summary for myself:
leeds and layla meet and are a happy couple for a couple months until layla gets shot by sable (leeds crazy fanatic ex girlfriend). she survives and has a brain injury, so when she’s healed enough leeds wants to take her to the bed and breakfast where they met in hopes to rekindle their relationship since he doesn’t feel as in love w her anymore. at the bed and breakfast he meets willow and falls in love with her and out of love with layla. but plot twist, willow is actually layla, and sables soul had entered laylas body the day the shooting happened because leeds had shot sable and killed her. the two souls were in the room together and when layla got resuscitated, sables soul entered laylas body first leaving laylas soul in limbo. they came up with a plan to bring laylas soul back into her body by killing sables soul in laylas body, and it worked. happily ever after
i had many thoughts throughout this book. i don’t know how to feel about leeds because although it’s meant to be romantic that he was in love with laylas soul and that’s why he fell out of love with the girl he thought was layla, the shit he did was a bit… unexcusable? like he didn’t know it wasn’t layla when he was cheating on her with a ghost possessing her body! he still abused her, gaslit her, and allowed her to feel like she was crazy just so he could have his own selfish pleasure with ‘willow’. so as much as the soulmatensss made my heart squish, remembering that he still had no clue it was her before and did those actions rubs me the wrong way. plus it’s still his girlfriends body, and he just left her tied up bleeding and exhausted. shits wild
i did have a lot of fun while reading this though and it was a book i finished relatively quick this year. not a mind blowing read, or a book to take too seriously, but definitely fun for a selective audience.
i found it to be a little predictable at times, for example i assumed very early on that sable would be in the picture (but i thought she was willow, that’s where my assumption ended), and little things like the fact that leeds killed sable, and that he was going to physically cheat on layla with willow in her body. wasn’t too surprising as i read, more just waiting for when things would happen. but the major plot twist i honestly didn’t expect. also randall (richard) was a sweet addition, i liked the alternating timelines until they connected towards the end. it felt refreshing to read. also ): that he’s a spirit (why hasn’t he moved on)
overall, decent read, enjoyed it but isn’t AMAZING. concept was fun with problematic characters (leeds i do not like you)
summary for myself:
leeds and layla meet and are a happy couple for a couple months until layla gets shot by sable (leeds crazy fanatic ex girlfriend). she survives and has a brain injury, so when she’s healed enough leeds wants to take her to the bed and breakfast where they met in hopes to rekindle their relationship since he doesn’t feel as in love w her anymore. at the bed and breakfast he meets willow and falls in love with her and out of love with layla. but plot twist, willow is actually layla, and sables soul had entered laylas body the day the shooting happened because leeds had shot sable and killed her. the two souls were in the room together and when layla got resuscitated, sables soul entered laylas body first leaving laylas soul in limbo. they came up with a plan to bring laylas soul back into her body by killing sables soul in laylas body, and it worked. happily ever after
i had many thoughts throughout this book. i don’t know how to feel about leeds because although it’s meant to be romantic that he was in love with laylas soul and that’s why he fell out of love with the girl he thought was layla, the shit he did was a bit… unexcusable? like he didn’t know it wasn’t layla when he was cheating on her with a ghost possessing her body! he still abused her, gaslit her, and allowed her to feel like she was crazy just so he could have his own selfish pleasure with ‘willow’. so as much as the soulmatensss made my heart squish, remembering that he still had no clue it was her before and did those actions rubs me the wrong way. plus it’s still his girlfriends body, and he just left her tied up bleeding and exhausted. shits wild
i did have a lot of fun while reading this though and it was a book i finished relatively quick this year. not a mind blowing read, or a book to take too seriously, but definitely fun for a selective audience.
i found it to be a little predictable at times, for example i assumed very early on that sable would be in the picture (but i thought she was willow, that’s where my assumption ended), and little things like the fact that leeds killed sable, and that he was going to physically cheat on layla with willow in her body. wasn’t too surprising as i read, more just waiting for when things would happen. but the major plot twist i honestly didn’t expect. also randall (richard) was a sweet addition, i liked the alternating timelines until they connected towards the end. it felt refreshing to read. also ): that he’s a spirit (why hasn’t he moved on)
overall, decent read, enjoyed it but isn’t AMAZING. concept was fun with problematic characters (leeds i do not like you)
If He Had Been with Me by Laura Nowlin
3.0
3/5, this book wasn’t bad but it just wasn’t good either? i’m saying that, did i sob for a good 10 minutes and felt sad the rest of the day? yes. but i don’t even think this was justified
i found the writing to be veryyyy YA, which is expected and was getting a little bored at certain parts. i found it difficult to really connect to any of the characters (somehow cried for finny, idk how). it didn’t feel like a book that i’d walk away from and cherish. was a palette cleanser for me.
cheating tropes have never been it for me. i don’t stand for cheating whatsoever, in any form. both of these characters were emotionally cheating on their partners the entire time, so honestly rooting for them to get together was not something i was genuinely doing. their partners deserved better. if finny and autumn had communicated they would’ve been together years ago. it just wasn’t a good enough reason for me. i can’t justify their actions. literally emotional and then physical cheating (from finny in particular). i can’t forgive that.
positives i guess were the friendships. i enjoyed seeing the growth from childhood to high school friendships and seeing the characters discover themselves and explore new emotions and feelings. it felt nostalgic to when i was in high school and i remembered my own feelings through the characters. also, the representation of depression in autumn’s mother i appreciated, especially from a younger girls perspective. seeing it both in autumn and her mother and the similarities and differences was insightful, particularly for a younger audience. the father issues made me laugh a little because they felt very familiar to me. besides this, it was an easy read, but that’s kinda it.
there isn’t much else i’d like to add to this review, especially since i’m writing it after sitting on it for a while, soaking the book in. i haven’t thought of this since i finished it and don’t feel any emotions when thinking of the characters anymore. clearly it hasn’t impacted me much.
summary for me:
autumn and finny are childhood besties, have been in love w each other forever but no one will say anything at all, typical miscommunication trope. they both date other people (jaime and sylvie) and grow apart coz of different friend groups but still see each other at home. we see autumn find herself and the story of her friendships and understanding her emotions more until her and finny get together. finny picks up his girlfriend sylvie to break up with her, they have a car accident, he gets electrocuted and dies.
i found the writing to be veryyyy YA, which is expected and was getting a little bored at certain parts. i found it difficult to really connect to any of the characters (somehow cried for finny, idk how). it didn’t feel like a book that i’d walk away from and cherish. was a palette cleanser for me.
cheating tropes have never been it for me. i don’t stand for cheating whatsoever, in any form. both of these characters were emotionally cheating on their partners the entire time, so honestly rooting for them to get together was not something i was genuinely doing. their partners deserved better. if finny and autumn had communicated they would’ve been together years ago. it just wasn’t a good enough reason for me. i can’t justify their actions. literally emotional and then physical cheating (from finny in particular). i can’t forgive that.
positives i guess were the friendships. i enjoyed seeing the growth from childhood to high school friendships and seeing the characters discover themselves and explore new emotions and feelings. it felt nostalgic to when i was in high school and i remembered my own feelings through the characters. also, the representation of depression in autumn’s mother i appreciated, especially from a younger girls perspective. seeing it both in autumn and her mother and the similarities and differences was insightful, particularly for a younger audience. the father issues made me laugh a little because they felt very familiar to me. besides this, it was an easy read, but that’s kinda it.
there isn’t much else i’d like to add to this review, especially since i’m writing it after sitting on it for a while, soaking the book in. i haven’t thought of this since i finished it and don’t feel any emotions when thinking of the characters anymore. clearly it hasn’t impacted me much.
summary for me:
autumn and finny are childhood besties, have been in love w each other forever but no one will say anything at all, typical miscommunication trope. they both date other people (jaime and sylvie) and grow apart coz of different friend groups but still see each other at home. we see autumn find herself and the story of her friendships and understanding her emotions more until her and finny get together. finny picks up his girlfriend sylvie to break up with her, they have a car accident, he gets electrocuted and dies.
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
3.0
3 stars
this book was good but a little underwhelming
i enjoyed the writing and the magical atmosphere, especially with the russian vibes, usually it’s england-based so this was a fun change of pace. side characters were fun, particularly genya. i have hopes that she’s going to return and be GOOD, not betray alina in any way.
in terms of the main characters.. alina is your typical naive fantasy girl who is in lalaland and has a strong power. i don’t hate her, don’t love her, kinda indifferent to her. mal i don’t have a strong connection to either at this point. i like him, but that’s about it. as a couple i don’t feel enough chemistry at this point so i really hope it gets built on in the other two books, and if it doesn’t, i’m happy for them to be friends. their friendship has a solid foundation and history, so i like it.
the darkling. okay, i liked him from the start
this book was good but a little underwhelming
i enjoyed the writing and the magical atmosphere, especially with the russian vibes, usually it’s england-based so this was a fun change of pace. side characters were fun, particularly genya. i have hopes that she’s going to return and be GOOD, not betray alina in any way.
in terms of the main characters.. alina is your typical naive fantasy girl who is in lalaland and has a strong power. i don’t hate her, don’t love her, kinda indifferent to her. mal i don’t have a strong connection to either at this point. i like him, but that’s about it. as a couple i don’t feel enough chemistry at this point so i really hope it gets built on in the other two books, and if it doesn’t, i’m happy for them to be friends. their friendship has a solid foundation and history, so i like it.
the darkling. okay, i liked him from the start
Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo
3.25
3.25 stars - i preferred this over the first book but i do have some criticisms
the overall story was a lot more interesting as the stakes have gotten higher, characters have been fleshed out some more, we have NEW characters, and we are understanding the world a little better. but in saying this, everything felt like it was missing the OOMF.
the world building was easier in this book, as it is the sequel, and leigh bardugo is great at letting us SEE the world we are in and the atmosphere surrounding us. the magical surroundings were beautiful and easy to get accustomed to and imagine.
the character development.. this is where it falls a little flat. and by a little i mean a lot. since the first book i have been waiting and waiting for mal to give me something - ANYTHING to make me root for him as a character and as the love interest. i have nothing. he had a tiny bit of growth around 85% through the second book, but even that was not enough. the angst, sexual/romantic tension, LOVE, banter, overall personality - everything just felt like it was underdeveloped with him. i appreciated the acknowledgement of this during the book where mal himself even questions why he’s still there, what is his purpose. as much as i can understand his necessity to the plot, i wish there was more. this is alina’s childhood best friend, her only safe place for years, her first love, and the stakes are so so high right now. mal should be burning with complex powerful emotions because alina is his girl who is at such a huge risk and of such importance to the nation. i couldn’t feel it. honestly if she kept them as friends, it would’ve been more impactful for me. all i can feel is their differences getting stronger and deeper, the power imbalance, his pettiness that he is losing her to other people who may be better suited. i know this makes sense because they are supposed to have the distance with each other, but there was so much potential for mal as an individual. and i know leigh bardugo could do it because she did it with nikolai.
nikolai gives me major buck vibes and i loved him. he isn’t my favourite character isn’t he world but him and the darkling are definitely carrying this series and i am sad he’s gone now. he better come back early in the 3rd book. his charm, flirty nature, banter, confidence, attitude, i loved it all (if alina ended up with him or the darkling i wouldn’t be mad tbh, but alina kinda gets on my nerves)
the darkling, give me more!!!! he felt like he lost some of his powerful demeanour in this, but i think it’s just because he was so distant since it’s alina’s pov. i wish i could’ve seen his growth in power, and just so much more about him. i waited for her hallucinations just to have him back. i enjoyed the concept that him and alina are not different and really just the same person different fonts
this started off super fun, lots going on and loved the setting of the true sea with the ships (pirate vibes always fun), but hit a major standstill towards the middle when they arrived at the palace. found it slow, a little boring, and very “telling” not “showing”. felt like there could’ve been a lot more character development from everyone but didn’t get it enough.
let’s see how the third one goes
side note: genya ):
general synopsis for me:
alina and mal are on nikolai’s ship and meet the whole crew, defeat the ice dragon and get the second amplifier for alina. need to join forces to make everyone regain faith in her and the second prince to instil hope that the darkling can be defeated. at the palace they do heaps of war prep, amongst some character beef between alina and mal, concerns for spies, nikolai flirtations, third amplifier mystery, and darkling hallucinations. nikolai’s idiot brother allowed the fjerdans to unblock a certain road allowing the darkling to access the palace and take over ravka while everyone (who survived) flees. alina and mal have major beef and breakup vibes (he also kissed zoya kinda rude, but she also wanted nikolai to kiss her so even?), but they all go to the priest guy and team up. she had done this big dramatic summoning of the nothings to drain the darklings powers after she controlled him, but in turn drained herself and now she is missing her power
the overall story was a lot more interesting as the stakes have gotten higher, characters have been fleshed out some more, we have NEW characters, and we are understanding the world a little better. but in saying this, everything felt like it was missing the OOMF.
the world building was easier in this book, as it is the sequel, and leigh bardugo is great at letting us SEE the world we are in and the atmosphere surrounding us. the magical surroundings were beautiful and easy to get accustomed to and imagine.
the character development.. this is where it falls a little flat. and by a little i mean a lot. since the first book i have been waiting and waiting for mal to give me something - ANYTHING to make me root for him as a character and as the love interest. i have nothing. he had a tiny bit of growth around 85% through the second book, but even that was not enough. the angst, sexual/romantic tension, LOVE, banter, overall personality - everything just felt like it was underdeveloped with him. i appreciated the acknowledgement of this during the book where mal himself even questions why he’s still there, what is his purpose. as much as i can understand his necessity to the plot, i wish there was more. this is alina’s childhood best friend, her only safe place for years, her first love, and the stakes are so so high right now. mal should be burning with complex powerful emotions because alina is his girl who is at such a huge risk and of such importance to the nation. i couldn’t feel it. honestly if she kept them as friends, it would’ve been more impactful for me. all i can feel is their differences getting stronger and deeper, the power imbalance, his pettiness that he is losing her to other people who may be better suited. i know this makes sense because they are supposed to have the distance with each other, but there was so much potential for mal as an individual. and i know leigh bardugo could do it because she did it with nikolai.
nikolai gives me major buck vibes and i loved him. he isn’t my favourite character isn’t he world but him and the darkling are definitely carrying this series and i am sad he’s gone now. he better come back early in the 3rd book. his charm, flirty nature, banter, confidence, attitude, i loved it all (if alina ended up with him or the darkling i wouldn’t be mad tbh, but alina kinda gets on my nerves)
the darkling, give me more!!!! he felt like he lost some of his powerful demeanour in this, but i think it’s just because he was so distant since it’s alina’s pov. i wish i could’ve seen his growth in power, and just so much more about him. i waited for her hallucinations just to have him back. i enjoyed the concept that him and alina are not different and really just the same person different fonts
this started off super fun, lots going on and loved the setting of the true sea with the ships (pirate vibes always fun), but hit a major standstill towards the middle when they arrived at the palace. found it slow, a little boring, and very “telling” not “showing”. felt like there could’ve been a lot more character development from everyone but didn’t get it enough.
let’s see how the third one goes
side note: genya ):
general synopsis for me:
alina and mal are on nikolai’s ship and meet the whole crew, defeat the ice dragon and get the second amplifier for alina. need to join forces to make everyone regain faith in her and the second prince to instil hope that the darkling can be defeated. at the palace they do heaps of war prep, amongst some character beef between alina and mal, concerns for spies, nikolai flirtations, third amplifier mystery, and darkling hallucinations. nikolai’s idiot brother allowed the fjerdans to unblock a certain road allowing the darkling to access the palace and take over ravka while everyone (who survived) flees. alina and mal have major beef and breakup vibes (he also kissed zoya kinda rude, but she also wanted nikolai to kiss her so even?), but they all go to the priest guy and team up. she had done this big dramatic summoning of the nothings to drain the darklings powers after she controlled him, but in turn drained herself and now she is missing her power