Overall, this book provides a fascinating look at purity culture's effects on AFAB people. As someone raised in that environment, I found that a lot oOverall, this book provides a fascinating look at purity culture's effects on AFAB people. As someone raised in that environment, I found that a lot of what Klein said really resonated with me, and I appreciated her thoughtful approach to the topic. My only complaint would be that this book felt a little choppy to read. Much of it is interviews with people, quotes from psychologists, and Klein talking about the process of writing the book itself. This ended up making it feel more like reading one long research paper instead of a memoir. ...more
Vastly entertaining, with a bunch of fun details that make it stand out from most other popcorn fantasy books. Fourth Wing's got sex positivity, queerVastly entertaining, with a bunch of fun details that make it stand out from most other popcorn fantasy books. Fourth Wing's got sex positivity, queer normativity, chronic illness representation, and really awesome dragons. And sure, I guessed every plot twist from miles away, but it was still engaging enough to keep me reading it at breakneck speed.
I think if the worldbuilding wasn't based around pretty much the dumbest political and military decisions possible, this might've been a five star read for me. But unfortunately, I did spend about 10% of my reading time rolling my eyes at the idea of a nation at war that keeps killing off its own potential troops and forcing justifiably bitter rebels to take control of its best weapons. ...more
Maybe it's just because Aladdin was always my favorite Disney movie, but I had a blast reading this book. It manages to somehow be very, very true to Maybe it's just because Aladdin was always my favorite Disney movie, but I had a blast reading this book. It manages to somehow be very, very true to the original story while also being filled with twists and turns I never saw coming. It took me until almost the end of the book to even realize that (view spoiler)[Moku was the magic carpet. (hide spoiler)]
While it really excelled at being a retelling, I did feel that Jinn-Bot lagged a little at being a good sci-fi novel. It started out somewhat slow, got very bogged down in tedious debates about democracy, and threw several pointless romances at the reader out of nowhere. Nonetheless, all the focus on bot rights and family connections were very enjoyable to read about, Bador was an extremely unique and somehow very likeable character, and I really loved the choice of having everything narrated from the viewpoint of a bot who exists to tell stories. ...more
I loved that this focused on upper-class Black Edwardians. It's a very underexplored area, and Marquis shows all thCute and likeable, but overly long.
I loved that this focused on upper-class Black Edwardians. It's a very underexplored area, and Marquis shows all the fantastic drama and excitement available in this setting. And sure, it was very, very formulaic, but I like a good, tropey, fluffy novel every now and then.
My only issue was that the book dragged a bit. It felt like at least 50 pages of people refusing to communicate with each other could've been cut, and it wouldn't have made a difference at all. ...more
Great idea, but poor execution. This read more like an outline of a novel than an actual cohesive story. The author had a lot of ideas and themes and Great idea, but poor execution. This read more like an outline of a novel than an actual cohesive story. The author had a lot of ideas and themes and plot points they wanted to discuss, but didn't give themselves the room to really explore anything.
I basically just kept finding myself feeling confused and going, "wait, what?" as random information is thrown on the page without any exposition and then never mentioned again. For example, Firuz meets the mortician in a professional setting once, and then a couple chapters later, after no further mentions of the mortician, she's Firuz's best friend and they're hanging out to talk about feelings together. There are vague hints Firuz's mom might be depressed? or in a cult? or something? but despite living with Firuz, she never appears in a scene. The magic system makes no sense. I still don't really know the difference between Dilmuns and Sassanians. I'm very unsure of where Afsoneh came from, who abused her, and where her PTSD is. And what did the giant mushrooms on the mysterious island no one was allowed to visit have to do with anything? Or the giant man-eating birds? Or the mysterious genocide? I'm realizing I could be here all day listing random elements of this story that were never explained or resolved.
It's a shame, because this had the bones of an interesting story and Jamnia's prose is decent. If this just had 200 more pages or so, it probably would've been great....more
A cute, charming book that makes a nice, light read. Overall, I felt like the plotting and pacing were better than the first, and I appreciated that BA cute, charming book that makes a nice, light read. Overall, I felt like the plotting and pacing were better than the first, and I appreciated that Baldree gets more focused on the practical minutiae of running a book shop. However, I still think his characters could use more depth because many of them felt very one-note to me....more
Beautifully written and absolutely fascinating to read. Despite being massive and dense, Menewood captured my attention. Both Hild and Griffith have mBeautifully written and absolutely fascinating to read. Despite being massive and dense, Menewood captured my attention. Both Hild and Griffith have matured a lot since the first book was written, and it really brings a new and interesting dimension to the series. I especially liked the focus on motherhood and protective instincts, and even if I couldn't keep all the 500 characters named Osfrith straight, I still found all the political manuevering to bet quite interesting. ...more
Good, but overly long. Especially towards the end, scenes felt very repetitive. There were like four different chapters that were just Ren walking froGood, but overly long. Especially towards the end, scenes felt very repetitive. There were like four different chapters that were just Ren walking from one location to another while thinking the same old vague, confused thoughts about the Rook and Ondrajka, and there were countless lengthy scenes that were clearly just the authors getting way too excited about their made-up tarot system. It felt like a good 200 pages or so could've been cut without affecting the plot, characterization, or worldbuilding at all.
Nonetheless, I still enjoyed reading this quite a bit. ...more
First of all, this book had excellent worldbuilding. Butler manages to create a dystopia that is both more familiar and more disturbing than any otherFirst of all, this book had excellent worldbuilding. Butler manages to create a dystopia that is both more familiar and more disturbing than any other I've read. The book started out strong, with a nicely paced story about Lauren growing up, finding herself, and deciding to leave her family's neighborhood.
However, it fell apart in the last few chapters when everything seemed to rush to a really rapid conclusion. I think we got more about Lauren's random childhood neighbor defending his rabbit breeding farm from looters than we did about Lauren (view spoiler)[deciding to build an entire cult community at Acorn. (hide spoiler)] My other big complaint was the age gap relationship. I probably would've been almost okay with it if I hadn't read any other Butler books, but since I've been bothered by that aspect of her writing before, all I could think about Lauren and Bankole was "eww, whhhhyyy..." Sexually-confident teen girls throwing themselves at dopey men old enough to be their grandfather is not as appealing of a romance as Butler seems to think it is....more
An engaging story with an interesting mystery and a truly creepy villain. Kyra was a bit too "not like other girls" at times, with all her hideous cloAn engaging story with an interesting mystery and a truly creepy villain. Kyra was a bit too "not like other girls" at times, with all her hideous clothing and clumsiness and red hair, but nonetheless, this was a great read....more
This was just as engaging as the first two. Chakraborty does an excellent job of balancing multiple viewpoints and settings while keeping things interThis was just as engaging as the first two. Chakraborty does an excellent job of balancing multiple viewpoints and settings while keeping things interesting, and I enjoyed how the plot expanded to include more about the marid.
However, a few little things that were sort of quietly bugging me throughout the rest of the series became way more apparent here. First of all, why does Chakraborty keep portaying unbending religious zealotry like it's sexy? "Will happilly kill for my faith and will constantly force nonbelievers to follow my religious rules" is not a quality I want in all my male romantic leads. Secondly, the stakes are very high, yet (view spoiler)[almost all named characters easily avoid every consequence. It gets a bit deus ex machiney when portions of the entire city are crushed to rubble and ifrit go on killing sprees yet the wave of destruction always abruptly stops right before a named character gets hurt. (hide spoiler)] Finally, I felt like the conclusion really fumbled on addressing a lot of the ethical issues brought up throughout the series. The overall messages I got were, (view spoiler)["It's okay to willingly participate in mass murder as long as you feel a bit bad while doing so and say you're sorry afterwards," and, "Rulers are allowed to pardon war criminals as long as they're friends with the criminals and can tell they really regret it," (hide spoiler)] which are pretty concerning attitudes to have.
Overall, I loved this series' worldbuilding and characters, but I wish Chakraborty put way more thought into how she tackled centuries of racially and religiously motivated mass murder. ...more
Very interesting to read, with a lot of political manueverings and morally grey characters. My main complaint with this one was the pacing. There's a Very interesting to read, with a lot of political manueverings and morally grey characters. My main complaint with this one was the pacing. There's a lot of time skips, and the plot only pauses whenever there's a moment of civil unrest, so it creates the general impression that everyone in Daevabad just runs around nonstop, rioting and murdering and trying to push their religious views on each other. ...more
This was almost average. Sure it was fairly predictable and formulaic, but Meyer's writing style is fun and easy to read, the characters were charmingThis was almost average. Sure it was fairly predictable and formulaic, but Meyer's writing style is fun and easy to read, the characters were charming, and she occasionally explored some interesting consequences of superpowers.
However, the thing that really knocked this down from a three star to a two star rating for me were the speeches. So. Many. Cringey. Political. Speeches. Nova spends about 60% of her time either monologing or internally monologing about her poorly-thought out beliefs on freedom, and independence, and personal responsibility, and the dangers of government regulation, and so on. Every time the plot started to get good, we had to pause everything to listen to these clunky little lectures about Anarchists=good and Renegades=bad.
It was a bit like reading a teen superhero romance written by Ayn Rand, and that's not an experience I wanted to have. ...more
This was only 312 pages but somehow took forever to read. The City and the City has a lot of merit, but it's also confirmed that Mieville's not for meThis was only 312 pages but somehow took forever to read. The City and the City has a lot of merit, but it's also confirmed that Mieville's not for me. Something about the way he writes his characters just fails to engage me. There's little emotion or connection, and plot and politics alone aren't enough for me. This should've been a fascinating, high-concept, weird fantasy book, but ultimately, I feel entirely neutral towards this book....more
A somewhat interesting behind-the-scenes look at the Duggar family. Unlike some other memoirs I've read, I did get the feeling that this wouldn't appeA somewhat interesting behind-the-scenes look at the Duggar family. Unlike some other memoirs I've read, I did get the feeling that this wouldn't appeal to anyone who wasn't following Duggar drama in the first place though. Jill still seemed very guarded, and the book didn't discuss much besides her arguments with Jim Bob. However, despite feeling a bit short and overly simplistic, it wasn't a bad read. ...more
I loved the worldbuilding in this and found the city of Daevabad to be very interesting. The author has an unfortunate tendency to tell the reader thiI loved the worldbuilding in this and found the city of Daevabad to be very interesting. The author has an unfortunate tendency to tell the reader things instead of showing them, so the romance didn't quite captivate me as much as it could've. Nonetheless, the story was exciting and intriguing, and I'll definitely be reading the rest of the trilogy....more
I absolutely loved the world Hardinge created. It was filled with inhuman fae, creepy marshes, bizarre curses, and all sorts of other fun things. TherI absolutely loved the world Hardinge created. It was filled with inhuman fae, creepy marshes, bizarre curses, and all sorts of other fun things. There were oodles of foggy, misty, spooky vibes, and the simple concept of curses turned into some incredibly odd and entertaining situations. I had a few small issues with the book, like the way the plot dragged around 80% of the way through and the weird entitlement all of the curse victims seemed to have towards Kellen, but nonetheless, this was a fascinating and intriguing book to read. ...more
This was very bad at being a book, but it was excellent at being a mood. I felt like the plot and characterization could've used some work, but nonethThis was very bad at being a book, but it was excellent at being a mood. I felt like the plot and characterization could've used some work, but nonetheless, I really enjoyed reading this. It has some very interesting, minimalistic prose and a sparsely haunting atmosphere....more
Well. I guess this was entertaining enough. It was a decent light read with characters who were occasionally engaging and interesting. I felt the diffWell. I guess this was entertaining enough. It was a decent light read with characters who were occasionally engaging and interesting. I felt the different plots tied together nicely, and the authors did a nice job of creating a distinctive setting for each era.
However, things were fairly silly and predictable, and the sections with Andie were particularly rough. Her entire plotline is that she willingly signed up to work on a TV show but is always flopping around whining because she believes that anyone having fun isn't appreciating history the correct way. At one point, she even angrily grumps, "the words 'sexy' and 'renovation' should never be used in the same sentence." (I've actually heard multiple historic preservationists talk about old-growth wood grains and vintage tile mosaics in an extremely sensuous and uncomfortably explicit manner). In general, it just feels like the authors did zero research into the topic of historic preservation and created some weirdly unpleasant, joyless caricature of an academic. And why does the story end with a (view spoiler)[trained preservationist leading a show about historic murder mysteries? (hide spoiler)] That both goes against Andie's previously stated ethos of "no fun or human interest, only buildings," and it also makes zero sense because it has absolutely nothing to do with her field.
Oh, and by the way, despite the title, this is the least summery book I've ever read. There are no sun-drenched vistas or boiling hot days being used as a metaphor for characters' simmering passions. It's all just rain, cloudy skies, cold and menacing oceans, and dark, decaying mansions. Overall, it felt very autumnal to me. ...more
