I read most of this book, and found it imaginative and thoughtful. But gods did it go on and on. Like, it feels that there's not one shred of this girlI read most of this book, and found it imaginative and thoughtful. But gods did it go on and on. Like, it feels that there's not one shred of this girl's backstory, necessary or not, that isn't included in this book. Pretty sure I know more about her childhood and formation than I do about my own children. Not sure what that says about me as a mother or Katherine Arden as an author. Nicely written, beautifully fleshed out. Just not for me. ...more
Let’s get this out of the way now. This book is trash. All the way, to the end of the road, it’s abAlright, alright. Alright, alright, alright.
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Let’s get this out of the way now. This book is trash. All the way, to the end of the road, it’s absolute trash.
And this was me:
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Gawd I loved this book. All the while I knew it was bad. Just down to it’s very core it’s a bad book. But it is so. damn. addictive.
So Shazi’s best friend Shiva has just been murdered by the King, Khalid. So she leaves her lover, Tariq and volunteers as tribute (sorry not sorry) to be Khalid’s next wife.
Now, let me get the complaining out of the way early.
Shazi is annoying. Like very obtuse. She is full of pride (which I love) but she’s very clumsy about how she goes about discovering the Khalid’s secrets (which I hate) – which basically boils down to her whining to him a lot about them instead of doing any real investigation. Then there’s the time when she pretends to everyone that she can’t shoot arrows and lets herself be goaded into revealing that, actually, she’s a great shot within like 5 minutes. Way to go, there Shazi.
Also, the romance is super instalovey and I never really bought it. Obviously, there was a sizzle or I would have been out the door so fast you’d have thought I was being chased by a bear. But when it came to their devotional love proclamations, I was left unmoved.
The writing is a little subpar but it’s nothing to cry about.
Also the plot. Shazi barely even tells the stories. Like, it happens a few times but mostly it’s so quickly done and over with and they’re very underwhelming so I’m not sure, like, if I were a blood-thirsty sultan, that I would spare her life for those stories. I mean, I’m just assuming here because I’ve never slaughtered dozens of innocent girls. Maybe if I did, I’d be as easily amused as Khalid was, I don’t know. THIS IS ALL CONJECTURE.
Okay. Deep breath. So what did I like about this book?
Gawd, I don’t know.
If I could pinpoint the magic that was The Wrath and the Dawn and bottle it up and sprinkle it over everything I would. There was just something, ultimately, very readable about it. It made me want to devour everything and never stop.
It was like doritoes, you know? You know they’re bad for you, but you can’t stop eating. So moarish. I need more. I’m reading The Rose and the Dagger immediately and not one of youse can stop me.
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This review and others like it can be found on my blog ...more
It's not I didn't like this book. At least, I like the beginning for awhile. But this book's plot was I curse this book with a thousand crotch louse.
It's not I didn't like this book. At least, I like the beginning for awhile. But this book's plot was enough to drive me into a rant.
Getting out of the way the fact that the characterisation is great and the setting is stunning and all that shit, let's get into possibly McKinley's only, and truly great weakness, which is plotting and pacing.
The book reads at the speed of an unhurried snail. It starts a full 2.5ish years before Beauty even meets the Beast and shows no sincere interest in moving things along for the sake of actually telling the story. Beauty spends a stunningly little amount of time with the Beast and when we actually meet him, most of that time is glossed over in narrative telling rather than showing.
ARE YOU TELLING ME I JUST SAT THROUGH 2.5 YEARS OF THIS GIRL'S LIFE ONLY TO HAVE FIVE MINUTES WITH THE ACTUAL GREAT ROMANCE THIS FAIRYTALE IS FAMOUS FOR?!
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Then, right, the whole thing is wrapped up in about 20 pages. It was infuriating. I don't feel like Beauty's back story and life before the Beast helped us understand her motivations and character arc any great deal. I felt like it was cumbersome for the sake of being cumbersome and wordy and artistic.
I'm so mad about this, that I'm practically hopping. I'm hopping mad, I say!
I don’t know if Cruel Beauty truly deserved five stars on merit but goddamnit I’m awarding it all the points for enjoyability. All of them. I loved thI don’t know if Cruel Beauty truly deserved five stars on merit but goddamnit I’m awarding it all the points for enjoyability. All of them. I loved the hell out of this story. The passion. The intrigue. Ignifex. Nyx’s rage. Ignifex. All the kissing. Nyx.
This book kind of had it all for me. Plot, mystery, intrigue and a whole lot of making out. It’s almost like Hodge was trying to distract me from the crazy plotholes and loose story structure. It was fantastic! I haven’t been this entertained by a book in ages. I immediately went out and bought a copy (I got mine from the library).
So if you’re into mythology and kissing and just looking for something eminently, page-turningly good, then this is your book.
This is only a mini review as I wrote a guide to Beauty and the Beast retellings here....more
This was another favourite of mine. Completely different to A Court of Thorns and Roses and Cruel Beauty, Uprooted is more dark and gothic. UnfortunatThis was another favourite of mine. Completely different to A Court of Thorns and Roses and Cruel Beauty, Uprooted is more dark and gothic. Unfortunately there is also a lot less kissing. But not to be discouraged. What kissing there is, is very lovely and, more importantly, Uprooted has a solid plot and is paced with ardent fervour. It’s also funny as all hell and sit-on-the-edge-of-your-seat type of action-packed. When I started reading it, I really didn’t want to put it down unless forced against my will. Agnieszka is a fantastic character. Witty, strong, loving and heroic. The Dragon is hilariously uptight and poncy. Cue Agnieszka quickly tearing down every expectation and wall he builds up between them and you have an odd couple taking on the most sinister forest you can think of.
A Court of Thorns and Roses was one of my favourite retellings, bar Cruel Beauty which wins out for sheer enjoyment factor. A Court of Thorns and RoseA Court of Thorns and Roses was one of my favourite retellings, bar Cruel Beauty which wins out for sheer enjoyment factor. A Court of Thorns and Roses is the first book in a new series by Sarah J Maas. It’s a great beginning book and there’s plenty more story to write about once it's done with, if you know what I mean. Maas has built a complex, magical world of deadly fae and power hungry humans, with Feyre and Tamlin are caught in the middle.
Emotions are wrought, drama and danger are right up there and Maas isn’t afraid to let a little sexy times fly. A perfect, fun, thrilling read for those looking for a Beauty and the Beast retelling that’s just a little bit different.
I usually take my time, and can be quiet erudite when it comes to expressing my love for a book. Today is not that day.
No, you see, you can’t be eloquI usually take my time, and can be quiet erudite when it comes to expressing my love for a book. Today is not that day.
No, you see, you can’t be eloquent and merciful to a book whose main theme is stabbing. Not just other people but stabbing you, in particular, right in the heartsole (Because, at my heart, I am an arsehole – get it? No….?)
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Anyway, before I read this book, I was a deadened husk inside. That book didn’t change that aspect of me much except to poke so many holes in my exterior facade that water leaks in when it rains.
Let’s roll things back.
So I read this book back when it was a glimmer of a book. I loved it then but I LOVE everything about it now. This book is to breaking readers hearts as maestros are to music. Sorry, I’m still so hung up on this book.
I don’t want to say the theme of this book is stabbing. I want to say something more intellectual like it’s theme is revenge and the slow leaking of the humanity in one who has lost so much. But if you said the main theme was stabbing in your SAT test I just don’t frankly think you’d be wrong.
Mia, as our protagonist, drives the story along with three other great supporting characters: Mister Kindly, Tric and our mysterious narrator with their many, many delicious footnotes. Mia, herself is a dry, witty, savage, raw creature who is being moulded into a deadly weapon at a school for assassins. (Think Hogwarts, except if you fail a lesson – you die.) Mister Kindly is her shadow assistant. Acerbic and snarky and part of her special abilities which is all I’ll say about that. Tric – I have no words for. No. Words. Don’t touch me!
As for our narrator, I feel like it’s humour and the many, many world building details included in the footnotes really brings this story to life. What would otherwise be a tense, dramatic story is added a certain levity through the narrator’s wit. It carries it in a way, where the sadness and more depressing aspects of this story might usually bog a reader down – is lifted and given perspective by the narrator.
The writing is outstanding, with the usual Kristoff flair. It was simply stunning, rich bodied and full of flavour. If I sound like I’m describing a coffee then I can only attest to my sleep deprived state. The pacing and the plot, I felt, were fantastic. Right when you started to feel bogged down in world building and such, Kristoff throws in some stabbing or some sex to liven it up. It’s like he’s come across the perfect formula for me, personally. Which, if he has, I ain’t gonna complain.
A word to the wary – this book is graphic. In violence, in sex, in language. It’s definitely for the more mature readers out there. But if drinking the blood of your enemies is your thing, as it is mine – then I highly suggest you give it a try. ...more
It’s always intimidating to review a book so loaded by high fan expectations and low critic opinions. This book is DIVIDED, my friend. It will turn huIt’s always intimidating to review a book so loaded by high fan expectations and low critic opinions. This book is DIVIDED, my friend. It will turn husband against wife, brother against sister, dog against cat…wait. Well, you get the idea.
So let me break down what I liked and what I didn’t like so that you can decide whether you want to read it for yourself.
I liked… Celeana. This is not a common thing, apparently.
Isn't Celaena the ditziest, most incompetent assassin ever? :D She's all "ohhh, candy! ohh, Dorian's smile. ohhh, ball gowns"
She was arrogant, vain, narcissistic, flawed and I loved every bit of it. I loved her love of pretty dresses and candy. The girl was in a death camp ffs! She can enjoy anything she wants. I love her love of food I loved watching her make friends, I loved her blood thirsty, ragey nature that was sometimes comical. But it’s okay not to like those things. It’s easy to remember she’s an 18 year old girl and easy to forget she’s an assassin in this book. Because she doesn’t do a whole lot of any kind of murdering.
[image] I really just needed her to kill someone…Just one person!
The plot made it hard to show off any of the best ideas about this book because it mostly revolved around the romance between Celeana, Dorian and Chaol. Something of which I had absolutely no investment at all. In fact, the narrative would SKIP over the tests and the gory deaths of people just so that we could see more of these two dudes skipping around mooning of Celeana who is, sorry, about a million times more interesting than either of them. *Cue angry fan reactions*
The plot didn’t do Celeana justice because she was always like:
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And I SO wanted to believe it, but why should the reader believe these claims of how badass she is, when you can’t see her doing any badass stuff. Just a lot of prancing around and promises to kill people. Promises, may I add, that don’t get fulfilled! Can you tell I’m a bloodthirsty wench since I wanted a little stabby stabby so bad?
The writing was perfectly serviceable and most parts, I don’t have many complaints about that. I just wanted to not be bored. I wanted it so bad. But I was. Hopefully, the second book will make me fall in love.
I received this book for free from Book Expo America in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
It should probably be illegal to keep reading an authors work when you’ve so thoroughly panned it twice before but, you see, I was curious. Take away It should probably be illegal to keep reading an authors work when you’ve so thoroughly panned it twice before but, you see, I was curious. Take away the horrible plotting and burdensome story of The Goddess Test, could Carter write something I liked, because I always suspected she could. If Pawn had continued in quality from the first half into the second, then I’d probably be giving it four stars right now.
Pawn started out very promising indeed. Kitty, ranked a three in a society that lives and dies by rankings, has two choices. Shovel shit in a far off city away from her beloved boyfriend, or take to prostitution. Figuring prostitution is temporary, she chooses option B but is quickly given a third option. Become the body double of the newly deceased princess.
Kitty, living as Lila Hart, still isn’t safe. She knows her days are numbered and the only way to survive is to play the game and hope she can outsmart the other players. Pawn is really well written and well actualised up until roughly this point. The players are all there, you can see the intrigues and alliances and power plays are all ready to be explored.
Where Pawn lets you down is that they aren’t explored at all. Despite Kitty’s plan to try and outsmart the others, despite the myriad references to a chess match which spawns the title of the book, Kitty does not play or dalliance in any kind of battle of wits. She is a very reactionary character, making decisions and acting on the spur of the moment, often to her detriment. This would be okay, except the other characters fare little better in their plotting. Eventually it becomes a jumbled mess with too many plot holes and not enough sense to see it through to a satisfactory end. I don’t think any characters knew what the fuck they were doing. It kind of feels like the author just kind of went with whatever plot twists occurred to her at that moment.
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Which means that I want to be annoyed, but I’m not. I’m relatively impressed with this offering from Carter, but still disappointed at the wasted potential. The writing has improved, as has Carter’s use of characterisation and gender roles. Plotting and plotholes aside, the writing and pacing of this book was pretty good – a definite improvement!
This is the third Carter book I’ve read now. I want to read the sequel to this, but doesn’t that constitute some kind of cruel and unusual book reviewing behaviour? On one hand, if I’d hated this book, I’d be like:
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But I didn’t hate it, and I doubt many readers will despite its faults. It’s a pretty endearing novel and I’m glad that I read it. So onto the next one for me!
Even if maybe, at this point, Carter is like:
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This book was given to me for review purposes. No money was exchanged for this review though, ya know, that would have been nice for me.
Did you know this book is shiny? Just look at its cover! So shiny! Gloriously, gloriously shiny. You know how some people are beautiful on the inside Did you know this book is shiny? Just look at its cover! So shiny! Gloriously, gloriously shiny. You know how some people are beautiful on the inside and the outside? Well the great thing about this ponderously big tome is that it is shiny on the outside and the inside. Rather like a phosphorescent jellyfish, it shines even if you cut it open and play with its splayed tenders.
How is it shiny on the inside, Kat? You ask because you like things to make sense.
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Cat scientists are only marginally more terrifying than real scientists.
Everything inside this book is just so good and pure and awesome. Maggie is one of those unusual YA protagonists who actually moves the storyline along herself. She doesn’t wait for anyone to strike. She’s beautifully flawed, fatally flawed but you just can’t help love her. She has a goal, a job to do and she’ll manoeuvre people into position to do it, even to her own detriment.
The game she plays with Quentin is gripping and the romance between the two characters makes me want to drink a bottle of wine and present a ring to this book if only to keep it with me forever. Maggie’s pro activeness in everything drives the entire book. From plot and pacing to character reveals and the thrilling end.
In fact Maggie stalked me until she found out about that time I killed a old man over half a pickle sandwich.
Then she threatened to expose me unless I wrote a favourable review of this book.
Now she’ll probably discard me once I’ve become useless to her in her grand scheme to bring down a multibillion dollar corporation that controls the world.
I both fear and love her. Part of me respects her and I absolutely can’t wait to see how this series ends.
This review appears on my blog, . I received this book for free from Purchased in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. ...more
Someone much crueller than me would describe this book as a Survivor Reality show meets YA. Giant race, one winner, only instead of a cash prize and nSomeone much crueller than me would describe this book as a Survivor Reality show meets YA. Giant race, one winner, only instead of a cash prize and not-so-eternal glory, the winner of the Brimstone Bleed gets a cure to save their dying relative. That’s the situation every contestant, including Tella our protagonist, is in.
With only their Pandoras to rely on, each contender has to run the game with no rules and make it to the finish line first to claim a prize. Fire & Flood covers the first two locations, half of the race, and follows Tella as she tries to survive the harsh conditions to save her brother. Clearly my first thought was to seriously consider whether I would do such a race for either of my brothers.
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Should have let me play with your lego, asshole!
Honestly, I’m joking. Pretty sure I’d do this at least once for each of my brosephs, but maybe that’s because I think I could probably survive this whole experience a bit better than Tella who has exactly no survival skills. Tella, I love you, but you roll a leech off. Don’t pull it! Basically, the only thing stopping me from winning this race would be my appalling sense of direction.
Scott had completely won me over with The Collector, so I was pretty excited to read this. It is a massive departure in style, story and thematically which is brave of Scott as a writer to embrace. I have a lot of respect for authors who can branch out and try new things. This book mostly worked for me. I didn’t absolutely love it, but I quite liked it.
The positives are what Scott brought to the table in terms of characterisation. The book is very character driven when not drowning you in suspense and walking. The survivalist aspects of the novel are a major selling point if you’re into that sort of thing. But I would have liked to have seen more development in the romance. What did Guy like about Tella? What made them click other than throbbing hormones and the safety net he provides her? I couldn’t say. Not that I didn’t like Guy but that their relationship made little sense to me.
The Pandoras are a great addition to the novel, providing much of the moral quandary and entertainment for the reader. Scott has pulled all out to build up not just the cast, but their Pokemon sidekicks too, in order to enrich the novel. Downside is that the story just didn’t make much sense. The eventual explanation for the race was something of an anticlimax, leaving me scratching my head and wondering how this event has stayed so incognito. There’s a lot of questions and not nearly enough answers.
All up it was an enjoyable novel and I look forward to the sequel. Even if I could beat this book in a race.
I described this book to my mother. “It’s about a chef who gets kidnapped by pirates. He has to cook a gourmet meal for the pirate captain once a weekI described this book to my mother. “It’s about a chef who gets kidnapped by pirates. He has to cook a gourmet meal for the pirate captain once a week. And this pirate captain, mom, she is AWESOME!”
My mom smiled knowingly, “Oh. And then they start getting it on like rabbits!”
I faltered for a moment, stalling while trying to explain. “No! It’s not a romance-romance. I mean, they do develop a relationship but it’s…not a focus in the novel.”
My mom seemed to understand, giving a confident nod. “So how does a teenager become a pirate captain?”
My brain stalled again. “No, um, the chef and Mabbot are middle-aged.”
This time, it was my mother was the confused one. “What are you doing reading this?”
She has a point. This isn’t my usual blog-reading fair. Not romance and no teens? Yet as soon as I saw this book on the publishing line up, I couldn’t resist getting it and I’m so glad I did.
This book was amazing. No-holds-barred, completely fantastic. I loved every minute of it.
No detail is spared and the level of research used in this novel is astounding. Obviously the biggest fascination for me was the seemingly-insurmountable task Wedge is faced with once a week. Preparing a gourmet meal on a pirate ship where food is scarce, basic and the kitchen rudimentary at best. Yet Wedge is a genius and his resourcefulness both in cooking and trying to escape was more than admirable. It was fascinating!
But obviously the biggest draw for me was the construction of the characters. Wedge, a pudgy, middle-aged, chef pitched against Mad Hannah Mabbot. She’s brilliant, fiery, passionate, endlessly-capable, fierce, blazing, outlandish, charismatic. If you can tell I loved her, good. Kids, when I grow up, I want to BE The Shark of the Indian Ocean, Mad Hannah Mabbot, Back-from-the-dead Red. I seriously need to start working on a badass pirate name like that. The journey they go through as Captain Mabbot chases The Fox, the King of Thieves, and evades the grimly determined Laroche while aiming to bring down the Pendleton Trading company is action packed, blood-soaked and utterly enthralling.
The writing is detailed and so incredibly nuanced. Wedge’s personality shines from every page as the fussy, prudish, cooking-obsessed Catholic man who has the world and his Regency-era appropriations torn down around him. The result is a much better person. Don’t be deceived. There are no alpha-males with rippling muscles, or chest-heaving women needing to be saved. Captain Mabbot would kick an alpha male in the teeth, tie him over a churning ocean and laugh madly while she robbed him blind. Wedge can only really beat a steak into submission, but he’s smart and passionate and lovely. Eli Brown has given me everything I wanted in a novel. A diverse cast, a delightful, realistic break from traditional gender roles and a gratingly beautiful human touch.
This book eats lesser pirate tropes for breakfast. Respect it’s authoritah or Captain Mabbot will have you keel-hauled.
This book was given to me for review purposes. I received no gifts, favours or money for this because why anyone would want to pay money for my reviews in beyond me.
I really, really liked the beginning of this book. I think it's well written and the world setting is quite interesting. The first 25% certainly kept I really, really liked the beginning of this book. I think it's well written and the world setting is quite interesting. The first 25% certainly kept my attention though I had trouble connecting to the characters other than Llewl.
At 42% in, I felt it started to lose focus and Llewl's relationship with the characters felt more and more disingenuous. I thought this was a shame since it started so strong. My biggest struggle with the book was in trying to visualize things. Howell is a little vague on creating atmosphere, but the only reason I stopped reading this was a pretty personal one. I'm sure many other readers will get a lot out of it.
So, give it a go if you're looking for a fantasy series like Touch of Power to fill your reading time with....more
Nameless is a bit like billowing, amazing clouds on a warm sunny day. It’s nice. Just really nice, you know? Sure, it doesn’t move fast and clouds areNameless is a bit like billowing, amazing clouds on a warm sunny day. It’s nice. Just really nice, you know? Sure, it doesn’t move fast and clouds aren’t the most gripping things to look at, but it was just really nice. God I really liked Nameless and I really like clouds. They’re so magical.
[image] Unless they’re giving you goatse. Don’t look that up if you don’t know what it is btw.
Nameless wasn’t a perfect novel, but it was an enjoyable novel. I feel like most of the things it set out to do, it accomplished.
Things like creating, nurturing and building the relationship between Nico and Cami. Book, candle, Nico *cue heart melt* (you’d get it if you read the book). There felt like a depth of years to their relationship and that’s a hard thing to manufacture in a few hundred pages.
Nameless was a pretty ambitious story, which worked out for me because I’m a pretty ambitious reader, but it’s not going to float everyone’s boats. And that’s because it’s ODD. It’s just a really odd book.
[image] Like Harley Quinn – twisted but in a really, really good way
Firstly, nameless is an alternate reality world with a whole slew of different rules and supernatural… things happening. And St Crow doesn’t hold no hands when she tells this story. She doesn’t sit you down and say, “Now children, this is a twist. It’s a person who has twisted in bad way due to emotions…” Nuh-uh. She just starts throwing this lore at you and expects you to catch up. You have to pay attention or you’re not going to know what’s happening.
And her lore isn’t simplistic. It’s a complicated world. Add to that, the fact that there’s so much going on. Camille isn’t just dealing with figuring out who she is and avoiding being turned into a heartless shish-ka-bob. She’s dealing with Nico learning to take responsibility for his temper and his life, helping her friends, developing a friendship with the mysterious gardener, finding a home and identity for herself and, most of all, trying to get people to damn well shut their mouths and let her express herself.
Which is hard, because she has a significant stutter all throughout the book. This had the potential to be frustrating for the reader. But I think St Crow really pulled it off. Instead of feeling frustrated, I felt HER frustration. That people wouldn’t wait to hear what she had to say, would assume what she was thinking because they were too lazy to wait for her to say what she really wanted, etc.
But, the thing with Nameless is that it’s a really slow burn. Just so slow. And since so much of it is internal, emotional issues being worked through, it sometimes felt like it was dragging.
There were some elements to the story telling that I wanted to be tighter. Stronger. The Snow White myth felt really lost in the story. Rather like it was grossly outweighed by all the other elements until, sometimes, it became easy to forget that this was a Snow White retelling. This is an issue because Nameless could easily have been a standalone novel with no ties to Snow White. I would have liked it still and wouldn’t have felt a little cheated on the fairy tale retelling aspects that felt largely shoe-horned in at the end to justify the label.
Mostly though, if you’re a fan of Lili St Crow, or YA Paranormal romances with a touch of thriller to them, then you’re really going to like this one.
This book was provided to me by the publisher. This does not affect my review in any way because they refused to pay or bribe me. Greedy buggers. Left with no other option, I was forced to be honest....more
Kat Kennedy
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