Senne

I definitely recommend this beautiful short story about identity and belonging.

Review only for The Paper Menagerie.

My expectations were high, but this turned out to be a very mediocre book. It feels like the author took some (amazing) lines from famous books + looked at some Pinterest quotes, and then crafted a story to bind them together.

The book meanders very slowly and the characters are rather boring. It's all very predictable.

I can see how some people might enjoy the feel-good vibes and the absence of any conflict or real struggle.

“My life to yours. My Breath become yours.”

I'm surprised that some people think this is one of Sanderson's weakest books. I really enjoyed it! The story takes place in only one city, but the world-building is really well done. The magic system is also one of the bests I've ever read.

Lightsong was definitely my favorite character and I was emotionally invested in his arc from the start.

It would be a 5 star if it wasn't for the first part. I couldn't wait to get it over with...

However, the rest of this book is a masterpiece. Pierce Brown is a great writer and knows exactly how to keep a reader engaged and on the edge of his seat. The emotional impact was really great and the different story arcs left me just speechless at some points.

The different POV's are written way better then Iron Gold, so that was also a big step up from book 4.

DNF

I wanted to like it because I think the story can be interesting, but I really don't need to read about a teenage boy's erection and odd sexual references.

Strange choices are made in this book.

This is a book with a lot of great moments and ideas. It's sci fi at its best.

Unfortunately, everything between those things is just a meandering and slow read.

I'm impressed how Mandel injects so much themes and different explorations of humanity in only 250 pages. It's beautiful written and reflective.

The science fiction part is weak, but that isn't the point of this book in my opinion.

Ashes of Man takes some time to build and the pacing felt a little bit strange at some points, but I was invested (as always) from page 1. Ruocchio's writing impresses me again and again and draws me completely into the story.

The emotional impact of the last 150 pages was amazing and made me hold my breath at different moments.

A masterpiece yet again!

I enjoyed what Pierce Brown did with this book. There is a huge step up in his writing and this really helped with the emotional impact of some scenes. His exploration of multiple POV's also deepens the worldbuilding and story.

However, not all the POV's were as good. Some storylines took a lot of time to get going.

There are actually some really good parts in this book and kudos for SJM for writing this in her teens. There is an interesting overarching story, a world that I'm excited to maybe explore more, different realms and the most surprising for me: there even seems to be a lot of history in this world.

But that was sadly only 10% of the story. Everything I found interesting was glossed over to give more attention to the ridiculous romance and this so called "world-renowned assassin".

This is definitely a SCIENCE fiction book. I felt dumb for about 75% of it, but the story and the vibe was amazing.

I especially liked the cultural background and it made me google a lot of Chinese history. I didn't expect this.

There is a lot to love in this book. It’s the perfect combination between sci fi and fantasy, there is some interesting world building, and it sets everything up for a big and epic adventure in the coming books.

There were also some downsides for me. The book has a clunky start and most of the characters were one dimensional. Especially the antagonist is just a basic bad guy. The tropes of the chosen one and going through test trials were really dominating.

It left me behind with the same feeling as I had when finishing Red Rising. But that first book is beloved by a lot of readers and the entire series is turning out to be one of my favorites.

So I will continue on to book 2, because I really believe the best is yet to come.

This is a great novella, that is quick to read but punches you right in the gut. In only 50 pages Andrew Watson writes a really good character arc in a great new expansion on the worldbuilding of Harbinger of Justice.

You can get it for free, but the look and luxurious touch of the hardcover edition is amazing!

Why haven't I read this earlier?!

I'm pleasantly surprised by this fast paced and action packed debut novel. Watson does an amazing job at building a believable world that feels way bigger then what is mentioned in this book. There is lots of potential for future stories.

Some of the fantastical elements were original and well executed. The snarky humour is just perfect and got a few chuckles from me.

The characters are layered and I got really emotional invested in some.

Ok, I get it now why The Stormlight Archive is so popular!

This was a quick and entertaining read!
Kaden Love does a good job in introducing the world and the magic system. It's also immediately obvious that the world is so much bigger and deeper than what is told in this story. It definitely makes me curious for the first novel.
The magic system is original and interesting. It also raises a lot of moral questions.

I do wish that the novella would be a little bit longer. Some parts felt a bit rushed.

This was a quick and easy read, but I felt a bit let down. I do think that was mostly because my own high expectations, which were never achieved.

The Four Devils is definitely the highlight of this collection!

Wow, what a book! For me, this was a huge step up from GoTM and I finally start to see why people love Malazan. It's still a complex book, but I was more able to understand the story and to not get lost in the density. I didn't have a big need for a companion guide for example.

The best part of Malazan so far is that it completely sinks into my mind. After GoTM I couldn't stop thinking about it and this was also the case while reading DG. During the day I wandered off to think about certain aspects of the story or the characters. I wasn't expecting this to be such an emotional book and it also raises important questions about loneliness, friendship, resilience, racism, humanity, hope, ...

What a beautiful, unique, emotional and powerful story!

Beautiful, emotional, absolutely perfect.
Best series ever.

I really thought this was going to be a 4 or 5 star review, but in the end I couldn't give it that.
I loved what Erikson did with the world building. It's obvious that he constructed an amazing and elaborate world. Erikson created a great atmosphere in this book and I'm impressed how fast-paced this was. There is something happening at every single page.

However, I got really frustrated with the needless complexity as the story progressed. So the world building is both a pro and con for me. There were way too many pov's, races, gods, ... I don't immediately dislike complex books, but I feel like the confusion that was created didn't add to the story at all.

There were things that I absolutely loved about this book and it had the potential to be an easy 5 star read.
However, I really disliked the completely unnecessary age gap and repetitive writing. I'm also still scarred from sjm's mating bonds and this was unfortunately also used in this book.

This is a great side story that adds to the character development of Fred Johnson, but I think this could easily be put into the main books.