Anna
The 5th book in this series took me some time to mentally prepare to start it, because I didn't like Nesta in previous books, and it took me about 200 pages to finally start liking her. At the end, she became my favorite character, as she had grown a lot and her story became more beautiful and complete. Now I am ready for the new books this year :)
I always enjoy reading historical novels by Philippa Gregory; she conducts thorough research and brings the historical figures to life through her writing.
The Other Queen is set during the period when Queen Mary was living in captivity with Bess and Gregory Talbot, always trying to find a way out. I loved the multiple POVs and the different perspectives on the events and the inner monologues of each character. I was most amused by Bess's POV, as she sounded to me like a very pragmatic and practical woman, quite strong and opinionated for that time.
I listened the audiobook about Queen Mary written by John Guy, so I knew the spoilers of “The Other Queen”, but it is worth reading as well.
Invisible Man is definitely one of my favorite reads of H.G.Wells. It definitely has more action-based stories and absurd situations than the Invisible Man created for himself.
In Invisible Man, the protagonist is not a likable person at all; he is rude, arrogant, entitled, and very malicious. It is interesting to read that H.G. Wells kinda predicted how people would cyberbully others in the future through the Internet, how it is possible to be an “invisible man,” and how badly people can treat others when identity is hidden.
This year is definitely the year of reading H.G.Wells. The book's events were familiar to read, as I had already watched the movie adaptation with Tom Cruise, but it was definitely different, as the book is set in the 1800s, when people used horses for transportation and had not even invented the plane.
Reading this novel was interesting, but I needed to forget all the sci-fi novels I had read to truly appreciate H.G. Wells and his vision of space travel and Martians.
I am usually a big fan of Agatha Christie, but The Secret of Chimneys has not impressed me much. Maybe because it didn't include either of my favourite detectives, Monsieur Poirot or Miss Marple, or maybe because the story didn't grab me much.
I got lost in the complicated names and was confused about the Memoirs; I still have no idea what is behind them. There is supposedly a TV Show on Netflix, so I need to survive the second book in the series, and then I can judge how good the TV show is, but no high expectations.
The Boys in the Boat took me about 2 months to finish, but it was worth the time. I was reading slowly to absorb all the information Daniel James Brown was adding to the story and reflect on the events in the book.
The author perfectly sets the atmosphere of the 1930s, showing the poor living conditions in the USA and depicting the struggles people faced to survive. I was never interested in rowing, and I never thought I would learn so much about the craft of building rowing shells and the racing sport in general. From time to time, the author shifts perspective and location, transporting us to Berlin before the 1936 Olympic Games and evoking the terrifying mood of the time.
It was not only the facts and information this book contained, but also the athletes' emotions and personal stories. Mostly, there is a focus on Joe Rantz, his story and character, which has inspired me tremendously, as he was not only a positive fella who played banjo on every occasion, but also possessed a strong and resilient attitude to the problems, not giving up on his crew, and working hard to become a worthy, irreplaceable athlete.
I loved the stories of the other boys in the crew, and I felt really connected to all of them, which I can't say about the movie, which was produced in 2023. It is not a bad movie, but if I did not read the book beforehand, I would not care much about the characters and would find the movie rather boring.
If you want to get inspired, read this book.
Great Big Beautiful Life was my second novel by Emily Henry, and I am not disappointed at all; instead, I think I have found my new favorite author. The characters are really loveable, Hayden and Alice are basically a grumpy-sunshine trope, which I personally love to read about.
The mystery around the plot is well written. At first, I was a bit lost in the names and the story, but the more I read, the more interesting it has become. I don't know if I am just clueless, but I could not piece together the twist and was very surprised by the turn of events.
I am not sure if that's the perfect Goodreads Book for Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp. I finished reading the translation of Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp from the Complete Tales of 1001 Arabian Nights (translated by Jonathan Scott).
I wish I had never read it. I love the Disney version of Aladdin. The version I recently completed was not good. I don't know if that was also the translator's fault, but the writing style didn't sound good. The communication between characters was too formal, using phrases that you can encounter between two lawyers. The conversational style reminded me of the way Mr. Collins talks in Pride and Prejudice. I guess the reason is that the folktale was translated in 1811, and maybe this style of translation was common.
Besides that, there is a lot of repetition of past events. Let's say something happened to Aladdin; we got the description of it. Then he comes home, repeats in detail what happened to him to his mom, and his mom repeats the same thing to the sultan. Why do I need to read the same thing multiple times?
I did not like that most of the schemes were carried out by women: either by his mom or Princess. To be honest, the way Alladin has been described in the beginning did not make him a lovable protagonist, but more like a disrespectful, lazy, careless brat.
I think the last straw for me was the way he addressed the Princess: “my possession”, “object of passion”. He did not even talk to her; he just saw her face and found her beautiful, that's it. He has kidnapped her, destroyed her marriage, and lied about his identity.
Also, why does Genie have an unlimited number of wishes? I feel like Geenie was just exploited by Aladdin, whereas in the Disney movie, they became friends, and there were only three wishes.
I think I will stick to the Disney version; the original one made me so angry with Aladdin
What a book, “The Tattooist of Auschwitz”! It broke my heart with every chapter. Every time I felt the sadness and fear for the main characters, I would flip to the last page and look at the photo of two smiling, hugging survivors.
It is a work of fiction inspired by the true stories of Holocaust survivors. I am not sure how accurately the events were depicted. I saw many debates and criticisms online about the accuracy of specific scenes. But I enjoyed reading about this sad, heartbreaking, and hopeful love story between Lale and Gita. It made me cry almost every chapter.
I chose this book for its eye-catching title and cover, not expecting much, but it has hooked me from the first chapter.
It is captivating, easy to read, adventurous, full of magic, treasons, fateful deals, and quests. The main protagonists, Evangeline Fox and Jacks, Prince of Hearts, are now my favourite duo, a Human and a Fate. I love their interactions, how their relationship develops, from enemies to frenemies. I am so excited for the next books in this series.
Saturday Night and Sunday Morning is written very well for a debut novel and shows the lives of working men in Nottingham in all their true colors. It is all very fresh and intriguing, but I despised the protagonist so badly.
Arthur Seaton is not only a drunkard, not a dedicated worker, a liar, but also sleeps around with multiple married women and is really good at gaslighting younger ladies. I was hoping that his attitude and character would improve, but unfortunately, I have not seen this happen.
In nutshell: great writing with a toxic protagonist.
It is quite a short book, I would even call it a novella, and I expected to finish this book really fast, but instead it took me almost a couple of weeks to finish it.
Compared with other books in the series, this one feels more like a Christmas special, with different POVs and basically no action. There is, of course, a lot of important information that could be good to know before moving forward in a series, but I felt quite bored sometimes. It is not a bad book, just quite boring after lots of action-based books.
Reading “ The Bear and Nightingale” was fun and nostalgic at the same time. Bringing all those Russian fairy tales and sneaking in folklore characters in Russian brought me back to the times when I was reading those stories as a kid. I checked the author's bio many times, wondering if she is Russian, but apparently not. Though her research on Russian folklore was top-notch, she presented the tales and their characters accurately. I love the mini-dictionary of words that could be foreign to non-Russian speakers.
Reading the story of Morozko and Vasilisa was quite interesting, but I don't know if it's only me, but in my imagination, Morozko was an old man with a long white beard (resembling Santa Claus but in a different outfit), but in this interpretation, Morozko, the winter demon, is actually young and quite attractive, so it took me a while to switch my view of this character.
It is a beautiful book, I loved reading it.
Educated was on my TBR since its publication, and only this year have I finally grabbed the audiobook. It is such a powerful story about Tara's struggle to get an education and find herself in this world despite her unhealthy family dynamics. It is fascinating to read how she was raised in a Mormon family and how she dealt with her family. Her writing style is spectacular. I enjoyed reading/listening to her book.
The Wedding People is such a funny and inspiring book. It is also sad but there is a light at the end of the book, it made me laugh so much and cry a bit as some events or conversations felt familiar. I love all jokes and the way the characters were interacting with each other was so beautifully written.
It was all right, personally the second book is still my most favorite book from this series. I feel that this book was more heavy to read, as there are more highlights on the war and fear to lose the people Feyre loved.
I wished there were more chapters about Rhys and Feyre's relationship but it was enough to see how he treated her in that book. I was satisfied to see the closure between Feyre and Tamlin, I think it was a perfect ending. I kinda feel sad for him but then I remember the second book and the sadness evaporates.
I was also content to read more about her sisters, Cassian, Mor and Amren. :)
I listened to the audiobook and it felt like listening to a historical fiction novel :) It is written very well, very structured, covering all aspects of the Queen Mary's life, giving us a broad picture of her life, especially her relationship with the Queen Elisabeth. It was definitely an entertaining and informative read. I learned a lot about Queen Mary, I did not know that her last years of life were not so great. :(
That was my first Emily Henry novel. I enjoyed it; it is fun to read. Poppy and Alex are such great and funny friends. I was laughing a lot while reading about their summer trips, but I kinda had a sense of where the story was going. A bit predictable, but I knew it would be like this. It is a light read for springtime. No trauma (maybe a bit), but the novel's setting is pretty chill and colourful. After reading this novel, you kind of want to book a summer trip. Some of the places mentioned, I visited, so I had a sense of familiarity with several chapters.
I was a little bit disappointed in the Croatia events, to be honest. I will try not to spoil, but I had expected something more dramatic from the event setup, but it was not what I expected.
In general, I liked the book and I am curious if the Netflix movie is going to meet my expectations :)
I had this book on my shelf for more than a year, and I can't find a reasonable explanation for why I didn't read it sooner. It is such a beautiful book. It is very different from a typical damsel-in-distress story; here, it is the opposite, and it is so refreshing to see the timid girl trying to be a knight in armor and save the love of her life.
I loved all the schemes Tress has come up with to get out of trouble. The side characters are lovable, and even the villain of the story was kinda funny at the end. It was very interesting to see Hoid, not being so witty as in other books, but there is an explanation for it ;)
What can I say more? It is Brandon Sanderson. This book is different from the Stormlight Archive or Mistborn, but it is still in the Cosmere universe and it is so fun to read it.
I can imagine this could be a perfect book recommendation for people who want to start reading Brandon Sanderson's books; it is easy to digest, captivating, and stays in your mind for quite some time.
I think “A Court of Mist and Fury” is my favorite fantasy/romance novel so far. I consumed it so fast and so hungrily. I just love how events have unraveled between Rhys and Feyre. I learned a lot about the intentions of Rhysand's actions from the first book and more about his true feelings. It was so beautiful to read.
Of course, there were moments when I was on the edge of crying my eyes out, seeing how Feyre was struggling with her mental health, and how Tamlin did absolutely nothing. I got really disappointed in Tamlin. I liked him a lot in the first book; he was like the Prince on the White Horse, but in this one, he just made me feel so much disgust and fury.
I love the worldbuilding as well. I wish there were a portal to the Night Court; I would jump in without hesitation and stay in Velaris forever. This city, in my imagination, looks so magical, and the new characters, which were introduced: Cassian, Azriel, Mor, and Amren, were a perfect addition to the story. I hope that in the next books I will learn more about their stories.
What can I say, I love this book :)
Reading “The Girl on the Train” was quite hard, again, in the novel, the author covers the topics of grief, loss, alcoholism, and depression. It is a perfect read for the winter season, when it is gloomy and sad outside. The book itself is written from different POVs: Anna's, Rachel's, and Megan's, which is perfect to get a different perspective on the events surrounding the story.
I like the mystery as well, which is the core of the novel, but as we uncover the truth, we also learn more about the main protagonist and why she is who she is. There are a lot of red herrings and twists.
The movie is also very good; if you like the book, you'll enjoy the movie as well.
I shall quit watching book reviews on TikTok. I was so convinced that the Fourth Wing is the smuttiest book ever. I even bought it as a gift for my friend, calling it “the smuttiest book.” It was not!
Spoiler Alert: the spicy scenes have started after about page 500 or so! I mean, I was happy to discover this series. I am not complaining, I love the worldbuilding, all the characters, and dragons. The atmosphere is a bit dark, but the book is written very well, touching on themes such as the struggle to adapt to society, survival, death, grief, and resilience.
I think my favorite character is still Violet Sorrengail, who has a strong and stubborn personality. It is very interesting to see how she was at the beginning of the book and how she has developed by the end. I also appreciate that the author took the time to build Xaden and Violet's relationship before the spicy scenes.
In a nutshell, an interesting read, but I think I had different expectations when I started this book (thanks to the Booktok) :)