Beattz

This was a blast. I had a great time. Steven Pacey's narration was impeccable. It was funny, it had action, there were real consequences. Each character was unique, had deep backstories and growth throughout. It was neat how Abercrombie would shuffle the party around at different times to see how each would interact with and learn from the others. For a longer book, this never felt stale to me, which is important. No wasted words/time. Based on the ending, I'm not really sure what to expect from the sequel, but I know it's going to be great.

I picked this up bc it was Colbert's first (and last, I'm assuming) sci-fi/fantasy book club pick.
This book being the 2024 Booker Prize winner felt exactly like when a super arty and daring movie wins the Oscar for best picture. Is it objectively good? Yes. Did anyone enjoy it? Eh.
Most of the writing rolled right off me. You get to know precisely one thing about each of the characters, and anytime you interact with them, it's just more about that thing. There's no plot to speak of, and certainly no climax or resolution. I'm not even sure what the timeframe of the book is. Sixteen orbits, which they made clear is not the same as days, so even that left me feeling at a loss.
I understand that's all probably a big part of the point. We get a slice of life in a space station, where, truly, nothing happens. Their days are the same over and over. The people sharing the space aren't friends, and don't know anything about one another. Time is meaningless because the sun rises multiple times in the awake period.
So I'm left with this work of fiction in my hands, and I don't know what to do with it. Or say about it. Or even feel about it. It's like I'm in zero gravity and all the parts just floated past me, having zero impact on my trajectory.

The Red Winter is a far reaching tale of love, terror, and the consequences of making deals with beings unknown. A retelling of the tale of the Beast of Gévaudan, one of the original werewolf myths, this book is so much more than just a rehashing of a familiar story.

Told in retrospective, there are 3 main storylines where you follow our MC, Professor Sebastian Graves, his own personal demon, Sarmodel, and a succubus contracted to serve him for more than a thousand years (and who tries to murder him every chance she gets), as they attempt to once and for all rid the world of The Beast, a being whose hunger knows no bounds.

This book was a work of art, truly. First, physically, the book itself and the illustration of The Beast are gorgeous. Secondly, for the different timelines in the book THEY USE DIFFERENT FONTS. I cannot even describe how much I love that treat of formatting. It's also really well written. If I hadn't known this was a debut author going in, I would have called you a liar when you told me. For the amount of *things* happening in this book to be woven together so flawlessly is really impressive. Each time a new element was added to the story, I thought to myself, surely, this is the straw that breaks the proverbial camel's back, but no. It just continued to deepen and enrich the story and its haunted setting. I laughed, I was moved, I was shocked, I was repulsed, I was enamored, and I was sorrowful, all in turn. Highly recommend.

This was pretty good. I enjoyed the backstories they gave Serena and Koen. And the spice be spicin. My complaint is that Ali Hazelwood writes swear words/name calling like a 12 year old who's never done it before. I cringed so hard.

I don't really know what to do here.

The book was objectively good. I just feel like I got suckered. It was tagged as cozy scifi, so it immediately put me in the mind of Monk and Robot, which I adore, but that's not what I got. I thought maybe the misunderstanding was my own because I don't often read the backs of books, I go on friend recommendations and vibes (and believe it or not, it works out pretty dang well for me most of the time). But I went back and read the blurb, and I think I would feel just as let down (?) if I had done that beforehand.

It was well written, it was poignant. It's even timely. It's also heavy. It ends on a good note, which was a relief, and of course there's moments of triumph scattered throughout, but each of those moments is counterbalanced with a dose of reality that just kept me from engaging with the book the way I wanted to.

I seem to be in the minority with this opinion, so take it with a grain of salt. That's the beauty of books after all. Everyone gets something different out of them.