Samia
Let me start by saying this book is not for everyone. If you're expecting a classic whodunit mystery, you might want to look elsewhere. “Happiness Falls” is a brilliant exploration of a biracial family grappling with the complexities of life after the father and husband goes missing.
The story is narrated through the eyes of Mia, one of the twin daughters in the family. Her twin, John, is markedly different both in personality and physically. The family dynamics are further colored by their Korean mother, a linguist, their white father, and a younger brother, Eugene, who has autism and mosaic Angelman syndrome.
Eugene's conditions—autism spectrum disorder and mosaic Angelman syndrome—affect his social interactions, communication abilities, and motor skills, contributing to the family's unique challenges. The mosaic aspect of Eugene's condition means that only some of his cells carry the genetic mutation, possibly leading to a milder presentation of symptoms.
One poignant theme in the novel is the impact of having a child with disabilities on family dynamics. As someone with a sister who has Down syndrome, I deeply related to the family's experiences—ranging from the joy of successes to the frustration and obstacles that come with caring for a sibling with special needs. This narrative evokes a profound sense of empathy and connection, especially for readers who share similar experiences.
Another prevalent theme is the duality of being biracial and navigating two different cultures. The novel often discusses communication through the lens of linguistic ability, particularly how society perceives Eugene's inability to speak as an indicator of intelligence, which the book challenges effectively.
The theme of happiness, explored through the characters' differing baselines for happiness, adds an intriguing layer to the narrative. As the mystery of their dad's disappearance unfolds, Mia discovers that her father had hidden much more than they could have imagined.
Angie Kim captures the essence of what it means to be human, an immigrant, and a blend of known and unknown worlds with a great sense of intimacy and realism. I found myself falling in love with the family and relating deeply to their struggles.
I give “Happiness Falls” 5/5 stars and highly recommend it to POC, immigrants, individuals with disabilities, and anyone who seeks a narrative that resonates with feelings of being heard and understood.
Wow, let me see where to unpack this! First of all, this book really took me by surprise. What starts out as seeming like a predictable “who done it” type of murder mystery slowly turns into a chaotic mess in the best way possible that left me hurrying through the last pages only to find out there are TWO books left and we don't even completely know or have evidence for the REAL killer!! We start with one of the main characters Cat, waking up in a pool of blood with a knife in her hand, her best friend murdered, and no memory of if she did it or not. That in itself sounds crazy but the plot only thickens. The reader is taking back and forth through time and different point of views and honestly for me at first (and this is why I have 4 stars) it was very confusing. I felt like I was having whiplash. But please be patient because towards the first fourth of the book ending you start seeing that there is a bigger picture unraveling. Cat is a pretty annoying FMC and I think that's the point considering she is kind of a mess, which makes her the perfect scapegoat right? Or did she actually black out and lose it? Did she murder more people? We don't know! I enjoyed the different perspectives, especially when we move away from Cat's POV and into the mind of our FMC Detective that I really love. You get to see both sides of a crime being committed- the insightful side of the accused and the law and order side of the case itself. We are left on a serious cliffhanger which made me want to scream, all and all meaning that the book was pretty good for the first one. I look forward to the next one that will be released in May and I hope to see improvement in some of the writing flow and more action now that the backdrop of the story has been established. Give it a read it's a great poolside or vacation novel!
WOW. I did not expect this novel to actually be about a millenial-esq robot who just wants to be left alone to watch TV, which lets be honest, is all of us.
Murderbot or better known by its government name “SecUnit” has somehow managed to hack into his governance module, essentially breaking the chains of his enslavement to the corporate world to kill and conduct security without any choice or autonomy. The theme of choice encompasses this entire novel, from Murderbot choosing to protect his humans, choosing to stand by them and fight, choosing to put itself in danger, all while we know it doesn't have to.
We also see the lack of choice. There are underlying implications that SecUnits aren't just heartless brainless programs, but because they are organic and robotic built, they may have sentience. Murderbot shows us that its rebellion in breaking his governance module comes from having to do a deed that it felt was horrifying but it did not have a choice in that matter. It also implies that SecUnits are being enslaved (this is also repeated by the humans that Murderbot is protecting), and they if they are sentient then they aren't there working because they have a choice.
I won't get too into the rest of the book, but Murderbots dry sense of humor and nonchalance makes me think of the love I had for Wall-e. We're rooting for an underdog and can't wait for it to figure out what it is on its own.
Awesome book I am going to eat up the rest of the series!!
This took me such a long time to finish and I'm so disappointed. While The Atlas Six was enticing and unique, its sequel was very muddled and confusing.
Let's start with the characters. I agree with a lot of people who said they literally hate everyone, I literally hate everyone. Their unique but while TA6 had interactions between the characters and explanation of their thought processes, as well as some sort of central plot, Atlas Paradox was so confused and disorganized.
I don't understand Reina at all, she just seems irritating and although it keeps being referenced that she doesn't have feelings and hates everyone it really doesn't make sense. Like the reason she hates Nico? Does not make sense.
Parisa and her Dalton project was interesting but in this book I don't quite get this other identity he has, I feel like that could have been way better explained rather then just a page or two right at the end of the book.
Tristian is the perfect example of an insecure dumb man. When did he fall in love with Libby? What was up with him and Callum? Like nobody spells it out? Or even hints at it? And for all these powers we don't even know how he got there's just something missing from his overall storyline.
Nico and Parisa? What is that I am so confused. And everyone keeps calling Nico a child and I felt he was sort of the most understandable character in a way because he's straightforward but even then I don't understand him.
Libby in her situation? It was such a cool concept and executed poorly. Adding an element of time and time travel is always my favorite and I'm so disappointed it wasn't done well.
I'll still read the third book to round out my review and opinions of the trilogy overall but this is just...blegh. My brain hurts and not even because it was intellectually stimulated but because it was so hard to follow along in the book.
Here's your review with all your thoughts integrated into one cohesive piece:
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### My Thoughts on The Twelve
Wow, what a whirlwind! I really liked the second book; it was quite dynamic, although sometimes a bit confusing. There is still a constant back and forth between times, places, and people, yet we see them all connect together toward the end.
“The Twelve” continues the epic saga started in “The Passage.” The story picks up where the first book left off, with the survivors struggling to rebuild and understand their world. It delves into the origins and the consequences of the virus that has decimated humanity.
In the present timeline, we follow the journey of Peter, Alicia, Michael, and other characters from the first book as they continue their fight against the virals. The book also introduces new characters and perspectives, adding depth to the narrative. One of the central plot points is the quest to find and eliminate The Twelve, the original test subjects who became powerful viral leaders.
Flashbacks to the early days of the outbreak provide more context and background, revealing the impact of the virus on different individuals and communities. These time jumps can be confusing but are crucial in showing how past events shape the present struggles.
As the survivors navigate this dangerous world, they uncover more secrets about the virus, the government's role, and Amy's significance. The intertwining stories eventually converge, leading to a climactic confrontation with The Twelve.
I found the possible blooming romance between Alicia and Peter interesting yet heartbreaking. One of the things I noticed is that the innocence of youth is truly gone from this novel. The hope that we carried in the first book feels like it's tapering here. We also get an inside scoop into the structured society of the vampires and how the dwindling human population affects their lifestyle. It's like when the prey is overhunted, and then the predator ends up dying because of it.
I love the writing style and the way the book kept me on my toes. Despite the complexity and occasional confusion, “The Twelve” is a compelling continuation of the series. I'm wondering what will be in the final novel of this trilogy and can't wait to read it!
Oh. My. Goodness. This book was INSANE. Leave it up to SK to mess me up without even being that horrifying. This book focuses so much on duality and the meaning of Misery. As a verb, as a noun, as a passage of time and transformation. On one hand we feel like our MC Paul is in over his head, but on the other hand in the face of such terror and horrid circumstances, he faces it with such resilience at then end. But to what cost in the long haul?
Annie Wilkes character was not exactly what I thought she would be. Initially she appears as a possible kind but mentally ill woman who maybe misses the mark on what the right thing to do is, but as we go on with the book we learn that she's really...smart. Like Bundy smart. And in that realization a sense of helplessness hits the reader too.
Highly recommend especially if you want to read something out of pocket that has you thinking so much from a literary sense as well.
Iris Lake is BRILLIANT. Every single sentence she writes is a beautiful song to my soul. This book was written with so much complexity and plot lines of a lot of main characters that somehow find their desires aligned. The multiple perspectives were impressive because they were so unique. Each character fights their own battles within and you can see the perspective of all of them in how they interact with each other and themselves.
The storyline itself follows Neira finally training her powers, but with the agony of being so near to Orion, who won't tell her what he knows, why they can't be together. But why are their feelings burning up for each other? And we still have Zephyr trying to dismantle the Fae Royalty, but at what cost? Riona displays some spectacular magic and the chemistry forming between different characters leaves you feeling on edge for what is to come, without a lot of spice either. That, to me, displays how brilliant the writing is that I don't even need the spice scenes to have my heart pounding.
There are some secrets revealed at the end with a cliffhanger and needless to say I'm anxiously awaiting the next book!!!
Divine rivals was quite a unique way of entering the fantasy realm without being a Fae or a Goddess or anything remotely magical (that we know of now). Our two main characters give enemies to lover vibes, even though it is slow going. I honestly read this almost more like a thriller and was impressed by the ending, which makes me want to read the second book eagerly. This is a 1/5 spice level but the slow burn romance reads like a, adult Disney movie so that's a 5/5 for me because it made me swoon.
Great read for:
-Those dipping their toes into fantasy
-Enemies to lovers
-Slow burn romance
-Thriller/mystery vibes without the scary scary parts.
-Two point of views for MC's
And the plot thickens with Brex. No lie this was such a crazy book, though some of the repetitive writing still remains. What makes up for it is the spice of Warwick- I still need to know his whole past I am so curious.
I do think some of the writing is a little forced, like the random conversations about people eyeing each other it's not done very elegantly.
But overall I'm so ready for the next book in the series. I hope we get some real answers and get back into the plot because it's all over the place right now.
AMAZING!! The is the second book in this series and if you like spice and fight and the tug of angsty lust look no further. We can also throw in an actually storyline that makes you curious while you're being tortured with the sexual tension.
The storyline keeps getting better and better. I will say some of the langage is a little repetitive, we don't need to know ever five mins that Brexely is “changed” since she endured the worst jail of all the lands like...we know. We read the first book lol.
That being said, there's a lot of moving pieces on this board with war, magic, time travel maybe? Lust, so much lust dead lord- and maybe there will be a romance ??
I'm very excited to burn through the rest of the series.
Oh my god the sexual tension was excellent in here!! And the story line. This isn't my favorite badass FMC but she's really earning my respect over here. We have a girl who was raised in privilege being thrown into the lowest of the low and dangerous jails. Will she rise above it stronger or crumble?
Our FMC is so broody that I'd be freaked out if he ever was nice in any of this series. The sexual tension is magnificent, in a way that makes us readers feels like so much has happened yet nothing has and we are yearning for more when the book abruptly ends on a cliffhanger which left me running to read the next book immediately after.
100% read if you line book of azrael, divine rivals, any SJM.
This was such an amazing book! The theme of magical realism, time travel, parallel universes, mystery and romance were so seamlessly integrated into this novel. I grew up in NC so being able to have the visual in my mind of the Blue Ridge mountains made the story even richer. June is a fascinating character and the what if parts of this novel really make you think about how alternate realities could be from your current one. If you like sci fi and magic wrapped in exquisite writing I highly recommend you read this.
This is the first time I've rated a book a three because normally, I'm on the money for the books I select to check out. But this book was a mashed up mess of a murder mystery, smut, and a “morally grey” MC? If he tells me one more time that he saves the weak and respects them and then goes and stalks and essentially assaults our FMC I am literally gunna scream. Like this is a pretty effed-up book but not even in a good way it was just...hilariously bad. I'm still gunna read the second one maybe there will be some redemption but .. booktok really failed me on this one.
This series keeps getting better and better with some insane plot twists I would have never thought up. This story is truly one that starts with this broad illusion of what we think is right and wrong and dives deeper and deeper into a more raw and dark story. I love the characters immensely especially our King Rot. Queen Malina is the most annoying person ever and reading her chapters makes me want to strangle her. I'm so curious to see what else will unfold. Definitely recommend!
So firstly, this story line is awesome! Spice is 4/5 and I love the main characters. You really get pulled into the story by going back and forth between different POVs. It's enemies to lovers but not in your typical sense which was delightful. I can't wait the second one. If you're a fan of the show Supernatural and like that type of world building this is a great book for you. One thing I hope the author fixes in the second book is some of the repetitive text, there were phrases that were overused and I think could be more refined. Looking forward to the next book!
This book took me a long time to read but it's as worth it. Sheldrake takes the world of fungi and expands it to be the very central foundation of our entire world, and possibly worlds unknown. The fun and story infused chapters bring forth the different ways fungi have been used, are being used, and could be used, for so many processes. Their structure and evolution is fascinating and really opened my eyes to thinking about transformation differently, how do my plants grow? Why does food break down inevitably ? It's amazing that we have barely explored this world yet humans have depended on fungi for as long as we can go back in history. I think this is a great read whether you're into nature and science or not. Totally recommend !
Pretty cool storyline, the writing could be a little more eloquent but maybe that will change in the second book.
Spice is 4/5 and who doesn't love sexy pirates? I will still read the series but I hope the writing is better because it felt like there were random things thrown in to tie some knots toward the end.
What a beautiful sequel to One Dark Window. I'm really looking forward to more books by Rachel Gilling because WOW.
Let's start with the concept of duality in this novel. Each character and story line seems to be its own but the balance between the past and future repercussions of their actions really balances out in this novel. There's no true main character here, but each character carrying an important portion of the overall balance between light and dark, good and evil, in this novel.
It's quite exquisite the way this novel is written, even the romance, though not the spiciest thing I've read, really captures your heart, alarming and beautiful, like running through the woods and getting caught on a branch then see that tree is stunning.
I highly recommend for those that like a dark magic vibe with a deeper storyline and intricate magic that even we, the readers now, don't fully understand.
Amazing!!
