goutham
3.5ish stars
I liked this book a lot better than the first partly because there were less aggravating one dimensional characters but it didn't quite hit the mark. I feel like the focus on two characters showed the depth of the world but it meant that the plot moved really slowly and by the end of it, not much had really happened. It felt like there were like a few main events that took 400+ pages because of the alternating POVs. Still enjoyable to read and I like the characters but it was just a little slow.
3 stars:
Cool concept. Cool world. Wished there was more agency and activity/choices in the book since it felt like it was a long exposition to the overarching plot. Villains were super caricature-y so I was pretty annoyed by that. The audiobook narrator for this honestly is amazing and makes it so fun as an audiobook. Very listenable and very engaging to listen to.
Kinda a gorgeous book. The descriptions and the prose were beautiful and every sentence was vivid. It was succinct without making me feel like something was missing and it was just long enough to deliver its message. I also felt like the message was pretty neat and the way the book “shows not tells it” worked well for me. It was also the first book that I've read that was so deliberate about pronouns! I appreciated that the book did it without being super like “HEY LOOK WHAT IM DOING” about it.
Spoilerish Alert
There were a couple things that annoyed me though. There was a bit of “manic pixie dream girl” energy with the relationship between the robot, Mosscap, and our protagonist, Dex. Dex kept broadening his expectations and horizons thanks to their relationship and it just felt like sort of formulaic in that regard.
Quality internal conflict and believable character development. Really gets into how to do show not tell with internal thoughts without making the character seem dumb. The character has a level of awareness etc. etc. Would be a 4.5 if it didn't have a really scuffed ending sequence that kinda made me go ‘aight ig'.
I picked this books up off a whim since I was bored at the bookstore and I'm super glad I did. This book was really touching and deeply moving. Coming out of this book felt like taking a shower and feeling awake for the first time that day. I think Matt Haig touched on parts of the human condition that are really important to people today and did it in such a way that we go through the main character's journey of self-discovery in a way that makes us think about our own lives. I certainly did. Apart from a bit of stilted dialogue, over-explanation, and tendency toward self-help books in the later bits, this book was great and it felt like a great way to refresh my perspective on life
I initially went into this book not expecting too much. (Side note: I really hated the quote on the front because it was so blatantly oversimplified that it set my expectations for this book way off.) Gothic horror and necromancy always seemed cheesy to me and putting it in space? Eh.
But I enjoyed this book immensely. The main character was a ton of fun to read as she was the right mix of impulsive, intelligent, and entertaining to make it worth the binge. The book suffered from too big of a cast at first so it was super overwhelming to keep track of names. But over time the other characters became very distinctive and enjoyable as well. I could picture all the side characters really clearly after a bit and I surprisingly was able to tell them apart just by name for once.
A lot of that was due to how well Tamsyn Muir used her exposition and description. While there was a lot more than other books, the descriptions set the scene really well and made some of the gothic nature of the setting stick out to me. There was one scene around halfway through the book that kept me up at night because of how well it was set up and how spooky it was.
The general plot was gripping though it was never super clear about the overall purpose of the whole story. It was passed over in a few sentences and each character seemed to understand the goal implicitly but it wasn't satisfying to me as a reader. I assume the whole background story and the lore is expanded on in the next books so I was happy to just read knowing that this story was pretty insulated from the rest of the world.
Overall this book was another solid 4 stars (third this week!) and I am going to start binging the second book :)
I was pretty skeptical going into this book because I've had bad experiences with magic set in the real world (re. Middlegame, All the Birds In the Sky). I just think its really hard for these type of books to feel immersive and not gimmicky but Ninth House definitely impressed me in that regard.
The magic in this book felt secondary to the overall mystery and I really appreciated that it didn't revolve around gimmicks that made things feel forced. The way Bardugo introduces magic and its uses felt pretty natural and within the realm of the setting. As a result when Yale and its students misused magic, it felt like an organic extension of the impression the book sets out for the students. The fratty prep kids in the secret societies felt like fratty prep kids. They just happened to cut open hobos on Thursdays to read the future stock market because it was normal for them.
The story felt pretty involved and I liked the two timelines/two perspectives going on for the first half of the book. However, I felt like the mystery felt a little... contrived. The first few discoveries were based on the main character Alex feeling like something was up and the final reveal I just didn't feel too invested in. I mostly just cared about the characters.
The characters and the themes were the best part actually. Alex was an excellent MC and it was awesome to see her growth and her dealing with challenges. The themes of rich vs. poor, surviving vs. thriving, protecting the right people, and feminism were super well played and each of them clicked super well with me due to Alex.
All in all, definitely would recommend this book.
Books set in fantasy schools are always so much fun to read. I'm not sure whether its just more relatable or whether there's something else to it but they get me into a good mood.
A Deadly Education was a really solid young adult fantasy novel. The setting of a school that's trying to kill the students was pretty unique and I appreciated the main character El a ton. She felt super relatable and her thoughts, actions, and emotions were all befitting her character and growth. She had a great arc through the book and it was super satisfying to see her progress.
It felt great to be thrown headfirst into the world but I did feel like there was a ton of exposition to set up the world in the beginning. I feel like that was necessary for the young adult tag but other than that I think the book was pretty mature. El's thoughts about her classmates felt really tied to the way I felt about college and it definitely felt more relatable in reflection rather than living through it. Other than that, my only issue with the book was that El sometimes explained too much and sometimes it didn't feel earned for the reader. I'm definitely going to speed through the next book when it comes out.
I think I want to dig into more novellas after reading The Empress of Salt and Fortune. I've only read a few novellas before but this one felt above and beyond a lot of other longer length books. Even though the setting felt really familiar to other time period fantasies, it was still really evocative and the main locations felt lived in. The format of the story was also excellent with the story of the Empress dropped through the items Rabbit remembered her by. I couldn't help but wonder what the story would've been like if it had been told during the events rather than after but I'm happy with it either way.
I was really excited to read this book after reading The Broken Earth trilogy. That series felt super involved and immersive and I loved it. I didn't feel as good about this one.
The City We Became felt a bit too gimmicky for my taste. The initial idea of cities being ‘alive' was pretty cool at first. Having avatars that embody their spirit seemed like a good take on the idea and it introduced a set of unique rules and characteristics to the book. But the characters in the book felt pretty static apart from that issue. Most of their personality was determined by the part of New York they embodied and they just felt way less deep than some of the characters in The Broken Earth.
In addition, a lot of the plot felt repetitive and the cast felt too big. Each character basically had to learn about the central conflict of the book in the same way and fight small battles against the BBEG in order to learn how ‘powerful' it was. At first these encounters were really cool: the first chapter was my favorite part of the book. But after a couple chapters I couldn't help but skim since it was really hard to feel anticipation during the scene.
I'm not sure whether this book would've been better had I known more about New York but it felt like a drag and I wish that the characters did more than find each other in the book.
God this book is so nutty
5 stars both first and second read through
Spoilers
The first time I read through the Mistborn 1st trilogy, I think I missed a lot of the themes and ideas that Sanderson put into the books. The pieces about hope, trust, and faith were spelled out to a lot of the characters but on the reread I noticed how much he placed it throughout the books. The Hero of Ages in particular feels like the only book of the series that was able to execute on those themes better than those in Stormlight Archive. The book does a great job on building a sense of hopelessness and executes its themes through the characters and the plot. The central mystery is excellently delivered as well. On my first read through I didn't like how Vin and Elend were built as they felt static and boring through the book but the twist changed my perspective so I see other characters as the ones that push the change in perspective. As a side note, Sazed is one of my fav characters ever.
4.5 Second Time Around
3 The First Time
Spoilers Below
I didn't like this book as much the first time around because it was slower than The Final Empire but on the one year later reread, I found this book to be WAY better than I remembered. For one, the twist in this book is honestly the best twist I have ever read. Now that I know it, I saw the signs throughout the novel and they are so elegantly placed. I thought that Vin's struggle in this book was way more mature and well-handled than in the first book and Elend, though he annoyed me a lot the first time around, was really solid as another main character. The Zane plot still irks me as it lacks the subtlety of the rest of the book and the siege felt a little lacking. In addition, compared to Stormlight, the setting didn't feel entirely alive. The mists were amazing for setting the scene but apart from that, one part of Luthadel felt the same as the other. Other than that, it was so well done.
3 stars second time around
Mistborn was my first introduction to Sanderson and I loved the characters, worldbuilding, systems, and themes he created. That being said, after reading Stormlight Archive and coming back to this a year later, it feels far shallower than it did the first time. The world, though vivid and thematic with ash and mist, feels flatter than the Shattered Plains and the scope of Stormlight and the characters aren't as complex in my opinion. Vin and Kelsier are the standouts of the book but Vin's struggle to trust and Kelsier's battles felt more one-dimensional than any of the challenges the characters faced in Stormlight. That being said, the plot, conflict, and story are excellent and the book is a treat to read.
solid fantasy fare w some p good worldbuilding and a fun heist plot. nothing to write home about but good fun