Silviya
What a fantastic book!
We have a fascinating world full of horrors and wonders (mostly horrors though) where on the forefront there is a losing battle being fought against a cruel rigid empire.
On the background though there are supernatural forces at play which threaten reality itself.
We follow a handful of fantastic characters, who struggle with the paths chosen for them and a whole lot of inner demons.
The book offers a delightful mix of politics, religion, magic, heroic quest, revenge, found family, redemption, sacrifice and world-ending stakes. I absolutely loved reading it and will definitely continue with the series at first chance.
This book is a masterpiece!
It tells the story of two brothers who love each other immensely and how that love turns them into heroes. But also demonstrates how stories can make life bearable when nothing else can.
The book deals with very heavy topics and does it in a spectacular way.
It is essentially a children's book, but I think reading it as an adult is more meaningful somehow.
I am probably the most surprised that I actually liked this book.
I picked it up after a friend mentioned that he had read it multiple times. Within 2 pages I was sure this is not for me. And it probably isn't. Although the book is about women, it's not written for them. I think the author wrote it mostly for himself.
Knowing that, I still couldn't stop reading and before I knew it I was turning pages and getting annoyed that I have to stop.
Let me be frank, most of this book is just sex. There's a very generous amount of drinking as well. There's no particular plot as such, it's mostly just the ramblings of a tired, scared man, who has no idea what to do with himself. It's kind of like a diary.
The whole thing is brutal and ugly, yet I liked it. I'm not sure I can explain it properly.
Every other scene either gets you to laugh out loud or stare at the wall.
Again, I liked it and I will read more from the author.
DNF at 30%
I was a bit disappointed when I found out that this is not actually a continuation of the story from book 1.
Other than that, the book was not necessarily bad, but I just wasn't feeling it and on top of that, there is only so many times you can call someone fat before it's too much.
I might pick up book 3, but this one definitely wasn't for me.
2024 Update:
I still stand by my original opinion that the book features too much. There is no possible way to fully enjoy it from the first read and any book that needs multiple reading to understand and enjoy can't be rated 5 ⭐️
Other than that, I did love the story and this time I was able to get way more and even have some wild theories.
2022 Original Review:
3.5 stars
I am so conflicted on this one.
To begin with, the story is quite interesting and rather complex, which I like. The world has debt and a lot going on. There were also some nice twists.
But there is simply too much going on. Too many storylines, too many mysteries, too many reveals.
That's not to say that I haven't read stories with just as many of the above and more, but they were never contained in just one book.
The amount of stuff the author has tried to stuff here, is way too much for even a trilogy, in my opinion.
I think it would've been better had he made the book slightly shorter and the series slightly longer, in order to pace the reveals a bit better. Maybe spend some more time on character development and interactions, flesh out some of the mysteries better, give us time and space to digest some of them before moving on to the next one.
Reading this book often felt like overeating - past a certain point, you stop enjoying the food, despite how good it is and need time to digest it before you are hungry again.
Despite all that, I will continue with the series as I am curios about the reveal of the set mysteries (the ones that I can remember).
Alright.
This was a nice read and I recommend it for people looking for a YA thriller.
What I liked about it:
- Fast paced (for the most part) read;
- Interesting plot, full of twists (like, really, so many);
- Very nice formatting of the book - I thought the visual representation of the different types of documents and records was an awesome touch.
What I didn't like:
- The main character wasn't well developed and I pretty much didn't care about her at all;
- Some things were a bit over the top and I couldn't suspend my disbelief enough to allow me to enjoy it fully. Like, how everyone gave this girl all the information for no reason. Or our main character's action at times. I just couldn't buy it all.
Ultimately, the book is great for younger readers who are more inclined to perceive unrealistic events and circumstances as plausible. It would appear that I have, unfortunately, been infected with the skepticism that comes with age and experience, and as such enjoyed it only marginally.
This book exceeded my expectations significantly!
I have never been a big fan of the “archipelago world” concept, but this book executed it flawlessly.
On top of that, we had a super original magic system (actually at least 2 of those) and a very dark atmosphere.
I also loved the characters of this story. We followed a few POVs - all multilayered and very surprising. They had flaws and blind convictions, but those were done skilfully and only emphasised the potential of each POV.
The story itself turned out to be way more complex and twisted than I expected, and while I managed to guess one of the big twists fairly early in the story, I was not prepared for the whole picture!
I highly recommend this book and can't wait to continue with the series!
I was not ready!
This book was sooooo good!!! So many things that we were waiting for came to fruition and we learned a lot of secrets. I think this book was the perfect setup for the final one and I can't wait to read it! I'd start it right now if I could!
Also, I am still in shock from the big reveal at the end, though I already suspected that there was something shady going on with Meical. His disregard for honour and oaths in the beginning and his over fixation on getting to Drassil was my first clue, and then when he asked Corban to hide and not follow him in the otherworld sealed my conviction. Still, it was a shock realising that this whole thing is just bait for Asroth.
And I swear to all that's holly, if the final scene in this book means death for this one creature, I will cry like a baby...
What a great time I had reading this book!
There are a few similarities with book 1 in the way certain scenes are executed, but as a whole, this was a very nice sequel that kept my attention and had me theorising relentlessly.
The one thing I'm disappointed about is that Dr. Levine didn't get eaten on the island. I would've liked nothing more than to see some regret in this jerk's eyes.
I quite enjoyed this one - in fact, I liked it better than the first book in the series.
The book managed to surprise me and at the same time confirm one of my suspicions about the history of this world and the people in it.
I did like the second part of the book slightly better than first one and I think the author would've done better to introduce the main villain a bit later than he initially did.
Either way, had a great time and given where this book ended, i am super excited to read the next one in the series!
3.5⭐️
A very interesting political sci-fi classic. I do mention political, because if you decide to read this book you need to be aware that there is more politics than science here. I did find the manoeuvring quite fascinating though and I think it was done quite well.
My criticism lies with the lack of challenge to the main driving theory of this book. Namely that science, combined with psychology, could predict the future. I don't think the author made the case for this being possible well enough - it was mostly presented as an axiomatic statement and then maintained all the way till the end. I wish that the author would at least attempt to question it. Because being that there is an infinite number of variables which could change the future from one moment to the next, creating your entire plot on the basis of that not being the case is a little naive, in my opinion.
I was first asked to read this book when I was 10 years old and at the time I thought it was the most meaningless things I have ever seen.
Through the course of my life after that I have re-read this book a multitude of times and each time it seems to make more and more sense...
I dedicated the last day of the worst year of my life to reading the Little Prince once more and it brought me peace and even more understanding.
I will forever be grateful to the author for writing it and hope he found his little planet with his little rose at the end.
I am so conflicted about this book.
On one hand, we have an amazing concept and a super interesting world which has me completely hooked. Seriously, the author has fascinating imagination and has crafted a world so curious and extraordinary, as well as brutal and intriguing - I was stunned and very impressed.
On the other hand - we have really badly developed characters and terrible writing.
I can honestly say that I have never in my life read a book which had so many errors, nonsensical sentences and instances of outright wrong use of the language.
Here are some spoiler-free examples:
- Using words that have no way of developing and existing in this fantasy world. Such as - blip, spartan, gothic, baroque, medieval etc.
- Using multiple instances of the same word in a single sentence (‘...in his moment of truth there was no hesitation in his final moment.”, or “Stepping inside I noticed how stale the air inside was.”, or “With the help of another Watcher, Watcher Glenn was helped down.”)
- Characters referring to other characters by their name, before they know said name (Erefiel refers to Chroma by his name, 6 sentences before he learns it.)
- Misspelled words (cowl instead of scowl etc.)
- Outright nonsense. For example, the author describes what is essentially tentacles as “forked candles of gilded proportions”. What does “gilded proportions” even mean? How can proportions be gilded?? Or “Thoughts that no matter how vehemently I stirred refused to settle to the bottom of my pot.” How are things supposed to settle with stirring???
- Mixing different types of tenses (“All heads were bowed accordingly and, in silence, their prayers were made. My presence is a mere medium to unload their zeal onto. All I felt...”
- Using words and phrases incorrectly - The sentence “They took a wide birth from the strolling Ievarus.” should actually be “They gave the strolling Ievarus a wide berth.”
The author also used “duress” when he meant “durability”. And “I obliged his answer.” should've been I obliged him with an answer.
And this is just a tiny part of the MANY mistakes I managed to spot. And I'm not even a native English speaker. I don't know what kind of editing this book went through, but boy, did it need SO MUCH MORE!
I am still not sure whether I even want to continue with the series, despite being so fascinated by this world. I suppose I will give a chance to book two (whenever that comes out) and if the editing issues are still not fixed, I will not bother finishing it.
I quite enjoyed this one. We have a tech lady and the quintessential bad boy getting together after knowing each other for a long time - so kind of friends to lovers.
We have a small town setting, a nice mystery and a good amount of chemistry between our main characters.
What I don't like is the way the author always takes it too far too quickly. You can't have regency outcomes in a contemporary setting, when it comes to the romance. Or you can, but you must make sure that the ground is properly set. So, when you turn a man who has slept his way through hundreds of women and hasn't had a serious committed relationship a day in his life into an I-love-you-throwing dedicated partner within a week, I have to give you the side eye. Which is why I took away a star.
But I had fun reading this book and would recommend it.
Short and sweet.
A nice little fable, with a nice little twist which, although I managed to guess almost immediately was still revealed very satisfyingly.
I wouldn't say the story is related to the Grisha Trilogy in any way except (likely) taking place in the same universe. But it was okay and I enjoyed reading it.
This was quite mediocre.
There were two good things about this book:
1. The writing style - the woman knows how to spin a sentence that sounds good.
2. The bold ending - it was a bit out there and I liked that she did not pull her punches (though most people will probably be a bit annoyed).
The rest was entirely subpar.
The story was uninteresting, the characters were vague and boring, the mystery was all over the place... I did not like the interpretation of Greek Mythology and the way she used the Odyssey. I did not like how facts were revealed at random -like the author was adding things on the fly.
I did not like the romance (this love triangle was so stupid and badly constructed, I found myself wishing our main characters would just drop dead and release me from this suffering).
The whole things seemed shallow and lazy.
I need to clarify that this book is definitely not what I would usually (or ever) pick up. I read it because it was a part of a reading challenge. So, if you like this sort of books, you will probably rate it higher.
We have a pretty wild family story and a beautiful setting.
I liked the writing style and I genuinely think the plot was good. The characters were quite endearing. There was nuance and high stakes. The romance was on point and both the main character and love interest were easy to like.
I liked the mother-daughter relationship exploration, it was very well done.
I am glad I read it and would recommend to people who are looking for a good contemporary romance with a generous dose of family drama.
It was okay, but I wouldn't call it groundbreaking.
The book is entertaining and uses some rather flashy language (as can be seen by the title) and while it isn't without merit, I found it shallow and at times contradictory.
Still, if you are feeling lost and looking for a read to borrow some good mood from, this might be it, as long you don't expect a clear and practical step-by-step strategy to deal with your issues.