Nikki Yeo
I liked this, for the most part, was intrigued with the entire premise of the main character stopping Emett from attempting suicide. However, I just don't feel as satisfied with the outcomes of everything. The pace of the book for the first 1/2 felt slow and when it finally did pick up its pace at the 2nd 1/2, it felt almost forced and a bit predictable?
Don't push this book aside because of the negative reviews though, I do see how this book can appeal to other people much more than it did for me. It's well written and I think the conversations between the 2 characters are sometimes pretty engaging.
Great collection! Love his album reviews and write-ups about musicians and decided to dive into his published works and I don't regret it. Gonna have to read his other books ASAP.
From IT'S NOT LIKE NIKOLA TESLA KNEW ALL OF THOSE PEOPLE WERE GOING TO DIE
:if man is not supposed to playGod thenwhy did God make dying lookso beautiful.
Came for the vampires and stayed for the vampires. Except one of them. You'll understand what I mean if you read the book.
What a well-written book this was, the prose felt very natural and was very fitting for the overall atmosphere the author for aiming for the book. This was my first book centered around the theme of vampires that I read(never was on the Twilight bandwagon) and it was interesting. Sure the whole neck-biting and drinking blood is odd and all but wasn't overdone till it made me feel uncomfortable or anything like that.
I really admire how the author managed to make the characters relatable and likable despite the book being fairly short. Constanta is a great protagonist and I enjoyed seeing her journey to accepting and admitting that her centuries(?) long relationship with her ‘sire' is toxic through and through.
“It would be easier if he hated us,” she said. “But he loves us all terribly. And if we go on letting him love us, that love is going to kill us. That's what makes him so dangerous.”
Also, the book does have polyamorous relationships going on as well! This was my first time reading a story with poly rep included and I think the author accomplished that well, at least for me.
Overall, this was a great book from start-to-end and I had a great time reading it. Loved it mostly because it felt incredibly empowering to read about a woman who stood up for herself in an abusive relationship and how the characters worked together. If you're looking for a fairly short book that is well-written and feels fresh, here's one you should try!
I am firm, my lady, and I understand leverage. The people only call me cruel because it's easier to think of a woman as cruel than competent. Surely, you can understand that.
You can read this for free here: https://www.biglucks.com/store/vintage-sadness-hanif-willis-abdurraqib
Love Abdurraqib's writing style. His words pack a punch, for sure. Will be reading more of his works soon!
WATCHING THE FIRST SCENE OF “BELLY” WITH THE LIGHTS OFF, 2002we ran from the nightclub / when the newspaper / told me that five people / were pulled from the Avalon's bloody tile / it didn't feel like I had survived / anything other than a Friday / with money in my pocket / but I still grabbed my boys / by the shirt / & hugged them in the front yard / like we just made it back from war / & there I go again / making another death romantic
What a great return to the world of THUG! I really enjoyed this one, it was interesting to take a whole glimpse into Maverick's journey. Would for sure recommend you reading this after The Hate U Give as that'll give you more context of everything. I still prefer that book over this but this is a worthy prequel, for sure.
We get to see Khalil as a baby too which broke my heart into thousand pieces....
Insightful and should be made required reading. Includes useful tips to navigate oneself in conversations about race.
The statistics that the author talks about is honestly scary and I'm glad this was able to shine a light on some of that which I had 0 idea about. Well written and is very straight-to-the-point.
As with all Sanderson books I have read so far, this has all the world building that makes them special. TWoK reminded me a lot of The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan a lot with the different races and interesting magic systems. Comparing this to The Final Empire which I did quite enjoy and read recently, the character work here is an improvement and definitely prefer that in this. I loved reading the different point of views and seeing how all of them connect to each other is great too. However, I did find the sequence of the changing of POV's to be slightly unsettling. For example, I noticed that there will be many chapters where we will not read from a certain character which could be annoying at times. There would be a cliffhanger in the end of the chapter and then you wouldn't get to see that resolved until many many chapters after. With that said, I still enjoyed the story very much. The last 200-300 pages were definitely strong and I really liked how things turned out there. The book reads very ‘first book' to a series though, as there was a lot of history of the world, magic system, weapons and it could be a con to some if you don't like info-dumps.
I liked this overall but I do acknowledge that it could've been shorter. It definitely requires commitment to read as it's fairly slow-paced but I am mostly likely going to catch-up with the sequels in the future.
Never watched any of the Avatar shows but I do understand some references, thank you Tumblr. There's some qualms I have about it though, the pacing of the book did feel a little off at times and I think the book could've been longer too. I would've loved to see more buildup between Kyoshi and her romantic interest because that seemed slightly rushed to me. The climax at the end also feels like it flew by too quickly and everything seemed to be resolved easily. Besides that though, I think most Avatar fans and also non-Avatar fans would like this, as long as you're familiar with the basic stuff like the role of the Avatar and the Four Nations.
I'll be honest, my interest started out with the very pretty looking cover but I stayed for the story! I was a little hesitant on reading the first few chapters because it gave me some memories of my attempt at reading another similarly lengthed book, with the whole magic in a real-world context concept, Aurora's Moon which I ended DNF'ing but I'm glad that this didn't turn out that way.
One of the things that I enjoyed about the book was the prose, it didn't feel oversimplified like others and it seems to flow pretty naturally throughout the story. The whole magic system is pretty interesting so far though I feel like the first book seems like it's just scratching the surface of what's to come. There is some stuff that naturally comes with longer fantasy books like these, there were I think occasionally some info-dumps that weren't as easy to understand. Though I would excuse these if it's going to be followed-up well in the sequels. However, with that said, I adored the characters in this book. Every single POV we get to read here is and it just feels extremely refreshing to see an author embrace queerness in their writing. Nausicaa is just so charismatic in every situation possible and her interactions with every single character make an entertaining read. The humor that comes with the book is also top-notch, it didn't feel very in my face and goes well with the tone set up for the book.
I actually had no idea it wasn't standalone till like 75% of the book. Imagine my surprise when I found out not everything was going to be resolved and I have to wait for god knows how long...
Overall a really fun read, didn't expect me to finish this so soon but and it didn't feel as long as its page count at all. It's a definite recommendation from me if you're looking for something not too serious and have an excellent cast of queer characters!
I had a great time reading this. Its a book which I think is suitable to be read when you're not looking for anything too serious or dense and just want a comfort-read. I loved Becky Chamber's novella, To Be Taught, If Fortunate and I love this for the exact same reasons. The writing style evokes a sense of quietness and is comforting, somehow. The interaction and dialogues between the characters, which are diverse in gender/sexuality/species are wholesome and fun to read. Don't read this book if you want a whole lot of plot though. There is an underlying point to the whole story but the beauty of the book is definitely the journey to it, and I guess that is where the title comes from, to think of it! I do wish that there was more added plot to it or at least more acknowledgement of the existing one because it did seem that sometimes they get lost in the slice-of-life type of scenes.
Overall, a nice read and the ending was great! I'll definitely be reading its sequel soon too.
Know My Name is hands down, one of my personal favorite non-fiction books that I have ever read so far. The author, Chanel Miller writes in such a beautiful and evocative way about one of the hardest topics I would imagine someone could write about, even more when its coming from her own personal experience. I am in awe of how well she was able to correlate other childhood memories/other experiences with her current situation and describe her emotions through her words. That isn't to say that this is a breezy, light read though. There were many moments where I am just infuriated at the whole system which is based on bringing justice to people, being so ironically, unjust. The trials where the author had to go through was a painful read but something that everyone should get to know to realize how terribly flawed the system is towards victims of rape/sexual assault/etc. I look up to the author so much and respect her completely for how she was able to push through this painful period of her life but am glad that she was able to help so many victims by sharing her story with the world.
These are just some of the quotes which I highlighted:
"”If he says he's sorry, but maintains he's not guilty, doesn't that resemble manipulation more than reconciliation?”“If students can be swiftly expelled for plagiarism or dealing drugs, the same punishment should be inflicted if there's enough evidence to suggest they pose a threat to others. Oh but his reputation! That's really where he suffers. My advice is, if he's worried about his reputation, don't rape anyone.”“Women are raised to work with dexterity, to keep their nimble fingers ready, their minds alert. It is her job to know how to handle the stream of bombs, how to kindly decline giving her number, how to move a hand from the button of her jeans, to turn down a drink. When a woman is assaulted, one of the first questions people ask is, Did you say no? This question assumes that the answer was always yes, and that it is her job to revoke the agreement. To defuse the bomb she was given. But why are they allowed to touch us until we physically fight them off? Why is the door open until we have to slam it shut?”“I used to shrink at harsh tones, used to be afraid. Until I learned it takes nothing to be hostile. Nothing. It is easy to be the one yelling, chucking words that burn like coals, neon red, meant to harm. I have learned I am water. The coals sizzle, extinguishing when they reach me. I see now, those fiery coals are just black stones, sinking to the bottom.”
This is a book where I think everyone should read, regardless of whatever demographic they belong to. It is an important topic which is discussed but not close to enough in a way where it should be.
This had a much quicker pacing than the previous two books and I enjoyed it for the most part. The ending is satisfying and I think fits quite well to the overall character of Mia and the theme of the series though I can see it disappointing some readers. I did however not enjoy the excessive use of metaphors sprinkled around the dialogue of some of the characters. Some of them were funny, sure, but I found them mostly deterring my focus from the story itself. Also, there's sort of a love triangle which plays a larger role here than the previous book and I personally just do not enjoy that trope. Overall I mostly enjoyed the series and it has its own faults but I can still see myself reading more of Kristoff's work in the future because he has some good ideas for sure.
Reread (13/12/23): Bumped to 4 stars. Landed better in my second read! Paul reminded me of Snow from the Ballads of Songbirds and Snakes movie. The whole 180 personality change in the 1/3 was somewhat understandable but still caught me off-guard.
I have fairly mixed feelings about this. I went into this knowing close to nothing besides it has sandworms and inspired the Star Wars movies. I had high expectations for the book, so I might've set the bar too high when I read it.
The world in here is very interesting. The whole water is precious and literal crying isn't something people do often because the water from tears would be ‘wasted'. The whole ecological aspect of Arrakis was and is definitely one of the coolest parts of the story for sure. Besides the world building in the book, I suppose the political intrigue was okay. It definitely felt Star Wars-ish in that regard, and you can see what inspired the movies from here too.
What I didn't like as much from the book is the characters. The writing style felt dry and distant to me. It just didn't evoke much emotion from me even when a lot of serious events are happening. You don't get to really understand the character's motivation and the whole ‘no fear' part of the Bene Gesserit makes the characters almost emotionless? That isn't the case for the entire book but it definitely felt so for the most part. Aside from that, there were just a few questionable lines that the author wrote which were just alarming, but I won't go into that much. Also, I do feel uncomfortable that the only queer character here is a murderer and a podophile. I get that it was published not that recently, but that kind of content still feels odd reading now in 2020.
Overall, it was a good read in the sense of just understanding what the hype was all about. Is it my favorite sci-fi? No. Can I see why there's so many people raving about it'? Yes. It's a space-opera book with decent political intrigue with an original world published at a time where stuff like these just weren't in the scene just yet. So if you're interested to see what inspired Star Wars, Ender's Game and I'm sure many many other science fiction media, try this one out.
I loved this a lot! I read it with no knowledge of the Portugese legend that it's based on but I enjoyed it nevertheless. This story as a whole is more of a character-driven story for sure because although the plot never felt stagnant, there wasn't exactly a lot happening either around the characters. What I like about the story though is the progression of how the main character, Yzabel, accepts her curse(turning food into flowers) as a blessing. I also like how this parallels with her acceptance towards her own sexuality too.
You forgot that the difference between a blessing and a curse is perspective.
The romance is also cute though I think it was a little too quick but then again, its a retelling so I didn't mind that as much. The whole concept of Faty being stuck in a stone because she too was cursed is interesting too but fairly straightforward. Also, this book also surprised me by the kindness the male characters showed. The king, Denis and Vasco were actually characters which I were interested in which normally I wouldn't in queer books like these. Its nice to see healthy male-representation too like them. Ultimately, I enjoyed this a lot and I can see a movie of some sort be made from this. I would be too wishful to imagine Disney adapting this but I hope to see it someday.
Great sequel! This was a much better book than Nevernight in my opinion and solidifies my decision to continue on with the series because WOW that last few chapters!
The world building in this series is quite interesting as the author chose to do most of it using footnotes. I'm not against it at all but I do see some people getting frustrated at them but I would say that most of the footnotes aren't particularly important to the present plot line. Its mostly just to flesh out the history of the world only. The prose of this book is also mostly similar to the first, the odd metaphors still present too. I've gotten fairly used to the author's style at this point but I won't say that I'm exactly the biggest fan of it but there's no denying that he can write well.
I liked that we saw much more of Godsgrave and I actually prefer that compared to being in The Red Church in the first book. The whole Gladiatii was also really cool and the action scenes were just so fun. Also, bonus points for the romance in this book because it seemed more natural compared to the previous one? I might just be biased though so don't read into my words too much. Finally, a tiny detail that isn't very important but I really appreciated is that the author slyly inserted their love for books in the series which I love! The library scenes with the chronicle are great.
The heavens grant us only one life, but through books, we live a thousand.
3.5 Stars
I liked this collection but I didn't resonate with the latter half of the book. Maybe because those were mainly love poems?
Here's one that I particularly enjoyed:
The World I Live InI have refused to live locked in the orderly house of reasons and proofs.The world I live in and believe in is wider than that. And anyway, what's wrong with Maybe?You wouldn't believe what once or twice I have seen. I'll just tell you this:only if there are angels in your head will you ever, possibly, see one.
She's the only divine thing he's ever believed in. The only creature in this vast, cruel land who could kill him. And sometimes, in his loveliest dreams, he imagines she does.
Grateful for some bonus content even though it hurts so badly... I recommend reading this after TBG so it could stab your feelings for the characters like someone we know.
Not a fan of soccer in general but this was a good listen. I know about some of Rapinoe's advocacy for racism and LGBTQ rights from reading articles before this and it was interesting to know more about her own experiences with all of it. Rapinoe talks about her rise to the soccer world and her family dynamics to the heavier topics like racism and politics. This is not so much a memoir but different essays on multiple topic with personal experience layered atop. I enjoyed this very much in the few days I listened to it sporadically and I'm glad I chose to listen to it too, her voice makes it all much more real and true to life for sure.