NJ
Can we please reserve the cartoon covers for light, swoony romance?!? Because this was definitely not that. It struck me more as literary fiction with some romantic elements thrown in and I did not enjoy the reading experience at all. I read the first few chapters, saw the direction it was going in and quickly skimmed the rest. I am so happy I didn't spend time finishing this book.Much like [b:People We Meet on Vacation 54985743 People We Meet on Vacation Emily Henry https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1618913179l/54985743.SX50.jpg 67832306], this is a story about two people who have been in love with each other for years, during which time they are in relationships with other people. The difference between the [b:The Roughest Draft 57933316 The Roughest Draft Emily Wibberley https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1622091718l/57933316.SX50.jpg 77336310] and [b:People We Meet on Vacation 54985743 People We Meet on Vacation Emily Henry https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1618913179l/54985743.SX50.jpg 67832306], is that the former spends a lot of time on the MCs relationships with other people. Thus, we are forced to reckon with the betrayal of their love and it really dulled the “romance” of the book for me. If this book had been marketed as literary fiction, I would have gone in with different expectations and probably enjoyed it for what it was. As it stands, I am a moody reader who was hoping for light, swoony romance and was instead hit with this. I just wish this book had been marketed as what it was
This was good, particularly in its rejection of the “your love cured me trope” in which beautiful young, women save surly, hurting men from themselves. However, this is the second age-gap romance I read in as many days, and it shames me to admit, I don't really enjoy them. Particularly, because I rarely, if ever see the reverse in romance and most of the age-gap romances I've observed in real life are rife with unsavoury power dynamics. But, I digress, on its own, this book was a swoony, enjoyable romance.
Unlike most other readers, I was intrigued by [b:The Fifth Season 19161852 The Fifth Season (The Broken Earth, #1) N.K. Jemisin https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386803701l/19161852.SY75.jpg 26115977] but not blown away. However, the last two books accomplished what the first book failed to do. The Stone Sky in particular, is such a wonderful examination of generational trauma and conflicted motherhood. During that final showdown, I couldn't help but cry. Jemisin wrote Essun and Nassun's grief and other conflicting emotions so well, that like Hoa, I couldn't help but feel for both of them in those final moments .I've seen other reviewers complain about Essun's character and I just don't get where they are coming from. Essun's resilience strength and kindness, in spite of all she has gone through is nothing short of awe-inspiring. By the end, Jemisin reminds us again (as she has done throughout the series) of the importance of community and a strong support system.The history and lore of the Stillness are fascinating and I will definitely be rereading this to catch all the details and nuances I missed this time around.My fantasy reads this year have been so much better than my romance reads. Almost every fantasy series I have touched this year has been gold but most of the romance I read fell flat. I may have to skew towards more fantasy next year as it seems like that is what I am craving ( or maybe romance authors just had an off year
I've read enough Eve Dangerfield books to notice a disturbing trend. When she is describing characters of colour, she goes “the black woman”, “the Latino man” etc... No other physical descriptors are used. But when describing white characters she mentions their hair colour, hair type, etc... In fact, their whiteness is never the focus. It's an interesting tactic from an author who so clearly wants to indicate a diverse environment. However, more often than not it reads as tokenism and diversity for diversity's sake rather than any real investment in creating a truly diverse cast of characters.
Otherwise, her books are mostly fun and engaging. The hero from this book was the cutest. After this, I want to read more romances with himbo MCs.
Overall, this is probably the most fun I've had reading this year. There were so many laugh out moments over the series. Additionally, I enjoyed the author's exploration of forgiveness and personal autonomy. In particular, I was impressed by the portrayal of Julius and Marci's relationship. At no point did the narrative place Julius' desire to have Marci safe over her own wishes to develop into a powerful mage (I know this is a spectacularly low bar, but in my experience, very few novels manage to pass it). Their relationship was supportive and respectful and I loved its development.
However, I have a few niggles that stop this from being five stars:
Firstly, I think a lot of emphases is placed on the power of forgiveness and the importance of talking things out. While I appreciated that, I think that not enough attention is giving to holding people accountable for their actions. Over and over again Julius' preaches forgiveness in place of violence but he makes no mention of any other type of accountability. In my opinion, forgiveness and accountability go hand in hand. You should ideally not have one without the other.
The last point is one of personal preference. The Quetzalcoatl and the Qilin were based on Aztec and Chinese mythology respectively and I would have liked the book to delve deeper into their origins and the mythology surrounding them. It would have been amazing to read.
But despite those small issues I had such a blast reading this series.
3.5 stars. Very cute
For a book that otherwise stressed the importance of consent, I just wish their first kiss had been less iffy. The FMC mentions being totally surprised by the kiss. I just found that odd in a book that otherwise strove towards developing a mature, respectful, consensual relationship.
This was going to be a 5-star book but I wasn't excited about the ending.
I hated that Bethesda was left on the council. I think people always make a strong argument for keeping people from an old abusive regimen in place in order to ensure a smooth regime transition. However, I feel like rather than keeping the peace, all this does is leave remnants of abuse in the new system that is being created. It allows people who caused irreparable harm to stay in power and escape accountability. Additionally, I think even the in-universe explanation for keeping Bethesda is weak. I think other dragons are going to respect the Heartstrikers less if Bethesda occupies the council. With her continued presence, the others will see a diminished Bethesda and respect her less for "giving up her power" and then respect the family less for not taking out a tyrant like Bethesda when they had the chance. I appreciate and support Julius' no-murder principle. However, they didn't have to kill her. Amelia could have just left her on one of the kinder planes sealed. I just think there is no way to create a new more egalitarian regime without rooting out the old. All that including tyrants in new democratic governments seems to do, is allow them to keep positions of power.
I'm still going to continue the series because I'm trying to not just “burn” a book/series when I disagree with some aspects of it.
