kou
4.5 rounded up; a little adventure about an angel and a demon who go off onto a journey to find someone, and they end up in a whirlwind of events in America. I can see how people compare this to [b:Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch 12067 Good Omens The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch Terry Pratchett https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1615552073l/12067.SY75.jpg 4110990], and it sort of is, but a little more fast pace and consistently on the main plot and set of characters. It was a nice read with different languages and revolving around Jewish religion/culture, so that was cool to learn too!
4.5 rounded up; it took a bit to finish this because it is quite lengthy compared to its predecessors. I still enjoyed the story, and the reuniting of Murderbot and ART!! I forgot how sarcastic ART can be lol
I did love the ending (like all endings to every Murderbot book), I'm glad Murderbot can make its own choices, care, and want to be by Mensah, and be on good terms with ART. Friendship yay!
The whole series was amazing, I can't believe I actually finished something XD Mellow's writing is also !!!! Beautifully written.
This book was such an amazing way to complete the series, and I'm glad we got to see the lives of each sister and their journey and adventures with their loved ones.
Arabessa's duties and the burden she has to carry as the oldest, and her determination and selflessness were amazing, and relatable feelings throughout. I'm so happy for her, Arabessa would make a great king, and I love the relationship between her and Zimri.
An amazing book with lovely illustrations and pop-ups!! Enjoyed rereading the stories again with [b:Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Novels and Stories, Volume I 55924271 Sherlock Holmes The Complete Novels and Stories, Volume I Arthur Conan Doyle https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1605665352l/55924271.SX50.jpg 6658462] and Stephen Fry narrating. (definitely recommend!)
I said something... He said something... And then it happened.
Nick struggles with voicing his true thoughts and emotions and eventually breaks out of his shell. While I thought it would be a little comical story, along with it came big emotions.
I chuckled throughout, the dialogue and Nick's thoughts being hilarious sometimes. The use of color and values are also very lovely, along with McPhail's art style and storytelling.
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TWs: Animal death, misogyny, racism, guns
I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that's why.
I forgot how sad this book is T____T That ending when they talk about their dream and the home/farm. I wonder how George continues to live on without his "family"/partner by his side. Such a sad story within 100 pages.
3.5 rounded up
Maaaan I'm conflicted! While I loved and enjoyed the plot of this story (and the first book too), I think the writing was more tell-not-show so it wasn't captivating and jaw-dropping. The story was delivered with literal actions/descriptions. Something that I did enjoy in this book was the first-person POV of Ning shifting to having an additional POV of Kang but in third-person. I felt like making both of them consistent would have been nice, even having Kang's first-person POV would've been cool!
(spoilers for the whole duology) In this book, there was a lot of death in addition to the first book, which was.. understandable (since it's a war), maybe to grip the reader, but it felt "unnecessary"? The ending felt terribly rushed, and Ning mentioned the kiss with Kang so many times, you'd expect them to kiss at the end, right? (well, that's what I expected, and it didn't deliver LOL) I also wished we knew the whereabouts of all these other characters that came up in between, like the kitchen staff, which were a great part of Ning's competition in book one. ):
Regardless, I enjoyed the duology and being on this journey.
reread - 12/2024: still one of my favorite booksTWs: Animal death, drug and alcohol use, incest, PTSD/trauma, suicide/suicide attemptLive Forever.Richard joins a Greek class in college and is sucked into a whirlwind of events. I loved the writing and the prose of this book so, so much. The imagery and descriptions flowed throughout the book. I enjoyed the various references to different books, especially when Dostoevsky's [b:Crime and Punishment 7144 Crime and Punishment Fyodor Dostoevsky https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1382846449l/7144.SY75.jpg 3393917] was mentioned. (C&P spoilers!!)I could see the contrast between the two. I felt like they were opposites, in a way that Raskolnikov committed the crime, yet had support from his loved ones, and turned himself in.In [b:The Secret History 29044 The Secret History Donna Tartt https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1451554846l/29044.SY75.jpg 221359], they all committed the murder, and in the end were going against each other, mistrusting, and eventually the death of Henry, and the severe trauma and PTSD afterward. I wonder how Henry truly felt at the end. It's kind of sad that the group eventually fell apart, but I suppose it wasn't an ideal/realistic one in the beginning. I was probably most sad at Richard's wound (and the events prior to it), like none of them really cared, or cared a lot, about him. Yet he helped, tried to figure it out with them, and make sense of all of this. A beautifully written, sad, tense, and secret history.
3.5 rounded up; I'm really torn... I really loved the tea magic concept and the different competitions, which were quite unique! The cons that I faced: Ning's journey suddenly introduced and she jumps right in, the romance was quite immediate, and this darn cliffhanger!!! ;-; Maybe it's just me but I wished it was told in third-person; I felt like it would have been more fitting, but it sounds like the author wanted to use first-person phrases/expressions. Also, so much poison and dying, as well as the poison's severity being on a spectrum, it was kind of weird -- like does it kill immediately, why was Shu's one for so long? I really loved knowing Kang's background and the mystery behind it, but the cliffhanger just sjhfgdksg
TWs: Animal death, homophobia
This was a sweet read about Albert, whose retirement is coming up, and he begins to do all sorts of things for the first time in search of his love from his teenage years.. I loved the story, though I did feel like some parts were a little dragged, which could be skipped here and there. I wished the ending was a little longer, though, after George came back to Albert was a little longer I would have loved to see where they have gone and did together after!
Good advice on how to consume books/non-fiction more quickly and effectively! Will try them out as I attempt to read more non-fiction/self-improvement books this year. This book is on KU, but the formatting is so weird that the mind maps and graphics did not show up well despite making the font smaller/larger. And lots of weird, random spaces throughout the text... (read on a Kindle Paperwhite)
Wow, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, the story, the characters...!! I can't believe it ended how it did and I have to wait until November for the sequel LOL The events that build upon each other one after another kept me going, except a bit towards the end, then I went full speed to get to the ending, haha. Qadir is my favorite character, but all of them are my favorite for their personalities and the strengths they bring together. Qadir and Loulie's relationship with one another throughout the book was lovely. Despite being human and jinn, they kept going.. but that ending, ahhhh ;-; Excited for book two!
I don't think I've actually read this book (or any Ronald Dahl books), but I have seen the films and can only vaguely remember. Thinking from an educator's (secondary) perspective, maybe I'm thinking too hard, but I do like Badger's questioning of Mr. Fox's actions and balancing between what is right and wrong and the ethics behind every or certain actions. It's a silly book and still fun, regardless. I want to see the movie again!
TWs: Homomisia, slurs, hate crime/violence, animal death/hunting
4.5 rounded up
It's a queer novel surrounding a death in the Lavender House.. it was quite interesting! I enjoyed the queer/LGBTQ theme and the message behind exile, mistreatment, discrimination, etc. It's set in the 1950s but still quite relatable and feels modern. The pacing seemed just right, and it was a nice and short read but packed with messages and relatable feelings.