Sara
Quick notes:
- the stakes were so low (the devil is mentioned since book 1, but it's just being mentioned over and over, without many bad feelings about these feelings. No tension, no suspence).
- Cyrus is supposed to be mysterious but there is nothing that made really want to know more about him. Again, lack of tension.
- Kamran and Alozeh were pretty flat.
Overall, nice world and story but they are treated very superficially. the focus seems always to be on the characters.
14/03: I have read a short excerpt of this book on epicreads.com and I am excited to read it.
22/03: I got all hyped, but I am not into it anymore. Premise is cool and I still like the story, but characters are flat, story lacks tension, and romance lacks chemistry. The thoughts of the main character are too repetitive.
She thinks of 3 things: how much she misses her relationship with Xavier when they were kids, how bad is her magic, and her guilt for cursing her father.
Before writing the review, let's take a step back to the whole story of the year of Sanderson (for me, Sandy), shall we?
this is just an excuse to share my excitement and feeeeels
I remember watching his video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6a-k6eaT-jQ) while coming back home from work. At first, I fell for it and thought poor Sandy was so negatively affected by the pandemic that he would take a break from writing, understandably. But after a few seconds, I was so excited about what he did and planned to do. I showed that video to my bf and after we talked about it, we decided to support his kickstarted campaign. we would have loved to receive the hardcovers, but the shipping to Europe and import taxes made up the price of the book itself, so we went for the ebooks. For me, backing his project was about trust. Not all of his books work for me despite their being very original and well-written. I still have the trust that I was about to like whatever he would write.
Now, let's move onto this first project.
...even though I dont know where to start, because this book was so different from all other books from Sandy that I still have to figure out how I feel about it.
The setting
This book is set in the Cosmere and takes place on a planet named Lumar. Its magic is based on aethers which are also mentioned in the Lost Metal which explode in contact with water. For me however it was not clear how the Investiture worked in relation to spore control.
We dont get a map, sadly, but it looks like this planet is rich in sea with scattered islands, as I imagined it. The sea is not quite what we imagine but it's composed of spores and boats float on it. Sandy based this mechanism on fluidification. There's a video on his channel that explains it best.
Each sea has spores, colour and behaviour different from each other.
I enjoyed the original magic system and setting. However, there are still some aspects that are not clear to me and wished they were better explained.
The story
The story is narrated from Hoid's point of view and follows Tress, a girl living on a very small island named Rock, who is in love with Charlie, and sets on an adventure to rescue him.
The narration was fun, but kind of strange. I enjoy the narration type, but the humour and the metaphors did not really meet my taste. I didnt laugh or sometimes i didnt even understand their meaning, probably due to english not being my mother tongue. I also found myself never fully enjoy Hoid's whimsy.
The story had continuously twists, which I didn't see coming. The end felt too rushed and in the middle the pace felt a bit too slow. Overall, even if i dislike pirate stories, I liked this one. I felt for Tress and Huck (the talking cute rat) throughout the whole book. I loved Tress's growth, too. She has changed a lot by the end. Last but not least: the illustrations were gorgeous!
This felt like acute and cosy love and adventure story that i feel recommending to everyone!
4.5 stars.
This first book in the adult series “Emily Wilde” was not perfect, but it's the first time I have read a book like this one, making it difficult for me to rate it. I see all the aspects which need some improvement and I see why this book doesn't work for several people. Nonetheless, I have enjoyed much more than I expected because I could relate to Emily. I will start listing the cons and then come back to the reasons why it is still worked out for me.
Most of the issues are just the consequences of the diary format. Emily brings with her a fieldwork notebook and we see her entries over a time of 6 months. This means that we have only Emily's point of view (besides for a couple of entries by Wendell), leaving the characterization of othe characters very limited. On the other hand, I noticed the efforts and the very well crafted writing to create depth.
Also, Emily feels very real and human with her imperfections and weaknesses. I could follow her reasoning and motivations.
The plot is, in my opinion, the weakest aspect of this book. The pace was very slow for the first two thirds and little happened, while the finale feels very rushed. I didn't mind though, because it mirrored the fact that Emily was getting adjusted to a new place, people, routine, etc. It also had this kinda of “cozy” feeling or “slice-of-life” vibe, which I enjoyed it. I would have appreciated some pages more to give more space to the conclusion. Also, where did the students end up? At the beginning it is mentioned that they were gone, but nobody cared about them.
To sum it up, I enjoyed the vibes and could connect with Emily in a way that rarely happens. Probably it's because I love dogs and I am doing my PhD, but I also shared Emily's curiosity. That made me stand the negative aspects much easier. If you are into a comfortable winter read with a nice protagonist and story, I would recommend you reading it.
4 stars.
It was a very well structured book about the plant genus Hoya. From a botanist who identified some of the species, I expected more information about each single species (climate and ecoregion, needs, if the species is possible to cultivate as a houseplant or not, etc.) and pictures from the wild.
Recommended if you like Hoyas (or maybe have even one at home), but outdated in regards to the species names.
Resolutions for 2022
1. Continuing with what I started last year: I decided that I am allowed to buy a new book after I finished reading at least two books, in order to decrease my quite abundant paper tbr-pile (currently standing at 115 books). It worked so far, it just takes long.
2. Concluding the series that I have started and not yet finished, giving priority to books that I own in paper format:
- Midnight Breed (read 11 books out of 18)
- ASOIAF (reading third book - July 2022)
- BDB
- Night huntress
- Kate Daniels
- Legion
- Dresden Files
- Farseer trilogy
- Vampire Empire
- Throne of glass
- The falconer (updated on July 2022)
- Legends of the first empire
- Lotus war
- Mistborn era 2 (finished in December)
- All souls trilogy
- Heartstrikers
- Iron Fey
- Legend of Drizzt
- Daughter of the moon goddess - added on Jan. 2022
- Six cranes duology
- Moonbound clan
- Acotar - added on Feb. 2022, read the first 3 + novella
-Hades saga
I am curious to see my progress on the second point throughout the year. It is unrealistic that I will complete all the listed series, but I would be glad if I will conclude at least three of them. Also, I am a person who needs to change after sticking to the same world (aka, series) for some time.
Very informative and accurate. Many of the recommended plants need high humidity, though.
Either you invest some money in a humidifier or you'd better leave those plants at th garden center.
I am struggling with Calathea, Syngonium, epipremnum, scindapsus, dieffenbachia spp. I have between 45% and 55% rel. humidity indoor (even with radiators on) which is not too bad but these species seem to be very picky about it.
4.25 stars.
I really enjoyed the concise “problem solving notes” about each plant, making this book a good addition to the gardening book shelf and for later consultation. I also appreciated the grouping by similar care needs. I loved the layout: very straightforward and good-looking.
I would have enjoyed information about plant toxicity for each plant profile though and an index for plant needs (low Vs bright light, low Vs high humidity).
Overall a very book to start with and very much recommended.
3.5 stars.
It was a nice and sweet read. It was so nice to go back to our characters after the previous book and see how they were doing. On the other hand, this book doesn't add anything to the story arc, because it's more focused on relationship building. Last but not least, I am always kinda disturbed by the word ‘mate' and how it is used here. I think another word to describe this magical and deep bond should be used. In the Italian translation, I liked that they used “my other half”, because also in Italian the word “mate” is used in other contexts, which do not fit what the author wants to describe here.
Another note, sex and intimacy scenes could be just left hinted for our imagination, because they are badly written.
