Teo Eaton
Although I am not fully into mystery, I really enjoyed both the novel and the novella (the novella was 66 pages, which is why I am rating them in one go), I really enjoyed this! I picked it up with no expectations, but I found myself taking notes along the book and trying to uncover the mysteries. I believe this series is truly a hidden gem that deserves some spotlight between the mystery books! It's also labeled as cosy mystery, but i am not exactly sure what makes a mystery cosy??
Anyway, character-wise, I did feel like some of them were well built, while some are poorly built and rather plain. I didn't like the main character because she faded into the background while I felt like she's just the side character into her own book.
My rating is mostly for the plot since I didn't have a particular interest in characters. I loved the whole tea + mystery + small town combo and I guess only the tea part made it feel slightly cosy???
I am really thinking to continue / finish the series this summer because the concept is promising!
If you're into mysteries that are not overwhelming in details or too lengthy, you should definitely pick it up! It's easy to read and fast paced!
I loved this book nearly as much as I loved King of Pride. And coming for me, this is big!
I had a feeling this book would be not only among my favorite from the series, but my favorite books overall. I loved the dynamics and I wish I could have dragged this book on longer, but I also just had to finish it. Ending it was so, so bittersweet and I already miss it!
The miscommunication mini trope was not enough to make me rate it less than a 5!
One thing I really enjoy in Ana's books generally is the cultural diversity. I love me a good interracial romance. I am honestly so nostalgic when I think that this series is ending soon.
The relationship between Maya and Sebastian was chef's kiss (pun intended) and I loved how we got to see more of Killian. Character-related a thing that I didn't particularly enjoyed was how much Vivian and Dante appeared. Don't get me wrong, I do love them, but in certain chapters, the book felt more like King of Greed part. 2 rather than King of Gluttony.
Overall, I will 100% re-read the book one day and I will be twice as devastated!
I didn't expect to rate it more than 2 stars, but oh well.
I read the first volume 3-4 years ago I think, and although it was exciting I didn't think that it's worth continuing the series. After reading the second volume, I may consider continuing the series too.
I still believe that the YOU chapters are insanely creepy and sometimes not necessary, but again this is not my go-to genre. The characters were not likeable, but not dislikable either, with the exception of Cassie who got on my nerves every single page.
Other than that, I have no major comments apart from the fact that the plotline was flat as hell until the last 10 chapters or so. I didn't particularly like this because I needed to be entertained given the fact that this book's genre is mystery. Isn't this what mysteries do? Keep you awake and alert for the most part of the book? Catching your interest from the first chapters? I may be too picky too or still not used to this particular genre, but still.
★★★.5 // “So long as you live, we'll have the rest of our lives to find each other again. And I will find you again. I promise.”
I have such mixed feelings about this book. I don't know if it's because of the fact that I listened to the audiobook and didn't pay my full attention or not, but one moment I liked it, the other I wanted to DNF it. And it had been going into this up and down movement for the whole book. But overall, it was a nice read with a strong plot and I loved that the author felt the need to add that historical note at the end.
I don't have major comments on the characters because I didn't like the main character for a big part of the book and the others weren't neither likeable nor dislikeable. However, I would still like to read books from the author!
I am 65% sure that I would have rated it higher if it hadn't been for the audiobook.
I procrastinated almost a month with writing this review because this book because writing a review would mean admitting I have finished it and I will never be able to read it for the first time again. Which hurts.
Babel is for everyone who looks down on humanities related fields and labels them as “not important”, “for people who don't want to commit to something” or anything else that there has ever been said about them. You can never fully understand this book if you don't understand why is translation important and why it can be associated with violence and destruction, but again, I am not here to hold a lecture so the rest of my review will focus on the book itself.
I feel like the fact that I took Victorian literature during this semester at university helped a lot with understanding the historical context (since the first few lectures were about the era itself, not about books written then). You can't read Babel as a simple story because once you dig deeper into the historical context and in the world of the book you become one of them. It's one of my most annotated books and it became one my Roman Empire books because I keep comparing every book I read with it. I read Katabasis a few months ago and I was scared to read Babel because I hated Katabasis. But if I hadn't read Babel, I wouldn't be so emotionally hurt in the best way possible right now.
I loved the characters, the plotline, the themes of betrayal blending in with language studies and this whole image of Oxford and Babel. The end had me staring into the void for 10 minutes straight and even now (about one month later) I am still struggling to process it. It has been such a long time since a book has made me feel this way and I would love if I could discover any books that will leave me at least half as touched.
My only regret about this book is that Lydgate and Dorothea do not end up together
Other than that, I ate this book up. I loved the wholve village vibe and the way the author managed to describe the dynamics between the character while setting tnem into the historical context.
I have to say that I am a little biased towards the countryside setting because I feel like books / movies etc. set in the countryside are more authentic than the ones set in an urban area. People at the countryside feel more, they're more expresive, more open and less likely to mask their flaws.
Overall, Middlemarch has been a wholesome experience that gives everyone an ideal insight and overview of the English countryside as well as the Victorian society.
i actually loved this book more than i thought i would. the whole concept of it was intriguing from the first page. it was also recommended to me by one of my most trusted people when it comes to book recs, so it played a big role for the reason i picked it up.
i read it in...2 days?? or within 24h and i was hooked from the first chapter, even though from time to time it had me a little confused. i love how dreams / choices etc. were used as concepts and the whole world that was created based on them. I would love to read more books with a similar vibe in the future.
I usually hesitate in reading books that I have never heard of, but I will never stop recommending this one!
Although the plot is very tangled and you need an alert mind to get trough it (aka don't read it half asleep like I did), it's catchy and it keeps you from putting it down.
With books with this concept I feel like it's a hit or miss and this one was a MASSIVE hit. The ending had me a little confused hence why it wasn't a 5 stars, but everything else was almost chef's kiss.
why did no one tell me how emotionally charged this book is ??? in a good way of course. i went trough a LARGE variety of feelings while reading it, from anger to contentment.
i did feel like there were some plot holes hence why I sadly didn't give it 5 stars, but it was so so good!
To be fair, I assumed The Celestial Kingdom is just a hidden gems among the author's books, but the more I read from her, the more I realize that all of her books are hidden gems among the fantasy genre! Sue Lynn Tan is definitely my favorite fantasy author and I wish I found more book similar like hers! (because I will soon run out of books to read from her :(( )
Character related, I did have my doubts, but I ended up rooting for both of them! The dynamic between them was so well built from the beginning and at some point I even doubted about their end as a whole (yes, I did actually think this wouldn't have a HEA). There was truly no flat character in this book and the worldbuilding completed everything so so nicely!!
