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| 1250213649
| 9781250213648
| 1250213649
| 4.32
| 13,927
| Jan 10, 2023
| Jan 10, 2023
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really liked it
| “It’s never belonged to anyone, but it belongs to her.” Lost In the Moment and Found is genuinely a fantastic installment in this series. Magical m “It’s never belonged to anyone, but it belongs to her.” Lost In the Moment and Found is genuinely a fantastic installment in this series. Magical metaphors for abuse can be so fascinating when well done. Here, the use of Antsy's gaslighting via magic forgetting, and growing up too fast via magic, ties into her backstory as a survivor of abuse. I was extremely impressed, as I often am, by the kindness with which McGuire treats Antsy, and the kindness with which she treats narratives of abuse. Being gaslit is an experience in alienation from the self: It is an experience, in its own way, of losing access to yourself. Antsy is lost from the real world both literally and figuratively, a barrier placed between her and the rest of the world. Any truth she tells will not be believed, so what does the truth matter? What is the real world, or is it lost forever? One of my favorite novellas in this series. I desperately wish I'd had this book when I were younger. Blog | Youtube | Twitter | Instagram | Spotify | About | ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jun 14, 2023
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Jun 17, 2023
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Jul 04, 2022
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ebook
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| 147365176X
| 9781473651760
| 3.91
| 2,342
| Aug 04, 2020
| Aug 06, 2020
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it was amazing
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Dynamic and complex female characters? Yes. Compelling arc around colonialism? Yes. Focus on a friendship between two women? Yes. The concept of love
Dynamic and complex female characters? Yes. Compelling arc around colonialism? Yes. Focus on a friendship between two women? Yes. The concept of love under colonialism played out with two romances, one in which they’re both girls? Yes. Villain-to-hero arc for secondary female protagonist? Yes. Ending that made me start crying? Yes. Best ya series I’ve read in at least two years? Absolutely. Court of Lions begins with Amani having recently attempted a failed action with the rebellion, and the relationship between her and Maram, the princess she has become the body trouble to, newly strained. It will take a rekindling of their connection, and their connections with the wider world, to begin rebuilding what they have. After the incredibleness that was Mirage, I was hopeful for a good book two. Amani resonated with me so very much; her relationships with both Maram and Idris were fascinating. I was especially intrigued by Maram, the delightful antivillain we only got a brief glimpse at; though her ending was more negative, the glimpses we get of her reveal a complex, dynamic character. So when this novel added Maram as a new narrator, it’s exciting. It becomes even more exciting when she quickly becomes so fascinating. Maram is a character who is terrified of vulnerability, scared that her love for other people makes her weak. When she loves, she is not what the Vathek want. She tamps the sides of her that are more like her mother into smaller stubs: redesigning a palace in her mother’s style, for example. Her arc, thus, revolves around two things. First, there is her attempt to assert her own agency. Daud does something particularly good here in making this such a wide scope. There are her attempts to break free from the control of both her father and a guardian to assert her own power, of course, which are cathartic and consistently interesting. But there is also her journey towards learning to engage with others, to befriend others as a future queen. To have power and use it fairly, she must build connections. Maram has another arc, however, which is both a fundamental part of her journey towards building connections and something altogether distinct: she must learn to let her guard down. This, of course, occurs through a sapphic romance. The romantic plot between Maram and a new falconer at her palace, Aghraas, is a highlight of the book, written in a way I found deeply gut-wrenching despite the relatively small amount of pagetime. This romance is so very well-written and incredibly well-paced; though I knew what direction it was going fairly quickly, it did not stop me from waiting with bated breath for them to touch again, think of each other again. Amani’s arc in this book is to me less about her growing and changing and more about her asserting some of the growth that she made in book one. She is still scared to help the rebellion, yes; she knows the danger to herself and others. But she also knows what she is capable of. Watching her through these conflicts is so compelling. Amani begins her journey within this book with the first time Maram needs her again: for her marriage to Idris. This scene killed me and then it revived me. Idris and Amani had me invested in book one, but this scene was such a heartfelt and awful introduction to their dynamic as a couple: their kindness towards each other, their knowledge of each other. Honestly, I just think that Somaiya Daud understands yearning, and knows that it is about the tenderness, and I am so very obsessed with the way these two romance plots were written. Though Amani and Maram are in a position throughout much of this book where they could easily be forced into fighting, they almost never do. Daud within the context of this book makes a very clear choice to focus on the love between them and grow their relationship; while there are natural setbacks, the narrative never forces any conflict between them. This makes it only more compelling to see the two of them interact with an increasingly complex political scene, bringing two different sets of talent to the table. There is an element of slow expansion to this world, with Maram’s perspective alone expanding things; the setting of her palace is textured and fantastic. Daud also, in a move that in many ways defines the book, introduces a multitude of side characters whom I quickly grew to adore. These characters are often introduced in just a few chapters, but all feel distinct and compelling, and though they each are only a part of this story, they all add: not just to the breadth of this world, but to the humanity of it. Fadwa @ Word Wonders made a point here that I want to mention: “From the outside looking in, Amazighi tribes probably look the same, similar attire, similar languages and dialects, etc… but everything is so different when you’re in the thick of it living it, our customs are so varied, our dialects so numerous and different, and I could see that in every detail of the book.” And I suppose for one other thing: the tone of this series never fails. This duology never babysits, never sugarcoats, yet it feels like a ray of light. And though the conflicts are often tense, the two novels are still each slow-burning. They feel welcoming, to you and to the characters; they feel loving. As a matter of fact, their love is what is so defining about them, as novels. “We were both hostages, you and I. And we grew up understanding that loving anyone was a luxury neither of us could afford.” This is, I think, a thesis of the book: this idea of how love under a colonial rule is too dangerous. Yet it is also the only thing that can destroy that regime. It is the friendship between Amani and Maram that truly hit me so hard about this book: it is their bond, the relationship between Amani and Idris, and the relationship between Maram and Aghraas that end up defining the novel. And when I say the ending made me cry, I’m not joking. I was holding it together just vibing and then for some reason the epilogue made me absolutely lose it. Court of Lions is, genuinely and honestly, one of my favorite novels I read in 2020. I loved the first book of this duology, but it is this book that truly solidified this as one of my favorite fantasy series of all time. I will be rereading this. I will not be shutting up about it ever. I don’t say lightly that this has instantly become one of my favorite YA fantasy series of all time. If your taste is anything like mine, I think it’ll be yours too. Blog | Youtube | Twitter | Instagram | Spotify | About | ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Aug 05, 2020
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Aug 17, 2020
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Aug 09, 2018
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ebook
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| 0143135163
| 9780143135166
| 0143135163
| 4.08
| 1,218,018
| Sep 12, 2017
| Mar 17, 2020
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it was amazing
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UPDATE: have just watched the first episode of this tv show on Hulu. as someone who really loved the book a lot before the adaptation was even announc
UPDATE: have just watched the first episode of this tv show on Hulu. as someone who really loved the book a lot before the adaptation was even announced: I am a very big fan. Kerry Washington as Mia is a really good choice. also, for personal reasons, Pearl is my favorite character now. “Most of the time, everyone deserves more than one chance. We all do things we regret now and then. You just have to carry them with you.” Never in my life have I read any book, any narrative, that cared as deeply for all of its characters as this one did. Little Fires Everywhere lives in the grey area, leaving it impossible not to be invested, impossible not to love every character and cry for every character and root for every character, despite all their flaws. I really struggle to characterize this book; it’s sort of a combination between a mystery and literary fiction, and will probably work best for you if you’re a fan of both? Little Fires Everywhere is a very slow-burn story about a small town thrown into disarray by a court dispute. When an Asian baby given up by her mother is adopted by a white family, it causes a spiral of events that lead to a scene of a house on fire and a family driven away. I think I’ve already expressed this, but this book is.... a masterpiece. It’s one of those books that I finished and then was just on my bed tearing up because it’s so well-crafted. The reason this book is so fantastic is primarily structural; we see the end, and then we go back and see the beginning. But anyway, the reason this book works so well is the characterization. There is so much to appreciate here. I like that Moody is sort of written as the stereotypical jilted nice guy, and and then we see more nuance to that characterization. I loved the complexity of the dynamic between poor characters and rich characters; I loved how no character is black and white, but they have definition nonetheless. Of the approximately-eleven-person main cast, Izzy is my absolute favorite. Izzy is a ridiculously relatable character for me personally mainly through her relationship with her mom. There’s a line somewhere where Izzy says she thinks her mother sees her as such a demon that all her actions are framed in that light - that was me. And that is still me in my relationship with one of my parents. The degree to which the narrative of this book validates her trauma and her feelings is incredible. And on another very personal note, Mia… kind of reminds me of another. Some of you who follow me on this platform might now that my mom and I are really, really close, and I grew up with her as my main support system. And I think… her relationship with Izzy just felt so personal to me for that reason. So maybe this was too personal a read for me, but I’m going to be honest: it’s my belief that reading is something that is meant to be personal. And maybe the degree to which this personally affected me is the most important part of all. There’s a scene within this book that has stuck with me since the beginning, in which the adoptive mother of the baby is asked how she plans to incorporate Chinese culture into the life of the baby, and she brings up “oriental rugs” and how she gives the baby rice. And it’s this awful moment, because we know she loves that baby. We do. But in that moment she becomes the persecutor of her own child. She does not understand, and so she perpetrates a culture that has been trying to swallow up her child. I think that’s what this book is about, in the end: the degrees to which we can hurt people without ever attempting to. This book was masterful. And I hope you all read it. Blog | Goodreads | Twitter | Youtube ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Apr 23, 2018
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May 29, 2018
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Sep 16, 2017
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Paperback
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| 1328778231
| 9781328778239
| 1328778231
| 4.20
| 28,283
| May 15, 2018
| May 15, 2018
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it was amazing
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Feb. 13, 2019: A Note A month after I finished this book, on Valentine's day, a boy in my biology class who had been harassing me non-sexually for mont Feb. 13, 2019: A Note A month after I finished this book, on Valentine's day, a boy in my biology class who had been harassing me non-sexually for months told me he wanted to have sex with me. Today, an anonymous article was published by my school in which this was mentioned and discussed, under a pseudonym. And in a lot of ways I think I got off lucky, but seeing that article today felt like a punch in the gut or maybe like flying, I don't know which one right now. And it's interesting because I've read a lot of books that touch on the experience of sexual assault and sexual harassment but this is the one that has come closest to capturing the feeling of taking back your body, and the experience of crying with your best friend who's been through something just as bad, and I read and reviewed this book before my experience but it still rings so so true. Original Review This is not a book I am worthy of reviewing. This is a masterpiece of human emotion, of writing, of character development. So Girl Made of Stars follows Mara, whose twin brother Owen has been accused of rape by Mara’s best friend. But it's... so much more than that. There is something about this book that just hit me. I mean, it's kind of just perfect? The characters feel like completely real people, to a degree that is almost terrifying. The themes are perfectly handled. But most of all, this book just has a degree of emotional authenticity I have almost never seen in literature. There is a love triangle here with a bi lead, but it is handled so well. I think I might literally be known for hating this trope but this is the Most honest and open dynamic with a love triangle I have ever read. Mara’s dynamic with Charlie, her ex, is one of learning - they are two people who were best friends and then who fell in love and then who fell apart. And now Mara has to figure out why. Mara also has a relationship with a guy named Alex, one of Owen’s best friends - or maybe ex-best friends. Mara’s relationship with Alex is - vague spoilers - not the primary relationship of this book. But it’s also a fundamental part of Mara’s character development that I really like. And Alex is a very good person. I trust him. You know what I really love, though? MARA’S RELATIONSHIP WITH CHARLIE. Charlie is nonbinary [yes, she uses she/her pronouns] and is an incredibly complex character. But her relationship with Mara is the most top tier ting I’ve ever read. These two characters are both flawed, dealing with their own problems and desperately trying to figure themselves out. Their relationship makes me so happy and gives me so much hope. For me, the most important aspect of this book was the narrative around Mara’s own trauma. While this book is blurbed and described as a book about Hannah’s rape, it is also a story about the unspoken trauma so many young people face - the trauma of having someone you trust violate you in a society that refuses to believe you. The narrative treatment of rape is so fantastically done and important too, with so much weight given to Hannah's accusation yet so much nuance given to every character's feelings on what has gone down. Mara, Charlie, Hannah, Alex, and Mara's family have all lost someone they trusted, all in their own way, and Girl Made of Stars knows this. While Girl Made of Stars is not the most smoothly flowing, I somehow felt it actually made the book better? Yes, this book is messy and complicated, but the world is messy and complicated too. I think the nuanced characters and messy plot give this book its real feeling. I could not be happier to have read this book. I have... so much positive to say about this and literally nothing negative. I don’t think I’ve comprehensively explained why. I don’t think I am capable of that at this point in my life. But this book will be in my top five of the year. This is one of the best books I have read in my entire godforsaken life and I'm having one of my THIS I S SO B E A U T I F U L crises and. I don’t even know. None of you are allowed to publish books anymore, this book just killed all of them. And me too. Blog | Goodreads | Twitter | Youtube ➳➳ this is July's second mod pick for The Sapphic Squad, a book group I run with Kaylin, Jamieson, and Emma! I hope some of you will join us <3 ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jan 31, 2018
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Feb 02, 2018
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Mar 12, 2017
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Hardcover
| ||||||||||||||
| 125014454X
| 9781250144546
| 125014454X
| 3.71
| 48,559
| Jan 15, 2019
| Jan 15, 2019
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it was amazing
| Everywhere he looked, he was surrounded by gilded wolves. And for whatever reason it made him feel perfectly at home. Wolves were everywhere. Everywhere he looked, he was surrounded by gilded wolves. And for whatever reason it made him feel perfectly at home. Wolves were everywhere. In politics, in thrones, in beds. They cut their teeth on history and grew fat on war. Not that Séverin was complaining. It was just that, like other wolves, he wanted his share. I have a story. I guess. In mid-2016, I read this book called Six Of Crows, a frequent comp to this book. I had just started a Goodreads account at this point and wrote brief reviews only; I was reading a couple hours a week, maybe. But that book... I fell in love. I still vividly remember the details of my reading experience. On a more visceral level, it made me fall in love all over again with reading; I basically doubled how much I was reading overnight. In the three years since I first read that book, I have experienced that sensation of falling in love with reading all over again very, very rarely — I think I can name approximately ten books that have made me feel that way. This book is the closest I’ve come to replicating that feeling, in three years. So, why was I so obsessed with this? First of all, The Gilded Wolves a heist fantasy about a group of criminals in 1890s Paris, which is just a concept I was put on this planet to enjoy. This heist involves a lot of puzzles, including a golden ratio puzzle. I am a nerd and I found this really delightful. The plot is intriguing, drawing you along carefully, and though there aren’t any twists that blew my mind, there were quite a few that surprised me (which is hard! at this point! I’ve read so many heist books!) This genre is so wonderful because it is so very satisfying seeing puzzle pieces come together to a twist or reveal or even just a solution. I’m a really big fan of the fact that the main plot of this book is a metaphor for colonialism’s erasure of culture, but the characters are also dealing with the real-life effects of colonialism (because it’s still 1889 Paris?) The Order of Babel, formerly four houses, has been taken over by two, who have erased the legacies of the old. I don’t think it takes a rocket scientist to figure out the metaphor here and hence Chokshi doesn’t try to make it any more obvious. It’s just there! Being the main plot of the book! I liked this. The dynamics between the group are so good, and so entertaining but full of so much genuine love and care. There’s a moment where Severin asks for Laila’s report and Hypnos answers him, in detail, and then Severin just replies “are you Laila?” I loved that. These characters are really compelling, as well. Severin is deeply ambitious but also concerned for those around him, a combination I really like and think deserves more pagetime in literature. Laila could kick my ass any day and also should do so (I’m available every Thursday afternoon, hit me up). Anxiety legend. Deserves the world. Enrique is a very entertaining character and also a future historian. I loved him. Hypnos is a character I loved seeing grow: he’s a sometimes manipulative but sometimes genuinely loving character, and (view spoiler)[I’m really excited to see more of him in book two, he’s such a villain-turned-hero trope and I am such a sucker for that trope. (hide spoiler)] Tristan is a gardening nerd and deserves to be protected (but also was the character I found myself the least personally invested in). Zofia, though, was by far my favorite character in this book. Yes, I’m picking favorites, and yes, she is the best character in this book, do not @ me. Zofia is a magic forger who has autism and thus, her brain works in slightly different ways. She has been kicked out of a school, an event that was almost certainly influenced by antisemitism. She is also not totally on the understanding-that-people-are-flirting-with-her kick. She loves numbers and also people not messing with her area (a mood). I like that she’s written with clear differences in how she interacts with the world, but is never put in situations where she’s villainized for it, or where other characters act as if she’s being manipulative. Her sense of humor is so dry. Did I mention that I’d absolutely die for her. (Something I kind of love about these characters is that all of them have somewhat dark backstories, but none of them have lost their love and kindness. We’re all just in this world with dark pasts attempting to find tenderness and that is how it is.) I should also mention that of these main characters: →One is biracial (Algerian and French). Colonialism is discussed. →One is Indian and has anxiety. →One is Jewish and autistic. Bigotry is discussed. →One is black and biracial and queer. Slavery is discussed. Also, the gender of it all. →One is both biracial (Filipino and Spanish) and queer. It was honestly so hilarious seeing a review pretty low down on the page lambasting the fact that these characters are almost all people of color, because forced diversity or something. It’s a novel about colonialism in the 1890s. You realize that’s the point, right? There are multiple romances-maybe going on in this book and I support them all. One of them is a slow-burn occurring between two characters who may or may not have history, which is a weirdly rare trope considering how instantly compelling it is. The other is… oh god, I guess this is a spoiler but I didn’t specify characters if you want to click it — (view spoiler)[a very subtle love triangle that I’m like 80% sure is going to end in polyamory. (Chaima and I are hardcore rooting for this outcome and that is just how it is.) (hide spoiler)] I absolutely loved the setting of this. I am not typically a worldbuilding hoe but I am such a fan of fantastical cities with gorgeous exteriors hiding very dark interiors. The intrigue of it all! There’s something Chokshi said in the author’s note that really resonated with me: ➽I couldn’t reconcile the horrors of that era with the glamour of it, which, up until then, was what had stood out in my imagination of the 19th century: courtesans and the Moulin Rouge, glittering parties and champagne… History is a myth shaped by the tongues of conquerors. I wanted to write this trilogy not to instruct or condemn, but to question. [...] Question what is gold and what glitters. This book is truly a love letter to remembering both the good and the bad of your past, and recognizing that even in the midst of beauty and innovation, there is horror and depravity. I’m really interested to see where the politics of colonialism go in the sequels, especially. The only reason I haven’t been yelling more about this is that I have to say: this wasn’t perfect. My main actual issues with this book come primarily from areas in which I felt editing could have been improved. There’s somewhat of an overuse of ellipses that should have been edited out; for the most part the setting descriptions are incredible but there are like two places where they’re sort of confusing; the running flashbacks to Severin’s parents are just honestly kind of overdramatic and don’t really add that much; the time jumps towards the end feel just a little fast and should’ve been maneuvered into better pacing. But none of these issues ever, on a personal level, took me particularly far out of the story. I am always in critic brain mode, but it didn’t hurt my enjoyment of the story at all. (Rereading this review, I'm struck by the realization that I do not remember a single one of these complaints.) I also have a question about some of the reviews on this page: “Diversity is not a substitute for personality” is certainly a take, but why can’t we just… say we found the characters flat, or not compelling? I personally didn’t find these characters flat, but finding them flat is a perfectly reasonable view; different strokes for different folks. It’s just… why is it, exactly, that we’ve connected “the characters are diverse” with “the characters have no personality?” Because personally, the trend I’m seeing is that YA fantasy books have been dealing in flat characters for years (I love young adult literature as a genre but let us be very honest about a good 75% of the dystopian fiction trend), and it is only now that the YA market has like, anyone other than straight white people in it that reviewers are somehow connecting flat characters with diversity. I don’t know. I just think it’s funny. Anyway. The point is, I really really loved this book, and I think you will also like it if you enjoy a) heist fantasy with puzzles, b) rooting for an entire cast of characters, c) romances with historyTM and/or fantasy polyamoryTM, d) cities with dark underbellies, and e) discussing the historical weight that colonialism has left on us all. I can't wait for book two. Blog | Twitter | Instagram | Spotify | Youtube | About | ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Aug 04, 2019
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Aug 30, 2019
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Mar 10, 2017
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Hardcover
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| 1627797726
| 9781627797726
| 1627797726
| 4.02
| 4,810
| Jun 13, 2017
| Jun 13, 2017
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it was amazing
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There's a scene in this book that I have never been able to get out of my mind, in which Grace's mother yells at her over a cutting board, and makes h
There's a scene in this book that I have never been able to get out of my mind, in which Grace's mother yells at her over a cutting board, and makes her late for school, and Grace just closes down. She just keeps crying and crying. And I think a lot of reviewers might have thought of that as her being whiny but that was me. That was me so many times. Because it's not that one thing, it's everything, piles and piles, shrinking you into nothing but a vehicle for the anger of others. Each lie is something that's mine, that my mom and The Giant can't take away from me. Each lie reminds me I'm an actual person with rights and desires and the ability to make choices on my own. Each lie is power- control over my life. This book is incredibly triggering. I'm going to say that first, because it's both the worst and best part of the book. Bad Romance brought back Real Things for me. It was actually incredibly difficult to read some of the scenes because I knew those feelings. It was just... it was a lot, and I don't want to downplay that. But the way this book treats abuse literally means so much to me, and I cannot even explain how deeply I relate to Grace. Bad Romance is so incredibly real and realistic. I almost wish it hadn't been so realistic, but god, you guys, reading this book was such an emotionally cathartic experience. I cried, like, eight times. But not because it was sad. And I think it will be if you've ever been through abuse, parental or spousal or otherwise. This is a story about getting out. I guess I'm going to talk now about why this book is one of my favorite representations of abuse of all time. It's not bad one hundred percent of the time, but if anything good happens, there are always strings attached. ➽I loved that positive girl friendship is what pulls Grace out of her tailspin. Nat and Lys were seriously the greatest characters, both hilarious and kind and funny but also complicated. The support group they formed was so good. ➽Adding on to that, I'm happy the book wasn't about a romance pulling her out and Curing Love. There is a sort-of-positive-future-romance which was sweet, but it was more playing into Grace's character development than anything else. Which is exactly how I think romance should be used in books like these. ➽Okay, I absolutely adored that emotional abuse was given the same weight as physical abuse. Because abuse is not not about the actual physical acts - it's about the fear, the feeling of pain and worry and like only one person in the world loves you but do they? do they really? can anyone? Gavin is physically aggressive, but does not hit Grace - and the relationship is still qualified as abusive. ➽I loved the way Grace's treatment by her parents played into her later relationship. And, um, I loved the portrayal of her mother as both a sympathetic figure and an abusive mother. I loved how nuanced her character was without being forgiven by her daughter. Usually, books either want to make the abuser full-on terrible or full-on redeemable and I hate that trend. Grace's mother isn't a mindless creep. And yet she is still not redeemable or forgivable to Grace - I honestly don't think Grace will ever see her as either - and that is okay. More nuance without forgiving abuse because they had your best interests at hearts, please. ➽Grace's inner monologue. Okay. So this is the thing about this book that I genuinely think is unbeatable. Demetrios' author note is very clear that she experienced something like this, and y'all, it totally shows. It was me and she wasn't the villain and she wasn't the whiny girl who would get put in her place by her well-intentioned parents at the end. ➽I think that more recently, I've been feeling this lack of internal criticism of relationships. You become so grateful to just be tolerated that you'll put up with anything, because hurting is ungrateful, and you blame everyone a little bit, but deep down you sympathize with everyone but yourself. I don't know how to end this. There's nothing I can say to sum up how meaningful a read this book was for me. I think my reaction to this one was a deeply personal one - not everyone is going to love this as deeply as I did, and I think some might even find it too personal. It might end on one of the most hopeful and cathartic notes of any book ever, but it hits really close to home. But, yeah, for me personally, this one was fucking soul destroying in a good way. I love this book. Blog | Goodreads | Twitter | Youtube ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Aug 07, 2017
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Aug 08, 2017
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Mar 05, 2017
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Hardcover
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| 1250126428
| 9781250126429
| 1250126428
| 3.73
| 13,623
| Aug 28, 2018
| Aug 28, 2018
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it was amazing
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Somaiya Daud didn’t have to come for us like this..... she’s like “here take this amazing multidimensional narrative about colonization and agency and
Somaiya Daud didn’t have to come for us like this..... she’s like “here take this amazing multidimensional narrative about colonization and agency and internalized hatred for one’s culture, driven by a fantastic lady lead and her complex relationship with a fantastic lady antivillain, featuring fantastic setting descriptions and a really good romance, and also I write like a Pulitzer Prize winner and this is my debut” and im just. out here eating a bag of chips I know I just gave you a really long recommendation for this book, but seriously - let’s talk about this book. Amani lives on a planet that has been conquered by the white Vathek, who have attempted to homogenize her homeland into something resembling their world - and when they can’t, brutally repressed those they can’t change. And here is where Mirage does something quite brilliant. Instead of simply focusing on Amani’s narrative, her kidnapping, and villainizing those around her, this book chooses to focus on how the Vath rule has fucked over everyone around her. Imperial prince Idris has grown up without his language, Kushaila, being taught to forget and to push himself into a narrative he will never be accepted within. And Imperial princess Maram, both Vathek and Kushaila, has attempted to mold herself into exactly what her cruel father wants in an attempt to gain his acceptance. For this, she is hated by her own people, trapped in a narrative that is not her own. And meanwhile, Amani is trapped in a situation where she is forced to play-act and do whatever she is told. But she never stops fighting to win back her own agency in a world that is desperate for her to have none. The point here is that I am absolutely totally in love with the meta-narrative here about colonization. I am not Moroccan and don’t have the specific cultural knowledge of how this book plays into the history of Morocco, but I would like you all to read this amazing explanation of how this book mirrors actual history by my best friend Chaima. And the setting really truly does take you there. The relationship between Amani and Maram is one of the best dynamics of the book. I feel like we’re often very low on amazing female antiheroines and especially antivillains [basically, a villain who is redeemed / doesn’t always take up that role within the narrative] and it was so great to see that dynamic here. And Amani has so much agency. Seriously, in a book that is about Amani’s loss of agency, it really amazed me how much space she is allowed to take up within the narrative. I love that she rebels. I love that she doesn’t lie down for Maram, even when she realizes she really does pity her. I love that she is aware of her feelings for Idris and yet careful and realistic about how she deals with them. She is such a sensible, well-written, well-developed lead, and I love her. Listen, in general, this book is one of the most feminist things I have ever read. It’s essentially about an indigenous girl learning to rebel against oppression, and about her friendship with a fabulous biracial lady antivillain. I was in heaven. And this might go without saying, but the writing and world… is gorgeous. It’s just so sensuous, and the setting is amazing, and I was so in the book. Lovely. There are other elements within the book, like the family dynamic and the romance, that intrigued me as well, and I’m excited to see where they go in the future. And while the romance almost felt like it should have annoyed me, Amani is such a fantastic lead and Idris is so sympathetic that I wasn’t at all bothered. This would be great for fans of sensuous, gorgeous, and theme-focused fantasy-adjacent space-opera. I have a good feeling this is going to be one of the best YA scifi duologies of our current time and I am so here for it. Blog | Goodreads | Twitter | Instagram | Youtube ⭐Look out for my review of book two! (Which also apparently is going to be sapphic, I found this out today August 4th 2020 and I am now vibrating rapidly) ...more |
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1
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Jul 30, 2018
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Aug 07, 2018
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Feb 08, 2017
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Hardcover
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| 1250124557
| 9781250124555
| 1250124557
| 3.61
| 8,107
| Oct 03, 2017
| Oct 03, 2017
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it was amazing
| Each spring felt like all of them, not just the gardens, coming back to life. They spent winters giving their flowers to ceramic pots they kept ind Each spring felt like all of them, not just the gardens, coming back to life. They spent winters giving their flowers to ceramic pots they kept indoors, or pulling snowdrift roses out of patches of land soft enough to grow. But now all of La Pradera was theirs. They had every acre to let out the blooms that had been waiting in their hands all winter. I have never, never, never read anything more deeply beautiful in my life. Something about it just hit me. The characters, the love story, the writing, the atmosphere, the imagery. I don't even know how to articulate it, but I don't think it's a coincidence that the other two members of this buddyread - my faves Melanie and Destiny - both loved this as well. And that this book ended up being my literal favorite book of 2017. This book is worth so much. Wild Beauty follows a family of women who lose everyone they fall in love with. While they live in a gorgeously decorated set of gardens, the Nomeolvides women are incapable of leaving, and under control by a family called the Briars. ♔ Estrella - One of the youngest of the sisters, and the protagonist. And my icon in every way possible. Her story is one of personal agency and self-hate. Her starflowers appear when she sleeps, unwelcome, unlike those of the rest of the family, and I loved how McLemore balanced this. I literally adore her and I connect to her self-hatred so much. Also, I ship her and Fel so hard. ♚ Fel - Fel's story is, again, one of agency. I won't spoil his exact character arc, but I really appreciated that he's SoftTM and loves Estrella's boldness. ♔ Dalia - I just really appreciated her, as a side character. Again, no spoilers! But the narrative around recognizing those you love as people was so powerful. ♚ Bay - a genderqueer icon! She was just absolutely lovely. I love her narrative about being an outcast and having to find herself. All these characters are so well-written and easy to connect with, which is something I think is hard to achieve in magical realism novels. All this beautiful imagery and lovely prose can easily be used to cover up a situation in which not much is happening, but that's not the case with this novel. The prose is beautiful, but the story itself is just as important. For months, Bay had been choking. Her flourishes had grown stiff, her smiles more nerves than charm. But with every meal in the Nomeolvides women’s stone house, with every plate of mole poblano, Bay sat up a little straighter. This is an interesting book because it's not explicitly about racism or about the oppression of queer people. But those themes are there, woven throughout every aspect of the book. It's such a quintessential queer fairy tale, and I adored it. So, so much. They had pretended they were there to clean it, and because men who stood so proud in pressed slacks and wrinkled shirts were used to having brown-skinned women wait on them, he seemed not to notice. I love that we can have books like this now: books that aren't explicit coming out narratives or Issue Books - not that those aren't important - yet still manage to fundamentally tie all of these issues in. It may not be the explicit conflict, but marginalization is at the forefront of this book and this narrative. This is a narrative marginalized people have been writing for years and years. Look at so many narratives about agency or forbidden love - A Streetcar Named Desire, even Beauty and the Beast - and you'll discover marginalized people behind the scenes, writing those narratives. But it's a narrative we have never gotten for ourselves. And it means so much to me that we finally have these. The robbery of agency of queer women and colonized peoples is right there, right at the forefront, and this time, we get to star. I am so grateful for how far we've come. It's a book about generational trauma, the way in which our family's past changes us. In which our legacies hurt us, and help us, and irrevocably change us. This article said it perfectly. Hearts that loved both boys and girls were no more reckless or easily won than any other heart. They loved who they loved. They broke how they broke. And the way it happened depended less on what was under their lovers’ clothes and more on what was wrapped inside their spirits. (Can we talk about the fact that this quote manages to decodify bisexuality as being dependent on gender without implicating other people as shallow? Because it's lovely and I love Anna-Marie McLemore.) This book speaks to so many different things, from environmentalism to agency, but all I can say is: you need this. It is such an important book, but it never ceases being enjoyable. And while I'll admit this took me a long time to read, I adored every minute, and the last 30% sold me completely on a new all-time favorite. I'm sure not everyone will enjoy it as much as I did - the lyrical writing isn't for everyone - but personally, this is one of the best books I've ever read. Blog | Goodreads | Twitter | Youtube ...more |
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1
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Sep 23, 2017
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Oct 20, 2017
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Jan 16, 2017
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Hardcover
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| 0545424925
| 9780545424929
| 0545424925
| 4.05
| 378,514
| Sep 18, 2012
| Sep 18, 2012
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really liked it
| She wasn't interested in telling other people's futures. She was interested in going out and finding her own. The thing is, this is a very good boo She wasn't interested in telling other people's futures. She was interested in going out and finding her own. The thing is, this is a very good book. I just don't love it the way I love the rest of the series. The character development here hasn't taken place, the relationships aren't quite there yet. That kind of thing. But please believe me when I say you need to continue. I've linked some of my series reviews below. // THE BEST THINGS ABOUT THIS SERIES ♔ So, it's not a romance. It's Very Not A Romance. Honestly, a lot of the focus ends up being on friendship. And all the friendships are so good?? Even the main couples of the series are friends first before being in love which obviously I am A Slut for. ♚ The character work. Okay, granted, this is more a factor of books two and three - my FAVES - but it's uncontroversial that Stiefvater lays the groundwork here for some truly amazing character arcs. Every character here whirs with potential. Adam, Gansey, and Blue all come off as complex and developed, each with their own hopes, dreams, and fears. “I guess I make things that need energy stronger. I'm like a walking battery." ♔ The banter. This falls into the category of friendship for sure, but I'm going to be honest, it's one of my favorite parts of this series. ♚ Maggie Stiefvater's glorious writing style. I really, really like her writing style. She has an interesting narrational style that somehow never seems pretentious. I'm sure some are going to despise it, but I think it'll be a slim minority; her words might take me a long time to read, but it is absolutely worth it. ♔ It just straight up gets a whole lot better?? I mean, any of you who know me know that book two is one of my top three favorite books of all time. As an individual book, I think it's as pitch-perfect as you can get. Even if you're not a fan of book one, give book two a chance. It's more adventurous, with even more character work and even less romance. Here are my reviews for the The Dream Thieves, Blue Lily Lily Blue, and The Raven King. // THE BAD ABOUT THIS BOOK, OR WHY YOU SHOULD KEEP READING EVEN IF YOU DON'T LOVE THIS ♔ The Raven Boys is really slow, especially in comparison to the other ones. The plot here is downright boring at times, and the villain is laughable. Not in a "ha, ha" way, he's just not a scary villain. ♚ The characters aren't quite developed enough yet. They're already good characters, but the character work here is not nearly as unforgettable as in books two through four. This book really focuses on exposition on who the characters are now. Ronan doesn't have a defined character yet (which is definitely not a complaint I have about book two.) And Adam is a bit of an asshole in this book. Given what's going on his life, I actually totally understood his behavior. Unfortunately, he's also not nearly as dynamic and developed here. Also, Gansey is the literal embodiment of #richpeopleproblems. He's complex and I wanted to like him for that reason, but he ended up getting on my nerves, especially in his interactions with Adam. ♔ Love triangles stopped being interesting at least five years ago. Adam and Blue just... don't have much going on?? Okay, maybe I only felt that way because I know who the series' endgame couples are. Sue me. It was still a little painful reading a not-that-special romance when I knew they were going to break up. GENERAL PROBLEMS WITH THE SERIES AS A WHOLE ♔ #Richpeopleproblems. Okay, genuinely, Adam is probably my favorite character just because he's such a voice of reason. There's some part in this book where Gansey buys, like, a pool table? And it's ridiculous, and the narrative knows it's ridiculous, yet also somewhat romanticizes it. Bad concept. Blocked. ♚ Blue and Gansey don't have full character arcs, and I get that it's kind of the point, but I still hate it. Blue is supposed to be the protagonist, yet she doesn't grow and change much besides falling in love. Gansey is supposed to be the protagonist, yet he basically doesn't change at all ♔ Here's a section I'm going to call Blue Sargent and Internalized Misogyny. See, the thing is, Blue's misgyny seems like it's purposeful. I think Stiefvater makes it pretty clear that she doesn't necessarily agree - there's even a post on her blog about Blue's misogyny. But it's... never actually subverted, and oh boy, the not-like-other-girls here is strong. There's even one moment where some borderline slut-shaming happens. Emma talked about this more in maybe the most popular three star review ever. (ALSO HERE'S HER REVIEW FOR THIS BOOK YALL.) Point is, the not like other girls trope can die the death it deserves, thanks. also this entire series deserves a remake except every main character is a girl thanks for coming to my ted talk ♚ Also! The lack of diversity is a thing. I'm sorry, Blue literally does not know a single girl her age and that's ridiculous and dumb as shit. And everyone's white or racially ambiguous. I think I also said at some point that this first book was obnoxiously heterosexual and full of random subtext with no payoff, but I'm taking that comment back. I'm taking it all back. I apologize. can I please point you all to that absurd tvtropes page where someone clearly thought they were being queerbaited the whole time it's the funniest thing I've read in my life VERDICT: On the whole, The Raven Boys is a good book, but it's not that special - it's the rest of the series that really stands out in comparison and solidified my love for this. Blog | Goodreads | Twitter (complete w related handle) | Youtube ...more |
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1
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Nov 26, 2016
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Nov 27, 2016
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Nov 26, 2016
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Hardcover
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| 0553522310
| 9780553522310
| 0553522310
| 3.81
| 52,124
| Jun 28, 2016
| Jun 28, 2016
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really liked it
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Listen. Listen. I adore this series. I love it in my soul. Buuuuuut this is a great example of a series where book one is a great setup but book two i
Listen. Listen. I adore this series. I love it in my soul. Buuuuuut this is a great example of a series where book one is a great setup but book two is where the payoff is. Even though I had some issues here, it should be noted that book two, Now I Rise, is one of my all-time favorite books, improving on every one of my issues with this book.. Top five-single-books-ever level. Feel free to drop on over to my review. I admit that I loved this slightly more while reading it - I think time and meditation has somewhat dulled my opinion. THE BEST BITS ♔ The worldbuilding is just beautiful. And I Darken is historical fiction, but it's not like historical fiction that you've read before. Honestly, it reads like excellent fantasy. It's cool that history classes about the Ottoman Empire can spoil you about a book. There's some awesome political intrigue in this one, which I REALLY loved. "You see this...as a prison. But you are wrong. This is my court. This is my throne. This is my kingdom. The cost was my freedom and my body...So the question becomes, Daughter of the Dragon, what will you sacrifice? What will you let be taken away so that you, too, can have power?" ♚ The tension was so palpable. I genuinely felt that these characters could die at any moment. Dramatic tension never faded, and the book is incredibly suspenseful. Yes, there are moments where the plot is slow and the book got boring, but for a 500-page book, this was incredibly engaging. And I Darken truly is very dark, as promised. There is nothing light and fluffy about this book. ♔ I liked that White managed to have a misogynistic, borderline-Islamophobic main character, yet not portray either of those messages as positive. Neither of these traits are romanticized by the narrative. In fact, some of the major characters practice Islam, including Radu and later Nazira, and for them it is a consistent positive. I HAVE seen a few ownvoices reviewers mention they felt otherwise about the rep, so I'd check out some other reviews. ♚ The writing style of this blew me away. It's so engaging, and gorgeous in a very understated way. So kudos for achieving that balance! MY MIXED FEELINGS ON THE CHARACTER WORK Now, here's my real complaint. Lada, Radu, and Mehmed are... sort of well developed... but none of them are all that sympathetic, and they fall into archetypes more than I'd like. ♔ Lada is definitely a morally ambiguous and badass character. She's purposefully written as both hatable and sympathetic. She believes she's not like other girls and there's a religious taint to her dislike for the Ottoman Empire. Her dislikability is honestly one of the reasons I am so impressed with her character. Because I should hate her, but somehow, she's my favorite; she's just got a sympathetic edge to her. I did have a few issues, though. First of all, she's not in touch with her emotions unless that emotion is anger, which is fine, but I almost wanted her to have a true breakdown and show the cracks in her armor. That's just my preference in characters coming through, I think. The real issue is that she gets too distracted by Mehmed. Badass female character... until Hot Dude Appears. You know, creativity. To be fair, she keeps her badassery and characterization, even when the book gets too romantic for my taste; it's just frustrating. ♚ Radu is an interesting character in the abstract, but his storyline really annoyed me. His main job in this book is to be in love with Mehmed. Unrequited gay love. You know, creativity. This narrative does definitely improve in book two (one of the many things I loved about book two #IworshipNowIRise2k17) but for this book, I'll just say that it really didn't deserve the representation praise. ♔ While Mehmed is extremely likeable in the first half, in the second half I kind of hated him. He comes off as a misogynistic ass in some sections. Granted, this was purposeful, but I really just feel like he needs to get off Lada's case. ♚ Complex sibling relationships (or rivalries) are the absolute greatest. Radu and Lada's sibling rivalry and contradicting close bond is an absolute triumph. Unfortunately, I wasn't a fan of their dynamic's relationship to that stupid love triangle. In general, there's too much romance; Lada and Mehmed's chemistry was completely nonexistent. Frankly, Mehmed had more chemistry with Radu, but was also portrayed entirely as heterosexual. Again, that unrequited love thing got old FAST. This love triangle is a super creative idea, and I really love it in the abstract, but it got old fast when I realized White had no intentions of portraying Mehmed as anything but straight. All in all, the character work here wasn't bad by any means, but it wasn't quite as engaging for me as so many others have said it was. So, do I recommend this book? Yes, with every bit of my heart. This book was solid already, and then I read an arc of the sequel and it's maybe one of my favorite books of all time. This series owns my ass. Blog | Goodreads | Twitter | Instagram | Youtube ...more |
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1
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Oct 23, 2016
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Oct 25, 2016
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Oct 17, 2016
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Hardcover
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| 9780152063962
| 015206396X
| 4.07
| 468,186
| Oct 01, 2008
| Oct 01, 2008
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it was amazing
| When a monster stopped behaving like a monster, did it stop being a monster? Did it become something else? When I was ten through when I w When a monster stopped behaving like a monster, did it stop being a monster? Did it become something else? When I was ten through when I was twelve, I used to travel to see extended family multiple times a year, flying across the U.S. to do it. I owned Graceling, and a collection of other YA fantasy books, on Kindle. I would reread this book every single time I flew because it meant so much to me. This is one of my most reread books of all time, and it was such a big influence on both what I write and what I love to read, and I love and appreciate it more every time. Graceling opens as Katsa, a character graced with the skill to kill people—literally, actually murder them—puts a group of guards out cold rather than killing them while trying to rescue a falsely imprisoned old man. She then returns to her palace, where she is thought of and treated as a weapon for a cruel king. She thinks of herself as a dog, and a brute, and an idiot, until she and a new friend move to track down the answers to a mystery dogging a nearby kingdom. Katsa prizes her mind: it is the only she has ever had to herself. One of the first things we learn of her is her hatred for mind readers, and while this serves a plot purpose, it also ties in well with her other fears: Her body and power has for so long been Randa’s, as a weapon. But she is not a weapon. Though Katsa could, and would, kill the bad guy to survive a horror movie, she also does the right thing, or tries. She cares for other people, in her own stubborn and angry way. To move anywhere beyond her own self-image, she must go from thinking of herself as a killer, a monster, a weapon, to thinking of herself as a justice-seeker. She must find love (Po), and allow herself to care for those around her (Bitterblue). And she must go from thinking of her talent as a curse to thinking of it as a tool. The graces are a neutral element—both good and bad, depending on their use. The thing about the climax of Katsa's character arc is that it isn’t defined by violence: it’s defined by Katsa regaining power over her mind. SPOILER: (view spoiler)[It isn’t a great feat that she kills; we know all along that she can kill anyone she wants. It is the fact that she kills someone as he tries to control her mind that is so important. Her conflict is never about her physical power but about her love for Bitterblue and Po. And she wrests back mental control not through her grace, but through her love for other people. (hide spoiler)] It’s a bit of a subversion of the chosen one narrative, because though her power saves her many times along the way, in the final moment, it isn’t her grace that saves her but her mental strength. Herself. Katsa is a genuinely funny narrator, who causes problems on purpose, and has absolutely no people skills except when she tries really, really hard. I think traits like this can be frustrating in a narrative because so often they're used as lazy plot devices. Katsa’s badness with people is never a plot device, never something we see her as stupid for. She’s just hilarious. “Wonderful,” Po said. “It's quite boring really, the way you beat me to death with your hands and feet, Katsa. It'll be refreshing to have you come at me with a knife.” ♖ The romance is pitch-perfect. Some of you may know that I'm a bit picky around romance plots, but Katsa and Po are... frankly the book couple. Their interactions are hilarious; Po is a genuinely good guy, rather than being a Tough Scary Bad Dude, and he's a dynamic character on his own. Cashore also does so well by all her side characters. Bitterblue is an entertaining and dynamic character, and in fact, she gets her own book later on. Po, Raffin, and Giddon are all incredibly vivid characters [and they all get more later]. It's kind of incredible how human all of these characters are, how they never feel like plot devices. ♜ I love an engaging narrative. I think the plot is really interesting - it's not exactly twisty, but you never jump ahead of the characters in what you figure out - and although much of the book is spent on a journey, there's so much character and relationship building that I never got bored. (I have literally read this book, what, over twenty times?) I also love Cashore's writing; it feels so classic fantasy in a good way? God. Fucking love it. The Graceling series also contains a character who I consider to this day to be one of the most genuinely terrifying villains in the YA canon. His presence stalks all three books of this series in different ways—in one after he’s dead—but he never ceases to terrify me. ♖ This book features a genuinely strong and developed gender non-conforming woman as a protagonist, who does not get married, with a really great lady friendship at its heart. I would love if people would stop being upset by the first two of those points. To be quite honest, the fact that some reviewers have decided Katsa not being feminine is a problem rubs me the wrong way. I love that you lend your support to feminine heroines, but identifying having any women who don’t conform to femininity as “the not like other girls trope” is actually just misogynistic. It’s also not an accurate view of what that trope is. First of all, not-like-other-girls is meant to denote heroines who actively shit on feminine women (which does not happen in this book). But more importantly, I hate so much that literature for women is a double-bind: you have to be feminine, but also hate femininity and those who express it. Katsa is genuinely not feminine-presenting. I wrote a whole post about this. Gender non-conforming women are not taking over your literature; feminine women who also hate femininity are. “But no amount of humility or respect made it any less horrifying to lose control.” Katsa, as a character, does not want to get married. She specifically does not want marriage, as stated in the text, because any freedom Po could give her would be just that: given. She’s a character who is terrified to cede control of herself to someone, not when she has just escaped that, and the narrative—and her lover—don’t force her to do so. I have seen far too many people complain about this book's “raging feminist agenda”. Okay? A woman makes choices that are realistic to her character? Deeply lukewarm take. ♜ On a side note, remember in like, 2010, when YA was a hellscape and you had to like, beg for just one side character of color? Let me run this book, published in 2008, down for you: gnc woman helps save a biracial woman of color from persecution while falling in love with disabled man of color because he recognizes that she will always feel the need to be the strong one. [I will also note that after getting criticism for the use of a slightly ableist trope surrounding one blind character, she apologized in her author's note and improved his treatment in later books.] Book two: bi black woman, survivor of abuse and rape, falls in love with black man because he's good to her and treats her like a person rather than a possession. Book three: biracial woman dealing with ptsd tries to rule a kingdom while falling in love with a bi man of color and also, fighting for a return to her old culture and to freedom of the press with the assistance of her many gay friends [including three side characters from this book and two lesbians who run a print shop]. ♖ Oddly, one of my favorite parts of this series is how different and awesome each book is . Graceling is an action-adventure story about redemption and self-hatred. Fire is a political story about agency, rape culture, and abusive relationships, both domestic and parental. Bitterblue is a slow-burn mystery, character study, and bildungsroman about a nation growing up and letting go, all wrapped in one. All three of these books are executed so well that your favorite will depend mostly on what themes touch you the most. For me, Graceling and Bitterblue [which I reviewed here hey hey hey] are the standouts to me personally, but they're honestly all great. The love I have for this series is so neverending. In summary: this book honestly still has me by the throat in 2020, and is one of my favorite books of all time, and I wish that we could pay it its dues. Youtube | TikTok | Spotify | About | ...more |
Notes are private!
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2
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Jun 23, 2020
Jan 2013
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Jun 27, 2020
Jan 2013
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Sep 07, 2016
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Hardcover
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| 1627792120
| 4.48
| 1,006,560
| Sep 29, 2015
| Sep 29, 2015
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it was amazing
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Edit update or whatever I watched the Netflix show I'm on episode four and oh my god it's really good. It's really really fun and I can feel my brain
Edit update or whatever I watched the Netflix show I'm on episode four and oh my god it's really good. It's really really fun and I can feel my brain leaking out of my ears whenever I see Inej and Kaz interact with each other. __________________________ Five solid stars. This book pulled me in from the beginning, to the point where I knew I'd found a favorite before I was halfway through. Here, Bardugo integrates a creative plot, interesting and morally grey characters, group dynamics and banter, a great writing style, and some really, really prime romance plots. Goddamn, can Leigh Bardugo write romance. There are very, very few books that I love so wholeheartedly. This series truly is my favorite fantasy series of all time. There's no competition whatsoever. PLOTTING AND WORLDBUILDING Bardugo tosses you right into the main plot from the beginning and keeps you engaged all the way through, even when her focus is on character work. Her plotting is incredibly engaging, with so many twists and turns that the book is hard to put down. This book focuses on mind games and clever plotting. The dregs need to have a thousand backup plans, and everything is brilliantly planned by Bardugo. The Grisha's worldbuilding is very engaging, even though we're thrown in without context; I remember thinking that I would have appreciated a proper map of Ketterdam, and then we GOT a good map in book two! Bardugo's prose is awesome, and there are some truly gorgeous quotes from here. Then again, it doesn't feel as if she's trying too hard or using purple prose. CHARACTER WORK OF PERFECTION A gambler, a convict, a wayward son, a lost Grisha, a Suli girl who had become a killer, a boy from the Barrel who had become something worse. Bardugo nails character work here. Every single character grows, every single character develops, every single character owns my heart. Inej is a member of a gang and a murderer, but she desperately wants to do the right thing and liberate slaves like herself. She's gone through hell and she's come out strong and in control. She feels so real on page; she has a heart but she only lets it out around the people she cares about. I like that combination. Kaz is the most manipulative, terrible, morally black protagonist I've ever read about, and I love him to pieces. He's absolutely an antihero; yes, he's on a mission to save the world, but does he care about saving the world? Nope, he cares about getting his cash. He still manages to be a complex, dimensional character, who genuinely cares about his friends not dying (though he'd never admit it). Jesper is witty and an absolute delight to get a POV chapter from, but he's also incredibly sympathetic as a former farm boy who fell from grace. He likes living on the edge, and he's aware of the pain his own actions have caused him, and he's trying to work through it. Nina is hilarious and idealistic and clever and can go from flirting to making speeches within ten seconds. She's such a great character because she's so earnest and positive despite everything that's happened to her. She's also one of the most badass characters ever. Wylan doesn't actually have pov chapters here, but he's getting a shoutout from me anyway because of his pov chapters in CK. He's entertaining here, too, coming off as a blushing do-gooder but with rumor and intrigue swirling around his actual past. Matthias is honestly my least favorite. He's dynamic enough and he's got a great character arc, but I don't feel as if he's nearly as original a character as my five. Whatever, I still like him. BANTER AND DOING CHARACTER DYNAMICS RIGHT The Dregs are such an amazing squad all together. Their banter owns my heart. Jesper and Inej especially have one of my favorite friendship dynamics of all time; their banter and their genuine trust in each other and their lowkey joking about their mutual crush on Kaz. Inej and Nina stand out as well; extra credit for passing the bechdel test with flying colors. Also, the dialogue here absolutely rules. You have no idea how many times I had to hold in laughter. “When we get our money, you can burn kruge to keep you warm,” said Kaz. “Let’s go.” HOW TO WRITE ROMANCE: A GUIDEBOOK BY LEIGH BARDUGO Seriously, I felt the need to give this an entire section of its own, because the romance here is SO good. But the romance plots never overtake the book; I have an annotations list for these books, and there are twice as many good character moments and gorgeous quotes as there are romantic moments. Kaz and Inej are one of my all-time favorite book couples. I used to consider them my third favorite, but they've quickly become my favorite of all time. They have so many small moments and such slow-build romantic development. And then, as if I weren't invested already, they have that one declaration scene which honestly made me swoon. I will have you without armor, Kaz Brekker. Or I will not have you at all. Jesper and Wylan are just cute for most of the book. They got some cute relationship build, but I wasn't that invested. And then that One Line at the end of the book shows up and they KILLED me. Really, Bardugo? You could've left me heart intact instead, but?? not so much. Also, side note, but I don't understand how anyone was surprised they're a thing in book two. I know heteronormativity is a thing that exists, but how can you read "not just girls" and mutual blushing in a heterosexual way? Matthias and Nina were honestly not that big a ship for me here. I absolutely understand what's appealing about their dynamic; they're sweet and have amazing relationship development. But they don't appeal to me personally; I don't have to lie down for twenty minutes when I read their scenes. DIVERSITY: YOUR FAVE COULD NEVER Something that gets ignored a lot is how diverse this series is; not just in terms of nonwhite characters, lgbt characters, and badass girl characters, although it does have all of those. But Six of Crows also has some of the best rep of a disabled character EVER. It helps that this is ownvoices disability rep. Kaz' disability affects his life in a realistic way, and there's no magical cure for it, BUT he's still a huge badass and the disability never becomes a consuming part of his character!! There's also the fact that a chubby main character is portrayed as the most beautiful member of the group, while also not being reduced to her appearance. There's even a dyslexic character (in FANTASY!) and part of his character arc is learning that his learning difference doesn't make him stupid. There's a major character with ADD as well. This series handles emotional and physical trauma in the best way. Some of these characters have trauma and it's never portrayed as a detriment to who they are as people. It's an aspect of who they are as people, but their background never takes over their characters. It's a balance. Recovery is also portrayed in a great way; none of these characters can be "fixed" but that's okay. The entire topic is handled in a better way than most contemporaries that focus entirely on trauma. I appreciate it so much. TL;DR: I was never bored by this book, and I love the characters more than my own life. Highly recommended. Blog | Goodreads | Twitter | Youtube A Bunch of Random Spoilery Notes / Crying UPDATE: I actually got my mother obsessed with my favorite book? in related news I still have to lie down for 40 hours whenever Kaz and Inej interact // three chapters into reading this with my mother and she says "it's official: I'm in love with Kaz" and honestly if that isn't the mood for today • remember when we all thought Wylan had gotten kicked out for banging his tutor? is it even canonically confirmed that he didn't? i need answers • I BRed a second reread of this (yes, I've read it three times, shut up) with Amy, whose review you should definitely check out!! • every single moment of banter is my favorite but my underrated fave is probably "If I see a single scratch or nick on those, I'll spell 'forgive me' on your chest in bullet holes" and the ensuing debate over whether 'I'm sorry' would be better • "Close your eyes!" "You can't kiss me from down there, Wylan." • or maybe it's "my ghost won't associate with your ghost" • every time Kaz and Inej interact I have to lie down for 40 hours • Jesper and Wylan are probably angstier in this book than book 2? • I don't even understand how it's possible not to love this book. With most of my faves, I love them, but I get it if you don't love them. I flat-out don't understand how anyone could not love this book. It's a masterpiece. ...more |
Notes are private!
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5
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Feb 16, 2019
Dec 12, 2017
May 13, 2017
Oct 09, 2016
Aug 2016
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Jun 13, 2019
Dec 26, 2017
May 16, 2017
Oct 10, 2016
Aug 03, 2016
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Aug 04, 2016
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Hardcover
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