This is… an interesting novel in that I think I may be compelled by it than I actually enjoy it. (This was my wonderful girlfriend’s thesis text and IThis is… an interesting novel in that I think I may be compelled by it than I actually enjoy it. (This was my wonderful girlfriend’s thesis text and I do think having her thesis as a supplemental text amplified the experience quite a bit.)
Beautiful World Where Are You follows two best friends—Alice, a bisexual communist writer living in a house on the Irish coast, and Eileen, an editor in Dublin—and their lovers, Felix and Simon, as they try to resolve a set of complex relationships.
My main observation about this book is that there are three key dynamics in this novel: Alice and Felix, Eileen and Simon, and Alice and Eileen. The two couples’ relationships, each beginning as complex and between-definition, resolve themselves into relationships with oddly gendered dynamics. [Eileen and Simon, particularly, are into roleplay bdsm.] This is framed, for each of them, as a return to love and connection in a world plagued by inequality and genocide.
Sally Rooney characters don’t give us any extra access to their minds. I like it. These characters are defined through their dialogue, and occasionally through scenes. This ends up defining them through their love for each other.
Which is why it was so disappointing that the friendship between Alice and Eileen, in contrast to the two romantic relationships in the book, left me less convinced. In a book so deeply convinced of the need for love in a cruel world, I found myself really frustrated by how little I believed in Alice and Eileen’s deep friendship with one another. Even when the book addresses this complex relationship, I wanted more. And I found it frustrating particularly to see two women both allegedly focused on embracing their friendships devalue their friendships for their relationship, with seemingly no true resolution near the end—or even real, permanent acknowledgment of this dynamic.
Perhaps it didn’t help that Alice’s behavior quite frankly just reminded me of friends I’ve moved on from. One of Alice's main character conflicts is that she really struggles to see others as equals, even when she somewhat-tries with Eileen, and I just didn't find myself convinced that the Alice of the ending would truly start seeing her best friend as an equal. Even when I wanted her to.
I read Sally Rooney for her complexity—her sharp characters who try to live one another, but just can’t do it right, and have to figure out how to truly see each other. As always, she delivers. I’m just not so sure I was convinced of these people.
“Yeah, I’m not trying to hit up the club with Mr. Rogers. Ditch the sweater.”
Look, second-chance fake-marriage just seemed like something I’d eat
“Yeah, I’m not trying to hit up the club with Mr. Rogers. Ditch the sweater.”
Look, second-chance fake-marriage just seemed like something I’d eat up. And I did. Sue me.
Violet and Xavier were the ambitious couple, one an aspiring basketball star and one an aspiring fashion designer. She made it, with a career supporting famous stars across the globe. He didn’t. His insecurity predicated their breakup. In this current world, Xavier is insecure about not being impressive enough for his superstar girlfriend; meanwhile, Violet is insecure about being too busy for someone she’s missed for years. It’s an incredibly well-built conflict.
But what I really appreciated is that… the angst is so un-manufactured. Violet and Xavier work so hard to communicate with each other… but they have some serious reasons to be worried about the future. When they mess up, it feels real, true to their characters rather than contrived. Love is not always going to be enough to stop every bit of insecurity–but they value each other enough to fix it.
(Also, I am such a Violet.)
I have one or two quibbles. One super strange section in the back half where Violet’s POV contains a flashback of the prior day should not have made it through edits. (I’ve noticed this in a couple of fantastic romances I’ve read in the last couple years and will only say—romance editors, this is your job!) And I think the Dahlia and Violet conflict gets wrapped up waaaay too quickly.
But overall? Just delicious. I loved this romance and these characters so much, and will be buying a copy for my own rereading purposes ASAP.
Thought this was a really good book about sexual desire, and enjoyed its normalization of sex positivity. Main two new concepts are her discussions ofThought this was a really good book about sexual desire, and enjoyed its normalization of sex positivity. Main two new concepts are her discussions of spontaneous vs. reactive desire and accelerators vs. breaks; both interesting sections. Overall I liked this a lot!
"Your Gracie is incredible. She gets it from her momma." "She gets it from who her mom had to become. Like those scars all over my body. I wouldn't
"Your Gracie is incredible. She gets it from her momma." "She gets it from who her mom had to become. Like those scars all over my body. I wouldn't heal them, even if I could. They are more me than my skin or hair or name. They have formed me. The scar tissue healed, but those discolored lines mean I am changed. That I will never be whole, but something else. Something stronger."
3 1/2 stars for this strong mystery novel with a grounding in Native history in Oklahoma.
As a Bureau of Indian Affairs archeologist, Syd Walker spends her time in Rhode Island with her spouse, Mal, trying to protect the land's indigenous past, even as she’s escaping her own. But when she receives a call from her hometown - where her sister, Emma Lou, has just gone missing - she's brought back to a fifteen-year-old tragedy she's tried hard to forget.
There's a lot to enjoy about this book. The family content and dynamics are strong, and a cast of strong and complex side characters (particularly Emma Lou's boyfriend) keep the book engaging. Emma Lou is a wonderful character and the exploration of addiction's impact on a family is sympathetic and dimensional. Blood Sisters is extremely grounded in histories of indigenous oppression in Ohio and interweaves an array of strong characters who convey different parts of that history. There is a complex history and legacy even in the lead character's role in the BIA, an organization which saw fit to exploit Native land it claimed to protect.
I found some of the plotting a bit confusing. Specifically, the logistics of a few of the earlier fight scenes felt incredibly confusing to the point of being incomprehensible. More notably, I really wished for a bit more of Mal specifically. The arc between Syd and Mal is fantastic, but felt incomplete in actual text.
Easily one of the most genuinely helpful self-help books I’ve ever read. Huge fan of this book’s simple takes on organizing complex systems; only writEasily one of the most genuinely helpful self-help books I’ve ever read. Huge fan of this book’s simple takes on organizing complex systems; only writing down next steps is genuinely life-changing, and I love my someday/maybe list. One or two parts are slightly outdated as occurs with any productivity books in this era, but I really liked this one!
This is a complicated book about which I have extremely complicated thoughts. Following a pair of estranged sisters whose third sister was kidnapped 1This is a complicated book about which I have extremely complicated thoughts. Following a pair of estranged sisters whose third sister was kidnapped 18 years previously, Pretty Girls is a brutal, spine-chilling ride into the politics and impact of domestic violence.
Lydia and Claire could not be more opposite: Claire is a dressed-up wife to Atlanta millionaire Paul, while Lydia is a single mother to daughter Dee dating a fellow ex-con, Rick, and trying hard to make ends meet. They have not spoken for eighteen years. But when Claire's husband is murdered horribly before her eyes, they're brought to a surprise reunion.
This is an absolutely wild ride of a novel, with some fantastic twists that really keep attention. Despite some slow sections, the general strength of the novel comes in the depth of the horror; the villains scare deeply.
My one concern about this novel was a level of brutality that felt it dipped into torture porn. I think this is a matter of taste, but specifically, the use of rape is repeatedly and extensively horrifying. Additionally, Claire and Lydia each felt, at times, just slightly underdeveloped. I wished for more out of each of them.
Overall, while this was a worthy read, I'm not sure I'll be reading more Karin Slaughter. But I do get why people loved this so much.
An extremely fast-paced and tense suspense novel which kept me spellbound. The Night She Disappeared follows the disappearance of teen parents TallulaAn extremely fast-paced and tense suspense novel which kept me spellbound. The Night She Disappeared follows the disappearance of teen parents Tallulah and Zach, raising their child together while living with Tallulah's mother Kim.
Generally, I think this novel’s strength comes in crafting interesting character dynamics. Tallulah herself is very well-drawn, and her flashback point of view chapters never failed to hold my attention. Kim’s chapters are also great, with a palpable connection to her daughter that hooks in the reader. Scarlett, a girl with Tallulah on the night she disappeared, and Zach, the boyfriend, are each interesting characters.
Arguably The Night We Disappeared's biggest fault comes in Sophie’s character. In comparison to essentially every other character, she is extremely boring—I feel like she’s meant to be a Tallulah narrative foil but fails to be so just because she’s not interesting enough. While I liked the lack of manufactured drama in her storyline in that she gets along with a coparent, I wished for more genuine tension in her side of the narrative. Much as an outsider made for a fun interlude, I almost didn't need her character.
On the bright side? Great ending with a solid reveal, both well-foreshadowed but with enough details shifting that I didn't quite see things coming. The resolution to one of the conflicts resultant from the solution felt slightly too convenient but not ridiculous. The additional final-final twist is very well foreshadowed and I was extremely proud of myself for guessing several details of it; I do not think everyone will.
Overall, I think this one is worth your time if you like suspense! I'll be trying Lisa Jewell further.
I couldn’t quite understand how an ordinary man’s good qualities could become crushing accusations against a guilty man.
An enrapturing, exhausting
I couldn’t quite understand how an ordinary man’s good qualities could become crushing accusations against a guilty man.
An enrapturing, exhausting novel about Meursault, a man devoid of guilt or remorse.
I felt deeply exhausted by this novel. When Meursault meets his fate, there is no joy or relief to be found. Even as he has consistently and constantly lacked true compassion for any characters, he has shown occasional moments of something approaching kindness. He simply isn’t a cruel enough force to root for death. But you also see so easily how he could be condemned to death. He is remorseless, after all. It exposes the mundanity of evil – the mundanity of death, and the simple mundanity of death as punishment for death.
But I think it was a mistake even to consider the possibility. Because at the thought that one fine morning I would find myself a free man standing behind a cordon of police on the outside, as it were at the thought of being the spectator who comes to watch and then can go and throw up afterwards, a wave of poisoned joy rose in my throat.
Kate Mara’s pseudo open relationship with that guy from the handmaid’s tale was NOT tea that I expected from this book.
“But I would rather remember,
Kate Mara’s pseudo open relationship with that guy from the handmaid’s tale was NOT tea that I expected from this book.
“But I would rather remember, I’d rather the hurt than not—at least I got it love you, at least I felt your love for me.”
This both feels incredibly personal and yet incredibly removed. It's a very purposefully removed narrative voice, cold and crisp, as Elliot goes through details of past experiences, cruelty and otherwise. Some of these stories are incredibly personally, and there's something simultaneously painful and cathartic about reading them. As the book came towards its conclusion, I craved more of an intense emotional connection. It's a very inconclusive memoir, and I think that's on purpose. I wished for a conclusion, but understood this as an artistic choice.
Reviewers taking his experience as a guideline for all trans people should keep in mind that 'textbook' isn't what the 'memoir' genre is intended to be. There's no indication in the text that Elliot Page expects to be seen as a representation for every trans person, and those attempting to read the text as such are doing it a disservice. In other words, I think you should ignore any reviews of this text by cis people critiquing Elliot Page's lived experiences of transness. For example, the review down below on the page that informs us all that Normal trans people don't get top surgery before going on testosterone is misinformed; I've had multiple friends go either direction. There just really isn't a set timeline for transitioning.
I always really struggle to rate and review memoir; I think this is fairly well written considering I think this is his voice, and I think it's worth reading if celebrity memoirs resonate with you. While it didn't entirely resonate with me as a book, it did make me like Elliot Page even more.
Honestly? I just love Hercule Poirot so much. He is such a bitch. He is such a shit-stirrer. I find it beautiful when he gets really invested in otherHonestly? I just love Hercule Poirot so much. He is such a bitch. He is such a shit-stirrer. I find it beautiful when he gets really invested in other people's love lives, as well as vaguely insulting the narrator du jour while also clearly caring for them. He's the worst. I love him and he is my best friend.
Beyond that, Agatha Christie continues to never miss. Her mysteries and characters are fantastic. I particularly enjoy her penchant for intriguing side characters; Thora Grey never failed to delight me, in particularly. Even when a character isn't doing the crime, you're intrigued by the mysteries they hold, what they've done or haven't done.
You're probably wondering about the mystery, right? Well. A very fun ride, that. And that's all I'll say.
Not my favorite of the Christies I've read so far - Death on the Nile, you are still #1 in my heart - but definitely a very good one.
I'm struggling a bit with figuring out exactly what to say about this book.
In reading feminist theory of this era, I am constantly struck by the degrI'm struggling a bit with figuring out exactly what to say about this book.
In reading feminist theory of this era, I am constantly struck by the degree to which porn becomes a focus, and I really enjoyed what Joanna Russ had to say. However, I do think there are degrees to which societal pressure on women to enjoy fantasies of submission, and societal pressure on men to enjoy dominance, influence our sexual desires. I think that in talking about porn as morally neutral, that's an important part of the puzzle - even in being morally neutral, our desires do not exist in a vacuum! They come from somewhere, because that's what desire is.
On the bright side, really enjoyed the entire section just dedicated to Kirk/Spock fanfiction. Great vibes.
QUOTES THAT RESONATED FOR ME ➽“When I hear women denounced for deviant sexual behavior, when male lust is seriously advanced as a primary cause of women's oppression and the cultivation of certain kinds of sexuality, I begin to wonder where I am. Is this feminism or feminine-ism? The feminism I know began as politics, not rules for living. To call X a feminist issue did not then mean that there was a good way to do X and a bad way, and that we were trying to replace the bad way with the good way.”
➽“What is demanded is that you ‘make something of yourself.’ Sometimes this means being artificially thin or girdled and sometimes it means being artificially fat and padded, but it always means being unnatural and uncomfortable.”
➽“...Two factors operating: who you want the other person to be and who you want to be yourself.”
➽“I was uneasy about wanting anybody else to ‘be the girl’ since I knew what a rotten deal that was; I couldn’t imagine anybody choosing it voluntarily.”
➽“A partner's hostility or boredom is ordinarily a real turn-off and yet this is exactly the situation under patriarchy, where so many women are not interested, not excited, not participants, and not happy. Yet men must penetrate and ejaculate if there are to be any babies - and so the problem for patriarchy (whether you think of this as a one-time invention or a constant process) is to construct a male sexuality which can function in the face of a woman's non-cooperation or outright fear and hostility. Of course such a sexuality is, in fact, common. It is also furtive, guilty, miserable, unspontaneous, forced, unfree, and minimally sensual.”
➽“If you’ve been forbidden the use of your own power for your own self, you can give up your power or you can give up your self. If you’re effective, you must be so for others but never for yourself.”
Lovely as always. This installment of the Singing Hells novella series sees Cleric Chih returning home, giving us better backstory on our darling clerLovely as always. This installment of the Singing Hells novella series sees Cleric Chih returning home, giving us better backstory on our darling cleric. It plays with their complicated homecoming in a way that I enjoyed, and gives us significantly more lore on the clerics’ history. This wasn’t my favorite of the novellas, but it was still a lovely one! ...more
(Okay, my real lore about this book is that I read it in one sitting at the library while waiting to go to my first date with my now-partner of nine m(Okay, my real lore about this book is that I read it in one sitting at the library while waiting to go to my first date with my now-partner of nine months, and we discovered after the fact that we were in fact *both* killing time at the library before said date. #compatibility)
While I did not love this nearly as much as I adored Don't Call Us Deas, Danez Smith is an absolute talent. Homie is themed around the death of a cherished friend.
My favorite poems from the collection included: self portrait as 90s r&b video, I’m going back to minessota where sadness makes sense, say it with your whole black mouth, sometimes I wish I felt the side effects, and waiting on you to die so I can be myself. My favorite poem from the entire collection was actually the ending, Acknowledgments, a poem written about different friends across days. Brilliant, heartfelt, and loving.
Here are some of my favorite lines: ▷I call for god and out comes your name ▶o California, don’t you know the sun is only a god if you learn to starve for her? ▷Love and dust get caught up in us like wind and birds ▶Each hand laid upon my like a rude and starving prayer ▷Love knows where to hide the body ▶I wanted to be the boy who turned into the bird limp in the dog’s wet mouth, holding me towards his human saying, I made this for you. ▷It’s not the sex. the being filled. but the emptiness. void you didn’t know was. until someone stopped it up. ▶I’ll burn this whole shot down like left eye would, like any good wife, whatever survives will be my kingdom. I hope I make it. ▷Dear suicide… I know what happens when you ask for a kiss, it’s all tongue, you don’t unlatch, you suck face until the body is gone
The Marrow Thieves is what, to me, makes a perfect dystopian novel - it makes a horrific future out of a horrific past. Specifically, Dimaline plays wThe Marrow Thieves is what, to me, makes a perfect dystopian novel - it makes a horrific future out of a horrific past. Specifically, Dimaline plays with historical pasts of Native youth in Canada - specifically, the exploitative and genocidal Canadian Indian residential school program. With a death rate of between 3,000 and 30,000 children, the Canadian system of legally required boarding schools for First Nations Children aimed itself towards separation, alienation from culture, and forced enfranchisement. The last school closed in just 1997.
Here, the world is based around a lack of dreams. The white members of Canada and the United States exploit Native children through theft of bone marrow, believing it will bring back dreams. Native children can dream, and the dominant culture seeks to steal culture - as well as destroy Native connection. It's smart and well-done.
I think really my only issue here is just intended audience; this is gearing itself just slightly younger. (This would have been perfect for me at sixteen.) The characters are: lead character Frenchie, a sixteen-year-old Métis boy trying to figure himself out; Wab, eighteen and with perhaps the worst past of them all; Chi Boy, seventeen-year-old Cree; Tree and Zheegwon, a set of twelve-year-old twins; nine-year-old Slopper; RiRi, seven years old, Métis, and the sweetheart of the group. (Wab and RiRi are absolutely standout as characters.) While I found the romance a bit boring at times, there's a way Dimaline writes about love that I enjoyed - a love for connection, whether it come with words or not.
When you love a person, you are expected to give them their freedom, but when you love a monster, you keep it caged.
Fonda Lee is constantly cement
When you love a person, you are expected to give them their freedom, but when you love a monster, you keep it caged.
Fonda Lee is constantly cementing herself as one of my favorite authors.
Untethered Sky follows Ester, a girl half-orphaned by a deadly manticore who becomes a rukher, a hunter of her own killers. In the course of her relationship with Zahra, her massive, deadly roc, as well as her fellow rukhers Yasmine and Darius, she finds a pathway towards her own recovery.
A thousand things could be said about Fonda Lee's fantastic writing, and brilliant, smart character writing. Untethered Sky engages itself with two beasts from Persian and Arabian folklore: manticores, man-eating beasts with human heads and lion bodies, and rocs, giant birds able to hunt them. Ester's narration is compelling strong.
But what truly struck me about this novella is the building of relationships between the rocs and the rukhers. The rukhers grow to truly love their rocs, wishing for their presence. The rocs survive. When one bird dies, there is always another roc to train. Yet the rukhers mourn their birds. By the time we reach the wonderful, emotional ending, I was near tears and thinking about my cat.
This is my professor's book, so I promise I'm not just sucking up when I say that this was genuinely fantastic - a very accessible argument that the bThis is my professor's book, so I promise I'm not just sucking up when I say that this was genuinely fantastic - a very accessible argument that the best way to gain true democratic process is to allow civil servants a voice.
Professor Golden argues that both controllability and lack of controllability of the bureaucracy are defined by the management strategies of presidential appointees, civil servants’ role perception and profession-based norms, and agency context, using case studies of four different organizations during Ronald Reagan's presidency: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), Civil Rights Division of Department of Justice (CRD), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It's a really great overview and both very well-research and easy to read.
“The only way Addie knows how to keep going is to keep going forward. They are Orpheus, she is Eurydice, and every time they turn back, she is ruin
“The only way Addie knows how to keep going is to keep going forward. They are Orpheus, she is Eurydice, and every time they turn back, she is ruined.”
This is a gorgeous, gorgeous book, and it’s marketed as a romance between a girl and the devil, but it’s something a lot more: An exploration of trauma that made me fall in love.
Addie LaRue is born in a small French town in 1691 and at just seventeen, sells her soul to escape, promising it only after she gets tired of living. The holder of her soul gives her an escape and something worse: He makes her immortal and unchanging, but cursed to be forgotten by all who see her.
Addie’s tragedy is that she can care but cannot be remembered enough to be cared for. Sections of this novel are cut between by excerpts from artwork created about Addie. For a while, it's wonderful, an expression of love. But it is also her tragedy: She is an eternal muse, doomed to wander without permanence.
There’s a profound love for people entwined through this book—in the loves Addie has made and lost, in her modern-day painter Sam, her past composer Remy, and in her modern-day love, Henry Strauss. While the romance between Henry and Addie is compelling, I think it's really a lot more about these two characters finding connection than the particular dynamic between the two; in a world where no one can really see Henry, and no one can really see Addie, each is seen for themselves. While they each started their arcs believing they wanted to be unseen, they need to be seen for who they are.
I also really loved the ending. I think it will probably controversial but I found it very satisfying even in technical ambiguity; it resolves Addie’s character arc in a way I found extremely interesting.
I like... genuinely loved this book. I thought it was so utterly gorgeous. I almost want to reread it now.
You won’t eat me. No matter how much you enjoy the way I taste.
3 1/2 stars. This is a three-story collection, and yet the one I keep coming back t
You won’t eat me. No matter how much you enjoy the way I taste.
3 1/2 stars. This is a three-story collection, and yet the one I keep coming back to is the first and titular story, Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke, following Agnes and Zoe, two women meeting online and participating in over-the-internet BDSM. This one gets incredibly fucked up, and I found it genuinely fascinating.
Thematically, there is so much to unpack here with regards to consumption. SPOILER: The entire premise of 'my lover can't impregnate me so I will impregnate myself with something that will literally eat me alive, because that is the best representation of my lover' is so, so interesting. What is a bad relationship but a consumption of what you are, until you can manage to reproduce whatever has been eaten out of you?
I have one or two notes about this story. There are some sections where the voices of the writing just doesn't totally match - specifically, the IMs vs the incredibly poetic emails. Additionally, as Alexis Hall pointed out, Zoe's voice is really not very striking, which makes her much harder to believe. Also, as an extremely negative reviewer on this page pointed out, what she wants out of Agnes is, to start with, quite literally just 24/7 BDSM. A lot? Yeah. Horror movie, "you would be disgusted by me if you knew what I wanted" a lot? This is just what Christian Grey was into. (Tragically, Christian Grey wasn't into tapeworm reproduction.)
Second story The Enchantment follows James and Olive in the aftermath of the death of their son, and is essentially a slow descent into madness. It's solid horror and I really liked the ending, but found the pacing slightly off. Final story You'll Find Its Like That All Over is much shorter than the other two, and feels slightly out of place; I think this collection should have been shorter or longer to justify its inclusion. I was honestly somewhat underwhelmed by parts two and three, and think the first story - which is definitely a four on its own - could be edited more tightly.
Still absolutely love the first story, still glad I read this.
An excellent analysis of the role of racism in the history of bureaucratic development under the 1910s Democrats, with very good use of primary sourceAn excellent analysis of the role of racism in the history of bureaucratic development under the 1910s Democrats, with very good use of primary source information. I read this for a course on the history and politics of bureaucracy. ...more
“This is for saying boobs, and for being boobs yourselves.”
(The Locked Tomb is a serious series about necromancy, lesbianism, and most importantly
“This is for saying boobs, and for being boobs yourselves.”
(The Locked Tomb is a serious series about necromancy, lesbianism, and most importantly the inherent intimacy of sharing your body with another person.)
HERE ARE MY NONA THE NINTH PROS: Nona is absolutely one of the best of the three so far in terms of general content. I loved that this got to be a book which wasn’t really about Gideon and Harrow at all; Nona felt so much more ensemble cast than even book one, which I loved. Nona is special to me, with a voice that feels extremely well-developed and managed to charm. Pyrrha is well developed; side characters such as We Suffer were an enjoyable addition; the Hot Sauce plot was also really sweet.
The Camilla and Palamedes content particularly made me absolutely crazy. I particularly enjoyed the fact that (view spoiler)[Cam and Palamedes can merge their bodies but it hurts them like crazy. Something about this made me super emotional. (hide spoiler)] Camilla’s “I don’t let go. It’s my one thing.” line truly killed me.
On a spoilery level, there was some really wonderful content going on here: I was SO happy to get more of John and Alecto’s story and the planet colonization especially, and the John backstory is insanely well done. And Ianthe’s parts in here were absolutely incredible:
“Prince Ianthe Naberius. Can you not fucking smoke in here?” “It’s a filthy habit. I didn’t think you cared though.” “I don’t, but there’s like a million smoke detectors.”
In general, I felt like this novel created a more well-built full world, rather than just putting a focus on the lyctors.
Generally, I had very few quibbles with the book as a whole, probably enjoying the reading experience the most of any book and definitely more than Harrow. Through the book, what’s going on made consistent sense, even when so much felt like a mystery — as my friend Bankston pointed out, the third act twists in Harrow and to some degree Gideon rely on G and H not realizing information that on some level they should be noticing (in her book, Harrow must be literally lobomitzed to not notice). I really enjoyed actually understanding most of what was going on, and that Nona has such a clear reason to not fully understand.
“Classic Blood of Eden move. Fucking insane, surprisingly effective, relies on a lot of soldiers pissing in a lot of fucking bottles.”
HERE ARE MY NONA THE NINTH CONS: I know Nona the Ninth was originally the first third of a book. But here is the thing. When Muir split the books, they didn’t really go “okay, time to put more of the finale plot points into here.” They just kind of split it in half and made that work. My question is… why? Why not pull forth a few of the ending complexities ready to come in Alecto, and give them space in Nona?
Generally, I thought the ending was underwhelming. Here are three reasons why: (view spoiler)[I texted a friend while I was reading this simply the phrase “why does Ianthe have Gideon Nav’s body am I dumb?” I was not dumb. Muir just never explains this, or even comments on the fact that it’s never explained (thus building it as a mystery). I think doing neither is a straight-up bad writing decision. (hide spoiler)] I additionally really didn’t love what happened with (view spoiler)[Gideon and especially with Gideon and Ianthe. (hide spoiler)] If a character is going to change so much between books, I’m going to need one tiny iota of context. I wanted the paul stuff to get a Bit more, it's so compelling and makes me crazy, but it kind of felt like 'read the next book for more' and I was like okay no I want just a tad more in this book actually. it wasn't a cliffhanger but also wasn't fully developed which sort of bothered me. Also, I thought there should've been more Corona and Judith content. The only reason they made me so crazy was the short story and I really, really feel like we should've gotten more of that in the actual book. No, this is not just because I am invested in them, I am also right.
The conflict of Nona is allegedly simple: Who is she? My disappointment with the ending was possibly added to by the fact that for some reason I was completely confident as to what the answer was. Here was my logic: Her identity was the right choice on Muir’s part. If she’d been one of the other options, it would’ve been borderline lazy and not nearly as interesting.
This is the ending of the first third of a book. It’s not quite a cliffhanger, but it’s not quite satisfying either. I am bored.
HERE ARE MY NOTES FOR THE NOVEL: (view spoiler)[The Cohort (with the white eyes), also known as the Nine Houses Army, is still fighting up against Blood of Eden. Surviving Characters: Camilla Hect and Palamedes Sextus, in the same body and now going by “Paul”; Coronabeth Tridentarius; Judith Dueteros; Pyrrha Dve (in the body of Gideon (?), deceased); Prince Ianthe Tridentarius (at time shares with Naberius); We Suffer; Our Lady of the Passion aka Pash; and Nona/Alecto in Harrowhark Nonagesimus’s body. (hide spoiler)]
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