3.5 I was walking through London for the first time ever, having already purchased 4 new books as my "special England book" while on holiday last week3.5 I was walking through London for the first time ever, having already purchased 4 new books as my "special England book" while on holiday last week, when I saw a window display in Waterstones of this beautiful book. It caught my eye with the colours, and had me sold by the tagline "Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing."
I do have to say, it wasn't what I was expecting. I thought I was in for something much more light hearted than what I got, especially when the quotes on the front said things like "A novel that sparks joy with every page". The look and feel had me thinking it was going to be something a bit cutesy maybe, fun and quirky. In reality this book is a joy, but it's only a joy in that Elizabeth Zott is relentlessly undeterred by never ending waves of devastating things happening to her. A TW definitely would have been nice, as the first few chapters into a book I thought was going to be a fun little romp had a very unexpected turn that had me slamming the book closed on the train and taking a minute. I would advertise this book as a lighthearted look at a disappointing reality of being a woman in Science (or at all) in the early 60's. It is full of the obstacles and ideologies of the time and Elizabeth is essentially a modern-thinking woman placed amongst it who blanldy and boldy doesn't accept it. Zott slowly collects loveable characters, converts others and ultimately triumphs over a vast array of shit-heads, and I absolutely loved that. The book is also a really good representation of a family made of the people you choose, not the one you are born too.
So I can agree that this book was a delight to read, but do prepare to feel a little fire under your seat when reading it....more
This book was beautiful. This book made me feel weepy in the best kind of way. I'm going to let myself sit on this, but I think it may have made it to This book was beautiful. This book made me feel weepy in the best kind of way. I'm going to let myself sit on this, but I think it may have made it to my favourites. I want to give it a proper review, but all I can say is that I was truly and wholly absorbed by Sebastian and Tanner's story. I felt every last bit of Sebastian's heartbreak and indecision and his story struck a real chord with me. I seriously loved this story....more
4.5 stars! This was beautiful, and fascinating and so very, very different. I loved Lazlo, he was too pure for this world and I was rooting for him fro4.5 stars! This was beautiful, and fascinating and so very, very different. I loved Lazlo, he was too pure for this world and I was rooting for him from page one. I loved the complexity of all the characters, of the city and it's history and it's people.
The world was whimsical and so fun to be in, the writing was entralling and beautiful.
The ending was just *explosion*
Can't wait for Muse of Nightmares, I'm so excited to see how this goes....more
3.5 Becky Chamber's book are so unique and the way her mind works is fascinating to me. It's like her imagination is limitless and the way she makes up3.5 Becky Chamber's book are so unique and the way her mind works is fascinating to me. It's like her imagination is limitless and the way she makes up cultures and entire, plausible political or social systems is incredible.
That being said, I felt this book fell a little flatter than her other three for me. It could very well have been me, (I was after a bit of action and I know not to expect that from Becky's books as they are always peaceful "what-if", slice-of-life kind of stories), but even so, I felt far less attached to these character as I have her previous ones, even going so far as to find it a bit difficult to tell some of them apart. The narration style between Eyas, Tessa and Isabel were a little too similar for me to really separate them, even though their stories we pretty different.
Over all, though it's a nice world to live in for a little while, I wasn't compelled to pick it back up when I set it down because there wasn't a lot of intrigue. Again, I think I was in the wrong mood for this right now.
Still going to read everything she releases. ...more
No lie: I picked this book up because I felt that it was a book jumping aboard the SJM Fae-train, and I just had to know.
She focused a lot on making sNo lie: I picked this book up because I felt that it was a book jumping aboard the SJM Fae-train, and I just had to know.
She focused a lot on making some pretty cool and cringey scenery/magical events, which were kind of awesome but I was really struggling to stay engaged through this whole book.
The romance made like, zero sense because their chemistry was non-existent and it was so easy look at it and realize they both would be better off without each other. So what if he's the one Fae around with some emotions? He still refers to her crying as "leaking" and has absolutely no clue how to handle it. Try living a full life with someone who doesn't understand what crying is, let alone how to read your moods and facial expressions when you're struggling with something. You would have to spend every time your upset meticulously explaining feelings in general to him, let alone you own.
Freaking out about your own mortality? Nope, he doesn't understand that, no one dies where he's from. Your sister dies? Sorry, he doesn't have family or connections of any kind. Not to mention his inability to do any kind of craft means you're cooking dinner every day for life- which to him consists of rotten foods and raw meats.
Good luck, bitch, you enjoy your hot piece of ass with literally no personality outside of abs and being a hundred or so....more
Let me just preface this with a little note on Maresi, the first book in this series. Maresi was a pleasant read that touched briefly on how te [image]
Let me just preface this with a little note on Maresi, the first book in this series. Maresi was a pleasant read that touched briefly on how terrible it can be to be a woman, but over all was a positive book with a really uplifting vibe. Woman escaped bad situations to come and live freely on an island that let them work and learn in a safe haven that men couldn't access. It was a nice coming-of-age tale about sisterhood and the potential that a woman can have if she's given opportunity.
This left me completely unprepared for the onslaught of miserable realism that was Naondel. Noandel is the prequel to Maresi, following different characters completely, and though you should read Maresi first, Naondel really, really makes the positive flavor of Maresi so much more precious.
Naondel follows 7 women who all, for one reason or another, end up living in the harem of a powerful and really, truly awful man. The book spans over 40 years and follows all the woman that are affected by this one man as he grows to take over and conquer all the lands around him. It's depressing and enraging and heart wrenching to read, but I found myself becoming so invested in these women who all came from different places, and had different talents, and found camaraderie with each other because of the suffering caused by one man.
I always think that the "best" kind of bad guys are the ones who are rooted in truth, and though Iskan was a man imbued with powers from a spring, he was one of the most realistic antagonists I've ever read. All the evil things he did had nothing to do with the power he had and had everything to do with the fact that he was a powerful man. Everything he pursued was a means to gain more power and more ways to make himself feel larger by belittling those around him. Woman were collectables that he could choose from to suit his mood. For years it followed these woman who had nothing to fight for and nothing to fight with until they found each other. All you wanted by the end of the book was just a little bit of happiness for them, so Maresi isn't really complete without Naondel, but neither is Noandel without Maresi even though it follows different women. Naondel is the story of the suffering behind the hard-won positivity of Maresi and the legacy left behind by the women who fought back for a future, and boy does it make you want to cry....more
Um, excuse me? Did I give you permission to ruin my life like that?
This was a nice easy read, but still managed to pack a real wallop right in the feelUm, excuse me? Did I give you permission to ruin my life like that?
This was a nice easy read, but still managed to pack a real wallop right in the feelings. It was cute and fun at times, and insanely depressing in others. I don't even know what I feel right now, but I know I'm feeling a lot of it.
Yoon is definitely on my to-watch list now....more
I'm sitting on the fence here between 3.5 and 4 stars, but I think for what the book lacked in subtlety and forced not-what-you-would-expect characterI'm sitting on the fence here between 3.5 and 4 stars, but I think for what the book lacked in subtlety and forced not-what-you-would-expect characters, it made up for in sheer readabilty and fun.
This book had my skin crawling and my heart skipping dozens of times while I read late into the night (that or I need to get my heart checked out, because that shit is really irregular). It had me peeping out my window and under my bed before I fell asleep (because I'm a big wimp like that.) It had me tearing up and feeling totally devastated and it had me conflicted along side both characters as they dealt with some heavy shit that no 16/18 year old's should ever have to deal with.
I think this book had a lot of similarities to two of my favorite sci-fi's, so in that sense I was a little bit underwhelmed. I feel like it had the rich-girl/poor-boy-with-hidden-talents thing that Gemina did much better and the travel-across-a-foreign-planet-with-only-each-other-and-lots-of-scary-shit-happening-until-we-forge-an-unbreakable-bond thing that was done better in The Knife of Never Letting Go. It was a bit heavy on the "you're all I ever want in life for eternity and ever and just kill me now-bleh-" moments (that's a thing) without having the same sort of build up that TKONLG seemed to give, where it felt like those two genuinely could not live without each other without even having to say it. (Seriously, read TKONLG. Seriously. I would recommend that book to literally the entire world. I would recommend it to my dog. If my dog suddenly started talking to me, the first thing I would do would be to make him read that book so we could talk about it. No conversation can be truly enjoyed unless you've both shared the experience of Patrick Ness shredding your soul apart.)
In the end, this is a book I really enjoyed and it did give me a plot I wasn't expecting in true (what I'm finding to be) Kaufman style. So I'm really excited for the rest of the series and for falling even more in love with this! ...more
So, a lot of people loved this one, and I'm a little tired of always being the stick in the mud who's like "I didn't get it?" but honestly, how can yoSo, a lot of people loved this one, and I'm a little tired of always being the stick in the mud who's like "I didn't get it?" but honestly, how can you love it with a protag that annoying? She was the worst! I could rant and rave about how boring, and frustratingly neutral she was the whole way through - showing a grand total of about 2 emotions and whining every step of the way - but I don't want to focus on only that. Because I could look past that part for the plot, which was actually quite intriguing, considering I read it in just two sittings.
Normally, when it comes to these absurd, alice-in-wonder-land-esque, "anything goes" kind of books, I just hate them. I can't stand Terry Pratchett, I hate Monty Python movies, I just do not get this bizarre branch of bat-shit crazy writing.
So when Garber started talking about stores that claimed they could "fix broken imaginations" or similar whack-o promises, I was already preparing myself for the inevitability that I was going to spend the whole book with one eyebrow cocked (if I could do that) and a purely befuddled exclamation of "huh?" escaping my mouth every chapters end. [image]
To an extent I got that, but I also enjoyed it a lot more than I was expecting I would. I came for the cover and the hype, but I stayed for the intrigue and the twists. And the Tangled shout outs.
Garber had some really solid imagery and it was easy to imagine the world she built, which was beautiful and complex, though I found the application of colors to emotions a little off-putting. Every time she said something to the effect of "the deep indigo of betrayal" I was thrown out of the book because it just didn't flow for me.
I found her relationship pretty unsettling purely because of the situation she came from with her father, the mistrust she felt around Julian just screamed bad idea and I think abusive father/daughter relationships need to be handled very delicately when it comes to the message being sent. It's important to ensure you're not teaching girls that the first boy who comes along will save them even if he lies to you. Which this book whole-heartedly enforced.
The ending had me flipping a table because it was so ludicrous and left so much room for error. The fact that it was guided by how the author wanted it to go was the only reason things worked out the way they did in the end. That's why I don't usually like the bizarre kind of tales. With so many weird and wonderful extras added, the variables just can't be controlled unless they're ignored.
EDIT:In the end, it's 2 stars because I had fun reading it but I don't know that I'll stick around for the sequel ( I honestly don't think there should be one) It gave me enough of a wild ride that I felt like it was a worthwhile read, but it wasn't all it was hyped up to be.
Sorry Bookclub girls! I hope you have a better time with it! * * *
Rating and review to come, I'm really not sure where I stand on this book. [image]...more
I honestly cannot remember what even happened in this book. I can't possibly review it, because I can't even remember it.I honestly cannot remember what even happened in this book. I can't possibly review it, because I can't even remember it....more
[image] It was neat. A well thought out book coming to a tidy conclusion with no strings left flapping around. It was cre3.5 What a charming little book.
[image] It was neat. A well thought out book coming to a tidy conclusion with no strings left flapping around. It was creative in how she weaved Bristal into different fairy tales, making a mark on many other people's lives, while the story of Bristal's life was wholly her own. It's strange (in my experience anyway,) to find a fantasy book that is so short and not in a series, but I think in this case it was a good idea to keep it to one book. It showed that West's eyes weren't bigger than her stomach, and she knew that she only had so much story to tell. Instead of dragging that out between two or three books with endless chapters of filler, she kept it succinct, and therefore it was well paced and interesting the whole way through. My only qualm with this though, was that I would have actually liked a bit more time in the world she made, and a lot more time with the characters. The romance's were true to their fairy tale origins, happening over night (save Bristal's herself...sort of) and there just wasn't enough time focused on building the relationships between the huge array of people that she knew. Drell, for example, had my love and attention from the beginning, and I feel like she wasn't allowed to grow to what she could have been as a character and friend. I love a tale of a girl coming to power and changing lives, and I really wish that there could have been more on how she individually helped shape those around her.
Other than that it was a heart warming story that had me hooked from the start, eager to read more, holding my breath and ultimately feeling very satisfied. And that cover....more
I have to stop buying books because they're pretty. I won't. I mean, I absolutely won't stop doing that, but I really should.
Maybe I heard "Red Riding HI have to stop buying books because they're pretty. I won't. I mean, I absolutely won't stop doing that, but I really should.
Maybe I heard "Red Riding Hood retelling" and that was enough to convince me that this was destined to be a good book. Maybe my expectations were higher than they should have been. Maybe becoming a feminist has just ruined 'romance' for me. Maybe, it was actually just not that great a book. All I know is that the 'love triangle' was ridiculous and forced. The romance in question was down right cringey, swinging between adoration of a completely demeaning asshole, (who was actually the character that was more convincing as her love interest purely by time frame alone); or a horrendously fast moving cliche-fest of hate-to-insta-love that was so fast and so melodramatic it gave me whiplash and a headache from rolling my eyes so much.
The fight scenes were unbearably underwhelming even though "She was fighting better than she ever had before" in every fight. How could that NOT be thrilling to read? Who needs an explanation when you can just know it's even better that the last fight scene that wasn't explained?
This book certainly had the whole YA checklist: Love Triangle? Check. Fight scenes? Check. Innocent female side character? Check. Bitchy female side character? Check
Almost like she read a "how to write a YA novel" hand book. She had all the components that she must have assumed are what make a good book, but she didn't have the ability to mix them up into a good book-stew.
I'm digressing. My actual issues with the book are thus:
The Protag: She was depressing, melodramatic, whiney and boring as can be. She spent the whole book reveling in her persecution and her damnation, and I just don't read into that kind of crap. It would have been great if she was able to overcome all the hatred and love herself in the end, but...
Erec, AKA douchey sexist pants Need I say more? He alone made the strong female lead a joke. He embarrasses her, patronizes her, infuriates her and she's still putty in his hands if he looks at her just right. (view spoiler)[ I also don't buy into her cop-out explanation of that. Forestborn or not, Hodge has a kink for forceful men and that's why it was the only remotely well paced romance point in the whole book. Making it where she literally was irresistibly drawn to him is just an easy way of having your douchey cake and eating your feminist pie too. (hide spoiler)]
Amelie She was not what I had hoped for. She was indeed, a useless side character there only when it was convenient
Religious undertones Ok. We've been here before. I don't like being force-fed religious rhetoric. And it might be that it's a sore spot, so I might notice it more than others would, but once I notice it, I can't see anything past it. And it was so obvious in this book. From the damnation theme, to the edgy way she questions the priest but not the religion, the constant reinforcement that society saw her as sinner and she whole-heartedly agreed to the blatant "endure's all things" quote. It seeped into every facet of this book. It had such an opportunity to highlight religious Zealotry. The book had a witch-hunt vibe going and I was really down for that, especially when you see that Rachelle does more good with her ill-gotten power than the normal "non-sinners" ever do, and they still hated her on principle, but in the end, she never got her epiphany and that was the nail in the coffin for me.
I can concede that there is probably a market for this book, because all things considered, it was a fairly creative spin on an old tale, and the prose is pleasant, but for me, it started on a high and plummeted all the way to the end. ______________
2.5 Stars. I feel like maybe that's cruel, I don't like to give a 2 star rating, but the more I think on it, the more I realize how... bad this book really was. A review's a'brewin' ...more
Ah boy. This book was just a let down. I mean, looking back at the first book and my review, I remember that it didn't have much going for it except a fAh boy. This book was just a let down. I mean, looking back at the first book and my review, I remember that it didn't have much going for it except a fast plot and entertaining dialogue, but this time, the plot was slow, the dialogue was just annoying, and the plot holes were just... glaring.
I felt wanted to DNF the book a billion times just because it was such a bland read. There was no character development what-so-ever, there was hardly any effort put into the setting. That dialogue I loved so much before was the only thing that actually happened for the first half of the book and I mean to say, I could basically imagine the characters standing in a white room talking to each other the whole way through and it was about the same as the explanation she had given me. And though that worked for making the first book fast paced and exciting, (though predictable) this book was just missing something. I once again predicated every plot twist, and this time I actually DID mind because there was no intrigue or anything to make me want to keep reading. Nina was one of those protagonists that's a leader not for her skills, but purely for the fact that the author made it so. She was bossy, uncaring and single minded. She showed next to no compassion for (view spoiler)[ her friend finding her brother had been processed by the big-bad, even though she had just gone through losing her sister herself. Instead, she proceeded to revel in his hot body and how Finn (her non-corporeal boyfriend) got to "keep" it. Like that isn't the most tasteless and vulgar way to talk about your friend's dead brother's body! (hide spoiler)]
Her sister could have been replaced with a suitcase carrying a child and the overall effect would have been the same. She was completely and utterly unimportant, yet she was for some reason the biggest factor behind every decision they made. Nina, a new-comer to the group is making ultimatums and telling everyone what they're going to do even though they're putting up with her bullshit and her useless ass, personality void pregnant sister who's about to erupt a straight up screaming demon magnet into their ranks, and they follow her, even as she steps all over her friend's personal traumas and continues to make the wrong fucking call.
Even the whole concept of keeping the baby is stupid. She's going to kill herself; a supposedly valuable exorcist, one of the few people on the planet capable of making any sort of impact on the horde of demons who have taken over the planet; to let a screaming, defenceless, NON-EXORCIST target of a child into the world and then fucking drop it into the care of everyone else she fucks over when she does it.
NOT TO MENTION She fucking TELLS THE ENTIRE PLAN TO THE BAD GUYS WHILE SHE'S STILL HANDCUFFED! [image]
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