So this was a cute idea and for what it's doing, it's great! Fun times! It's a bit silly and anachronistic and not meant to be taken seriously. World So this was a cute idea and for what it's doing, it's great! Fun times! It's a bit silly and anachronistic and not meant to be taken seriously. World building is non-existent. The story exists only to ask the question of what happens after the D&D campaign is over and two of your party are in love and one of them accidentally triggers a magical binding to be the new king and has to find his soulmate or die and how can you make a romcom out of it. It's predictable and fun.
It just went on maybe 100 pages too long for how absolutely goddamn OBLIVIOUS the two main characters were. You fucking love each other, just fucking SAY IT and GET TOGETHER ALREADY.
Literally every trope you can think of that would keep apart two characters who totally love each other but think the other DOESN'T love them is utilized. If that's your jam, I am so happy for you. Go forth! Enjoy this book! It just frustrated me to no end and that frustration ultimately took away from the fun time I was having with the rest of it. ...more
referring to F2, F3, F4 as the "lower categories"? you're gonna make up a team for kian & harper but red bull, mcclarewhy did i do this to myself lmao
referring to F2, F3, F4 as the "lower categories"? you're gonna make up a team for kian & harper but red bull, mcclaren, haas (HAAS LMAOOO???), ferrari and ALONSO all still exist? SWEDISH BROTHERS ON ONE TEAM? A DRIVER CALLED "YORRIS"??? if you can't say formula 1 because of rights issues, then don't use the real teams! pick a lane!!
WHY ARE KIAN AND HARPER IN RED RACE SUITS ON THE COVER IF FERRARI STILL EXISTS AS ANOTHER TEAM
can we talk about how a good chunk of this book has kian and harper living together in a motorhome to drive across europe for like 3-4 races??? LMAOOOO WHAT?
EDIT: i can't stop thinking about HOW DUMB THIS IS. does the author realize that the are gigantic offices/meal spaces/resting areas? and not like...a family caravan?? also if this team is sending these drivers around the world on private jets, they are having them fly private even for an hour across europe, OR they are being driven in a large tour bus or caravan by staff. they're not fucking driving themselves come on lmaooooo
kudos to there being no homophobia except for one tiny thing from one asshole character, i guess.
what have i learned from this: i am too deep into f1 as a sport now to ever read any f1 romances, thank you for that insight, rebecca....more
2.5 rounded up and oh boy, I have so many thoughts and I'm not sure how to sort them out yet. Review to come, maybe a standalone type of video on my Y2.5 rounded up and oh boy, I have so many thoughts and I'm not sure how to sort them out yet. Review to come, maybe a standalone type of video on my YouTube channel. SO MANY THOUGHTS....more
DNF @ page 112. This started out very strong, but it's taken a turn in a direction I personally do not want to follow.DNF @ page 112. This started out very strong, but it's taken a turn in a direction I personally do not want to follow....more
I went into this completely blind and honestly can’t remember what put it in my radar…thank you, universe. Isekai with a good helping of Magic Made MeI went into this completely blind and honestly can’t remember what put it in my radar…thank you, universe. Isekai with a good helping of Magic Made Me Do It (sort of) kicking off a gay romance? I’m here for it. ...more
Inez is a former space pilot of The Rule, a colonizing force in the galaxy that took her and her friends in before their homeworlds were burned to ashInez is a former space pilot of The Rule, a colonizing force in the galaxy that took her and her friends in before their homeworlds were burned to ash. After an accident, Inez is left for dead and spends a decade stewing in resentment and hate until she is dragged back by the Rule and forced to work for them - but she wants to destroy them instead.
Sui approaches this story from a perspective that isn't seen all too often. Yes, it is a revenge story and yes, it is about one person fighting against a larger fascist military rule, but she's no hero. She's a person barely holding it together. The story follows her as she deals with seeing her ex-girlfriend, ex-best friend (who is now sleeping with her ex-girlfriend), and the Third Sister, one of the ruling family of the Rule. Toxic relationships and bad decisions abound.
This is more of a character study in the end; while Inez is driven by revenge in a way that you may often see in grander space opera stories, there's nothing here to be said about faciscm, about colonialism, about revolution or society. It's just Inez's story as one person facing her own demons. That, I think is where this novella felt weak for me. The focus on the character work and the toxic relationships really took away from what I felt was a powerful story about a broken person facing her past and trying to burn it down because she has nothing left to give.
It's certainly an interesting story as a whole, though, and I liked this glimpse into the world. I wish it had done a little bit more to make the world feel more whole, but I did like how close it was to Inez as a character. ...more
Last year, Suzan Palumbo's short story collection Skin Thief: Stories was a delightful discovery, a solid introduction to her ideas and themes. I realLast year, Suzan Palumbo's short story collection Skin Thief: Stories was a delightful discovery, a solid introduction to her ideas and themes. I really enjoyed it, and was looking forward to more - which is why I jumped at the chance to request this ARC as soon as I saw it, and was thrilled to receive it.
Countess has a great fun premise: take The Count of Monte Cristo, but genderflip it, put it in a sci-fi setting that tackles anti-colonialism from a Caribbean inspired perspective. The idea sounds great, but unfortunately for me the execution didn't quite hit the mark.
The story pretty faithfully follows The Count of Monte Cristo for the first half of the book. Virika is from a Caribbean-inspired planet and joins the colonizing military force, but is framed and locked away for over a decade. Her escape is where things really start to move away from the original story path, leaning a lot more into the anti-colonialism and revolution themes. That is also where things kind of went off the rails for me.
The betrayal and her time in jail all take about half of the book. She's jailed for a decade, which the storytelling kind of glosses over. Then, the entire story of how Virika gains her riches, builds up experience by finding family and love in a revolutionary space crew, leaves them, becomes The Countess and stirs up enough revolutionary zeal to bring the Colonizers to the negotiating table happens in a truly astounding short amount of time in the story, despite these things taking place over YEARS AND YEARS of time. We get no sense of the passing of time, only a sudden line here and there that says how much time has passed and how she's changed. We don't get to SEE Virika grow into her own as the hardened Countess that can take on the Empire, we're just told she is that badass now. It's incredibly disappointing when the whole point of doing a Count of Monte Cristo story IS THE GROWTH AND REVENGE.
Despite my many qualms with the back half of the book, the first half showed SO MUCH promise. I was invested in Virika and her story, which made the pacing and jumps in time later on feel so disappointing. Like I was cheated out of a true emotional arc for her.
I really think this felt like it should have been longer, and given so much more time to breathe. This story needed more room to expand and really showcase Virika's growth into The Countess.
The world Palumbo has created here feels like it could be so much more. It's so full of love for Caribbean culture - food and clothing and accents infuse this sci-fi world with a vibrancy not often seen. I just wish the last half of the story could have lived up to the promise of the first half.
Many, many thanks to ECW Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC. Countess will be released on September 10, 2024....more
This is a fantastic and wonderful graphic memoir about Sara Soler and her partner Diana, following their journey after Diana comes out as trans. It's This is a fantastic and wonderful graphic memoir about Sara Soler and her partner Diana, following their journey after Diana comes out as trans. It's a successful blend of personal and informative, giving a strong emotional heart to the more informative sections.
The art is very cute, and very much NOT like the cover. Sara's artwork is much more stylized, in cute comic form that is round and bouncy and dynamic. The color palette is also great, using only the trans flag colors to bring everything to life, and it works.
I much preferred the personal story of Sara and Diana's relationship to the mini lectures, mostly because I'm already aware of the explanations and ideas being brought up in them. However, this is written in Spanish by a Spanish native, and I have no idea what transgender life is like in Spain - it may be the case that the simple lecture style married with the personal memoir style is exactly what some people may need to understand the broader picture, or to empathize more deeply.
Overall, this is a fun and emotional and lovely graphic novel. It's a great memoir of a relationship, it's educational, and I think would work for any age group from young teen and up. ...more
A decent story with some promise, though my enjoyment was tempered by the juvenile execution. The six POVs felt like too much, especially after they aA decent story with some promise, though my enjoyment was tempered by the juvenile execution. The six POVs felt like too much, especially after they all meet up half way through. Most everything else felt like trope after trope and not in a fun way.
Sora was the best character, honestly. She had a very interesting back story and motivations, and I think this story could have massively benefited from maybe being her own.
Not mad I read this, but not impressed either. At least the book is pretty....more
This surprised me! I love Seanan McGuire but I'm not familiar with her Mira Grant work that much. At first I was thrown by the writing, but once I reaThis surprised me! I love Seanan McGuire but I'm not familiar with her Mira Grant work that much. At first I was thrown by the writing, but once I realized this was moving along in a similar vein to other sci-thriller classics like Michael Crichton's work, everything clicked and I had a great time.
The omniscient narrative, the random side characters getting a few pages of screen time before their inevitable gory deaths, the larger focus on only a few characters, everyone being either dumb or too heroic for no reason or terrible people - yeah, it all worked for me.
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