tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72107755651784327592024-03-14T03:31:33.249-07:00TheDaisyDeerreviews from daisy's overcrowded bookshelves.TheDaisyDeerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16072502154325912513noreply@blogger.comBlogger483125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7210775565178432759.post-84014817561507045412024-03-02T02:41:00.000-08:002024-03-02T02:41:48.453-08:00The Cat Who Saved Books<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFtyGyhRJPzq7U5kRPLLsgbw_h7GANq7SVAMsG5Q2xAHNVqD_M_lCCyqq82wKG5Xn8C6sPBAgMrDMwN_288rMEQi0PmksFg-PrCw3vtVKbijRuJg-1Mmq1JLm4DHhN2AMNh0qtGYXlN-3aB1H86rohphxxFOXmDTuZcWC58_3PcxaBUeQkIh504uuHN6Q/s500/58815170.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="327" height="381" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFtyGyhRJPzq7U5kRPLLsgbw_h7GANq7SVAMsG5Q2xAHNVqD_M_lCCyqq82wKG5Xn8C6sPBAgMrDMwN_288rMEQi0PmksFg-PrCw3vtVKbijRuJg-1Mmq1JLm4DHhN2AMNh0qtGYXlN-3aB1H86rohphxxFOXmDTuZcWC58_3PcxaBUeQkIh504uuHN6Q/w249-h381/58815170.jpg" width="249" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Book Title:</span><i> </i><b>The Cat Who Saved Books</b></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Author:</span><i> </i><b>Sōsuke Natsukawa</b>, Louise Heal Kawai (translator)</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Date Started:</span><i> </i>February 26th 2024</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Date Completed:</span> March 1st 2024</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Genres:</span> Fantasy, Adventure, Contemporary</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Quality Rating:</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>Four Stars</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Enjoyment Rating: </span>Four Star</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Final Rating:</span> Four Stars</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><i>Review:</i></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;"><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;">Sarcastic cats leading humans on adventures, magical bookshops and morally challenged individuals remembering what lies beneath their misguided efforts? Someone please put this book in front of Miyazaki, it's a Ghibli adaptation waiting to happen.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Sometimes The Cat Who Saved Books is a bit on the nose with the story it's trying to tell - why books are precious despite the way some may use them for money, power or status in the modern world - but it's incredibly heartfelt. It feels like it could only be told this way against the landscape of Japan and its people's temperament, with their unique grasp of crippling modernity and intrinsic tradition.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">While this story is absolutely universal, it feels quintessentially Japanese in its simplicity, adoration of feline souls and thoughtful philosophy that in itself says stop overthinking so much and recognise where you are right now. Where it critiques, it also says look beneath the surface; everyone's trying their best but some just need to be reminded to correct their course.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">I also really enjoyed the translator's note from Louise Heal Kawai both in her recognition of the terms that remained in Japanese and the journey of translation itself. The love for books is palpable in both her and Natsukawa's writing, and Kawai highlights a fitting inspiration as the labyrinths Theseus travelled through to find the Minotaur in Greek mythology. Despite my background in mythology, I hadn't even spotted it while reading and that in itself is a testament to how this novel tells its own transformative tale that appreciates the history of storytelling, but proves that there is still endless magic they offer the modern world.</div></span></div>TheDaisyDeerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16072502154325912513noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7210775565178432759.post-55361210158822556592024-02-26T04:46:00.000-08:002024-02-26T04:46:56.297-08:00Mortal Gods<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC3QSPF05z9kgAn5JwiovyovUZ1p2NQMqesTTl0irL5neslmMPdW57JPbwzlg1sUSY-x9GZdJm6SeTW8JHnXWj84zeZVKqb91PYEGlevqD0ESNmH9pMTWlNESNw7yB1c6SlRi5P6V8LUBrOnreftQoMsJP-x03iVxakHpwD_LeQveWSmPXEq8w_exkpSY/s475/17561810.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="317" height="368" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC3QSPF05z9kgAn5JwiovyovUZ1p2NQMqesTTl0irL5neslmMPdW57JPbwzlg1sUSY-x9GZdJm6SeTW8JHnXWj84zeZVKqb91PYEGlevqD0ESNmH9pMTWlNESNw7yB1c6SlRi5P6V8LUBrOnreftQoMsJP-x03iVxakHpwD_LeQveWSmPXEq8w_exkpSY/w246-h368/17561810.jpg" width="246" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Book Title:</span><i> </i><b>Mortal Gods</b></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Author:</span><i> </i><b>Kendare Blake</b></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-style: italic;">Series:</span><i style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif;"> </i><span style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif;">Goddess War </span><span style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif;">#2</span></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Date Started:</span><i> </i>February 7th 2024</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Date Completed:</span> February 24th 2024</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Genres:</span> Fantasy, Adventure</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Quality Rating:</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>Three Stars</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Enjoyment Rating: </span>Three Star</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Final Rating:</span> Three Stars</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><i>Review:</i></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;"><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;">The Goddess War series has such a fun concept. Placing these immortal figures in a place of complete vulnerability in the modern world as they slowly die to the things that used to give them power (Athena chokes on owl feathers, Ares begins bleeding from every cut he ever lived through, Artemis is hunted by her own hounds) is such an original idea that plays with these characters in a way beyond the shallow and loose interpretations I’m used to in contemporary reimaginings. This year, I’m working to finish some of the series I started as a teenager - but only the ones I care enough about. The Goddess War trilogy is firmly in that category.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">While this book is mainly filler, the filler itself is engaging enough. There are a lot of ways these kinds of retellings can fall apart, and the main one is dependant on how much the author actually understands the source material they’re working with (not just the stories and the names, but the nuance of culture, honour, how different Ancient Greek values were to our modern ones - the stuff that thematically pulls everything together to feel real). It’s so refreshing to be able to say Kendare Blake really knows her stuff. Her background knowledge is adept, but so is her characterisation and where she grows it.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The characters are the really fun thing, and this book is basically just about them ahead of what I expect will be a more action-packed finale in Ungodly. I personally find the mortals more interesting as they grapple with their previous reincarnations starting to blend with their current lives and destinies. The gods who are slowly becoming mortal are often more intriguing in concept than their actual actions on the page. This was also the series that made me love Cassandra of Troy as a historical figure. I’d really hoped she’d get a little more screen time and development in this book considering she’s the pivotal anchor for the plot, but forward progression was slow in general. I’m willing to wait for her arc to resolve in the final book.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Not a lot happens in Mortal Gods - suspect this could’ve just been a duology like Blake’s Anna Dressed in Blood series - but it’s fun and a real show of creativity around the ideas of myth, immortals, pain, legacy and new beginnings. I’ll happily be paying to get an out of print copy send over from the US and hope that a UK publisher will rediscover this little series and bring it back here.</div></span></div>TheDaisyDeerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16072502154325912513noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7210775565178432759.post-14271559079739681652024-02-10T04:46:00.000-08:002024-02-26T04:47:27.543-08:00The Warm Hands of Ghosts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVIQRWqYgSyW-BRphNCdo68ie7wIFB4wV6TqOyYlw7y-Twf2-3JgvLTL_LRMymgTchUoxwaPDb1ACRPvNUcZ7nuCT6YinaDaMssFSFHdr9K8BqVEMOB33oOguHbPuBKN9WwsRjNk2fVbMHhWsWyfszNZkg1JZhtvfzEAu-PwJJ7dzR2D8hxFpQxXvaXt4/s1500/157591219.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="967" height="354" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVIQRWqYgSyW-BRphNCdo68ie7wIFB4wV6TqOyYlw7y-Twf2-3JgvLTL_LRMymgTchUoxwaPDb1ACRPvNUcZ7nuCT6YinaDaMssFSFHdr9K8BqVEMOB33oOguHbPuBKN9WwsRjNk2fVbMHhWsWyfszNZkg1JZhtvfzEAu-PwJJ7dzR2D8hxFpQxXvaXt4/w228-h354/157591219.jpg" width="228" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Book Title:</span><i> </i><b>The Warm Hands of Ghosts</b></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Author:</span><i> </i><b>Katherine Arden</b></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Date Started:</span><i> </i>January 25th 2024</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Date Completed:</span> February 8th 2024</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Genres:</span> Historical, Fantasy, Mystery</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Quality Rating:</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>Four Stars</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Enjoyment Rating: </span>Three Star</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Final Rating:</span> Four Stars</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><i>Review:</i></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;">◆ Thank you to NetGalley for this ebook for review ◆</span></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;">War fiction isn’t generally a genre I’m interested in, but I’ve been homesick for the magic of Arden’s historical fantasy so didn’t hesitate to jump headfirst into this one. Her magical realism elevates any story and while The Warm Hands of Ghosts is far more rooted in reality than her other novels, the book balances both well to tell a story quite unique.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;">My one reservation about this novel was how slow it was to start. Arden takes real time to build depth in her characters beyond the typical war time portraits, but it’s more than a third of the way through before we get some actual fantasy. What becomes an almost timeless saga, seeing more sides to the war than trenches and hospitals, takes quite a lot of lead in time to grow in new directions.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;">The ‘some people cannot create, they can only use and destroy’ motifs are the real polish for me. While thematically it sometimes gets battered about, it is undeniably the core of a dazzling crescendo, and a very long thread tying each person and each story together. The narrative takes place over about a year or so, but far less consistently than we tend to be used to in modern novels - that thematic truth of nature is what marries it all together.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;">Laura herself is a great character to anchor the sweeping story, time period and ensemble cast. It could have been so easy to fall into stereotype but the brusque nurse doesn’t drown out the emotional person underneath - and likewise her logic is always there for Laura to fall back on in defence. Her identity, and her companions’, are crafted so well the story can be political without derailing the narrative for a moral high ground. Beliefs and actions are consistent because they align with the characters we are falling for.</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;">I really do love Arden’s bittersweet style of storytelling. Everything always feels so rich and grim and exciting all at once. The Warm Hands of Ghosts harkens to so many references from folklore, to poetry, to music, to history and on and on. But her story feels uniquely original and new - and that’s hard to come by.</span></div>TheDaisyDeerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16072502154325912513noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7210775565178432759.post-47946619459848236032024-01-26T11:24:00.000-08:002024-02-26T04:48:30.979-08:00Incurable<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUAhOgOiFeCCWvwtkmSRpGmk3-4V-rkTssqiN54I7i80mpUv1uxg862TLxya-qI7dZb7y8BMI0T6yzuANU-rTTbdto8WOozvCbIHZ-sK3wWBxsulrc81Y3EI4kbI7Jyfsi_-JDvSaE5QeS75iPYhDO091_hXamZiYddxpBdF6zkmVg8-FIe8ZfVkmAMlo/s475/15746493.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="310" height="363" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUAhOgOiFeCCWvwtkmSRpGmk3-4V-rkTssqiN54I7i80mpUv1uxg862TLxya-qI7dZb7y8BMI0T6yzuANU-rTTbdto8WOozvCbIHZ-sK3wWBxsulrc81Y3EI4kbI7Jyfsi_-JDvSaE5QeS75iPYhDO091_hXamZiYddxpBdF6zkmVg8-FIe8ZfVkmAMlo/w237-h363/15746493.jpg" width="237" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Book Title:</span><i> </i><b>Incurable</b></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Author:</span><i> </i><b>John Marsden</b></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-style: italic;">Series:</span><i style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif;"> </i><span style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif;">The Ellie Chronicles </span><span style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif;">#2</span></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Date Started:</span><i> </i>January 18th 2024</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Date Completed:</span> January 25th 2024</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Genres:</span> Action, Adventure</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Quality Rating:</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>Four Stars</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Enjoyment Rating: </span>Four Star</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Final Rating:</span> Four Stars</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><i>Review:</i></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;"><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;">These books really are a saga, all the way from Tomorrow When the War Began to where we are now. While the story only takes place over a few years at most, this series has been with me for most of my life thanks to a dear family friend. I wish it got more traction outside of Australia because it really is one of the best book series for young adults out there.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">For a story no longer taking place during a war, there sure is a lot of drama and action. If you had to assign a genre I’d probably go for ‘slice of life’ - but the most exciting kind imaginable. I’m finding it incredibly freeing to follow the aftershocks of the war and Ellie and her friends’ experiences. And especially since living through the Covid epidemic, I have a newfound appreciation for epilogues and what comes next.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Reading John Marsden book is always a joy because no one writes action like this. I get through a fair amount of action-intense books across various genres, but none have this clear-headed processing and absolute petrifying chaos in their execution. Ellie and her friends find themselves in life threatening situations chronically frequently, but every time, it’s just as tense and inescapable and hugely satisfying to watch them finding their way through.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">And wow, how amazing is it to see a genuinely clever female character kick ass. I love a lot of YA fiction and heroines, but Ellie is just so instinctively intelligent, it never gets old. The witty one liners aren’t her thing, nor are the elaborate gotcha plans running in the background; but adrenaline pumping survival instinct? No one does it better. She’s such a good example of a protagonist being the person who swoops in and saves others, rather than being agency-less and only ever experiencing things as a result of being caught unawares - Ellie really takes charge of situations and feel the strain it of course takes to do it.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">I think I would probably read anything by John Marsden after this series, regardless of the genre or even synopsis. I expect I said this in my last review but, who knew farming could be so intrinsic and actually interesting in a war story from a teenager? How could so many ‘will they, won’t they’ relationships just be a small part of a much bigger human story? How could a protagonist who literally never seems to win be so rewarding to follow along? I still don’t really know the answer, but I definitely enjoy the ride.</div></span></div>TheDaisyDeerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16072502154325912513noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7210775565178432759.post-63545294600821992692024-01-20T03:20:00.000-08:002024-02-26T04:48:23.033-08:00House of Many Ways<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnwAEieVyGpU8HnqxZMQRbuFL38GkITki3r08ZT6L_2A5342dULeRDxVDLtD6BENlcmyCBY3ywx_INsAU01U83hw_fGcuTXJKb7XuBCcxRRaE-_GwIxMsyk8jR4QS0OF8i9ePIEfVIIOOP42mYzP1EWJtkZvhzMVmuTFLpzCoKJzuSCmOaMMB-MEEDHwg/s2310/196253912.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2310" data-original-width="1500" height="388" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnwAEieVyGpU8HnqxZMQRbuFL38GkITki3r08ZT6L_2A5342dULeRDxVDLtD6BENlcmyCBY3ywx_INsAU01U83hw_fGcuTXJKb7XuBCcxRRaE-_GwIxMsyk8jR4QS0OF8i9ePIEfVIIOOP42mYzP1EWJtkZvhzMVmuTFLpzCoKJzuSCmOaMMB-MEEDHwg/w252-h388/196253912.jpg" width="252" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Book Title:</span><i> </i><b>House of Many Ways</b></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Author:</span><i> </i><b>Diana Wynne Jones</b></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-style: italic;">Series:</span><i style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif;"> </i><span style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif;">Howl </span><span style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif;">#3</span></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Date Started:</span><i> </i>January 12th 2024</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Date Completed:</span> January 18th 2024</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Genres:</span> Fantasy, Adventure</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Quality Rating:</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>Four Stars</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Enjoyment Rating:</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>Three Star</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Final Rating:</span> Three Stars</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><i>Review:</i></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;"><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;">My personal goal for this year is to finish a bunch of book (and TV) series before I start any more, including some that have been waiting since childhood. Diana Wynne Jones' classics were of course introduced to me by the Ghibli adaptation of Howl's Moving Castle, though you can see her works' influence across so many more films than just that (the little magical dog Waif must have influenced Heen in Miyazaki's Howl).</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Overall, this is a fun trilogy, with an innovative way of exploring a whole world and its characters by moving the narrative perspective to different strangers falling into Sophie and Howl's path. And Wynne Jones is so good at writing flawed protagonists that have tactile learning journeys throughout the story. We all know Howl's vanity and Sophie's short temper, but Charmain has to learn how to be an adult herself even in perhaps less dire circumstances.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">There is a certain whimsical nature often missing from contemporary children's books in these older stories. Whether it's from a time without such cheap technology (though the first book does indeed include an 80s TV). The fantasy may be less 'high' but more self-assured in introducing new elements and worldbuilding without pages of explanation. Maybe that's saying something about modern storytelling sensibilities, but it is often nice to dip back into this style every now and then.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">As always, the mystery resolves itself rather sweetly, though it did feel like Charmain had less to do with it than the previous heroes of the series. I think I certainly enjoyed it less than I imagine a younger reader would find it. But, as Neil Gaiman says, Dianna Wynne Jones is simply the best at writing magic, and it's nice to have her iconic trilogy off my reading list.</div></span></div>TheDaisyDeerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16072502154325912513noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7210775565178432759.post-50065797654983321762024-01-12T02:31:00.000-08:002024-02-26T04:48:14.730-08:00Tehanu<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxktZrg5ULDu6Cijk1pN-9r9EGg9faaoyRIzuAc2DyI5Xvd66noEwzymX6rzMovsSDrpJNLjs2ecyH7oieNkEZQRM2M19FOjrj6Xa81hok0FfMN3pL1Fy39FrovICjZsdHgLdC_vcVQfmai9TF2PH5093icOBWneNqg1ZwNvPMq8Dci2edJv8bSGMYaeI/s769/9781473223592-amazon-image.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="769" data-original-width="500" height="383" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxktZrg5ULDu6Cijk1pN-9r9EGg9faaoyRIzuAc2DyI5Xvd66noEwzymX6rzMovsSDrpJNLjs2ecyH7oieNkEZQRM2M19FOjrj6Xa81hok0FfMN3pL1Fy39FrovICjZsdHgLdC_vcVQfmai9TF2PH5093icOBWneNqg1ZwNvPMq8Dci2edJv8bSGMYaeI/w249-h383/9781473223592-amazon-image.jpg" width="249" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Book Title:</span><i> </i><b>Tehanu</b></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Author:</span><i> </i><b>Ursula Le Guin</b></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-style: italic;">Series:</span><i style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif;"> </i><span style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif;">Earthsea Cycle </span><span style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif;">#4</span></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Date Started:</span><i> </i>January 4th 2024</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Date Completed:</span> January 12th 2024</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Genres:</span> Fantasy, Adventure</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Quality Rating:</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>Five Stars</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Enjoyment Rating:</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>Four Star</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Final Rating:</span> Five Stars</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><i>Review:</i></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;"><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;">Ursula Le Guin's stories are truly something else. Engaging and exciting, even with such an unconventional plot structure, Tehanu continues the Earthsea Cycle (written several years after the original three books) in a confident sweep of grand and yet quiet magic.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The first three books are wonderful (particularly the Tombs of Atuan, which of course meant this revisiting of Tenar's story would be magical), and yet Tehanu is poignantly distinct. We've had epic odysseys and dramatic battles of good versus evil, but what comes after? When the hero is wounded, who do they go to to heal? And perhaps that person they go to is the hero all along. This fourth instalment is a most beautiful, thoughtful and fierce feminist piece - which acknowledges various points of view and doesn't pass judgment, but finds some universal balance and equality that so many flail trying to construct and therefore miss altogether.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">As a contemporary reader, having experienced the waves of feminism through literature in my life, there is a whispered might in Le Guin's storytelling. She doesn't have to say Tenar is just as powerful as Ged on the page, or even have Tenar so self-assured of it herself. Her actions, her history, and her day-to-day strength when even the great archmage is cowered make the reader know it.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Old-fashioned epic fantasy has such a good grasp of time and space - making villages and adventures and creatures like dragons feel truly giant and life-size to the reader. As fantasy, particularly high fantasy, has evolved I feel it's become richer in descriptions and deliberate worldbuilding (we'll give a pass to Tolkien and his obsession with every damn tree in a forest), but has then started to lose this assumed suspension of disbelief. Le Guin doesn't need to describe how anything magical fits into her world because it just does, it only needs a passing comment. Furthermore, Tehanu's ties to the earlier books enhance the vividity of the story but also goes to show how vast Earthsea as a world is. This story is so far removed from the original three and yet is playing out somewhere in the distance. Such diversity and distinction exist in the real world, they don't have to be meticulously tied with perfect strings to each other as modern readers have come to expect.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">As an afterthought, I also want to mention the Complete Illustrated Edition I'm working my way through. Not only are the illustrations from Charles Vess desperately beautiful, but this edition also comes along with commentary from Le Guin looking back on her novels. The novels themselves are great, but her afterwards are really something else. Her retrospective reflections on what she was doing, what was motivating her, and even the world's reactions, are so poignant and enhance the whole experience of reading the stories. In such a down-to-earth way, the mother of fantasy takes her biggest bow.</div></span></div>TheDaisyDeerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16072502154325912513noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7210775565178432759.post-11235435244878617142024-01-05T07:42:00.000-08:002024-02-26T04:48:06.115-08:00Sisters of Sword and Shadow<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJPU3WDOmPWLQQITxrRRPBD_sFGrTU-2YxnYUULGutzUE69AIiyAOsZdhKMXuLJl-nuhPvld-JV900FC0hdLlf6dWyuMb-l0I06Z1UIht901nB_USV5pVH_ECl4fjfk-d9m1wauumAVdRW-uNpnAG2VCFZYs_X7xz-LwwJYXfYTgu5SsniMElov88U0UE/s500/116552022.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="368" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJPU3WDOmPWLQQITxrRRPBD_sFGrTU-2YxnYUULGutzUE69AIiyAOsZdhKMXuLJl-nuhPvld-JV900FC0hdLlf6dWyuMb-l0I06Z1UIht901nB_USV5pVH_ECl4fjfk-d9m1wauumAVdRW-uNpnAG2VCFZYs_X7xz-LwwJYXfYTgu5SsniMElov88U0UE/w245-h368/116552022.jpg" width="245" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Book Title:</span><i> </i><b>Sisters of Sword and Shadow</b></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Author:</span><i> </i><b>Laura Bates</b></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Date Started:</span><i> </i>December 31st 2023</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Date Completed:</span> January 4th 2024</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Genres:</span> Historical, Adventure, Fantasy</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Quality Rating:</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>Five Stars</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Enjoyment Rating:</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>Four Star</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Final Rating:</span> Five Stars</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><i>Review:</i></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;"><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;">◆ Thank you to NetGalley for this ebook for review ◆</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">I was caught off guard by how much I fell head over heels for this book. It's an epic tale of adventure and belonging, going places you don't expect but are perfectly conceived, almost sidelining as a spin-off to Arthurian legend. While it's seemingly targeted at a younger audience, it's still massively enjoyable for older readers.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">While the main narrative focuses on Cass and her journey to becoming a knight, the side plots are the real bursts of colour in this tapestry. Whether it's her relationship with secondary characters, coming to terms with her past, the relationships of the sisterhood's leaders, the politics of land ownership and more, it paints this whole story with so much more detail. But it never, even in moments of drama or angst, do they overwhelm the main story being told or the backbone of the heroine. Cass remains Cass the whole way through and everything else just makes it more vibrant.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Some may argue that the themes explored aren't suitable for a younger audience, but I think the tough things are done in such a responsible way. Obviously, misogyny was going to be core to this story, but Bates also touches on things like sexual violence, classism and mental health sensitively and without being graphic. She also focuses on the emotional experiences surrounding them, and how to move on with a support system.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">I actually hadn't realised the author was Laura Bates of the Everyday Sexism project until I got to the acknowledgements at the end. While I'm not overly familiar with that book, it went a long way to explaining how this book had managed to be so exciting and fun, but accessible, political and brave. With so much detail, fun exploration and representation, it was awesome. To put it simply, I would've been obsessed with it as a child, and it was a pretty great ride as an adult too.</div></span></div>TheDaisyDeerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16072502154325912513noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7210775565178432759.post-61163209061009187922023-12-30T02:11:00.000-08:002024-01-03T02:14:08.739-08:00The House of Fortune<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEIC52it5GYRqgKHSi1wyuD9_2uI1CLEd331Ue8bxUouTqvai6kBh49iST1a6V_kDMclf7D3mTOfrkVSx-vKyFH7pGrh3LJ3XIuf_BBstMzHSufDpxhIHfpzO0aD9PMEBQp7cTE-My7vBESLj38n9afTO9Zb3IKDjIG1Q_fHrYxvTFoDS0FDzdiq4Il5k/s2560/61414717.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1596" height="368" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEIC52it5GYRqgKHSi1wyuD9_2uI1CLEd331Ue8bxUouTqvai6kBh49iST1a6V_kDMclf7D3mTOfrkVSx-vKyFH7pGrh3LJ3XIuf_BBstMzHSufDpxhIHfpzO0aD9PMEBQp7cTE-My7vBESLj38n9afTO9Zb3IKDjIG1Q_fHrYxvTFoDS0FDzdiq4Il5k/w230-h368/61414717.jpg" width="230" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Book Title:</span><i> </i><b>The House of Fortune</b></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Author:</span><i> </i><b>Jessie Burton</b></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-style: italic;">Series:</span><i style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif;"> </i><span style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif;">The Miniaturist </span><span style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif;">#2</span></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Date Started:</span><i> </i>November 23rd 2023</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Date Completed:</span> December 30th 2023</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Genres:</span> Historical</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Quality Rating:</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>Four Stars</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Enjoyment Rating:</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>Four Star</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Final Rating:</span> Four Stars</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><i>Review:</i></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;"><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;">When the BBC television adaptation of The Miniaturist finished, I remember asking when the next episode was - I was so sure that it couldn’t be Nella’s ending. I read the book as I’d loved the show so much, and felt similarly. While I loved it, there was always more story to tell, and now we have it.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">What stands out most to me of Burton’s writing is how gorgeous the flow of prose is. It feels like water you’re floating through with almost no effort, spinning on its wheel to tell us the story like we’re in a dream. And the beautiful gentle magical realism, just like the first book, is there just to offer a few possibilities to the characters that would otherwise be out of reach (which is exactly what magical realism is for, and so rarely executed to proper affect).</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">There are some ways in which the story was a little predictable, but no less enjoyable. I found it especially interesting that, just as the characters do, I felt that my empathy for everyone’s position and understanding of the situation as a whole evolved throughout the book. To begin I felt far more aligned with Nella and found Thea frankly spoilt and naive, but by the end there’s a far more balanced and sympathetic view of everyone, and that’s really the point of the story itself. That’s really sophisticated writing to make a reader feel that, as well as understand.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The House of Fortune stands as it’s own story, though you probably do want to read The Miniaturist first for the full breadth of what’s going on. It does take a few steps away from the political core of the first novel, and is ultimately playing with lower stakes, but it’s more involved in generational trauma, different generations of women, and the moving landscape of time and how that affects how people are forced to evolve to prosper, and even just survive.</div></span></div>TheDaisyDeerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16072502154325912513noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7210775565178432759.post-3715180692823832662023-12-24T02:08:00.000-08:002024-01-03T02:14:16.563-08:00The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicLwZfcIvd5QIXHrmWlHTyy6d6xUzI_R7pXY2-DFBjhIJiFA6O0FXzsw_Snr43eMUhxzlY_w4zYY-ghRevoVWY5P_MeyYM2Aswv2qr-zxBfZKn35yIzaQ8hggBoxaPYSICBK5uDfPEzF_K8h3bVWmtQNihPm-3jPUswdw-BRGTH9ANGE2FkPx-H-fGgw0/s500/56449420.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="326" height="364" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicLwZfcIvd5QIXHrmWlHTyy6d6xUzI_R7pXY2-DFBjhIJiFA6O0FXzsw_Snr43eMUhxzlY_w4zYY-ghRevoVWY5P_MeyYM2Aswv2qr-zxBfZKn35yIzaQ8hggBoxaPYSICBK5uDfPEzF_K8h3bVWmtQNihPm-3jPUswdw-BRGTH9ANGE2FkPx-H-fGgw0/w238-h364/56449420.jpg" width="238" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Book Title:</span><i> </i><b>The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes</b></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Author:</span><i> </i><b>Suzanne Collins</b></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-style: italic;">Series:</span><i style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif;"> </i><span style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif;">The Hunger Games </span><span style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif;">#0</span></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Date Started:</span><i> </i>December 14th 2023</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Date Completed:</span> December 24th 2023</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Genres:</span> Dystopian, Action, Romance</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Quality Rating:</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>Four Stars</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Enjoyment Rating:</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>Four Star</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Final Rating:</span> Four Stars</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><i>Review:</i></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;"><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;">It’s been a long long time since I read the original Hunger Games trilogy and, revisiting this series after a long time, I’m impressed by how well it holds up and how nuanced it still persists to be. Collins’ stories really are the pinnacle of Young Adult fiction, even if the genre has grown and changed in its own ways - it’s actually curious how harrowing and grim some of the original gamechangers in YA could be, but still execute heart wrenching hope. I’m not here to moan about the current landscape, but I think it’s fair to say that achieving that balance is sometimes massively underrated and often forgotten.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Prequels to existing series - especially ones about the villain’s origins - are often not for me. Many authors find it hard to write their protagonists truly escalating to the levels of predisposed evils required to fit into the main series. But damn, Collins pulls it off. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is really a fantastically well executed exploration of entitlement and toxic masculinity. And one where, lo and behold, the woman doesn’t have to tragically die to motivate it!</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Of course, my brain can’t help but compare it to the movie adaptation, which I saw first but did persuade me to jump back into Collins’ writing. The adaptation smooths out some of the unnecessary bulk and fiddly strings of events, but also misses the real depth of entitlement that motivates Coriolanus through most of the novel. I also found the more overt camaraderie and teamwork in the Academy students - even when pitted against each other - really interesting as that was mostly revamped into pure poisonous relationships for the film.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Similarly to how impressed I was by the film (quite by surprise I have to admit!), I’m so happy I was persuaded to read this prequel. It’s an exciting, political, well-balanced and thoroughly enjoyable addition to the original trilogy, strong enough to stand on its own with its own story but actually adding depth and understanding to just how much Snow really must hate Katniss all those years later.</div></span></div>TheDaisyDeerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16072502154325912513noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7210775565178432759.post-55730963144617014832023-11-23T02:07:00.000-08:002023-12-15T02:10:44.607-08:00The Illusions<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxAHiQvGr0CQQ4ib3uvXLfi6qpN6dFnemMPOyKm7XuBpmjT0VQjwEhEYEL_M2DKSUeSXVloCNqd5ztY3lT31B-NcRQz0JcCPzSZNMXpzZug214BBNeGb53dB3ugJDH6PkDzoDobOsmnR_bnPgWKk-hA8gdbgT8gA7rTFJsRhnxUzulx0ptFfneJZ1Iu5I/s1250/123219268.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1250" data-original-width="813" height="374" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxAHiQvGr0CQQ4ib3uvXLfi6qpN6dFnemMPOyKm7XuBpmjT0VQjwEhEYEL_M2DKSUeSXVloCNqd5ztY3lT31B-NcRQz0JcCPzSZNMXpzZug214BBNeGb53dB3ugJDH6PkDzoDobOsmnR_bnPgWKk-hA8gdbgT8gA7rTFJsRhnxUzulx0ptFfneJZ1Iu5I/w243-h374/123219268.jpg" width="243" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Book Title:</span><i> </i><b>The Illusions</b></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Author:</span><i> </i><b>Liz Hyder</b></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Date Started:</span><i> </i>November 6th 2023</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Date Completed:</span> November 23rd 2023</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Genres:</span> Historical, Adventure, Fantasy, Mystery</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Quality Rating:</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>Four Stars</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Enjoyment Rating:</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>Four Star</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Final Rating:</span> Four Stars</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><i>Review:</i></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;"><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;">All done with kindness. It’s a phrase that’s repeated throughout this novel but characters and is even handwritten by the author herself at the start from the lovely signed edition I found at my local independent bookshop - in fact it’s the reason I was drawn to pick it up, and it feels so utterly perfect for the novel I then got to read.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Perhaps that’s misleading, because it was also the promise of two female heroines from the worlds of theatre and filmmaking that fully convinced me. From a personal place, I fell in love with theatre from a young age and then fell even further head over heels for the moving image, partially because of a French filmmaker called Georges Méliès (and later Alice Guy-Blanche) who was one of the first to invent in camera trickery and ‘special effects’. I go into this because this book is palpable for that same adoration of performance and almost literal magic both from an audience seat and through a camera. This book was a joy to read because it was like reliving my discovery of those things all over again, and not least through two fantastically courageous and inventive heroines who were finding their own feet in those spaces all by themselves.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">That’s not to say that this book relies on a personal love of these performance arts, it’s a fantastically exciting and touching book full of twists and humour, and even literal magic at some points. It’s a book that perhaps tries to tick too many boxes - it’s a shame the magic didn’t actually end up playing an integral part, some exposition ended up easily forgotten, and the romance was drawn out - but it’s one that takes you with it as it sneaks into all the nooks and crannies. You live alongside these characters (and it’s a hefty cast to keep track of) for a short while, and by the time you get to the end it’s unputdownable.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">I would say it leans slightly towards the Young Adult audience though it’s marketed as adult, with that token ensemble of peers and the often lighthearted resolutions to what in other contexts could be very dark themes. But regardless it’s a genuine enjoyable read I wish I could experience all over again. A warm hug of a book, and one personally beloved to me.</div></span></div>TheDaisyDeerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16072502154325912513noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7210775565178432759.post-55930228542615899202023-11-06T05:58:00.009-08:002023-12-15T02:11:45.839-08:00A Court of Mist and Fury<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQIPkrm383fzvqaYNTKUIsPipszzwO2ck-6Q96Vn-zDE2N6J5G1Vv-DVODiBuv9-FqiQ8Lxa8KFG4NxjyqfT6HQtu-9po5j-gop5WxiCkfqOPydczLfLve8CuTuJmET8D4Js-vD_o2lyrOWXoc2Xb1jIAVX4MSZELPY2KvvagxA9Hng6slsc5Zwnk2Zak/s541/23766623.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="541" data-original-width="353" height="381" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQIPkrm383fzvqaYNTKUIsPipszzwO2ck-6Q96Vn-zDE2N6J5G1Vv-DVODiBuv9-FqiQ8Lxa8KFG4NxjyqfT6HQtu-9po5j-gop5WxiCkfqOPydczLfLve8CuTuJmET8D4Js-vD_o2lyrOWXoc2Xb1jIAVX4MSZELPY2KvvagxA9Hng6slsc5Zwnk2Zak/w249-h381/23766623.jpg" width="249" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Book Title:</span><i> </i><b>A Court of Mist and Fury</b></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Author:</span><i> </i><b>Sarah J. Maas</b></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-style: italic;">Series:</span><i style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif;"> </i><span style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif;">A Court of Thorns and Roses </span><span style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif;">#2</span></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Date Started:</span><i> </i>October 7th 2023</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Date Completed:</span> November 6th 2023</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Genres:</span> Fantasy, Romance, Adventure</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Quality Rating:</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>Three Stars</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Enjoyment Rating:</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>Four Star</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Final Rating:</span> Four Stars</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><i>Review:</i></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;"><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;">I took a long break from this series after reading the first book back when it came out. Looking back on my review for that first book, I really wasn't getting on with Maas' follow-up to the Throne of Glass books (one of my most beloved series), but was convinced by a friend of mine to give it another go as, perhaps obviously, the story was just getting started.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Having dipped back into this world, I can see what she meant. It definitely improves on the first book, and clearly had been planned to set that first novel up in a certain way to then pull a signature Sarah J. Maas twist and flip everything on its head to be even better than you expected. While this is, of course, satisfying and Feyre and co are quickly on the right track in this second novel, I do wish it hadn't taken its sweet time to get Feyre to a point of something other than complete misery and despair. It's just not fun reading.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">This second book was also far more enjoyable because we finally have our famous Maas ensembles back! While the heroines and their love interests are inevitably at the heart of all chaos in these books, it's undeniable that most of us are waiting on tenterhooks to see the supporting characters do their thing. And, as usual, A Court of Mist and Fury does not disappoint and even puts some new personalities and dynamics to the forefront for us to enjoy.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">I did still feel like this book was very heavy on the romance and pretty sparse on action past the basic plot beats, but with all the pining done with impressively quickly (for the most part), I'm looking forward to seeing where the storylines of the rest of the series go now that Feyre and Rhysand are aligned and united. Though a common misconception, the thrill doesn't have to just be in the chase!</div></span></div>TheDaisyDeerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16072502154325912513noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7210775565178432759.post-72061055409080656902023-10-13T03:41:00.009-07:002023-11-06T05:59:04.663-08:00The Drowning King<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiAZ0b0JOE6Bv8_klUHL-lNVmtiJaOITYlklTACQTE9S45btq4K6_TLj4SLiEW8rOxqmngkX0U2WPT0YTEo9rrhzyNW268iu95Qi9dj8xX6Pqj_dy3jp2bDuoZyVI00qMStM9lD94AxW3QrwMFhrkJ05k_4XTWvFIch8ZZ15TSMIcPl3e9UjqcejVrgIY/s650/33630316.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="650" data-original-width="425" height="351" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiAZ0b0JOE6Bv8_klUHL-lNVmtiJaOITYlklTACQTE9S45btq4K6_TLj4SLiEW8rOxqmngkX0U2WPT0YTEo9rrhzyNW268iu95Qi9dj8xX6Pqj_dy3jp2bDuoZyVI00qMStM9lD94AxW3QrwMFhrkJ05k_4XTWvFIch8ZZ15TSMIcPl3e9UjqcejVrgIY/w229-h351/33630316.jpg" width="229" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Book Title:</span><i> </i><b>The Drowning King</b></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Author:</span><i> </i><b>Emily Holleman</b></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-style: italic;">Series:</span><i style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif;"> </i><span style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif;">Fall of Egypt</span><i style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif;"> </i><span style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif;">#2</span></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Date Started:</span><i> </i>June 28th 2023</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Date Completed:</span> October 12th 2023</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Genres:</span> Historical</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Quality Rating:</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>Three Stars</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Enjoyment Rating:</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>Three Star</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Final Rating:</span> Three Stars</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><i>Review:</i></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;">*Thanks to NetGalley for this ebook for review*</span></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;"><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;">I really enjoyed the first novel in Holleman's revisioning of Cleopatra's Egypt, and the events befalling the family on its throne. This sequel was less enjoyable, but still interesting enough to get to the end of this fictionalised history. Longer than it needed to be and inevitably less imaginative as it's based on history we have far more records of, we get to see into the lives of two of Cleopatra's siblings, Arisone and Ptolemy.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">I felt Ptolemy's perspective slowed things down and didn't really add anything. The first novel had been surprisingly engaging through Arisone's perspective witnessing the historical events, and while the same concept was used for her brother, he was written with such judgement, referred to as weak and cowardly throughout, that he wasn't an engaging character. Why root for someone we're told is automatically a horrible person with no redeemable qualities? Even Ptolemy's inferiority complex was so abject that as a reader he felt like a lost cause immediately and no drama was generated.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Ultimately, I finished the novel due to my interest in the real historical events, rather than this particular revision of them. As a fictionalised version of history, it's fascinating to look at through this less popularised lens, though the conflict between narrative storytelling and historical events can more to the forefront the longer you read - resulting in an incredibly abrupt ending, and disappointingly little progress for the heroine we fell in love with in the first book. This novel's arc ends up about Ptolemy, who is ultimately pretty dull to read about, with Arisone yet again an overlooked footnote in the record.</div></span></div>TheDaisyDeerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16072502154325912513noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7210775565178432759.post-85536842460295021992023-06-30T01:59:00.012-07:002023-07-01T02:02:48.696-07:00Her Radiant Curse<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRazdtmzNT-mHNc5gnkMn2JpiX9A1ZoSbNN1PgN6rTdp31ynEQGyo1rjs1xvMa6da2iCAFdIXp7luCjw2bZJtrME1QSQttnyj2GjATc_D_9NRR8yfW1ZCT3vdm3mPvwRg9DMZTUKjHrGrIUEUdlxjjJmS5yX7OIsgz97_p60TfLWRH08FzCvNgdC6NE-A/s500/125153404-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="326" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRazdtmzNT-mHNc5gnkMn2JpiX9A1ZoSbNN1PgN6rTdp31ynEQGyo1rjs1xvMa6da2iCAFdIXp7luCjw2bZJtrME1QSQttnyj2GjATc_D_9NRR8yfW1ZCT3vdm3mPvwRg9DMZTUKjHrGrIUEUdlxjjJmS5yX7OIsgz97_p60TfLWRH08FzCvNgdC6NE-A/w235-h360/125153404-2.jpg" width="235" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Book Title:</span><i> </i><b>Her Radiant Curse</b></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Author:</span><i> </i><b>Elizabeth Lim</b></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Date Started:</span><i> </i>June 10th 2023</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Date Completed:</span> June 28th 2023</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Genres:</span> Fantasy, Adventure, Romance</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Quality Rating:</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>Three Stars</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Enjoyment Rating:</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>Three Star</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Final Rating:</span> Three Stars</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><i>Review:</i></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;">*Thanks to NetGalley for this ebook for review*</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Ultimately, this book was alright but not amazing. I enjoyed the changing landscapes, the rising stakes, and the vivid sense of time and mythos alongside the contemporary worldbuilding. However, overall, it held back on its characters, unable to let them flourish as they seemed to want to, which dampened the overall feel of the story.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">I could feel towards the end that things didn't seem to be resolving themselves, which of course is because Her Radiant Curse is a prequel to the Six Crimson Cranes duology. I love those books dearly, and I have to say that this is the most involved, engaging and satisfying prequel I've read in a long time - so much so that I forgot it was a prequel for most of it. But, it's still a prequel and at the mercy of meeting certain plot points and having limits to its character's arcs.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Impressively done within its own confines, Her Radiant Curse unfortunately falls into the pitfalls of many prequels, though it's a fun journey to get there.</div></span></div>TheDaisyDeerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16072502154325912513noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7210775565178432759.post-52192971487020667712023-06-19T05:17:00.001-07:002023-06-19T05:23:40.734-07:00Hell Breaks Loose<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAqGiuRb_nFYgDtjygr3SNzsAGL2LU4RN8WWbk9LHhQ5LvEbd2HIHBDRTqvpgi_BWNmbHagsxcLr7V-BQ0LxOGgBtDySGa6WRtEXxTyKVjC0TU6jHhdXbBxj9zsqkr6ndl9jX27fL9hw2DX8WXvh-_ZVTicsxHL1T0vAM2m3w_IgQUN3EyF_voW6sF_d8/s400/63325182.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="260" height="372" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAqGiuRb_nFYgDtjygr3SNzsAGL2LU4RN8WWbk9LHhQ5LvEbd2HIHBDRTqvpgi_BWNmbHagsxcLr7V-BQ0LxOGgBtDySGa6WRtEXxTyKVjC0TU6jHhdXbBxj9zsqkr6ndl9jX27fL9hw2DX8WXvh-_ZVTicsxHL1T0vAM2m3w_IgQUN3EyF_voW6sF_d8/w242-h372/63325182.jpg" width="242" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Book Title:</span><i> </i><b>Hell Breaks Loose</b></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Author:</span><i> </i><b>Derek Landy</b></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-style: italic;">Series:</span><i style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif;"> </i><span style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif;">Skulduggery Pleasant</span></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Date Started:</span><i> </i>June 14th 2023</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Date Completed:</span> June 19th 2023</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Genres:</span> Fantasy, Adventure, Action, Historical, Mystery, Horro</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Quality Rating:</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>Four Stars</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Enjoyment Rating:</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>Four Star</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Final Rating:</span> Four Stars</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><i>Review:</i></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;"><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;">Hell Breaks Loose is a very entertaining and cleverly placed adventure with our favourite characters from the Skulduggery Pleasant universe, while we await the last book to the sequel series to release. While I would rather the multiverse would stop infiltrating literally every form of media, it's undeniably hats off to one of the few franchises that actually puts effort into its spin-offs, embedding them so well in the main overarching universe while being entirely enjoyable on their own.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">This story wasn't what I expected, while simultaneously being precisely what I should have seen coming. Once it gets into the swing of things, it's the classic action-adventure I fell in love with as a child, alongside the good old-fashioned drama and comedy that my adult self appreciates even more so.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The action is always so impressively written; it flows, the chaos is vivid, the movement articulate. You can see it playing out, startingly, in your head like a movie. And, always, Derek plays with violence and conflict and pain in an accessible way without glorifying it; action scenes leave scars, people get hurt, people are conscious of their actions. Those are all factors that so often are just left behind because they're heavy, and even more so with characters who you're supposed to root for without descending your book into discussions on moral philosophy. Derek touches on the dark, but has such an appreciation for the light (be it comedy, characterisation, motivation) that he can do both.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Hell Breaks Loose isn't my favourite in the series, but it's absolutely grounded in its universe, and fully appreciates its place and opportunity. This book is fun and easy to read in a way that a series sometimes limits; it's just what I needed for a little summer holiday action.</div></span></div>TheDaisyDeerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16072502154325912513noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7210775565178432759.post-10364198036898311822023-06-10T04:58:00.000-07:002023-06-19T05:13:55.073-07:00Atalanta<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhSNLnqNWsR163xP7CN-TNB72dJXnkRE76wnv4ileRqlbp60zxhjDOmbjVHKIPSF0pp1U5e5u8U650kLei3lw0dW7fEgrhZ14usSORnhZoJJlwnewWk9BBgGbwd3UMSWmqcVxZNrwwnu2BHKQqmaGBq28bc5ZfFH9INxtCsUsAjzT5_SUtRh15B-ptWL0/s346/61152901.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="226" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhSNLnqNWsR163xP7CN-TNB72dJXnkRE76wnv4ileRqlbp60zxhjDOmbjVHKIPSF0pp1U5e5u8U650kLei3lw0dW7fEgrhZ14usSORnhZoJJlwnewWk9BBgGbwd3UMSWmqcVxZNrwwnu2BHKQqmaGBq28bc5ZfFH9INxtCsUsAjzT5_SUtRh15B-ptWL0/w234-h358/61152901.jpg" width="234" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Book Title:</span><i> </i><b>Atalanta</b></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Author:</span><i> </i><b>Jennifer Saint</b></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Date Started:</span><i> </i>May 28th 2023</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Date Completed:</span> June 10th 2023</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Genres:</span> Historical, Adventure, Romance</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Quality Rating:</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>Three Stars</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Enjoyment Rating:</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>Three Star</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Final Rating:</span> Three Stars</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><i>Review:</i></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;">◆ Thank you to NetGalley for this ebook for review ◆</span></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;"><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;">I struggled a lot with Atalanta, for many of the same reasons I struggle with a fair few classical retellings; ‘strong independent woman’ who does still need a man in her resolution, reimagining a known tale from a different perspective but ultimately just making the protagonist be an observer, throwing in a bunch of references but not really executing what they thematically mean and missing out on the true wonder of these beloved myths. That being said, I do want to give it credit for not being entirely depressing, which I think is another common pitfall with female retellings of Greek myths.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">I don’t think there was a lot of personality in this story, it was just the straightforward sequence of events of the Argonauts from a slightly different angle. While I appreciate that some myth retellings become hard to follow from how much effort being put into making it ‘different,’ I feel like the wonder and the glory, the characterisations and the morality is just lost. I also feel that this book, while reinventing a classical tale to make space for female stories, just came across ignorant to reality while still referencing misogyny and taking part. Atalanta didn’t really conquer anything, not because it wasn’t there, but because it didn’t seem to affect her.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The ending is so hilariously ironic, and sums up my frustrations with this book; we’re going to make fun of and look down on all these ‘womanly’ women throughout the story and be strong and independent (which mostly manifests as making judgements as we stand at the sidelines watching the actual story happen) with very little nuance, but our resolution will still rely on us falling in love with a man who tricked us (but it’s okay because we let him).</div></span></div>TheDaisyDeerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16072502154325912513noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7210775565178432759.post-2168990196706746802023-06-02T00:25:00.006-07:002023-06-02T00:25:43.094-07:00The Beautiful Ones<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXEzYYEW0-3tF7HB6wCdwCyDPuprSnYQOFOOqHJvTVyEDRJ_rETTq2cjqsCZQHD5hAryenSTs-QuCvLn5TDGJjMz5F8hZsGSQKG9mbpTWRBMnhNuF1rMJ7V9F0J06LM9XfLsP1ct30Yb2mbt73CTmbIfPVm2Su4BCdReM-ZdPfbRilxq-plyfCI9u9/s1500/55311334.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="978" height="368" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXEzYYEW0-3tF7HB6wCdwCyDPuprSnYQOFOOqHJvTVyEDRJ_rETTq2cjqsCZQHD5hAryenSTs-QuCvLn5TDGJjMz5F8hZsGSQKG9mbpTWRBMnhNuF1rMJ7V9F0J06LM9XfLsP1ct30Yb2mbt73CTmbIfPVm2Su4BCdReM-ZdPfbRilxq-plyfCI9u9/w240-h368/55311334.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Book Title:</span><i> </i><b>The Beautiful Ones</b></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Author:</span><i> </i><b>Silvia Moreno-Garcia</b></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Date Started:</span><i> </i>May 13th 2023</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Date Completed:</span> May 28th 2023</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Genres:</span><i> </i>Romance, Historical</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Quality Rating:</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>Three Stars</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Enjoyment Rating:</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>Three Star</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Final Rating:</span> Three Stars</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><i>Review:</i></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;">◆ Thank you to NetGalley for this ebook for review ◆</span></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;"><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;">The Beautiful Ones was definitely more romance focused than I had expected after reading Mexican Gothic, though the setup and many themes carry through; this is Regency era politically infused love schemes with Moreno-Garcia's signature stylistic flair. Honestly, it's not my kind of genre, namely because I find characters who act this way very hard to get behind - but kudos is due to the book for giving tempered backstory so characters' actions are motivated. Unfortunately, I still didn't really enjoy reading any of the perspectives.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">There's an awful lot of preamble for a final crux that wraps up startingly fast and neatly. The first half of the book acts essentially as a prologue for the latter, and I wished it hadn't felt so separate and detached. I also felt the magical elements were underused and more like some aesthetic feathers than built solidly into the world, which I found a little disappointing as the concept was interesting and felt at times like it could have contributed to raising tension and political pressure. In the end, it was just sort of displayed and left alone.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Much of this book, from the early plot to worldbuilding, was necessary for the final beats but felt largely included just for the deus ex machina. The distinction between the 'beautiful ones' of the title and everyone else felt tagged on for an explicit status divide but not followed through with lore or actual politics. While this is predominantly a love story, I had hoped that the background framing everything and so deliberately thought about would be more than just a background in the end.</div></span></div>TheDaisyDeerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16072502154325912513noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7210775565178432759.post-70978068684433693332023-05-21T01:15:00.006-07:002023-05-21T01:15:47.862-07:00The Bone Shard War<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX854cJ34qw0YCTfj5LqVpIJn2QC_fBCLh7F_98iY9c_Gfl3KE8N0X-TUOB2CXAxJFvQgwfttkm4Q4ZTRsQO7Lbaz2b-GuU9PILhyUdH1wHp8oQXBQEwXZOzsFEjjpdfIRZxRb9lsaiqHemxSfVsSNLLnLHw3bgvX7x4wnuxIo6gwCBeY0iGwNc9yF/s2047/60858932.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2047" data-original-width="1328" height="370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX854cJ34qw0YCTfj5LqVpIJn2QC_fBCLh7F_98iY9c_Gfl3KE8N0X-TUOB2CXAxJFvQgwfttkm4Q4ZTRsQO7Lbaz2b-GuU9PILhyUdH1wHp8oQXBQEwXZOzsFEjjpdfIRZxRb9lsaiqHemxSfVsSNLLnLHw3bgvX7x4wnuxIo6gwCBeY0iGwNc9yF/w241-h370/60858932.jpg" width="241" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Book Title:</span><i> </i><b>The Bone Shard War</b></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Author:</span><i> </i><b>Andrea Stewart</b></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-style: italic;">Series:</span><i style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif;"> </i><span style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif;">The Drowning Empire </span><span style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif;">#3</span></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Date Started:</span><i> </i>April 21st 2023</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Date Completed:</span> May 13th 2023</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Genres:</span><i> </i>Adventure, Fantasy</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Quality Rating:</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>Three Stars</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Enjoyment Rating:</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>Four Star</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Final Rating:</span> Four Stars</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><i>Review:</i></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;">◆ Thank you to NetGalley for this ebook for review ◆</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The Bone Shard War wasn't what I was expecting from the final instalment in Andrea Stewart's glittering trilogy, and while I was disappointed at the absence of real adventure the previous books had, I undeniably loved revisiting these characters and seeing their tales come full circle. I was also impressed by how easily I remembered names and backstories, and that's a real testament to the previous books that I could fall so easily back into this world.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">My reservation around this final book is around the lack of momentum, and how isolated it felt from the rest of the series. The story took a significant transition at the end of the last book (as trilogies often so), but the time jump forced the story to have to generate its own momentum all over again, rather than riding from the wave already created. Separating the characters created more self-deprecating internal monologuing than actual tension - though it's interesting to remember that the first book was largely structured with individuals on their own paths, and it worked well back then. I feel like the internal motivations for our ensemble have been existing in an increasingly complicated political system, but their internal through-lines should always be the same within that. With so much going on in this final book, that felt a little lost.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The story itself, while I'm sure conceived early into the series, felt like it was going in circles to reach its finish. Any seeds planted for later resolution felt very obviously done so (and highlighted in this final book rather than previous ones) and the reveals came so thick and fast, but sort of unrelated to the core characters arcs we were attached to - that they were ultimately unsatisfying. In hindsight, some of the worldbuilding and reveals were very clever and cool, but in the moment reading them I felt no dramatic tension or epiphany, which was a shame.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The Bone Shard War was still enjoyable to read (I promise) and will remain one of my favourite trilogies, and it was nice to see the story wrapped up well enough. The characters for the most part had their fitting ends - it just felt sadly flimsy how we got there.</div></span></div>TheDaisyDeerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16072502154325912513noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7210775565178432759.post-31400509117019576832023-04-22T07:50:00.006-07:002024-02-26T04:50:53.472-08:00The Screaming Staircase<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf9MGRsNIhkQ8OF-hk-4SErtAez_5uKlcCvdMXktHm__LozFDQs8YhXbyPJBS0ZFFRuZdjCj63Q1Z-k4lN9ASLK4Dtr1fDJaaYcoaKPINp4RoQNqeoSq4HNiQhd7u9ew2gueFQ8EQ9cZSCc6IbgyaMLPxy1CAIrsU-MyCQaBjvqsVX1CU0xlhYwuXs/s391/17612879.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="391" data-original-width="255" height="352" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf9MGRsNIhkQ8OF-hk-4SErtAez_5uKlcCvdMXktHm__LozFDQs8YhXbyPJBS0ZFFRuZdjCj63Q1Z-k4lN9ASLK4Dtr1fDJaaYcoaKPINp4RoQNqeoSq4HNiQhd7u9ew2gueFQ8EQ9cZSCc6IbgyaMLPxy1CAIrsU-MyCQaBjvqsVX1CU0xlhYwuXs/w230-h352/17612879.jpg" width="230" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Book Title:</span><i> </i><b>The Screaming Staircase</b></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Author:</span><i> </i><b>Jonathan Stroud</b></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-style: italic;">Series:</span><i style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif;"> </i><span style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif;">Lockwood & Co </span><span style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif;">#1</span></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Date Started:</span><i> </i>April 12th 2023</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Date Completed:</span> April 21st 2023</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Genres:</span><i> </i>Adventure, Mystery, Horror, Fantasy</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Quality Rating:</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>Three Stars</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Enjoyment Rating:</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>Four Star</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Final Rating:</span> Four Stars</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><i>Review:</i></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;">◆ Thanks to Double Day for this proof copy for review (from 10 years ago, I'm sorry) ◆</span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Having enjoyed the show, and receiving this proof copy in the mail about a decade ago, I thought it was time to have a little easy read from my TBR. The first Lockwood & Co book was good fun, exciting and spooky, and just the sort of thing I was looking for. Like the show, the well-balanced mix of worldbuilding and fantasy building, fleshing out parallels and similarities with our own reality, was pretty key in making the spoopy ghost-hunting adventures feel more mature and complex, with bigger enemies clearly at play behind the curtain and waiting for the heroes to find them.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">It's fair to say that the recent Netflix adaptation is really quite faithful to the book, though this first novel instalment takes up a mere couple of episodes as the start of the tv series. On reflection, of course it was destined for Netflix glory as its episodic style, with multiple seemingly unrelated threads all tying together into a chilling finale is the perfect source material for such creations. And, even though I know the story and its twists, I still found experiencing it in its original medium engaging.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The most significant area of surprise for me was how unkind to its characters the prose is. There are constant jokes about George's weight (there isn't a single time he's referenced that doesn't include exaggerating his size) and Lucy 'smiling prettily' to get her way and being more 'sensitive to emotions' than the boys. Look, I don't think it's unfair to say that it hasn't aged very well in the last 10 years. That had no small part in making me appreciate the TV show and how well it adapted the story, developing areas of weakness and utilising the cinematic and enthralling mysteries and themes.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Unfortunately, the early 2010s attitude of body shaming and casual sexism isn't honestly something that fills me with a great desire to continue the series in book form, though I hold big hopes for the continuation of the more culturally-conscious Netflix adaptation bringing me more exciting ghost-hunting adventures with (their version) of the gang.</div></span></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div>TheDaisyDeerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16072502154325912513noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7210775565178432759.post-58610484597852789382023-04-18T04:49:00.003-07:002023-04-18T04:49:22.881-07:00Jade City<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMf-ghIu0JXI0apbCvUUqWyscU9ZqnabNdRtGiiON8_2VlFZsUVfL97KL2BKvx0wgqt6bC7WhOeKpFq3f_5kGfm9HAsc1m1Jyj9BbO2EsAni4IABRjX5V30AYe6S6qrC_hJZ6x_CSSblQ0hrWydZIGmmj-bj-3odEffb7YwQeBEJSpINrRnPwsvW8S/s2560/43587168.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1696" height="341" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMf-ghIu0JXI0apbCvUUqWyscU9ZqnabNdRtGiiON8_2VlFZsUVfL97KL2BKvx0wgqt6bC7WhOeKpFq3f_5kGfm9HAsc1m1Jyj9BbO2EsAni4IABRjX5V30AYe6S6qrC_hJZ6x_CSSblQ0hrWydZIGmmj-bj-3odEffb7YwQeBEJSpINrRnPwsvW8S/w226-h341/43587168.jpg" width="226" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Book Title:</span><i> </i><b>Jade City</b></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Author:</span><i> </i><b>Fonda LEe</b></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Date Started:</span><i> </i>March 12th 2023</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Date Completed:</span> April 13th 2023</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Genres:</span><i> </i>Thriller, Fantasy</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Quality Rating:</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>Five Stars</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Enjoyment Rating:</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>Four Star</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Final Rating:</span> Four Stars</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><i>Review:</i></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: justify;">I<span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;">wasn't expecting an incredibly detailed and political gangster-clan war story when I picked this up. And yet, while it came as a surprise to me, you can't oppose that the hype is founded; Lee's grasp and exploration of sometimes incredibly violent, sometimes incredibly vulnerable, complex characters - her humanisation of them and ability to lift them beyond their actions alone, into their motivations, vices, and ambitions - rival and surpasses classic gangster or even epic fantasy tropes.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">It's undeniable that the worldbuilding is simply lush. The fantasy elements are so naturally constructed and fit into the story it comes across closer to magical realism, where the fantastical elements heighten the stakes and drama of the otherwise familiar characters, dynamics and narrative.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">If you enjoy watching characters you've come to feel (for over the course of years in-story) making terrible decisions, and yet being unable to disagree with them, then this is probably going to be a wild ride for you - and a very good one.</div></span>TheDaisyDeerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16072502154325912513noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7210775565178432759.post-19632026105949430202023-03-14T01:52:00.001-07:002023-03-14T01:52:21.804-07:00Yellowface<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLUrm-pMAya7BAPt-zy6aqe0Mc_uTWRLX9NPfCT5MDzKr1UwNma2MS1Y54syrG8uKac97w8tqj5AJKCehDgSbqiqYO98nL_5ffCRtG6EMqJ8nMGPVSDwvmfhec1rRmEkiJCaeSuTGVH29jD-Qmnztsu9rWgW_TUTXPb0kZZiAHAr1ytPHuLo3X8cvz/s2400/59357120.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2400" data-original-width="1593" height="345" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLUrm-pMAya7BAPt-zy6aqe0Mc_uTWRLX9NPfCT5MDzKr1UwNma2MS1Y54syrG8uKac97w8tqj5AJKCehDgSbqiqYO98nL_5ffCRtG6EMqJ8nMGPVSDwvmfhec1rRmEkiJCaeSuTGVH29jD-Qmnztsu9rWgW_TUTXPb0kZZiAHAr1ytPHuLo3X8cvz/w229-h345/59357120.jpg" width="229" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Book Title:</span><i> </i><b>Yellowface</b></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Author:</span><i> </i><b>R.F. Kuang</b></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Date Started:</span><i> </i>February 11th 2023</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Date Completed:</span> March 11th 2023</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Genres:</span><i> </i>Contemporary, Literary</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Quality Rating:</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>Four Stars</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Enjoyment Rating:</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>Three Star</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Final Rating:</span> Four Stars</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><i>Review:</i></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(30, 25, 21); color: #1e1915; text-align: start;">◆ Thank you to NetGalley for this ebook for review ◆</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(30, 25, 21); color: #1e1915; text-align: start;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;"><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;">Yellowface is one of those books that I find it hard to write a review for (the irony is not lost on me). In both academic and emotional terms it struck a chord with me to the point I was swearing out loud. Still, at the same time, I often found it unpleasant to read (again, I appreciate why) and towards the end, things dipped into melodrama for the sake of a wrapped-up plot.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Regardless, I kept picking it up. I wanted to know where it went, who would connect the dots, and how the wrong-doers would get their comeuppance - which in itself is a sad reflection of the human impulse Kuang often looks at in the story. The ending (once past the climax that felt sort of forced) was no surprise, and there's no denying that it was a joy to read Kuang embody yet another genre, time and cohort of characters.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Yellowface is a book with a lot of courage to point and prod at everything wrong with the publishing industry, an industry that like several profiting off the creative arts pigeonholes, rigs, discriminated, tokenises, torments, strings along and creates a respectable about the identity of its storytellers. Poignantly aware of the wider social, economic and political frameworks established to keep everything circulating back to the same status quo, Kuang brings the narrative back down to the responsibility, and humanity, of the individual, whether it be writer, reader, reviewer, publisher or witness.</div></span></div>TheDaisyDeerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16072502154325912513noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7210775565178432759.post-10016691424975767402023-02-14T10:41:00.008-08:002023-02-14T10:41:58.872-08:00Strike the Zither<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIdUldrPZUq1-cY3ldsMXtbXPr5B_0yMzMhQoRkEZDvfdHeAQa6QIVtoPFMyyaA3y-sT3ubH2LgxLpTMQIHvjafxppn39Y-klM7O1jLiomO4YG_MVdvp_8iWtNwCI22QQUL-GYr6R-viYJ8YwL1jVb_AE35bHAojD_HstP85uezvYR2NfA5fQ30npN/s1546/59490757.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1546" data-original-width="1000" height="391" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIdUldrPZUq1-cY3ldsMXtbXPr5B_0yMzMhQoRkEZDvfdHeAQa6QIVtoPFMyyaA3y-sT3ubH2LgxLpTMQIHvjafxppn39Y-klM7O1jLiomO4YG_MVdvp_8iWtNwCI22QQUL-GYr6R-viYJ8YwL1jVb_AE35bHAojD_HstP85uezvYR2NfA5fQ30npN/w253-h391/59490757.jpg" width="253" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Book Title:</span><i> </i><b>Strike the Zither</b></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Author:</span><i> </i><b>Joan He</b></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-style: italic;">Series:</span><i style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif;"> </i><span style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif;">Kingdom of Three </span><span style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif;">#1</span></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Date Started:</span><i> </i>January 28th 2023</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Date Completed:</span> February 11th 2023</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Genres:</span><i> </i>Fantasy, Adventure, Romance</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Quality Rating:</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>Four Stars</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Enjoyment Rating:</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>Four Star</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Final Rating:</span> Four Stars</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><i>Review:</i></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(30, 25, 21); color: #1e1915; text-align: start;">◆ Thank you to NetGalley for this ebook for review ◆</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(30, 25, 21); color: #1e1915; text-align: start;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;"><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;">The mandatory 'thank you NetGalley' line is above this, but I feel like an extra thank you is required for introducing me to the powerhouse of a writer that Joan He is. With each book, I'm more enthralled with her stories. This time she makes the transition from stand-alone novels to a series (and perfectly executed as well), and it's just as clever and utterly absorbing at her other books.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">I found Zepher's narration a bit hard to get into at first, but it's purposefully written to be aloof and pedantic for further character development later on down the line. It still made this a little harder to get into, but worth the wait. Zepher's character in general is worth the wait of her build-up - and something He wrote in the afterword has stuck with me. Before being a strategist, a warrior, a god or anything else, she wanted to write Zepher as a person. In a lot of authors' afterwords, the intention isn't necessarily essential or tangible to the book you've just read - but here it felt significant.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Plot-wise, Strike the Zither is perhaps the most twisty and turny from He yet - and that's saying something when her midpoint twists are always quite something to behold (this edition, of course, doesn't disappoint). But I loved that so much attention was given to expanding the worldbuilding and constructing a YA romance that didn't give in to sickly cliche temptations. Like the classical poems the story is adapted from, it felt like everything was so perfectly orchestrated, pre-ordained in events and relationships in a godlike way. And yet the characters were so desperately pushing for their own agency within it - that's what makes them human. And that's what the whole book is about.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Strike the Zither definitely made me want to go away and read the Three Kingdoms itself, but I'm not sure if I want to spoil myself on the potential ending ahead of this book's sequel. I'm sure He has retold a lot of things in her own way, and will still have a staggering finale ready for us next time.</div></span></div>TheDaisyDeerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16072502154325912513noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7210775565178432759.post-39932854884883591582023-01-28T03:43:00.000-08:002023-01-28T03:43:00.464-08:00For The Throne<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidf8F0pNMkEHNz3K3MN9ovKpmOhJeIdYq_O3UZBKF1-d2yz_YX0BsJp8I0a-Dvn6k__LxNgFH_vKX38wTgvGv5emO80-op8_k3KvMUF8Ptqh9GcIECszonY313ekuCf_CB66W_pynGsOfCcgTNsk454drfuOCH-FDCdBQ0by8iz5jNg8gF7pP1s2U8/s2560/59343803.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1706" height="373" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidf8F0pNMkEHNz3K3MN9ovKpmOhJeIdYq_O3UZBKF1-d2yz_YX0BsJp8I0a-Dvn6k__LxNgFH_vKX38wTgvGv5emO80-op8_k3KvMUF8Ptqh9GcIECszonY313ekuCf_CB66W_pynGsOfCcgTNsk454drfuOCH-FDCdBQ0by8iz5jNg8gF7pP1s2U8/w248-h373/59343803.jpg" width="248" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Book Title:</span><i> </i><b>For the Throne</b></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Author:</span><i> </i><b>Hannah Whitten</b></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-style: italic;">Series:</span><i style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif;"> </i><span style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif;">For the Wolf </span><span style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif;">#1</span></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Date Started:</span><i> </i>January 22nd 2023</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Date Completed:</span> January 28th 2023</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Genres:</span><i> </i>Fantasy, Adventure, Romance</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Quality Rating:</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>Three Stars</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Enjoyment Rating:</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>Four Star</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Final Rating:</span> Three Stars</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><i>Review:</i></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(30, 25, 21); color: #1e1915; text-align: start;">◆ Thank you to NetGalley for this ebook for review ◆</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(30, 25, 21); color: #1e1915; margin: 0px; text-align: start;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(30, 25, 21); color: #1e1915;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(30, 25, 21); color: #1e1915; text-align: start;"><div style="text-align: justify;">I had a lot of fun with For The Wolf, finding the creative inspiration of various fairy tales really satisfying while appreciating how it gave itself plenty of creativity to create its own story. It's at times a little cliche and angsty, but For The Throne was still an enjoyable read to close off the tale.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(30, 25, 21); color: #1e1915;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(30, 25, 21); color: #1e1915; text-align: start;"><div style="text-align: justify;">You can get away with a lot if you have good characters, and the Wilderwood duology is a good example of that. The ensemble wanes from falling into tropes, and while it's apparent effort is made to make them their own thing, it often does slip in favour of the angsty moments. But in those moments that might have me rolling my eyes in other circumstances, I'm happy to let go when there's a connection between characters. I have a lot of love for Neve in particular so was happy to see she got to take centre stage this time around. What I really wish was that there was a bit more adventuring in the series as a whole, to spend more time building these characters and relationships up to make them really move me, over just being cute. (The romantic ones not so much, but the platonic friendships that are so deeply routed in this story, but often aren't given the limelight.)</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(30, 25, 21); color: #1e1915;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(30, 25, 21); color: #1e1915; text-align: start;"><div style="text-align: justify;">For The Throne was particularly cool in the worldbuilding department. Last time we had the Wilderwood, but now we get to explore the underworld, which is both creepy and spectacular. In the first book I was fascinated by the religion, customs and tradition and how it moved the characters and their stories (Neve was so intrinsic to this theme and was what made her really stand out to me). This is lost a bit in the sequel, but the imaginative landscapes are still a strength, and so much of the events of the book first map out the arcs that are finalised here.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(30, 25, 21); color: #1e1915;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(30, 25, 21); color: #1e1915; text-align: start;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Overall, these books have been very enjoyable, if a little more predictable having seen where the first one went. Nevertheless, I had a lot of fun with For The Throne, and am eager to see what Whitten has brewing up next (and I'd be more than happy to visit this world again, as its cast are so well set up for a spin off).</div></span></span></div>TheDaisyDeerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16072502154325912513noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7210775565178432759.post-25338524830456281242023-01-22T07:27:00.001-08:002023-01-22T07:27:09.013-08:00The Firebrand<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBCNCA1urTgGhAfN4a9m252t_oefw0cr53IoAxdHpWQ4d0Hd6GVR22RYkXqkkRWoghCv_W46oreJDtWRp1sP2ES3X4GGKulWKS1cOsGZtUHvAmrbmuME-j44VpZVAK99N_0oLm_mtctpXuZPe3S9zb9KQez7sn8qUiVzr8hJBTqt676NNEwj7ITxmd/s400/6407016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="248" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBCNCA1urTgGhAfN4a9m252t_oefw0cr53IoAxdHpWQ4d0Hd6GVR22RYkXqkkRWoghCv_W46oreJDtWRp1sP2ES3X4GGKulWKS1cOsGZtUHvAmrbmuME-j44VpZVAK99N_0oLm_mtctpXuZPe3S9zb9KQez7sn8qUiVzr8hJBTqt676NNEwj7ITxmd/s320/6407016.jpg" width="198" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Book Title:</span><i> </i><b>The Firebrand</b></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Author:</span><i> </i><b>Marion Zimmer Bradley</b></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Date Started:</span><i> </i>October 15th 2022</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Date Completed:</span> January 22nd 2022</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Genres:</span><i> </i>Fantasy, Historical, Adventure</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Quality Rating:</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>Five Stars</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Enjoyment Rating:</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>Five Star</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Final Rating:</span> Five Stars</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><i>Review:</i></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;"><div style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;">Kassandra has always been my favourite classical figure, and now this is undeniably my favourite retelling of her story. Not only is it a creative, feminist, kickass way to tell it, but it brought new things even to my own knowledge. I genuinely didn't know the inspiration for the ending existed.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">You can tell that the book was made with such love for the original myths - and every corner of the Ancient Greek world and beyond we get to visit in its pages. The Firebrand is such a humanising but imaginative way to retell this story that has been told a thousand times over. These characters I know so well are materialised so vividly. Myths are designed to be elevated, spectacular, and slightly other. And yet Bradley makes everything flow so neatly, the relations are built from emotions as well as blood, the places our heroine visits are truly part of a sprawling map rather than fragments of some long forgotten, fantastical landscape.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">What really makes this novel click, in a way that many retellings don't quite achieve, is the ability to recentre a seasoned story around a different character than traditionally told through, and the skill to change where the agency of the tale comes from. Especially in the current era of myth retellings we're experiencing, I'm always disappointed when a myth is retold from another character's perspective (very often a woman's) but they are an observer to the classical story, grieving for their lack of power in a history already written (yes, we all understand the meta-narrative, we get it). The Firebrand, despite everything, is Kassandra's story. And she is firmly in charge of it.</div></span></div>TheDaisyDeerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16072502154325912513noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7210775565178432759.post-29892023042045132192022-10-15T03:18:00.005-07:002022-10-15T03:18:29.754-07:00For the Wolf<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNUvcIeFaEbYA9n9jcBYV4ysI78swqbv-LMRMEf89U6dkRifQD0FbqgdOT-oivArCwPNbaKHNUqIPSVHERmHJ8I_Uwz6yslJTa3GSSjcwgjZc7L91iHhFzS6LmKifHbCyhg96C_WGYWFXXwcQyE119GKnEPxjdubZ-VQ8fBSsCHgfiurj6wB30fuyp/s475/55957081._SY475_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="317" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNUvcIeFaEbYA9n9jcBYV4ysI78swqbv-LMRMEf89U6dkRifQD0FbqgdOT-oivArCwPNbaKHNUqIPSVHERmHJ8I_Uwz6yslJTa3GSSjcwgjZc7L91iHhFzS6LmKifHbCyhg96C_WGYWFXXwcQyE119GKnEPxjdubZ-VQ8fBSsCHgfiurj6wB30fuyp/s320/55957081._SY475_.jpg" width="214" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Book Title:</span><i> </i><b>For the Wolf</b></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Author:</span><i> </i><b>Hannah Whitten</b></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-style: italic;">Series:</span><i style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif;"> </i><span style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif;">For the Wolf </span><span style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif;">#1</span></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Date Started:</span><i> </i>October 3rd 2022</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Date Completed:</span> October 15th 2022</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Genres:</span><i> </i>Fantasy, Adventure, Romance</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Quality Rating:</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>Three Stars</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Enjoyment Rating:</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>Four Star</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Final Rating:</span> Three Stars</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><i>Review:</i></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="background-color: white; text-align: center;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;">◆ Thank you to NetGalley for this ebook for review ◆</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;" /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">For the Wolf starts off slow, predictable and frankly eye-rollingly cliche, but somehow I have to admit that the second half was really compelling and went in new directions. The main crux is a typical YA romance (and, honestly, the first half is the same scene of the Wolf reluctantly saving Red six times over); it's the outside threads that make it worthwhile. And the sickly unfaltering dedication from certain characters remains, but the plot finally grows into something really quite interesting, beckoning whatever's ahead while still resolving this novel's story well enough to be satisfying for now.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">A bit more time spent at the novel's beginning establishing three-dimensional characters could've also turned around the opening acts. I ended up liking many of them by the final act, and I want to know what happens to them next, but they were paper archetypes at the start more from a desire for the angst than an initial equilibrium. I wonder if the desire to echo the fairy tale (which seems more Beauty and the Beast/Snow White and Rose Red than Red Riding Hood) was a bit distracting to begin with, before the story took its own roots.</div></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(24, 24, 24); color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">I'm actually really looking forward to this novel's follow-up (which is already in my library), as I trust the story has come into its own now and can continue in this new and exciting direction, fleshing out the side characters even more as they become more integral to the story.</div></span></div>TheDaisyDeerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16072502154325912513noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7210775565178432759.post-63413868243691093362022-10-07T05:36:00.006-07:002022-10-07T05:36:37.375-07:00While I Live<div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM3DL0AxnH5629_Ax243lvFgZaCSmylADOCUVCP5D-vjj0u2GlKFLERi7poJvJfmAlBIvRDxINxmF1UNTKqyuFfRBRNfY4RWiBaeNhgO-HziOzNXY_tCYiQi_xEasQkp8ZlCN7LgTBgXuD7WJJOekFqpv934X9Bsl6OuDt6AnNTYtkutplMgz2MCap/s475/15746469.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="314" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM3DL0AxnH5629_Ax243lvFgZaCSmylADOCUVCP5D-vjj0u2GlKFLERi7poJvJfmAlBIvRDxINxmF1UNTKqyuFfRBRNfY4RWiBaeNhgO-HziOzNXY_tCYiQi_xEasQkp8ZlCN7LgTBgXuD7WJJOekFqpv934X9Bsl6OuDt6AnNTYtkutplMgz2MCap/s320/15746469.jpg" width="212" /></a></div></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Book Title:</span><i> </i><b>While I Live</b></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Author:</span><i> </i><b>John Marsden</b></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif; font-style: italic;">Series:</span><i style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif;"> </i><span style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif;">The Ellie Chronicles </span><span style="font-family: georgia, utopia, "palatino linotype", palatino, serif;">#1</span></div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Date Started:</span><i> </i>September 4th 2022</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Date Completed:</span> October 3rd 2022</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Genres:</span><i> </i>Adventure, Thriller</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Quality Rating:</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>Four Stars</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Enjoyment Rating:</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>Four Star</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Final Rating:</span> Four Stars</div><div style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><i>Review:</i></div><p style="text-align: justify;">For once, I'm so happy there's a sequel series to an original. The Tomorrow series was incredibly influential to me as a teenager, and remains one of the best explorations of war, survival, friendship and bravery I've ever come across. It's such a shame it isn't as well known outside of its native Australia. The Ellie Chronicles, taking place (spoiler) after the end of the war that fractured the protaginst's existence over the course of seven books, follows the endlessly conflicted and clever Ellie trying to work out what to do with her life next. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">I'm always a bit mystified how Marsden can make the everyday, however grim the circumstances, compelling and immersive. Ellie spends most of this book at home trying to work out how to balance her finances while looking after her cattle and getting into arguments with people trying to help. It's so far removed from my usual preferences, but it felt like visiting dear friends.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Ellie is one of the few protagonists that's ever felt truly real to me - and that goes for all of Marsden's characters. She's written to be so human, to the point where she's really vindictive sometimes and the narrative doesn't lay any judgement on her at all. She's constantly pissed of and tired and trying and that's the closest thing I've ever related to with fictional characters. Don't get me wrong, we don't have to feel like we are a character to relate and love them - but it's something special when it does happen.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I think part of this comes from the fact that Ellie is only as strong as her relationships, and the other people in her life are so influential and important to her growth. The familiar faces from the original series are so naturally featured, without being shoehorned in for a quick reference. The friendships are so tactile and precious; characters don't have to be joined at the hip and speak every day to be close, as I think the representation often becomes. Months go past without Ellie speaking to dear friends, and when she does see them it can be awkward and hesitant. But they're still so close, and that's something that so many struggle to translate to the page.</p>TheDaisyDeerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16072502154325912513noreply@blogger.com0