I was sadly underwhelmed with the conclusion to The High Republic Adventures. The story events are nearly identical to what we see in Midnight HorizonI was sadly underwhelmed with the conclusion to The High Republic Adventures. The story events are nearly identical to what we see in Midnight Horizons, which was a bummer as I was hoping for more from these characters I've grown to love so much....more
Star Wars The High Republic: Starlight Stories collects three short stories, an article, and some author interviews that were previously published in Star Wars The High Republic: Starlight Stories collects three short stories, an article, and some author interviews that were previously published in the Star Wars Insider magazine. The pieces span a broad timeline of Phase 1 from before Light of the Jedi was published to shortly before the release of The Fallen Star.
I really enjoyed getting to see more of Starlight Beacon through the short stories. The majority of the short stories followed a new character, Administrator Velko Jahen, through her time station on Starlight. Through Velko, we get to see more of how operations on Starlight work and see how the broader events of Phase 1 impacted ordinary people on Starlight. I loved getting to know Velko, who is trying to navigate politics between the Republic officials and the Jedi while also learning her new role. There are also appearances from characters I loved in other media like Master Maru and Pikka and Joss Adren.
The big thing about this collection that did not work for me was the formatting. While I understand the stories were originally published in a magazine, reading them in the small print and three-column layout they were originally published in was a pain. Starlight Stories also kept the part breaks between story installments, which seemed a bit unnecessary. I would've preferred the stories in a traditional book format without a bunch of filler pages between parts one and two.
As a completionist, I'm glad I got the chance to read Starlight Stories and see a bit more of Starlight. For those who don't need to consume every bit of content in Phase 1, you could safely skip this one.
Thank you to Titan Books and Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own....more
The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee was an incredibly informative read that did an amazing job making this history personal. I enjoyed that Treuer included The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee was an incredibly informative read that did an amazing job making this history personal. I enjoyed that Treuer included some memoir elements but wish there had been a bit more of them. The asides to his life could feel abrupt and if there had been more narration of his life that intertwined with the historical narrative more seamlessly, I think this would've strengthened both aspects of the book. ...more
Almost a week and a half after finishing Convergence, I am still baffled that this book just did not work for me. I loved Path of Deceit and went in sAlmost a week and a half after finishing Convergence, I am still baffled that this book just did not work for me. I loved Path of Deceit and went in so excited to see where Phase 2 was going to head next. Convergence follows the conflict between Eiram and E'ronoh that is highlighted in Phase 2's opening crawl. This is sort of a marriage of convenience romance meets political murder mystery, which sounds like it should be absolutely my cup of tea.
The primary reason Convergence fell flat for me was the lack of character development. The story follows Jedi Knight Gella, Chancellor Kyong’s son Axel, E'ronoh's princess Xiri, and Eiram's prince Phan-tu. Gella is one of the main points of view in Convergence yet I finished the book feeling like I didn't really know her at all. The other key characters were also under-developed with 1-2 traits serving as their whole personalities. This made it really hard for me to root for them.
I did enjoy the rich worldbuilding of Eiram and E'ronoh. Each world felt vibrant with a unique geopolitical landscape. There were lots of incredible details about rituals, customs, and types of fashion that made these places feel real....more
The concept of The Grande Odalisque was incredible -- a group of female friends C/W:(view spoiler)[dog attack, gunshots, gunshot wound (hide spoiler)]
The concept of The Grande Odalisque was incredible -- a group of female friends engaging in art heists, count me in! -- but the execution was underwhelming. There was no character development for any of the main characters, which made it hard to care what happened to them. ...more
The Monsters We Defy had a rich setting with compelling characters. The mC/W:(view spoiler)[police violence, gunshot wound, possession (hide spoiler)]
The Monsters We Defy had a rich setting with compelling characters. The mystery didn't play as big of a roll in the story as I had expected but I liked the characters enough that I didn't really mind. ...more
The Cloisters is one of those bookC/W:(view spoiler)[death of a parent, fatal car accident, drowning, drug use (hide spoiler)]
*Actual rating is a 3.5*
The Cloisters is one of those books that I found captivating while reading it and then noticed all of its flaws as soon as I'd had some time away from it to reflect on the reading experience. It's an atmospheric literary fiction read with some dark academia influences.
I loved seeing the Met Cloisters get the acclaim it deserves. It's one of my all-time favorite places in NYC that was the perfect setting for this story. I do wish there had been a map in the book as a lot of gallery and cloisters names within the museum were just used with no details about where these spaces were or what they really looked like beyond a few minor details. Even as someone who's been to the Cloisters, I found this disorienting, so I imagine it would be even more confusing for readers who haven't visited the museum.
The other main issue I had with The Cloisters was the flimsy character development. Many of the main characters, particularly our narrator Ann, felt more like personas than people. Rachel was the stereotypical "not like other girls" character in dark academia who was defined seemingly solely by her money and poise. We saw so much of her on the page that I kept hoping for a sense of who she was as a person but we never really got it. Some of this I'll attribute to dark academia as a subgenre, which loves to focus on people as ideals, but there was still room for a bit more character development to help this book stand out from the many other dark academia books I've read....more
I really enjoyed the world Tesh created in the Greenhollow duology. Drowned Country was just as atmospheric as the first book with more wonderfully stI really enjoyed the world Tesh created in the Greenhollow duology. Drowned Country was just as atmospheric as the first book with more wonderfully strange magic. I loved getting to see more of Silver and Tobias, particularly as they figure out what their lives will look like now after the events of Silver in the Wood....more
Silver in the Wood was a lyrical, haunting story that swept me up from the first page. If you're looking for an excellent atmospheric read, I highly rSilver in the Wood was a lyrical, haunting story that swept me up from the first page. If you're looking for an excellent atmospheric read, I highly recommend it. ...more
Comfort Me With Apples has an intriguing premise and Valente's wriC/W:(view spoiler)[gore, violence, threats of interpersonal violence (hide spoiler)]
Comfort Me With Apples has an intriguing premise and Valente's writing pulled me in from the beginning. There's an excellent sense of tension that continues to grow as the story unfolds. (view spoiler)[The reveal was predictable and the primary reason for my 3-star rating. (hide spoiler)]...more
I found the steampunk, alternate history take on Frankenstein really neat. The art was unexpecC/W:(view spoiler)[gore, blood, violence (hide spoiler)]
I found the steampunk, alternate history take on Frankenstein really neat. The art was unexpectedly horrifying in the best way -- those witch owls are scary! The world of The Witch Owl Parliament was rich and full of things to explore. I found the pacing of the story a bit overwhelming as so much was thrown at the reader at once that it was hard to get a grasp on what was happening and why. I almost think the bonus short story at the end of the volume would've worked better at the beginning to provide a primer to the world. The Witch Owl Parliament wasn't for me but was definitely a unique graphic novel....more
Solo was a solid adaptation of a movie I really enjoyed. It didn't add as much to my understanding of the characters as I had hoped. I would recommendSolo was a solid adaptation of a movie I really enjoyed. It didn't add as much to my understanding of the characters as I had hoped. I would recommend it solely for the L3-37 morsels we got including (view spoiler)[what went through her head when she became part of the Falcon. (hide spoiler)]...more
The Psychology of Time Travel was a gripping character-driven rC/W:(view spoiler)[mental illness, murder, hazing, death of a loved one (hide spoiler)]
The Psychology of Time Travel was a gripping character-driven read. Mascarenhas deftly used the time travel component to make a really fascinating murder mystery that left me constantly revising my theory of who did it. The queer romance was icing on the cake. ...more
Black Spire was an unexpected delight. I instantly fell in love with Vi Moradi when I read Phasma earlier this year so it was very fun to see her figuBlack Spire was an unexpected delight. I instantly fell in love with Vi Moradi when I read Phasma earlier this year so it was very fun to see her figure out how to move on from what happened on the Absolution. The story did an excellent job balancing character growth and external action. I absolutely raced through the audiobook so I could find out what was going to happen to this cast of characters that won me over.
At its core, this was a story about a queer found family with the added bonus that it was set in a galaxy far, far away. I really enjoyed Black Spire. Delilah Dawson is becoming one of my favorite Star Wars authors.
C/W:(view spoiler)[kidnapping of a child, violence, possession, death of parents, child abandonment (hide spoiler)]
I'm still baffled how a book with aC/W:(view spoiler)[kidnapping of a child, violence, possession, death of parents, child abandonment (hide spoiler)]
I'm still baffled how a book with as much potential as Shadow of the Sith could fall so completely flat for me. As a huge Star Wars fan, generally any content can satisfy me to some extent because it's just great to learn more about the galaxy far, far away. Somehow, meaningful or captivating lore was missing from this story. There are Sith cults but everything about them is spoken about as though the reader is already familiar with them. There isn't any significant fleshing out of (view spoiler)[how Palpatine had children or what was going on on Exegol between the original and sequel trilogies. (hide spoiler)]
My other significant gripe is the absence of character development. Luke and Lando are one-dimensional action figures propelled by the story rather than complex characters with agency of their own. It was disappointing to see these two characters boiled down to a couple core traits when so many other Star Wars stories have expanded our understanding of who Luke and Lando are. Rey's parents, Dathan and Miramir, are also flat characters. Without well-rounded characters -- even legacy characters I'm already attached to -- it was impossible to care about the stakes of this story.
The one upside is narrator William DeMeritt does an excellent job. He really brings a sense of vibrancy to the story. I switched from the physical book to the audiobook about 30% of the way through and am so glad I did. DeMeritt's narration made this a more interesting read than it would've been otherwise. ...more
Archival Quality had an excellent premise with execution C/W:(view spoiler)[depression, mental illness, medical experimentation, death (hide spoiler)]
Archival Quality had an excellent premise with execution that it did not work for me. The characters felt a bit flat. I also wanted a bit more nuance from the conversation about mental illness. ...more
Over My Dead Body is a mystery set in October at a boarding school for witches. The world is C/W:(view spoiler)[kidnapping, possession (hide spoiler)]
Over My Dead Body is a mystery set in October at a boarding school for witches. The world is evocative and rich with details that made it feel real. I loved getting to lose myself in this book for a while -- with the beautiful art and interesting story, it was a super fun read. ...more
Lesser Evil was a thoroughly enjoyable conclusion to the Thrawn Ascendancy series. I loved getting to see how these characters I have come to root forLesser Evil was a thoroughly enjoyable conclusion to the Thrawn Ascendancy series. I loved getting to see how these characters I have come to root for grew in this last installment. The political maneuvering was fascinating and filled with twists I didn't see coming. ...more
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