Love it. I read this on my 3 week vacation to Greece and it was one of the best life decisions I ever made. Reading about Athens, the acropolis4 stars
Love it. I read this on my 3 week vacation to Greece and it was one of the best life decisions I ever made. Reading about Athens, the acropolis, Mount Olympus, the birthplace of Zeus, Delphi, and then visiting those places? A+.
Honestly, this book never really piqued my interest before. Though I love Greek mythology, I had classed this book as kind of non-fiction, which I generally don't like to read. But it reads exactly like fiction, like fantasy. Stephen Fry really plays up the personalities and interactions of the characters in really clear, concise and engaging ways.
The individual stories are really brief, which I actually really appreciated. Especially while reading on vacation, when I only have 10 or 15 minutes here or there, I could easily blaze through a couple stories and then put the book down again.
I will say though that the first part (titans, birth of the gods, creation of the dodecatheon, and even the creation of humans) was much more engaging to me than the following parts. I think because the first part felt a lot more like a chronological ongoing narrative, while the later stories were all kind of disjointed and random. I understand why that is the case of course, because that's how the myths are, but still, my interest waned just a little bit.
I would definitely recommend this. In fact, I ordered the hardcovers of this book and Heroes so I can keep reading and keep them beautifully on my shelves....more
Like, I believe, 11 million other people, I watched and became obsessed with Bridgerton on Netflix last December. So when book club suggested r3 stars
Like, I believe, 11 million other people, I watched and became obsessed with Bridgerton on Netflix last December. So when book club suggested reading this book I was ready to go.
Overall, this story is enjoyable, but I will infinitely prefer the Netflix series. It made the swoony parts more swoony. It had a better build up of the relationship between Daphne and Simon. And it made the iffy parts less iffy.
Because let's face it: the consent dealio is very iffy. And very not okay. In the book Daphne was very aware of Simon's preference and they'd even discussed his deception and his reasons for it, and THEN the infamous scene took place. And that's just... not okay. And it kind of pulls a dark cloud over what was until then a very fun story.
But. Yeah. I want to focus more on the first half of the story. That was just super fun and what I love most is the humor and character dynamics between the Bridgertons. I cackled at scenes with Violet, Colin and Lady Danbury. There's a lot of wit. And yeah.
I do want to continue the series if only because the humor and characters were that strong. Hoping that the other relationships don't have such iffyness as the consent between Daphne and Simon. Because other than that, there's a lot to love....more
I love it. I love Obama. I miss him. And I love that he narrated the audiobook himself. It's 30 hours long, which is long. And I've never read 5 stars
I love it. I love Obama. I miss him. And I love that he narrated the audiobook himself. It's 30 hours long, which is long. And I've never read a memoir before this. But this was super engaging.
Obama something of a role model to me, with his idealistic view of the world, humility, honesty, and everything, so obviously that absorbed me. It's wonderful to get more insight in his experiences and the things that drive him.. but also how he processes disappointment or finds ways to overcome immense obstacles. That's just super inspiring.
But on the other hand, there's also a lot of value in this memoir due to the extra insight in the political process in the US. I was already familiar with a lot of aspects, having grown up in the US and avidly following political news, but Obama still sheds new light on other aspects. The unseen struggles between the branches of government, the strategies and maneuvering. Very interesting! And again, even though Obama was dealt a really rough hand, he still talks about it all with a very optimistic and determined tone. No harsh and whiney blame and shame. After four years of president 45, that's just... so refreshing.
I took a long time on this one, but not because I didn't enjoy it. It's just long. But worth every second....more
This is the perfect example of a three star book. It's not great. It's not terrible. It's enjoyable. And it's forgettable.
Japanese culture and 3 stars
This is the perfect example of a three star book. It's not great. It's not terrible. It's enjoyable. And it's forgettable.
Japanese culture and mythology will always draw me in, so when I read the synopsis, I was immediately good to go. I'm glad that I'm able to say that the Japanese aspects of the book are good. You can tell that Julie Kagawa did her research, and that it's also partly her culture. It's brimming with authenticity and respect, and it's not a Western anime fangirl's wet dream or something. It's original and recognizable. I do feel like I have to note, though, that it's easier to connect with if you have some history with anime/manga/J-drama, because some Japanese terms and short phrases are inserted in the book. They're usually explained, but sometimes not. If it's completely foreign to you, it could keep you from connecting with the book.
The biggest 'problem' with the book is that the characters just don't really sparkle. Their personalities are a bit flat and one dimensional. And Yumeko, especially. She's an odd one. With a completely sheltered upbringing at the temple, she knows basically nothing. Sarcasm, especially, is a wildly foreign concept to her. But everyone somehow falls in love with her and drops everything they're doing to follow her. And I say love lightly, because there's only one potential love interest, really. But still. She's naive and still somehow people are fascinated by her. And it's convenient, because though she's sheltered and unknowing of the world, at just the right moments, she encounters something that the monks told her about, and suddenly she's perfectly knowledgeable about a certain thing. Sigh.
But basically.
After a while, my brain drew a comparison of this book to a video game, and I could no longer let it go. Now, I'm a big fan of the Tales series by Namco and Final Fantasy. And maybe I thought if a book was like that, it'd be awesome. I've now seen that that's not necessarily the case.
This book is like a video game in that the characters are traveling, traveling, traveling along. They encounter a battle, and when they win, another person joins their party. And then they travel, travel, travel along, encounter a battle and win, and ANOTHER character joins their party. And then it all repeats again. Then you get to the end of the book where there's a BOSS BATTLE, very intense, ooooh, and they win, but yeah, next level continues in the next book.
I guess what I mean is that the book really ambles along. It's hard to believe all these party members dropping all their personal shit to just follow Yumeko because she's so charming. But also, it's lacking in an overarching story and direction. The whole thing about the dragon's prayer and what it could bring to the world is basically summed up in a couple sentences at the very beginning of the book, and then it's just dropped because the immediate mission (or, quest, if you will) is to get to the next temple.
Yeah.
Rambling.
Basically, it's not bad. Some aspects are good. Loved the Japanese culture. Loved the audiobook performance (great Japanese pronunciations). But the characters just didn't really steal my heart, and the plot just ambled along. I feel like this COULD be a great series. But I know myself - this first book didn't give me enough to keep me interested. I'm not going to remember what happened by the time the sequel comes out. And I'm not going to feel like rereading it. And even worse, waiting two years or so until the series is complete. I dunno. I'm not going to make that. And I hoped I would. I expected more....more
Loved it. Absolutely loved it. Great story with great themes and layers of meaning. Lyra is a delight - stubborn and persistent, smart and in4.5 stars
Loved it. Absolutely loved it. Great story with great themes and layers of meaning. Lyra is a delight - stubborn and persistent, smart and insightful. Also excellent as an audiobook, with a full cast of very talented voice actors.
I can't believe it took me this long to read this. Shame, Debby. Shame....more
I've been a fan of Hank Green for close to a decade, but a book is very different to a YouTube video, so I was still nervous about how this was4 stars
I've been a fan of Hank Green for close to a decade, but a book is very different to a YouTube video, so I was still nervous about how this was going to go. My hesitance was misplaced. This book is great.
Hank's voice shines through in his view on internet fame, the polarization of our society, and overall hope for humanity. He hooked me early and well, with the ending of the second chapter:
"That night was probably the best night's sleep I had until after I died."
In fact, he does this quite often throughout the book: April foreshadows key moments like her death or dates that are important turning points in the story, and it really helped to keep up the suspense. A few more times and it may have gotten a little annoying, but I appreciated it as someone who has been in a 2 year long reading slump.
All in all, I genuinely enjoyed this story, and may have rated it higher if not for the ending. Given the amount of foreshadowing and the fact that this was once conceived as a standalone novel, I really expected to have way more answers by the end. Instead, I was left with a shitton of questions which just make me all the more grateful for the fact that I waited until now to read it and that my order of the sequel arrived before I finished.
This one got some major hype last year, so much so that I bought it without really reading the synopsis at all. But the hype, I'm glad to say, 4 stars
This one got some major hype last year, so much so that I bought it without really reading the synopsis at all. But the hype, I'm glad to say, is really very much deserved. This book is sexy, fun, but also so much more than that. There are actual fleshed out characters - and that's quite a big thing to say about a romance novel. I really feel like I learned something about autism, and I felt very attached to the characters. They deserved each other, and I was rooting for them extremely hard....more
I wasn't massively excited about this book, but I felt like it started out really strong. I was really pleasantly surprised and sucke2.5 stars
Eh.
Meh.
I wasn't massively excited about this book, but I felt like it started out really strong. I was really pleasantly surprised and sucked into the mystery. So many creepy, dark things were happening and I had so many questions that I wanted to keep on listening and get to the bottom of everything.
Well, then I didn't keep listening and I picked it back up intermittently over a couple weeks, and my interest went down, down, down.
This story's pretty creative, I guess - whimsical, creepy, and dark, just like fairy tales should be. I just didn't connect to the characters much, if at all. The climax, what it was all building to, with the Hazel Wood and the Hinterland, actually got really confusing, to me. So many things just felt random and weird. A lot was left unexplained or came out of nowhere. That's not necessarily a bad thing - that's just a certain type of fantasy that doesn't really work for me.
Ultimately, this story is forgettable to me. I can confidently say that, because while reading it I was constantly forgetting what the fuck was going on.
The audiobook is pretty good though, so yay?...more
Sigh. The thing about the confirmation bias is that it can seriously ruin a book for you from the outset. I did not expect to like this book, a2 stars
Sigh. The thing about the confirmation bias is that it can seriously ruin a book for you from the outset. I did not expect to like this book, and thus, I did not like it.
There's a few factors at play here:
1. I've read one other book by Holly Black, The Darkest Part of the Forest, and though I liked it, it was really forgettable for me. That's because I'm a character reader, and those characters absolutely did not stand out to me. So I was scared the same would happen in The Cruel Prince, and I just didn't have the highest hopes.
2. I'm unfamiliar with faerie lore. And I think that kind of puts you at a disadvantage with this book. Though I've read a couple of series that have taken elements of faerie lore, I'm not familiar with the traditional kind, which this book is much more. But it felt, to me, like Holly Black kind of expects you to know about the different kind of fae, what they look like, what their powers or quirks are, what rules govern the society. Though it doesn't ruin your reading experience if you're unfamiliar with it all, I feel like you'd get so much more out of it if you do know those things. I don't think Holly Black did a good enough job illustrating these elements for newbie fae readers. (But MAYBE there was a glossary in the back of the physical book? I just listened to the audio.)
3. I never got over the fact that Jude is okay with Maddock and sees the faerie world as her own. I just could. not. get. over. it. He murdered her parents in cold blood. Protocol dictates that he cares for them, but he murdered. her. parents. She still calls him father, and when given the option to return to the mortal world is like, "nah, thanks." Even while she's tortured and bullied on a daily basis for being mortal and by rights would never fully be accepted. She's all like, "I'm going to teach them, and I'm going to claim my place." Bitch, please, why would you want to be a part of that???
Number 3 is the biggest obstacle by far, because with that simple fact that's woven into the entire premise of the book, I couldn't take anything Jude did seriously. It hung over me like a dark cloud and made me question every decision she made and sigh in exasperation repeatedly. I know that objectively, this isn't really a bad book (it's just not for me), and it's insanely popular right now (judging by my friends' reviews), but I couldn't get over it.
Other thoughts: - Locke is a loser dumbass.
- Sister rivalry is upsetting (hello sisters before misters??)
- Also, Tarrin, why. Seriously sisters before misters, but also, (view spoiler)[yourself before mister loser dumbass (hide spoiler)].
- Faerie kids are like the popular mean kids in school, *sigh*
- Valyrian is a bad guy with 0 development. Or like -9000 development. Seriously. Jesus.
- Yes, I am guessing at the spellings of all of these names, because audiobook.
- Carden becoming (view spoiler)[a love interest (hide spoiler)] was super obvious, but I don't buy it, because he was also a douche the entire time.
- Quick to the kissing - am I supposed to be shipping that?
- The coronation (view spoiler)[being disrupted because of a coup (hide spoiler)] was also incredibly predictable.
An easy, breezy read with a cute couple and a funny premise. Predictable in the way that most romcoms are, but with heartwarming scenes that make you An easy, breezy read with a cute couple and a funny premise. Predictable in the way that most romcoms are, but with heartwarming scenes that make you go, "Aww," all the same....more
Wow, I liked that to a surprisingly high degree. Somehow I didn't expect it - because yes, though this series is arguably one of the world's mo4 stars
Wow, I liked that to a surprisingly high degree. Somehow I didn't expect it - because yes, though this series is arguably one of the world's most beloved fantasy series, it was written in the same era as Lord of the Rings, and that wasn't too easily digestible.
This absolutely was. I also highly enjoyed it as an audiobook. The narrator did great voices and accents for all of the characters. I really got engrossed in it. Humorous, light, fantastical, imaginative... Very cool....more
That was very, very cool. My first time reading Marie Lu is undoubtedly a success, even if it took me a shockingly long time to finish the book4 stars
That was very, very cool. My first time reading Marie Lu is undoubtedly a success, even if it took me a shockingly long time to finish the book. That's just my personal life getting in the way. But I didn't for a second consider giving up on this book because I thoroughly enjoyed every moment I got to spend reading it.
Warcross is just catnip for female gamers. It's like Ready Player One with its virtual/augmented reality aspects, but it adds an even stronger gaming, competition element with its Olympics-style tournament.
I really enjoyed getting to know the world and the technology. Emika isn't a character I immediately identify with, but it was pleasant reading from her point of view. The romance was not really necessary and kind of random. Some of the coding stuff didn't really make sense. But the story is seriously compelling. There were a couple twists I expected, and one I honestly didn't. And that makes me really curious to continue the story and find out where it goes next.
Honestly, this is the kind of vivid, action-packed sci-fi story that would make for an epic, epic movie....more
Wow. Just wow. Having read this author before, and being naturally attracted to this premise, I honestly didn't expect this to be such a load of1 star
Wow. Just wow. Having read this author before, and being naturally attracted to this premise, I honestly didn't expect this to be such a load of horse shit.
But it was.
Honestly, it's like a meager half percentage point above Fifty Shades of Grey: PWP erotica, with a definite dominance aspect (though thankfully no abuse), with a power imbalance (he's her company's co-owner), based purely on physical attraction.
These characters do not have personalities. Honestly, they meet at her desk when she has an IT problem, and then it's just physical attraction, gushing, obsession, and the "I love you"s and "I've never felt this way"s aren't far off. Why? Couldn't tell you. They don't spend a single second getting to know each other.
I read quite a bit of romance nowadays but it's been ages since I've felt quite this ashamed of reading such a book. I expected way more from Megan Erickson. The nerdy details and jokes couldn't save this. At all....more
There's nothing overtly wrong with Undecided, but it's nothing too special either. It's more the standard fare that you'd expect from a new adu3 stars
There's nothing overtly wrong with Undecided, but it's nothing too special either. It's more the standard fare that you'd expect from a new adult book, and in my case it definitely also suffered by being read right after Smut, which I loved infinitely more.
Nora and Crosbie have a decent amount of chemistry, and I liked how it grew over time, though I felt the story itself skipped some scenes in their relationship that would have endeared them to me even more. Like, all of a sudden Nora felt like he was her best friend - and I was like, wait, why? When did that happen? And then there's the whole part about the giant lie standing in the way of their relationship. Lying never ends well and the truth will always out. So I did not feel bad for anyone when it did.
Entertaining enough, but not a total winner for me....more
There's something about Marissa Meyer's writing style. It's just so engaging and entertaining. She knows how to combine the r4 stars
Well that was fun!
There's something about Marissa Meyer's writing style. It's just so engaging and entertaining. She knows how to combine the right level of action and intrigue in strongly character-driven stories. And that's basically always going to work for me.
As for this story in particular, as a fan of all things superhero-esque, I was definitely hooked. I love the powers, the world, the kind of moral dilemma that the existence of superheroes presents. After all, when people are not all created equal, it's very hard to maintain a balanced society. Some of the powers were super cool (Sketch) while others were a bit more odd (the Puppeteer), but it did make each character have their own story and their own unique voice.
On the other hand, while I was engaged in the story and I found it quite entertaining, it never quite over the top blew me away. There weren't any big shocking moments for me, which I kind of expected, and other parts of the story had me doing a bit of side-eye.
Like, why was Nova feeling so attracted to Adrian so early on? It kind of detracted from her mission and her supposed hatred for everything related to the Renegades.
The Detonator - why. Just why. Like, she was pretty fucking stupid. It was hard for me to believe that the Anarchists did nothing for 9 years just to suddenly jump at the first opportunity and recklessly blow up the bigger goal. (Pun intended, I guess.)
But mostly I thought the story would be a bit more complex, kind of like Vicious. You have two sides but neither is entirely good or bad. They're shades of gray, which you can understand based on their backgrounds. But it was hard to think of the Anarchists as anything other than evil if - and Nova seriously recalls it from her past - they sat around bragging about their kills. By the end there's obviously also some sketchiness on the Renegades side, but I expected a bit more from this throughout the story.
Overall, I was really entertained, and I do plan to continue the series. There are enough unanswered questions at the end to make that a priority. (But seriously I wanted more answers asdjfkl;)
P.S. Though I had the print copy, I ended up listening to the audiobook - which I also highly enjoyed and would recommend!...more
It took me like almost two months, but I did read it. That's not to say this book is bad, but life has just gotten away from me.
I really en3.5 oranges
It took me like almost two months, but I did read it. That's not to say this book is bad, but life has just gotten away from me.
I really enjoyed this book! I love Japan, so having a book set in a fantasy setting based on that culture is awesome. The cultural traditions and general feeling come across to me, at least, as rather authentic, and I loved the setting and the writing.
I generally love genderbending, so all of you similar reader friends: HEY LOOK, GENDERBENDING. Yep, Mariko disguises herself as a boy. She does it at first to find out who tried to assassinate her, but she also has a very feminist perspective that's limited by her gender and status. So I guess you can say it's quite a feminist story. She really comes into her own and is smart, brave, and resourceful.
What I guess holds me back from loving this more is the romance and the vaguey vagueness.
The romance is good but not great. It took a while to start up, so I guess that's kind of a slow burn? But it didn't do too too much for me, I think because I was hoping that Mariko would be more focused on finding out who tried to kill her and more suspicious of the Black Clan who she at that point still claimed to suspect. Like, I didn't feel their chemistry had enough weight to overcome those huge, glaring obstacles. And because of the romance she more or less completely lost sight of the mystery of the assassin group by the end of the book. That's a little frustrating.
The vaguey vagueness mostly comes from the strange, mystical powers that some characters seem to have. None of it is really explained, and I guess that could easily still come later on in the series... but I thought this was a standalone until I had about 40 pages left to go. Sigh. A lot of the mystical, fantastical elements of the book are just in a realm of vagueness right now which more or less means that Ahdieh could take it in any freaking direction she may want. And eh. I dunno.
Overall, a bit mixed, and not quite as enthralling or addictive as The Wrath and the Dawn, but I did enjoy it and will happily continue with the series....more
I will never be able to resist a fauxmance, nope nope. I enjoyed this one for sure! Like the British setting, in the West End among the theater3 stars
I will never be able to resist a fauxmance, nope nope. I enjoyed this one for sure! Like the British setting, in the West End among the theater world. There was some good banter.
Buuut, I don't know. It's mostly really predictable. And forgettable. Like, it really didn't take all that long before the main characters were truly drawn to each other. And Lainie is just so *good* - charitable, friendly, honorable - that I got bored.
Entertaining, sure. Forgettable, absolutely. Hot? Eh, it fades to black. I feel like this book could have done so much more. The ending was particularly cliché....more
I really enjoyed that! It's a nice way to continue one of my all-time favorite series - by taking it to aFirst read: March 2017 Reread: May 2018
4 stars
I really enjoyed that! It's a nice way to continue one of my all-time favorite series - by taking it to a new medium and shifting the focus to one of the side characters. It makes sense that after such an epic story, there are still many loose ends, and I like that we're getting a view of how the world pieces itself back together again.
I will say that though the art is visually appealing, the characters didn't quite match my image of them. And that's kind of weird, when you've been attached to them for so long. And with the different format, their personalities seem a little off at times too. But maybe that's just because everyone's all happy in relationships and being lovey dovey and stuff.
But honestly, that's nitpicking, because I will never let go of this series....more
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