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divineauthor's reviews
328 reviews
Nightwing Vol. 3: The Battle for Bludhaven's Heart by Tom Taylor, Bruno Redondo
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
2.5
"No matter the odds, no matter the danger, when I see the powerless attached . . . I leap in." —Dick Grayson / Robin, issue #92
this runs along the same lines as my general thoughts for taylor's nightwing run. spoilers (not sorry): i do think killing blockbuster is a bit of a cop-out but whatever. dickbabs dialogue never fails to make me cringe, but i did enjoy dick's cunning nature even if i hate how voyeuristic it all feels
this runs along the same lines as my general thoughts for taylor's nightwing run. spoilers (not sorry): i do think killing blockbuster is a bit of a cop-out but whatever. dickbabs dialogue never fails to make me cringe, but i did enjoy dick's cunning nature even if i hate how voyeuristic it all feels
Nightwing, Vol. 2: Get Grayson by Tom Taylor
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
2.75
"Home is where your family is. Whether you were born into that family or whether you found each other." —Dick Grayson, issue #88
yet again taylor shows me that he is incapable of writing dick grayson as a character. there are good moments and, on a surface level, taylor understands the importance of dick's interpersonal relationships (re: titans, jon, etc.), but it's dick himself that taylor has the most trouble finding a voice for because i don't hear dick's voice. i see glimpses of the man he's been for the past few decades, but ultimately he's watered down, a cookie-cutter hero whose personality has been sanded away. also, i keep forgetting they gave dick a half-sister. somebody save this man fr. at least redondo's art fucks
*read as single issues
yet again taylor shows me that he is incapable of writing dick grayson as a character. there are good moments and, on a surface level, taylor understands the importance of dick's interpersonal relationships (re: titans, jon, etc.), but it's dick himself that taylor has the most trouble finding a voice for because i don't hear dick's voice. i see glimpses of the man he's been for the past few decades, but ultimately he's watered down, a cookie-cutter hero whose personality has been sanded away. also, i keep forgetting they gave dick a half-sister. somebody save this man fr. at least redondo's art fucks
*read as single issues
Teen Titans: Robin by Kami Garcia
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.0
“Brothers. Maybe that’s not so bad.” —Damian Wayne, page 174
this functions more as a filler book to add dick grayson in there which i don’t really mind. this teen titans series really is just surface-level and moves too fast for any real good relationship developments to grow. love the art though, but generally very middling
this functions more as a filler book to add dick grayson in there which i don’t really mind. this teen titans series really is just surface-level and moves too fast for any real good relationship developments to grow. love the art though, but generally very middling
Batman: Nightwalker by Marie Lu
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
2.75
“You have a heavy heart, for someone with everything.” —Madeleine Wallace, page 98
as a story, this was . . . fine. lu is definitely comfortable in her prose and her ability to weave a narrative. she’s part of the reason i’m not giving this a one-star rating tbh. the thing is, this is barely a batman story because bruce wayne has been watered down enough to feel like he’s just some grown-up, rich, ipad kid with a predilection for morally questionable women. gotham doesn’t even feel like gotham! it’s just like every other major city. like i get that this is pre-batman which means no rogues gallery, but there is a pulse to gotham that i think lu never managed to capture right (e.g. nolanverse gotham just being a punched up version of chicago vs. reeves’ gotham which feels as dirty, slimy, and yet still oddly beautiful as it’s depicted in the comics). and to me, if you can’t get gotham right, you’ll never get bruce right. this can’t even be construed as fic because i have definitely read better AUs than this. literally today, even. there are nods to future batman iconography, but it rings hollow when the bruce wayne portrayed isn’t the bruce wayne, yk. anyway, tldr: if you know nothing about batman, this will be a fun, quick read for you; if you’re agonized and tormented by brainrot over batman in the way i am . . . my sincerest condolences fr
as a story, this was . . . fine. lu is definitely comfortable in her prose and her ability to weave a narrative. she’s part of the reason i’m not giving this a one-star rating tbh. the thing is, this is barely a batman story because bruce wayne has been watered down enough to feel like he’s just some grown-up, rich, ipad kid with a predilection for morally questionable women. gotham doesn’t even feel like gotham! it’s just like every other major city. like i get that this is pre-batman which means no rogues gallery, but there is a pulse to gotham that i think lu never managed to capture right (e.g. nolanverse gotham just being a punched up version of chicago vs. reeves’ gotham which feels as dirty, slimy, and yet still oddly beautiful as it’s depicted in the comics). and to me, if you can’t get gotham right, you’ll never get bruce right. this can’t even be construed as fic because i have definitely read better AUs than this. literally today, even. there are nods to future batman iconography, but it rings hollow when the bruce wayne portrayed isn’t the bruce wayne, yk. anyway, tldr: if you know nothing about batman, this will be a fun, quick read for you; if you’re agonized and tormented by brainrot over batman in the way i am . . . my sincerest condolences fr
Poems to Night by Rainer Maria Rilke
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
“Nothing is so mute / as a god’s mouth.” —page 48
from the bottom of my heart, i actually don’t know how to rate this. i struggled with this a little—many of these poems resist any interpretation—and found the theme of night to be overwhelming to the point of vagueness. maybe it’s a translation issue, or maybe i just like rilke’s other works better, but this was a middling read. honestly, i’m not sure! some verses / lines were really good (see above quote), but the whole piece . . . idk!
from the bottom of my heart, i actually don’t know how to rate this. i struggled with this a little—many of these poems resist any interpretation—and found the theme of night to be overwhelming to the point of vagueness. maybe it’s a translation issue, or maybe i just like rilke’s other works better, but this was a middling read. honestly, i’m not sure! some verses / lines were really good (see above quote), but the whole piece . . . idk!
Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
“Sometimes I’m scared that I imagined you. Sometimes I think you’re only in my head.” —Nolan Sawyer, page 255
this was enjoyable! hazelwood writes rivals in a way that actually feels fun and i never really thought about chess tournaments before so that was a interesting thing to read! mal, as an eldest daughter, is so real to me i was holding her lovingly in my hands, and nolan is insane the way he says some of the most romantic lines very directly and with such sincerity. anyway, i also have a soft spot for couples who have a ‘maybe i made you up inside my head’ type of dialogue. it gets to me Personally. anyway this was fun! maybe it’ll be a 4-star book if i let it marinate (but the .25 is every mention of like . . . ao3 and and the likes 😭 i was curling away from it)
this was enjoyable! hazelwood writes rivals in a way that actually feels fun and i never really thought about chess tournaments before so that was a interesting thing to read! mal, as an eldest daughter, is so real to me i was holding her lovingly in my hands, and nolan is insane the way he says some of the most romantic lines very directly and with such sincerity. anyway, i also have a soft spot for couples who have a ‘maybe i made you up inside my head’ type of dialogue. it gets to me Personally. anyway this was fun! maybe it’ll be a 4-star book if i let it marinate (but the .25 is every mention of like . . . ao3 and and the likes 😭 i was curling away from it)
You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
“I feel like the world wanted to remind me that it loves me, and so it gave me him.” —Feyi Adekola
it’s interesting to me that this is marketed as a romance, rather than contemporary literary fiction. i know this is emezi’s fifth genre to write in and, in their own words, said that, ‘genre is a loose concept for me [. . .] it feels natural to write across them as well,’ because it doesn’t really feel like a romance. the love interest doesn’t appear until a quarter of the way through and it’s anything but conventional. not that romance has to be conventional, but this story—feyi’s story—feels more focused on her grief than anything. she gets into messy relationships because of it, she self-destructs because of it, etc. this would work so so so well as contemp litfic. the prose lends itself to that particular genre, the deep complexities of feyi’s grief and how it shapes her every relationship, and so on. yeah, i don’t know. this book really felt like something i should’ve enjoyed more fully but didn’t.
well, to be fair, i hate instalove. so. godspeed!
it’s interesting to me that this is marketed as a romance, rather than contemporary literary fiction. i know this is emezi’s fifth genre to write in and, in their own words, said that, ‘genre is a loose concept for me [. . .] it feels natural to write across them as well,’ because it doesn’t really feel like a romance. the love interest doesn’t appear until a quarter of the way through and it’s anything but conventional. not that romance has to be conventional, but this story—feyi’s story—feels more focused on her grief than anything. she gets into messy relationships because of it, she self-destructs because of it, etc. this would work so so so well as contemp litfic. the prose lends itself to that particular genre, the deep complexities of feyi’s grief and how it shapes her every relationship, and so on. yeah, i don’t know. this book really felt like something i should’ve enjoyed more fully but didn’t.
well, to be fair, i hate instalove. so. godspeed!
A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
“Did you ever know, dear, how much you took away with you when you left?” —page 61
this was so brutal to read. i have nothing to say, really. it was just that beautifully written and poignant.
this was so brutal to read. i have nothing to say, really. it was just that beautifully written and poignant.
If I'm Being Honest by Emily Wibberley, Austin Siegemund-Broka
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
“It’s not hard to be with someone you love. It’s the most natural thing in the world.” —Cameron Bright, page 287
i have a preternatural disinclination towards THE TAMING OF THE SHREW adaptations and this is my second one of the year, oddly enough. this wasn’t a bad book, but some of the references had me cringing so hard that i was unintentionally scowling for the rest of the chapter. cameron is unlikeable, but she’s lovable—you just have to get through the first quarter of the book to really feel it. other than that . . . well this book was fine! i liked it less than the authors’ others that i’ve read!
i have a preternatural disinclination towards THE TAMING OF THE SHREW adaptations and this is my second one of the year, oddly enough. this wasn’t a bad book, but some of the references had me cringing so hard that i was unintentionally scowling for the rest of the chapter. cameron is unlikeable, but she’s lovable—you just have to get through the first quarter of the book to really feel it. other than that . . . well this book was fine! i liked it less than the authors’ others that i’ve read!
Royal Holiday by Jasmine Guillory
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.0
“But what if it was all worth it?” —Malcolm Hudson, page 286
this was boring to me unfortunately. guillory makes perfectly average contemporary romances, but i liked this less than the first three in the series.
this was boring to me unfortunately. guillory makes perfectly average contemporary romances, but i liked this less than the first three in the series.