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kitvaria_sarene's reviews
2209 reviews
Defy by C.S. Doraga, C.S. Doraga
3.25
Read for SPFBO, this is only my personal opinion, group verdict might differ widely! 💥
Defy by C.S. Doraga definitely felt much more like a book somewhere between middle grade and YA.
The absolute biggest plus for me was there not being any romance, despite having a 17 year old female MC. Those books are rare finds, and I wish we had more of them! A girl finding herself, instead of pining for a boy or getting rescued every 2 chapters.
The plot had a few nice twists, but overall was really predictable. It also felt a bit disjointed here and there, instead having a smooth flow.
A few points didn't seem to make much sense to me, aside from driving the plot on. I think to work better for me it either would have to get some more depth added to them.
The voice was a bit too much coloured by teenage angst and coming of age for my personal taste. I love some YA, like Tamira Pierce for example, and it might just be this specific MC in this story, but at times it got a bit much.
What I really loved again though, was the dragon, and the friendships that grow along the way. I'm always a sucker for a good animal companion, and this definitely scratched my itch!
Defy by C.S. Doraga definitely felt much more like a book somewhere between middle grade and YA.
The absolute biggest plus for me was there not being any romance, despite having a 17 year old female MC. Those books are rare finds, and I wish we had more of them! A girl finding herself, instead of pining for a boy or getting rescued every 2 chapters.
The plot had a few nice twists, but overall was really predictable. It also felt a bit disjointed here and there, instead having a smooth flow.
A few points didn't seem to make much sense to me, aside from driving the plot on. I think to work better for me it either would have to get some more depth added to them.
The voice was a bit too much coloured by teenage angst and coming of age for my personal taste. I love some YA, like Tamira Pierce for example, and it might just be this specific MC in this story, but at times it got a bit much.
What I really loved again though, was the dragon, and the friendships that grow along the way. I'm always a sucker for a good animal companion, and this definitely scratched my itch!
Bone Traders by Rachel Ford
4.0
Read for SPFBO, this is only my personal opinion, group verdict might differ widely!
Bone Traders by Rachel Ford is a quick, easy and fun read.
We have a young apprentice mage, who goes against her mentor's will, setting out to rescue her giant friend, who's been kidnapped.
There's quite some clumsiness which adds humour to the adventure, and had me well entertained.
There's a nice little sapphic rep in here as well, but just a tiny dash, not a major part of the story.
If you're looking for something deep and thought provoking, this is not it. If you're however on the lookout for something light and entertaining, a quick bite between the big tomes, this is well worth a look!
Bone Traders by Rachel Ford is a quick, easy and fun read.
We have a young apprentice mage, who goes against her mentor's will, setting out to rescue her giant friend, who's been kidnapped.
There's quite some clumsiness which adds humour to the adventure, and had me well entertained.
There's a nice little sapphic rep in here as well, but just a tiny dash, not a major part of the story.
If you're looking for something deep and thought provoking, this is not it. If you're however on the lookout for something light and entertaining, a quick bite between the big tomes, this is well worth a look!
Dragon Princess by Jason P. Crawford
4.0
Read for SPFBO, this is only my personal opinion, group verdict might differ widely!
Dragon Princess by Jason P. Crawford quickly grabbed my attention by having a blind main character. I especially liked how she managed to be independent, and get around by counting steps, and having a service dog to help. So her blindness felt a lot more realistic, than in some other books, where it's more of a gimmick.
My one niggle is a few scenes, when she can see through someone else's eyes. I've never been a fan of circumnavigating disabilities by magic. However if someone who has been blind since birth suddenly sees, I don't think they could immediately understand what everything is...
Another MAJOR plus for the book is, having a girl main character and yet no romance! These are incredibly hard to find, and we need more books like this!
The story in itself felt a bit too easy and too predictable, I'd say it would fit with a middle grade age well. It's a bit dark for that age group at times, but that's where I'd put the writing complexity.
However for adults it's just too much on the light side to be fully satisfying.
All in all this was a quick and fun read!
Dragon Princess by Jason P. Crawford quickly grabbed my attention by having a blind main character. I especially liked how she managed to be independent, and get around by counting steps, and having a service dog to help. So her blindness felt a lot more realistic, than in some other books, where it's more of a gimmick.
My one niggle is a few scenes, when she can see through someone else's eyes. I've never been a fan of circumnavigating disabilities by magic. However if someone who has been blind since birth suddenly sees, I don't think they could immediately understand what everything is...
Another MAJOR plus for the book is, having a girl main character and yet no romance! These are incredibly hard to find, and we need more books like this!
The story in itself felt a bit too easy and too predictable, I'd say it would fit with a middle grade age well. It's a bit dark for that age group at times, but that's where I'd put the writing complexity.
However for adults it's just too much on the light side to be fully satisfying.
All in all this was a quick and fun read!
Queen of Blood and Blasphemy by Levi Jacobs
4.0
Queen of Blood and Blasphemy by Levi Jacobs is the final book in the series. It manages to close the major arcs satisfactory, but also leaves enough open room for further books in the same world.
I did enjoy the utter normality in how our main character is bi (or demi?). She's torn between two people, and the gender just doesn't play a part in the attraction. This is quite refreshing, especially in a coming of age story. Double kudos for it being written well enough to not bog down the whole story, but just being one part of the characters, with saving the world, or not, taking center stage.
I would have liked a bit more depth and complexity every so often, but overall this was a very enjoyable read!
I did enjoy the utter normality in how our main character is bi (or demi?). She's torn between two people, and the gender just doesn't play a part in the attraction. This is quite refreshing, especially in a coming of age story. Double kudos for it being written well enough to not bog down the whole story, but just being one part of the characters, with saving the world, or not, taking center stage.
I would have liked a bit more depth and complexity every so often, but overall this was a very enjoyable read!
Space Junk by Rachel Aukes
3.25
Space Junk by Rachel Aukes started off really promising, but somehow lost a bit of my engagement along the way. Itb was good enough to keep me reading to the end, but I did have some niggles along the way. The science was not very scientific, which I didn't mind overly much, as it's now character driven. However, it just be quite obvious for me to even notice such discrepancies.
The plot had a few holes as well, not major enough to really bother me too much, but again, enough to just take away some of my attention.
I did mostly enjoy the tone and voice, so that definitely was the main him for me, and I was happy enough to spend time with this crew.
All in all not a book I'd miss if I read something else instead, but also not one I regret having spent time on.
The plot had a few holes as well, not major enough to really bother me too much, but again, enough to just take away some of my attention.
I did mostly enjoy the tone and voice, so that definitely was the main him for me, and I was happy enough to spend time with this crew.
All in all not a book I'd miss if I read something else instead, but also not one I regret having spent time on.
Origin Story by T. Kingfisher
4.0
Origin Story by T. Kingfisher is a very short, and darkish story, which is a great little glimpse into her style. So if you haven't yet read any Kingfisher book, and are wondering if you'd like them, in can recommend this as a tiny sample. The complexity and depth is of course less, die to the shortness, but it's still a gripping read!
Love Will Tear Us Apart by C.K. McDonnell, Caimh McDonnell
4.5
Love Will Tear Us Apart by C.K. McDonnell is another fun installment in the series. I still adore the (partly dark) humour and sarcasm so much, and breeze through these.
Some unexpected bits worked extra well for me, but I can't put my finger on what exactly made this just a tad less perfect to my taste than the previous ones.
It's still a fantastically entertaining read, it just missed that one grain of salt for me to love it as much as the first or second.
Some unexpected bits worked extra well for me, but I can't put my finger on what exactly made this just a tad less perfect to my taste than the previous ones.
It's still a fantastically entertaining read, it just missed that one grain of salt for me to love it as much as the first or second.
Binti by Nnedi Okorafor
fast-paced
4.0
Binti by Nnedi Okorafor is a fascinating and quick read.
I loved the cultures we glimpsed in this novella, as well as the unexpected direction the story goes. I went in blind, so when we started off accompanying a young mathematician on her way to university, I did not anticipate the story turning as dark as it did.
For me personally, I think the story itself would have worked much better in a longer format though. The full on turns felt a bit too quick and "easy" for me to really get behind them.
The prose and world worked very well, and I was intrigued easily, I would have preferred a deeper dive into the whole world though.
I loved the cultures we glimpsed in this novella, as well as the unexpected direction the story goes. I went in blind, so when we started off accompanying a young mathematician on her way to university, I did not anticipate the story turning as dark as it did.
For me personally, I think the story itself would have worked much better in a longer format though. The full on turns felt a bit too quick and "easy" for me to really get behind them.
The prose and world worked very well, and I was intrigued easily, I would have preferred a deeper dive into the whole world though.
The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by S.A. Chakraborty
4.5
The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty is one delightful surprise.
Not only do we get an older, female pirate captain as a main character, it's also set outside the typical western scenery, with a majority of the world being Muslim.
I liked how this was in no way made an extra point, it's just the natural world of the story. I always enjoy having a fresh point of view, and this definitely is one perspective I am not used to!
There's much adventure going on, but my main draw was the tone and voice of the whole story.
The captain might be a Muslim, but pirates being pirates, she's fine with the occasional needed bottle of wine, and welcomes order religions in her crew, as long as they do their job well. This made for a divers cast which made it all the more engaging to me.
Not only do we get an older, female pirate captain as a main character, it's also set outside the typical western scenery, with a majority of the world being Muslim.
I liked how this was in no way made an extra point, it's just the natural world of the story. I always enjoy having a fresh point of view, and this definitely is one perspective I am not used to!
There's much adventure going on, but my main draw was the tone and voice of the whole story.
The captain might be a Muslim, but pirates being pirates, she's fine with the occasional needed bottle of wine, and welcomes order religions in her crew, as long as they do their job well. This made for a divers cast which made it all the more engaging to me.
The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik
4.0
The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik is hard for me to rate.
I did enjoy it, but I didn't love it nearly as much as I did the two previous books.
I really enjoyed the darker bits, the way no one came out of the Scholomance unscarred. However El and her reactions to the enclaves felt a bit out of character.
The plot was also a bit disjointed, or at least felt that way to me. We jump around from place to place, and I didn't feel like there was as much resolution as I'd have liked plot wise.
Some things just felt a bit too convenient as well, so while I enjoyed the characters and the world, it was more the story itself that didn't work as well for me.
All in all a quick read, not bad at all, just not up to my expectations.
I did enjoy it, but I didn't love it nearly as much as I did the two previous books.
I really enjoyed the darker bits, the way no one came out of the Scholomance unscarred. However El and her reactions to the enclaves felt a bit out of character.
The plot was also a bit disjointed, or at least felt that way to me. We jump around from place to place, and I didn't feel like there was as much resolution as I'd have liked plot wise.
Some things just felt a bit too convenient as well, so while I enjoyed the characters and the world, it was more the story itself that didn't work as well for me.
All in all a quick read, not bad at all, just not up to my expectations.