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rebeccazh's Reviews (2.89k)
Really enjoyed this book. The biggest draws for me are the lyrical writing and the magic/lore/worldbuilding. It was wonderful immersing myself in the world of witch-kings and ghosts and faithful dogs. I loved it. Also I loved Iehy. Dogs!! Demon/fire horses!! I love animal companions.
As the books progressed, I read less and skimmed more... I love Kate Elliott's books ([b:Black Wolves|20980680|Black Wolves (Black Wolves, #1)|Kate Elliott|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1418186294s/20980680.jpg|40357908], [b:Cold Magic|7114825|Cold Magic (Spiritwalker, #1)|Kate Elliott|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1323994929s/7114825.jpg|7374960], etc) so I am reading her older books and well... I guess every author has to start somewhere, and this series is kinda weak. I'm leery/skeptical of any series that goes beyond three books (except Kate Daniels), because it starts getting bloated and lackluster... and this series felt like that as it moved on.
I did enjoy the first book though. It seemed like a pretty solid/promising start. But I think as the series progressed and the scope expanded, I started to lose investment. It takes effort for me to become interested when there are three or more narrating characters. Still, it's interesting to see the earlier Kate Elliott books.
I did enjoy the first book though. It seemed like a pretty solid/promising start. But I think as the series progressed and the scope expanded, I started to lose investment. It takes effort for me to become interested when there are three or more narrating characters. Still, it's interesting to see the earlier Kate Elliott books.
Read for school. This novel gives a sense of fragmentation. The spelling, the slang, the multicultural influences... But that plot twist at the end is what shocked me. It made me think about race and identity. What does it really mean to belong to an ethnic group? The narrator/narrative is really funny though, some of the phrases had me cracking up. He's so sardonic/sarcastic. And there's this self-aware irony that I really enjoyed. But the novel was so long. Not a lot happens -- most of the action occurs in the last 50 pages. Could have done by cutting out a lot more. Tbh this novel really reminded me of a very entertaining B-grade/trashy teen novel.
cute read! (though I'm a bit uncomfortable that the main two are p much cheating with on their current bf/gfs... and I like Andrew, the side character, more than the hero...)
read baskerville, sign of the four and the final problem for school
finished this in one afternoon. i really enjoyed this! it's quite different from the first book (what i remember of it anyway) but this book was very atmospheric and captured the feeling of a fairytale well.
i didn't really like the number of characters narrating. i'm really not a fan of ensemble casts. this book starts out with a single first person narrator and it then branches out into five(?) first-person perspectives. further confusing things is the fact that the narrators of each new scene aren't labelled so i had to guess. i really liked one of later additions to the cast though. the tsar's chapters were very entertaining. also, nearly all the female characters were women or girls who had little power or choice over their lives and they had fathers, husbands or lords who made choices for them, who then began to work together.
i liked the motif of giving/receiving (for free or for a price) and i wish we could've seen how love works in the staryk kingdom (which i found very interesting because it's a society based totally on transactions and i wish it was explored in more detail). also, i wish the whole book was focused on miryem because her chapters were the most compelling. i skimmed a lot of the other subplots.
there was also a motif about coldness of heart / being calculating vs. being overly indulgent / soft-hearted. being able to shut off one's heart is associated with personal power, such as being able to stand up for oneself and protect one's best interests, and being soft-hearted was portrayed as a weakness as it allowed others to take advantage of oneself (i thought at first that miryem's arc would be about balancing these two opposing viewpoints but it wasn't), and i kind of wish that had been explored as well.
overall, i really like novik's fairytale series and hope she does more stuff like this
i didn't really like the number of characters narrating. i'm really not a fan of ensemble casts. this book starts out with a single first person narrator and it then branches out into five(?) first-person perspectives. further confusing things is the fact that the narrators of each new scene aren't labelled so i had to guess. i really liked one of later additions to the cast though. the tsar's chapters were very entertaining. also, nearly all the female characters were women or girls who had little power or choice over their lives and they had fathers, husbands or lords who made choices for them, who then began to work together.
i liked the motif of giving/receiving (for free or for a price) and i wish we could've seen how love works in the staryk kingdom (which i found very interesting because it's a society based totally on transactions and i wish it was explored in more detail). also, i wish the whole book was focused on miryem because her chapters were the most compelling. i skimmed a lot of the other subplots.
there was also a motif about coldness of heart / being calculating vs. being overly indulgent / soft-hearted. being able to shut off one's heart is associated with personal power, such as being able to stand up for oneself and protect one's best interests, and being soft-hearted was portrayed as a weakness as it allowed others to take advantage of oneself (i thought at first that miryem's arc would be about balancing these two opposing viewpoints but it wasn't), and i kind of wish that had been explored as well.
overall, i really like novik's fairytale series and hope she does more stuff like this
a very charming book! it reminds me of the best of children's stories -- a lot of gentle wisdom told with a child's simplicity and understanding. i loved each of the little folktales nestled within minli's larger quest/adventure. i also really enjoyed reading about the chinese folktales i know in english.