tyriek's reviews
74 reviews

From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

3.0

Fun, a little surface-level and predictable, but enjoyable. Nothing inherently wrong with it- really good if you enjoy something to just curl up with. It's also spicy, and genuinely focusses on female pleasure in a semi-realistic way (in comparison to some other weel-known spice), despite some ridiculous scenarios. Overall good. Nothing extraordinary.

The Empress of Beasts by Pirateaba

adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I LOVE this book in the series! 
Although I love them all, I felt that The Witch of Webs was far too focussed on one group of characters without a direction or clear purpose. The few books before that were too much about characters we don't know much about and the general politics of the world. 
I'm LOVING seeing PirateAba's writing evolve and become more refined. This book felt like a return to more 'stream of conciousness' writing, and jumped around the characters more, and with more of a focus on the 'core characters'. It also gave more time to the relationship-building I love so much in this series, with creative world-building and more about Erin.
It's back to the whimsy and relationships I love.

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

I enjoyed this. It's not a great book, but really easily digestable. I didn't realise it was YA before reading it. I enjoyed the twist at the end, and the character development. The main character is painfully  belligerent and ornery without being unlikable. She is guarded, but is still a little soft. She has hopes and dreams. I disliked that the other characters, save for Madoc and maybe Violet, have very little reason. They seem to TRY to give Carden some kind of tragic back-story but it's not really explored very emotuonally. It's not clear what motives or desires the other characters have other than "they're fae, so they are mean" or "maybe they're sort of attracted to another character" or "they just want power". This makes the fae characters feel very flat, one-dimensional, and it is hard to invest in the story. I also felt there was room to delve deeper into the stockholme syndrome, and make the relationships a little richer. I enjoy the politics, the scheming, and the fresh dynamic (to me at least) of a likable but brutal MFC who has some vulnerabilities and is independently interesting. The chemistry between her and Carden is hot, but tame. I thought there would be spice before I realised this is a YA series.
Overall a really fun read that might be missing some emotional meat but is easy and enjoyable.

The Lost Sisters by Holly Black

adventurous emotional hopeful lighthearted slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

I loved this. This is what I want ACOSF to be. I didn't like this character much in the first book, and didn't understand her behaviour. This novella had heart, and although it didn't make me 'like' Taryn but it made me understand her character and the dynamic better. I felt her character was narratively messy and undercooked in the Cruel Prince but really enjoyed this.

The Voyage Home by Pat Barker

dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

2.0

"To call this book blunt and unsubtle would be an understatement. These characters aren’t interesting, flawed people; they’re twitter posts. After the magnificently written, PTSD-suffering Achilles from the first book, I was so bored by the PTSD-suffering Agamemnon. He drinks heavily, relies on narcotics to sleep, and sees his dead daughter in the shadows. Who cares about his suffering? I don’t. "
" Ritsa and Clytemnestra essentially share the same voice, despite one of them being the queen. Clytemnestra should be seething with fury, yet she comes across as resigned and bored; and somehow jealous. The dialogues are filled with awkward exchanges. Anachronistic slang that hadn’t bothered me before felt jarring here. I found the book tedious, lacking in intelligence or novelty—nothing about it felt fresh or insightful. I kept waiting for a murder to finally happen, hoping it would jolt the story into higher gears fitting for the high drama of the myth, yet it was endlessly delayed and when it finally happened, the story just petered out."
 
A feminist retelling that seems to just hate on the main character who was historically abused and misrepresented.

The Last Song of Penelope by Claire North

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Of the ‘feminist’ retellings popular right now, I thought this did a better job than many examining the quiet power women held in antiquity, the oversight through history, but also providing out main character with some level of agency and respect.  
It is still very frustrating that no matter how much rage or agency these women are given, they are always somehow cleaning up after men who always still get the credit. 
 Women are given real autonomy and respect by Odyssius in some ways. 
 The themes of women being ignored throughout history, and the theme of ‘what the poets will say’ is poignant- and Athena, who narrates the book, explores a little the reasons it is important to be remembered. 
 For half of the book, I felt it focused a lot, still, on Telemachus being a brat, and Odysseus. It was drawn out longer than it needed to be. However, the fight at the end with the women of the island defending the few men who fucked things up redeemed that in a way. 

A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas

challenging emotional funny hopeful lighthearted sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I hate Nesta again. Even more somehow. I really enjoyed the change of pace and the size of this one- slower, with a chance to really get to see and understand where the characters were at. I initially hated the idea of a 'Christmas Special' book but it was a cute study of the characters' relationships following a really fast-paced and full-on second half of the last book.

Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens by Shankari Chandran

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective relaxing slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Beautiful book with floaty and floral writing. Very relaxed, with cozy and intimate details. It was too slow and calm for me personally- although I loved it, I really struggled to get through it because it wasn't gripping. It gave me a new perspective on age and ethnicity, especially since Australia is close in proximity and culture to NZ. 

The Will of the Many by James Islington

adventurous challenging dark lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I loved the character, although he was a bit of a Gary Stu. He had complexity. I loved the fantasy world that wasn't medieval but Ancient Roman. The side characters had some depth and there were good twists. The magic system and world building felt seamless and was really easy to get lost in. It was a fun and easy ready while also being well-written with good character development, twists, world-building, and magic.

A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas

adventurous emotional hopeful lighthearted mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Favourite ACOTAR book so far. I started to like Nesta a tiny bit. The battle made me sob. It built on the sisters' characters. I did start skimming/skipping the steamy scenes because they're not very good. It wasn't as slow at the start like the rest.