bibliorama's reviews
172 reviews

Review finally happening!

Enjoyment - 4
I liked this sequel more than I liked the first book, but less than I liked the novellas. The novellas showed how well edited and precise this series' writing could be, but I haven't seen that kind of writing since the novellas so far. This sequel did feel like a necessary part of Celaena's story and not like a filler book, so props for not falling into that trend like some other YA books have. Celaena's character also deepened in an interesting way when we learned more about her backstory. I had already been spoiled for her backstory, but I still found the rollout of it in the story convincing if not a bit predictable. What I didn't enjoy as much were some of the character decisions that were made with Nehemia's character arc. That's where my overall enjoyment ticked down.

I don't believe that anyone would sacrifice their life just to give another person "motivation" especially because of how drastic of a decision that is. That wasn't realistic to the character imo, especially with how intelligent Nehemia is written to be, I think she would have found another way. All of that is compounded with the fact that Nehemia was the only poc character in the story and she was killed off.

Start - 3
The start of this book was fine. Nothing super memorable happened during the beginning and most of it was building on the romance. I will say it wasn't a slow read to get through the beginning, so it gets a 3.

Characters - 3.75
I liked Celaena in this installment. We got to see more of her assassin skills and we got to see her fear. That made her reactions to situations interesting because she does have times where she is a coward and not just a straight foreword "super brave" hero. This book rounded her out as a character for me. I also liked Chaol in this book. He's not a super favorite of mine, but compared to Dorian (who acted pretty immature) was more interesting to be around. I get Dorian's stress and immaturity, but I can't say he was at all a good friend to anyone in this book really. Nehemiah was barely around in this, which I wish wasn't the case. Considering the friendship Celaena and Nehemia built in the first book, I would have liked to see more of their interactions and more of the growing strife
between them.

Atmosphere - 3.75
We're still in the castle, and I can't say it's my favorite setting. I tend to like it more when the characters venture outside of the castle setting and see more of Rifthold.

Plot - 3.75
My favorite point in the story was Baba Yellowlegs. Those were some fun scenes. The plot doesn't really pick up until the halfway point, then we get some hints at the King being suspicious (as he obviously) is, Dorian has his own side plot start, then the main plot is when Celaena is ordered to kill someone as she is the King's champion now. This order complicates her situation quite a bit. Laying it all out like this, there is quite a bit going on and that was some basic bullet points, however it doesn't feel like an overwhelming amount of stuff thrown into the plot. Plus information is rolled out in a way that feels semi-naturally, sometimes a bit too much just told rather than shown.

Ending - 4
This ending has a lot of things pop off, which makes it an entertaining read. There were some reveals, some added questions, some betrayals. It all ties together and kicks off the situation for the next book, as one would expect it to do, but I don't feel like any of the plot was dropped. There were some satisfying fight scenes as well.

Style - 3.5
Typically SJM writing style, except younger, more YA version.

Overall - 3.7 rounded 4

 

Enjoyment - 4.5
This book was a surprise. It was a random library pickup because I wanted to read nore classic YAish fantasy, and I quite enjoyed it. It's a standalone and leans heavily into the chosen one trope, which I haven't read a true chosen one story in a hot minute. It is also a trope that I find to be satisfying with lots of payoffs. I can also see the bones and influence this story had on modern YA fantasies, and I like seeing other authors' influences. This does have its dated themes that will lower some of the enjoyment, particularly in the beginning.

Start - 3.5
It has heavy colonialism tendencies and white saviorish feelings. I'm telling you this at the start because I didn't know going in and I know others would like to know that beforehand. It's dated and had my eyes rolling, but if you're looking for classic YA and still want to try this out, once the beginning was it was easier to sink into the world and characters. The beginning was my least favorite section, but that just means it got better as it went on.
   
 Characters - 4
Harry is an interesting protagonist. She obviously follows some typical "chosen one" plot beats, but her feelings about the events happening around her jumped out as very clear to me. She has a lot to process, but she's also honest about the things she doesn't want to process in the moment. She is also interesting because she was never presented as a damsel even when she was in distress. Plus there was a very stereotypical damsely kind of scene that happens as the inciting incident, but in honesty, those scenes where just fun because I wasn't expected anything like that to happen. She also was always expected to have to take up responsibility and fight. Plus she has a cat and what more can I really ask for besides that.

Corlath, now he was a perspective I did not expect to get, but I'm glad we did. He was described as having a power that made him overly aggressive and easy to anger, but I didn't feel that when we saw him interact that he was overly angry at all. He actually had, I feel, the right amount of frustration and anger considering the situation he was in. His interactions with Harry and the others, he seemed quite friendly and quiet.
 
 Atmosphere - 4
The setting starts in a secluded, desert town. Normally, I really do not vibe with desert settings (I'm looking directly at you Nevernight). I think it has to do with me being more interested in oceans and forests, however, in this book I felt like there was a real love towards the desert and mountainous surroundings that was easy to feel and buy into. The heat of the desert and harshness that can come with it wasn't presented as an inherent antagonist to the characters. I think this feeling was also why I enjoyed the desert setting in An Ember in the Ashes. The desert is the most stand out setting, the rest was more basic and stereotypical forests.

Plot - 3
The plot here is not a complex one, but I think that'd do well for those who aren't wanting an epic fantasy. It follows the chosen one arc, while have training scenes that were enjoyable. There was also some slight romance and tension, but not overly done. It was a simple, easy plot.

Ending - 3.5
The battle wasn't very long for how life threatening the antagonist was made out to be. But with this story, the battle wasn't the main focus in my opinion. Harry and Corlath were and they were fun. So I'll forgive a lackluster ending.

Style - 4
There were some intersting writing choices that were done. POVs will switch within the same chapter, and sometimes from paragraph to paragraph. That might seen extreme, and the first time it happens you might have to double read to understand that the perspective changed. But, for how short of a book this is, I found it to be helpful to get all the info we need in a timely manner. Sonce I'm nosey by nature, I like knowing what everyone is thinking, but I'm not patient enough to want or need a full chapter dedicated to a POV. So, this worked for me and I was surprised at how it didn't end up confusing me.

Overall - 3.8 rounded 4

Enjoyment - 5
  Really solid stories and interesting characters. Their personalities were pretty clear and didn't waver. All five of the short stories were entertaining. It took me about a week to finish, which is fast for me especially considering how busy this past week was. I enjoyed this collection more than Throne of Glass, but I'll do a reread of that and see if my original score stays.
Start - 4
  The Assassin and the Pirate Lord was a good start to the journey that Celaena goes through. She feels quite young at the beginning compared to the end. This gets a 4 though because this novella was my least favorite of the bunch. Least favorite in character interactions, but I enjoyed the setting and descriptions so it gets a 4.
Characters - 5
  The character personalities were again clear and understandable. My favorite interactions where in the Assassin and the Underworld novella. Celaena and Arobynn's relationship is so complicated and every interaction between the two of them is charged. The characters were one of my favorite parts.
Atmosphere - 4
  Overall the descriptions were very clear and I could picture each environment Celaena found herself in. I just can't help that deserts usually make me not as interested. (Maybe it's just leftover bitterness from those first 100 pages of Nevernight).
Plot - 5
  Each short story was succinct and moved Celaena forward to her ending/beginning. The plot kept me entertained without droning on. It was just enough info given to understand where it was going without dragging out the pace.
Ending - 5
  Ending was great and painful. You could see it coming, but that made the tension of waiting for the final domino to fall more impactful.
Style - 3
  This gets the least amount of stars from me, not because the writing was bad, it just wasn't trying to do anything different or amazingly unique. This story didn't need highly stylized writing though, so don't think the rating I gave it means I think it's bad. I just think it's straightforward, which probably helped make it such a fast read.

Overall - 4.5 stars
 
Rankings of the short stories from favorite to least favorite. They all were pretty solid and interesting. 

1. The Underworld
2. The Empire
3. The Desert
4. The Healer
5. The Pirate Lord

Enjoyment - 3
The second half I enjoyed better than the first. This book did put me into a major reading slump where I had to put it down for months before finishing it.

Start - 2.75
I started reading this back in February of 2022 and that's when it put me into a reading slump. Granted that mainly happened because of what happens to a certain characters mom early on in the book.

I am very tired of the parents being killed off in YA. Especially since Karina and her mom had an interesting dynamic that I wish was explored more. It also doesn't help that her death happened right as I was beginning to be invested in their relationship. There wasn't much else in Karina's character that felt unique and outside of other YA books.

Characters - 3.5
Here's the interesting part about this book, it takes a very common trope in YA and flips it on its head. The trope is "poor girl trying to survive in a brutal world gets thrust into the wealthy (potentially royal) side of the world and she meets a bruding prince that is mysterious yet alluring." I'm thinking Red Queen, Shadow and Bone, Crier's War, that kind of setup. Which I liked those books when I read them, so this isn't a knock against that trope. The difference with this book is that Malik is our outsider who's trying to survive while not being accepted in this society and Karina is our brooding princess. I really like this changing of perspective. It gives the trope a different flair.

I really connected with Malik. He felt unique to the genre and is a character you don't see very often. It was nice seeing a teenage boy be represented in YA fantasy especially since he was also dealing with anxiety. I also thought that was depicted realistically. He is also going through a lot in this book. His sister has been kidnapped and to get her back he has to assassinate Karina. Plus he is thrusted into this game where his true identity has to be hidden because the Eshran people are highly discriminated against. That's a lot for one teenager to have on their plate, but when you add all of that with the second perspective of Karina, who is also dealing with a lot, it becomes too much.

This caused me to not connect as much to Karina, partly because she felt like a character that I have read and seen before in this genre already. It also didn't help that the specific scene that made me not want to continue reading happened in her perspective

(being the murder of her mom).

What I wish would have happened is for this book to be from one perspective. I think it would have kept the plot more straightforward and allowed more time to deepen the characters. Plus it would have kept Karina a mystery where the reader is with Malik on whether or not she could be trusted.

Atmosphere - 3.5
I like the world and the history behind it, but it still felt surface level in some areas. Maybe this was caused by jumping perspectives, I never felt truly grounded in the character I was reading from.

Plot - 3.5
Like I said before, there's a lot for both teens to deal with and it felt like too much going on where we'd have to move through issues too quickly to fit it all in. I liked Karina's item fetch quest the least. I would have been okay with her doing that in the background.

Ending - 4
Listen, I know a four here might be surprising based on what I've said already, and maybe I was being too harsh on this book, but after not picking it up for a few months, I was able to get my mind in the right head space to finish. I needed to lower my expectations and just let it be what it is and that allowed me to enjoy my time reading the second half more. I still wish the changes that I wrote above were in the final version, but they aren't. So I tried to just let it be so I didn't get put back into another slump.

Style - 2.5
The style was pretty straightforward sometimes a little too much. As far as writing style goes, I didn't feel like there was much difference between Malik and Karina's perspectives. Sure the content that they were thinking about was different, but the way it was presented wasn't.

I might pick up the sequel through the library.

Overall - 3.25

~~~~~~~~~~

So I came back after months of dnfing, and I did finish it. That has to count for something. I enjoyed the back half more than the first half, but a more in depth review will come later. For now,

~~~~~~~~~~

My plan is to come back to this book eventually, but maybe that's just my completionist heart talking. I gave it two months and now I feel as though I'm in a reading slump. The main drive for this that I can pinpoint is the

killing off the mom trope. This was when my enjoyment plummeted. I think I would enjoy the story more if it was just from Malik pov rather than both him and Karina. He felt like a fresh perspective on some tried and true tropes where Karina felt very average. I think I would've enjoyed her plotline more as a mystery from Malik's perspective.

One thing I will add, I like the twist on the trope of "from outside the world of the rich and powerful girl protag who comes in contact with the prince etc." I haven't seen a teenage boy take on this character trope and a female take on the mysterious prince trope. So I still think this would be a good story for a teen, particularly for black teenage boys who might not be finding themselves represented in YA fantasy.

It's been 10 years since I first read Fellowship, so finally getting to this book feels like a monumental task completed. And, I have to say, I liked this book more than I thought I would and I believe that if I read The Two Towers back when I was a wee bean I probably wouldn't have appreciated it as much. So, good on my younger self for knowing my brain needed more incubation time before I read more Tolkien XD (we'll just say that's what it was). 

I liked the second half of the book the best. Sam and Frodo have always been my fave BFFs for life. Here's to hopefully not another decade before I get to Return of the King.

My favorite part from this novel was the beginning. I really liked the story within a story aspect that was what made me want to pick up this A Thousand and One Nights retelling. How Shazi told the stories was engaging and I particularly liked the Blue Beard story because I had read the French version of Blue Beard awhile ago and seeing the similarities and differences in these versions is what I love about fairytales. 

I liked Shazi as a main protagonist, especially in the beginning. Towards the end, I felt she lost a bit of spark as her conviction wavered. I would have liked a bit more conflict between her and Khalid. They came to trust each other a bit too quick. 

The writing was good and made the environments come to life. It taught a few new words which is always a good thing. I didn't feel it was too flowery and it matched the setting in my opinion. 

I'm not in a huge rush to read the sequel, but I own it and will get around to reading it sooner rather than later. 

Listened to the audiobook and the production was good. I just had to speed up the narrator some. 

I was able to read this pretty quickly, which is a good sign to me. I liked the setting and thought the world was detailed. Winter environments are some of my absolute faves. I thought this was a good YA fantasy, and an easy place for a teen to start their fantasy reading adventure.

I listened to the audiobook and it's quite short, so it was a nice little Halloween read. Even though it was a short listen it didn't feel like it went by very fast, and that's probably because there isn't much of a plot and most of what does happen happens at the midpoint and beyond. So the beginning to me was longer to get through. 

Since this story is majorly about the characters, I need to go into detail about them. The story is told from 3 perspectives, Wink, Poppy, Midnight. Wink in some ways felt like she was on the edges of the story even though she has a big roll to play in it, which left me feeling like the end came out of left field. She also loves fairytales which she uses as a blockade so no one can get that close. As a reader, I felt like in her perspective it never really got as deep as it could have. Poppy was my favorite to listen to simply because she's a wild card. Could also be that I liked her narrator the best. She also felt like she had the most growth out of the 3. Midnight is who we get the most of and I liked the ending of his perspective, but he gets moved along by the story. He's not so much an action maker.

Overall the audio production was quite good, and it was a quick enough read. It also had some mysterious, fairytale vibes that were nice to read during the build up to Halloween.

Edit 1/23/22: to finally give a proper review
I really loved this book's themes. In my interpretation, part of this story is about the emotional and personal side to creating works of art. Sam and the Bunnies perform their "workshops" to try and create the perfect "Bunny" only it never seems to work (because what they are putting into the bunnies is superficial at best, nothing of true substance). Sam is never included in the action and always on the sidelines during these workshops, but that is for an important reason. The Bunnies always have Sam feeling like an outsider and that she isn't skilled enough to partake in their art workshops, and she should feel lucky to be included in any way at all.
Some backstory, Sam is in a master's program for writing at a prestigious school where most of the students are from a higher economic class from her. The Bunnies are included in this higher economic class.
So I feel like part of the conversation taking place in this book is how sometimes those in a higher class can dictate what is "good art" while Sam is left floundering like she isn't really good enough, but her growth is understanding that she has technically already made a bunny that has outlasted all the ones the Bunnies have made being

Ava

. This character is one of substance and came from when Sam was in a dark place her creation (art) guided her out and gave her joy. There's more to this book that I could talk about, but I'll stop myself here for not wanting to give too many spoilers that might keep someone else from picking it up. 
All-in-all I love when a book makes me think and with this one you have to. The writing isn't straightforward and makes you wonder, but I like the experimental aspect to it. It was creative. And, it'll have you saying "bunny" to yourself days after finishing it, so be warned. 

This book was a wild ride. Since I literally just finished it I still am thinking through all my thoughts, so I'll come back and update this part with more details. Before I leave, I'll just add this - I really loved the idea of how in our lonely moments we can create companions that stick with us and help quide us through the hardships.

Listened to the audiobook.

Main thing that reaaallly brought down the reading experience was the extreme amount of nicknames used. There were at least 5 used in like every other paragraph it felt like. It was too much and made it a lot cheesier amd cringy to read. (I'm looking directly at you "kiddo") 

Bianca's not my favorite main protag of Zapata's (Van will be for life) and Bianca had a lot of repetitive thoughts that could have been edited down a lot more. If some of the repetitive self doubt of hers and the copy paste phrases had been pared down it would've been a better experience for me personally. However, I really enjoyed her cooking passion and that added a special element to her character.

Overall there are elements to her and Zac's relationship that was cute, but it was more childish than what I'm into. It's a good read for when you want a more relaxed couple pairing.