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acozyreaderlife's Reviews (408)
"Spin the Dawn" follows Maia, comes from a family of talented tailors. After her brother returned home from the war injured, a royal tailor comes to request her father, who was a great tailor to the palace. Maia poses as a boy to take her father's place. Once at the palace, Maia learns that she is one of twelve tailors competing to become the imperial tailor. The competition is wrought with sabotage and backstabbing. The only thing keeping Maia in the competition is her power for design. Her designs gain the notice of the court wizard, Edan, who learns her secret.
The writing in this book was well written, and the character development was well done. The world-building was fantastic, I loved getting lost in this world as I read the book. The magic system was very intriguing. Without giving spoiler's, Maia has powers that allow her to craft intricate designs under very short time constraints. I can't wait to see what happens to Maia in the next book!
The writing in this book was well written, and the character development was well done. The world-building was fantastic, I loved getting lost in this world as I read the book. The magic system was very intriguing. Without giving spoiler's, Maia has powers that allow her to craft intricate designs under very short time constraints. I can't wait to see what happens to Maia in the next book!
Thank you netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review!
This is a story of a cleric who meets an old woman, on their way to meet the new Empress. The old woman, Rabbit, used to know the previous Empress and tells the cleric about her. This novella is only 112 pages, so I won’t spoil you.
This novella is written in beautiful poetic prose. I found myself stopping to reread many of the images evoked in the text. I was so absorbed in the story and vivid descriptions that I forgot it was so short.
The non-binary rep in this novella was excellent. I love that more voices are being represented in literature. This novella is simply beautiful, and I highly recommend everyone read it. Nghi Vo is a talent!
This is a story of a cleric who meets an old woman, on their way to meet the new Empress. The old woman, Rabbit, used to know the previous Empress and tells the cleric about her. This novella is only 112 pages, so I won’t spoil you.
This novella is written in beautiful poetic prose. I found myself stopping to reread many of the images evoked in the text. I was so absorbed in the story and vivid descriptions that I forgot it was so short.
The non-binary rep in this novella was excellent. I love that more voices are being represented in literature. This novella is simply beautiful, and I highly recommend everyone read it. Nghi Vo is a talent!
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! I'm so excited to read this. Review to come!
All opinions are my own.
“Lobizona” is a novel that reads more like magical realism than a fantasy novel. We follow Manuela and her mother, who is hiding in an apartment in Miami because they are in the country illegally. Manuela runs away and enters a world of werewolves and witches, where she tries to discover the truth about her father, who she has never met.
The beginning of this book reads like a hard-hitting contemporary about immigration. Garber’s writing was lyrical, and considering the world over the past couple of years, I thought it was very fitting. However, about thirty percent into the book the author lost her beautiful prose and relied on typical writing tropes that many YA books suffer from. Too much description with the character’s eyes, conveying feelings and actions through eyes. I was reminded so often about each character’s eye color anytime they came back onto the page. That to me, they were known as ‘sapphire blue boy’ or ‘yellow-eyed girl.’
The characters themselves were sorely underdeveloped. Considering all that Manuela has gone through in the beginning of the novel it really bothered me that the second she entered into this magical world she stopped thinking about her grandmother who she lives with or her mom. She turned into a completely different character.
The fantastical world that the book was set in was also underdeveloped. There was barely any world-building and a novel that is juggling both witches and werewolves. For me to enjoy, the book needs to have a stable world where the story takes place. I will believe anything in a fantasy novel if I can understand the world it’s set in. The idea of the book is really interesting. But, the execution itself leaves a lot to be desired.
All opinions are my own.
“Lobizona” is a novel that reads more like magical realism than a fantasy novel. We follow Manuela and her mother, who is hiding in an apartment in Miami because they are in the country illegally. Manuela runs away and enters a world of werewolves and witches, where she tries to discover the truth about her father, who she has never met.
The beginning of this book reads like a hard-hitting contemporary about immigration. Garber’s writing was lyrical, and considering the world over the past couple of years, I thought it was very fitting. However, about thirty percent into the book the author lost her beautiful prose and relied on typical writing tropes that many YA books suffer from. Too much description with the character’s eyes, conveying feelings and actions through eyes. I was reminded so often about each character’s eye color anytime they came back onto the page. That to me, they were known as ‘sapphire blue boy’ or ‘yellow-eyed girl.’
The characters themselves were sorely underdeveloped. Considering all that Manuela has gone through in the beginning of the novel it really bothered me that the second she entered into this magical world she stopped thinking about her grandmother who she lives with or her mom. She turned into a completely different character.
The fantastical world that the book was set in was also underdeveloped. There was barely any world-building and a novel that is juggling both witches and werewolves. For me to enjoy, the book needs to have a stable world where the story takes place. I will believe anything in a fantasy novel if I can understand the world it’s set in. The idea of the book is really interesting. But, the execution itself leaves a lot to be desired.
You by Caroline Kepners is a book told from second-person point of view. This book was really slow and bogged down by Joe’s inner ramblings. The only thing “thrilling” about this book is the fact that it’s told from the perspective of a stalker. Despite being in Joe’s head throughout the entire book I didn’t feel like I really knew him. The best part of the book was the last 30% because the pacing had finally picked up and the plot was moving along. For a thriller, this was really weak. I don’t know if the hype affected this one for me. But I found “You” to be a very slow-moving book that relied far too heavily on the second-person narrative. And had a weak plot.