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acozyreaderlife's Reviews (408)
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Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! Review soon to come!
‘When I Was You’ follows Kelly Medina, who one day receives a call from her pediatrician’s office to confirm her ‘well-baby’ appointment. Kelly becomes curious about this other Kelly with her name and who uses her pediatrician too. She then wants to learn more about this other Kelly.
‘When I Was You’ is a well-written page-turning thriller. The story is very atmospheric and completely immerses the reader. The story centers around Kelly when she meets the other Kelly Medina and becomes obsessed with her son, Sullivan. Kelly decides to help Sullivan and his young mother. This book is written in the second person which began the tension on page one and carried out until the last page. This is a gripping thriller that has an insane plot twist that I didn’t see coming. I highly recommend readers checking this book out. And I will keep my eye out for Garza’s books in the future.
‘When I Was You’ follows Kelly Medina, who one day receives a call from her pediatrician’s office to confirm her ‘well-baby’ appointment. Kelly becomes curious about this other Kelly with her name and who uses her pediatrician too. She then wants to learn more about this other Kelly.
‘When I Was You’ is a well-written page-turning thriller. The story is very atmospheric and completely immerses the reader. The story centers around Kelly when she meets the other Kelly Medina and becomes obsessed with her son, Sullivan. Kelly decides to help Sullivan and his young mother. This book is written in the second person which began the tension on page one and carried out until the last page. This is a gripping thriller that has an insane plot twist that I didn’t see coming. I highly recommend readers checking this book out. And I will keep my eye out for Garza’s books in the future.
Thank you so much Netgalley and Flatiron Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Court of Lions is the last installment of the Mirage duology. This book was infused with Moroccan culture that brought the world to life. Daud did a fantastic job with the detailed descriptions in this book. From the food to the setting to the clothes, it was an immersive read that pulled you into the story. The beginning of the book flew by, but it dragged a bit and slowed down the narrative in the middle.
This was a strong political fantasy book that pulled the reader in and consistently kept raising the stakes with the battle for power between Maram and her mentor. The story tore at my heart with the relationships, they felt so raw and real that I was invested in the characters—the plot centers around a rebellion against colonialism, with technology and sci-fi influences.
We also got more of an understanding of Maram as a character and had several chapters from her point of view that made her more human. It would have fleshed out the story more if we had more chapters from her POV. In the first book, Maram was cruel to a fault, and in this book, she is complex. Her kingdom has tied her, and she can’t be with who she loves and has to keep a charade with Amani.
I love that there was LGBTQ+ rep in this book! Although the relationship between Maram and Aghraas happened so quickly. I thought it would have felt more real if their relationship had been drawn out more and allowed the reader to know more about Aghraas and Maram. In the first book, we were only in Amani’s head, diving into this novel having POV’s from Maram felt like the reader was just getting to know her. A solid and beautifully told ending to a duology.
Court of Lions is the last installment of the Mirage duology. This book was infused with Moroccan culture that brought the world to life. Daud did a fantastic job with the detailed descriptions in this book. From the food to the setting to the clothes, it was an immersive read that pulled you into the story. The beginning of the book flew by, but it dragged a bit and slowed down the narrative in the middle.
This was a strong political fantasy book that pulled the reader in and consistently kept raising the stakes with the battle for power between Maram and her mentor. The story tore at my heart with the relationships, they felt so raw and real that I was invested in the characters—the plot centers around a rebellion against colonialism, with technology and sci-fi influences.
We also got more of an understanding of Maram as a character and had several chapters from her point of view that made her more human. It would have fleshed out the story more if we had more chapters from her POV. In the first book, Maram was cruel to a fault, and in this book, she is complex. Her kingdom has tied her, and she can’t be with who she loves and has to keep a charade with Amani.
I love that there was LGBTQ+ rep in this book! Although the relationship between Maram and Aghraas happened so quickly. I thought it would have felt more real if their relationship had been drawn out more and allowed the reader to know more about Aghraas and Maram. In the first book, we were only in Amani’s head, diving into this novel having POV’s from Maram felt like the reader was just getting to know her. A solid and beautifully told ending to a duology.
Thank you Netgalley Tachyon Publications for this ARC! I can't wait to read it!
“The Four Profound Weaves” is an epic fantasy where we follow a trans protagonist, Uiziya e Lali, and a nameless man. The POVs were hard to keep track of, both of the voices sounded very similar, and it was confusing to go from one speaker saying one thing. The next chapter, a new speaker, says something completely different. Both voices were not distinct enough to tell them apart except by seeing who was speaking on the chapter header.
I loved the magic and the carpet of death. Reading this novella and seeing how it played out was epic. However, after all the build-up to the ending of the novella, it just ends abruptly. The writing is absolutely beautiful. It was very reminiscent of Ursala Le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness that it handled identity.
“The Four Profound Weaves” is an epic fantasy where we follow a trans protagonist, Uiziya e Lali, and a nameless man. The POVs were hard to keep track of, both of the voices sounded very similar, and it was confusing to go from one speaker saying one thing. The next chapter, a new speaker, says something completely different. Both voices were not distinct enough to tell them apart except by seeing who was speaking on the chapter header.
I loved the magic and the carpet of death. Reading this novella and seeing how it played out was epic. However, after all the build-up to the ending of the novella, it just ends abruptly. The writing is absolutely beautiful. It was very reminiscent of Ursala Le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness that it handled identity.