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1.41k reviews by:
allonsythornraxx
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
05/04/2021
3 ⭐
I am traditionally not a short story reader - I usually DNF collections like these or just ignore them altogether since it's so rare for me to read a short story and enjoy it. But, then I heard about a collection inspired by Shakespeare's works and on top of that, that some of my favourite authors would be a part of it and I knew this would be the be all end all for myself and short stories.
I still think that I am 99% not a lover of short stories but, I did genuinely enjoy some of these which I think was entirely down to the writers. I genuinely think that I would read a shopping list if it was written by K Ancrum or Anna-Marie Mclemore.
TW: racism, antisemitism, homophobia, child neglect, physical abuse/violence, child abuse, emotional abuse, grooming, loss of a loved one, self-harm, miscarriage
Comedies
"Severe Weather Warning" - Emily W and Austin SB (The Tempest) ↣ 3 ⭐
Fun. I loved the storm and the forced discussion trope.
"Shipwrecked" - Mark Oshiro (Twelfth Night) ↣ 2 ⭐
I couldn't keep track of who any of the characters were but I did really enjoy how diverse the characters were along with the talk about how love doesn't need to be romantic or compulsory.
"Taming of The Soulmate" - K Ancrum (Taming of The Shrew) ↣ 3.5 ⭐
When your favourite author champions the ultimate fanfic soulmate trope! I don't even like this trope but this is one of my favourite stories in the collection so far, I LOVE how K Ancrum writes characters!
"King of The Fairies" - Anna-Marie Mclemore (A Midsummer Night's Dream) ↣ 2.75 ⭐
Definitely interesting, I really love AMM's writing and it's what kept me reading the story.
"We Have Seen Better Days" - Lily Anderson (As You Like It) ↣ 2 ⭐
+0.5 stars just for Lily Anderson supporting Solo: A Star Wars Story. Otherwise, I didn't like this one.
"Some Other Metal" - Amy Rose Capetta and Cori McCarthy (Much Ado About Nothing) ↣ 1.5 ⭐
Too meta for me. I thought I would love this because I usually love Much Ado but this was a no from the very beginning.
"I Bleed" - Dahlia Adler (Ther Merchant of Venice) ↣ 3 ⭐
Very disturbing and hard to read, but this was definitely one of the better stories in the collection.
A Sonet
"His Invention" - Brittany Cavallaro (Sonnet 147) ↣ 4 ⭐
This was so good! Disturbing and a bit confusing in the beginning but definitely my favourite story in the collection so far and one I'd actually read again!
Tragedies
"Partying Is Such Sweet Sorrow" - Kiersten White (Romeo + Juliet) ↣ 3 ⭐
Texts are one of my least favourite ways to tell a story but, this was actually really good, which is even more surprising because I am not an R+J fan. I loved the characters and how ridiculous Romeo was and I really think this story put in perspective how quickly the R+J story moves.
"Dreaming of The Dark" - Lindsay Smith (Julius Caesar) ↣ 3 ⭐
Spooky vibes. I think I liked this one but I'm not really sure.
"The Tragedy of Cory Lanez" - Tochi Onyebuchi (Coriolanus) ↣ 3.25 ⭐
I felt a bit detached from this one but I think that was just because it's music-centric which I'm not usually a fan of, otherwise this was really good.
"Out of the Storm" - Joy McCullough (King Lear) ↣ 3 ⭐
That moved very quickly and was very hard to read.
"Elsinore" - Patrice Caldwell (Hamlet) ↣ 1 ⭐
So so SO boring.
"We Fail" - Samantha Mabry (Macbeth) ↣ 3.5 ⭐
One of the best Macbeth retellings I've ever read!
Late Romance
"Lost Girl" - Melissa Bashardoust (The Winter's Tale) ↣ _ ⭐
This was cute. I loved the addition of all the other little stories and mythologies.
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3 ⭐
I am traditionally not a short story reader - I usually DNF collections like these or just ignore them altogether since it's so rare for me to read a short story and enjoy it. But, then I heard about a collection inspired by Shakespeare's works and on top of that, that some of my favourite authors would be a part of it and I knew this would be the be all end all for myself and short stories.
I still think that I am 99% not a lover of short stories but, I did genuinely enjoy some of these which I think was entirely down to the writers. I genuinely think that I would read a shopping list if it was written by K Ancrum or Anna-Marie Mclemore.
TW: racism, antisemitism, homophobia, child neglect, physical abuse/violence, child abuse, emotional abuse, grooming, loss of a loved one, self-harm, miscarriage
Comedies
"Severe Weather Warning" - Emily W and Austin SB (The Tempest) ↣ 3 ⭐
Fun. I loved the storm and the forced discussion trope.
"Shipwrecked" - Mark Oshiro (Twelfth Night) ↣ 2 ⭐
I couldn't keep track of who any of the characters were but I did really enjoy how diverse the characters were along with the talk about how love doesn't need to be romantic or compulsory.
"Taming of The Soulmate" - K Ancrum (Taming of The Shrew) ↣ 3.5 ⭐
When your favourite author champions the ultimate fanfic soulmate trope! I don't even like this trope but this is one of my favourite stories in the collection so far, I LOVE how K Ancrum writes characters!
"King of The Fairies" - Anna-Marie Mclemore (A Midsummer Night's Dream) ↣ 2.75 ⭐
Definitely interesting, I really love AMM's writing and it's what kept me reading the story.
"We Have Seen Better Days" - Lily Anderson (As You Like It) ↣ 2 ⭐
+0.5 stars just for Lily Anderson supporting Solo: A Star Wars Story. Otherwise, I didn't like this one.
"Some Other Metal" - Amy Rose Capetta and Cori McCarthy (Much Ado About Nothing) ↣ 1.5 ⭐
Too meta for me. I thought I would love this because I usually love Much Ado but this was a no from the very beginning.
"I Bleed" - Dahlia Adler (Ther Merchant of Venice) ↣ 3 ⭐
Very disturbing and hard to read, but this was definitely one of the better stories in the collection.
A Sonet
"His Invention" - Brittany Cavallaro (Sonnet 147) ↣ 4 ⭐
This was so good! Disturbing and a bit confusing in the beginning but definitely my favourite story in the collection so far and one I'd actually read again!
Tragedies
"Partying Is Such Sweet Sorrow" - Kiersten White (Romeo + Juliet) ↣ 3 ⭐
Texts are one of my least favourite ways to tell a story but, this was actually really good, which is even more surprising because I am not an R+J fan. I loved the characters and how ridiculous Romeo was and I really think this story put in perspective how quickly the R+J story moves.
"Dreaming of The Dark" - Lindsay Smith (Julius Caesar) ↣ 3 ⭐
Spooky vibes. I think I liked this one but I'm not really sure.
"The Tragedy of Cory Lanez" - Tochi Onyebuchi (Coriolanus) ↣ 3.25 ⭐
I felt a bit detached from this one but I think that was just because it's music-centric which I'm not usually a fan of, otherwise this was really good.
"Out of the Storm" - Joy McCullough (King Lear) ↣ 3 ⭐
That moved very quickly and was very hard to read.
"Elsinore" - Patrice Caldwell (Hamlet) ↣ 1 ⭐
So so SO boring.
"We Fail" - Samantha Mabry (Macbeth) ↣ 3.5 ⭐
One of the best Macbeth retellings I've ever read!
Late Romance
"Lost Girl" - Melissa Bashardoust (The Winter's Tale) ↣ _ ⭐
This was cute. I loved the addition of all the other little stories and mythologies.
Blog | Letterboxd | Instagram | Tumblr | Twitter
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Car accident
TW: racism, antisemitism, homophobia, child neglect, physical abuse/violence, child abuse, emotional abuse, grooming, loss of a loved one, self-harm, miscarriage
This was very much directed towards people who are at a point later in their life than I am, also this is definitely aimed at people who work in an office, which I don't so I'm putting this down for now.
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
04/04/2021
3.5 ⭐
This was fantastic and the last two episodes were exactly the type of spooky that I love. There are no more Episodes Collections out at the moment but I'll definitely be moving ahead with the podcast. This was so much fun and I'll definitely be buying a copy sometime in the future!
3.5 ⭐
This was fantastic and the last two episodes were exactly the type of spooky that I love. There are no more Episodes Collections out at the moment but I'll definitely be moving ahead with the podcast. This was so much fun and I'll definitely be buying a copy sometime in the future!
01/04/2021
3 ⭐
I love this series but this issue felt so pointless. Some good character moments but this felt like such a filler comic.
18/07/2016
3 ⭐
This was pretty meh compared to the first two volumes but I'm definitely still excited to read volume 4.
3 ⭐
I love this series but this issue felt so pointless. Some good character moments but this felt like such a filler comic.
18/07/2016
3 ⭐
This was pretty meh compared to the first two volumes but I'm definitely still excited to read volume 4.
adventurous
The Assassin's Blade | ✨ Throne of Glass | ✨ Crown of Midnight | ✨ Heir of Fire | ✨ Queen of Shadows | ✨ Empire of Shadows | ✨ Tower of Dawn | ✨ Kingdom of Ash
04/03/2024
3 ⭐
Did... did I just enjoy Throne of Glass for the first time in the year of our lord 2024? I have no idea what's going on inside my brain but I'm not going to complain!
my pinterest board
03/04/2021
2.5 ⭐
I still stand by my original review saying that this is completely overhyped, though over the last few years it's certainly dropped in the "hype" factor, so I don't know how important that aspect is to be honest.
That being said, I definitely enjoyed this more this time around, though the magic did come as a shock to me. I thought of this more as a grungy assassin story involving a competition and it turned out to be a very cleaned up version of that + some magical elements that I'm assuming will evolve throughout the series.
I will say, my biggest "critique", that's barely a critique and more of a personal preference, with this book was that I really wish it had been less clean and more grungy and that we'd really gotten to see how good of an assassin Celeana is. This was very much a 2012 YA take on an assassin where I would have preferred to see what could happen if SJM had unleashed that aspect of the character a bit more.
Also, a note on the love triangle (because of course there's a love triangle), I don't like either of these boys and I genuinely don't understand how you can even call it a love triangle with so little chemistry between any of the characters.
21/12/2015
2 ⭐
Okay, I have only ever heard praise for this book and I can't say that I understand what all the hype is about. Celaena Sardothien is soo annoying and I really wasn't a big fan of any of the characters and couldn't connect with any of them. All I can say is that I didn't enjoy any part of this but, I've heard that the series is meant to get much better. I own all of the books so I'll try to finish the series but I'm not looking forward to it.
04/03/2024
3 ⭐
Did... did I just enjoy Throne of Glass for the first time in the year of our lord 2024? I have no idea what's going on inside my brain but I'm not going to complain!
my pinterest board
03/04/2021
2.5 ⭐
I still stand by my original review saying that this is completely overhyped, though over the last few years it's certainly dropped in the "hype" factor, so I don't know how important that aspect is to be honest.
That being said, I definitely enjoyed this more this time around, though the magic did come as a shock to me. I thought of this more as a grungy assassin story involving a competition and it turned out to be a very cleaned up version of that + some magical elements that I'm assuming will evolve throughout the series.
I will say, my biggest "critique", that's barely a critique and more of a personal preference, with this book was that I really wish it had been less clean and more grungy and that we'd really gotten to see how good of an assassin Celeana is. This was very much a 2012 YA take on an assassin where I would have preferred to see what could happen if SJM had unleashed that aspect of the character a bit more.
Also, a note on the love triangle (because of course there's a love triangle), I don't like either of these boys and I genuinely don't understand how you can even call it a love triangle with so little chemistry between any of the characters.
21/12/2015
2 ⭐
Okay, I have only ever heard praise for this book and I can't say that I understand what all the hype is about. Celaena Sardothien is soo annoying and I really wasn't a big fan of any of the characters and couldn't connect with any of them. All I can say is that I didn't enjoy any part of this but, I've heard that the series is meant to get much better. I own all of the books so I'll try to finish the series but I'm not looking forward to it.
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05/02 - 02/04/2021
DNF @ pg 116
I wanted to keep reading this but my copy is due back at the library, if only there was an audiobook! I was really enjoying this but it's just taking me too long to read, I'll get back to finishing it someday though.
2015
5 ⭐
15 year old William Drake is an expert at breaking out of high-security prisons. But what happens when his talents land him in The Rig, a juvenile detention facility in the Arctic Ocean? With his every movement being watched, the clock is ticking. But he is not alone; Tristan and Irene will be with him on his journey through the iciest parts of hell. But The Rig is shielding a horrible secret. The Rig is not just a prison. The Rig is going to change the world.
In the past Will has escaped high security prisons spread across the world but gets caught within weeks of said escapes. Drake is extraordinarily brave, but with his tracker still clinging to his wrist escape seems impossible. Will knows there is always a way out, there is always a flaw in the system.
Joe Ducie portrays Drake to be a serious type of guy, concentrated on his goal; leaving The Rig, so serious that I often forgot that he was only 15 years old. Ducie's style of writing along with the intense plot definitely makes me want to read any other books he may have written. However Ducie fails to describe his characters very well, by the end of the book I was unable to describe the appearances of even the main character, Drake himself.
DNF @ pg 116
I wanted to keep reading this but my copy is due back at the library, if only there was an audiobook! I was really enjoying this but it's just taking me too long to read, I'll get back to finishing it someday though.
2015
5 ⭐
15 year old William Drake is an expert at breaking out of high-security prisons. But what happens when his talents land him in The Rig, a juvenile detention facility in the Arctic Ocean? With his every movement being watched, the clock is ticking. But he is not alone; Tristan and Irene will be with him on his journey through the iciest parts of hell. But The Rig is shielding a horrible secret. The Rig is not just a prison. The Rig is going to change the world.
In the past Will has escaped high security prisons spread across the world but gets caught within weeks of said escapes. Drake is extraordinarily brave, but with his tracker still clinging to his wrist escape seems impossible. Will knows there is always a way out, there is always a flaw in the system.
Joe Ducie portrays Drake to be a serious type of guy, concentrated on his goal; leaving The Rig, so serious that I often forgot that he was only 15 years old. Ducie's style of writing along with the intense plot definitely makes me want to read any other books he may have written. However Ducie fails to describe his characters very well, by the end of the book I was unable to describe the appearances of even the main character, Drake himself.
31/03/2021
2 ⭐
Not a bad book just really boring. I think I've finally determined that I can't stand reading small-town stories &/or books abt/involving music.
2 ⭐
Not a bad book just really boring. I think I've finally determined that I can't stand reading small-town stories &/or books abt/involving music.
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
30/03/2021
3 ⭐
Ngl I skipped most of the seventh issue but other than that, I had a lot of fun reading this, as always! Not as good as the first volume but still fun and I'll definitely be continuing my series re-read!
23/04/2016
4.5 ⭐
I'M HAVING SO MANY FEELINGS
3 ⭐
Ngl I skipped most of the seventh issue but other than that, I had a lot of fun reading this, as always! Not as good as the first volume but still fun and I'll definitely be continuing my series re-read!
23/04/2016
4.5 ⭐
I'M HAVING SO MANY FEELINGS
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
29/03/2021
4.5 ⭐
So much fun! I haven't read this in year's so I figured it was about time I revisited this series and these two characters since they're some of my favourite Marvel characters. I'll definitely be continuing my re-read this series and I can't wait to see where Dawn and the Surfer go next!
20/04/2016
4.75
We love the power cosmic!
4.5 ⭐
So much fun! I haven't read this in year's so I figured it was about time I revisited this series and these two characters since they're some of my favourite Marvel characters. I'll definitely be continuing my re-read this series and I can't wait to see where Dawn and the Surfer go next!
20/04/2016
4.75
We love the power cosmic!
24/03/2021
2.5 ⭐
This had some great moments and I LOVED the fat rep but I just don't seem to love Talia Hibbert's books and I really can't figure out why! Any recommendations?
2.5 ⭐
This had some great moments and I LOVED the fat rep but I just don't seem to love Talia Hibbert's books and I really can't figure out why! Any recommendations?