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amandasbrews's Reviews (454)
Hi I just want to say that this book just came out in paperback and I'm SO EXCITED ABOUT IT because it's SO CUTE!!!
Creative, captivating, full, character-driven, growth-oriented, adventurous
Goddess of Limbo is a creative and enchanting epic fantasy story with the delightful magic of the gods. This character-driven novel tells the story of how a group of unexpected heroes fight against gods and demons to save their souls. This premise seems to dream big and I was really pleased to see how interesting the characters are, how creative the world is, and how much everyone seems to grow throughout the book. Though it is a lengthy novel, it is perfect for those looking for a refreshing and different epic fantasy. If you are sick of the standard loosely veiled medieval England tome that is often epic fantasy (that’s me! Very tired of this!) Goddess of Limbo is a perfectly refreshing read!
Quick Summary: The days of free will are gone. Souls have a prewritten path toward heaven but if they miss it, they are doomed to roam Limbo as splinters of who they once were or demons. The reaper Alames, whose own soul has been shattered when her lover, Balthos, rebelled against their creators to make them gods. When a new generation begins to defy Balthos, Alame’s splinters begin to appear again. This cast of underdogs must fight demons, gods, and oppression to save themselves.
Goddess of Limbo really impressed me with its characters. Most books that have so many characters often make me lose track of each of them as they start to blend together. In this novel, I did not feel like any of the characters were blending together at all. It handles the vast amount of characters so well. Each character has their own personality and their own goals and feelings in mind, none of them feel like they are blending together as is so often the case in books with so many characters. Not only were they all characterized so well, but that also made them have interesting and compelling relationships with each other.
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Goddess of Limbo is a creative and enchanting epic fantasy story with the delightful magic of the gods. This character-driven novel tells the story of how a group of unexpected heroes fight against gods and demons to save their souls. This premise seems to dream big and I was really pleased to see how interesting the characters are, how creative the world is, and how much everyone seems to grow throughout the book. Though it is a lengthy novel, it is perfect for those looking for a refreshing and different epic fantasy. If you are sick of the standard loosely veiled medieval England tome that is often epic fantasy (that’s me! Very tired of this!) Goddess of Limbo is a perfectly refreshing read!
Quick Summary: The days of free will are gone. Souls have a prewritten path toward heaven but if they miss it, they are doomed to roam Limbo as splinters of who they once were or demons. The reaper Alames, whose own soul has been shattered when her lover, Balthos, rebelled against their creators to make them gods. When a new generation begins to defy Balthos, Alame’s splinters begin to appear again. This cast of underdogs must fight demons, gods, and oppression to save themselves.
Goddess of Limbo really impressed me with its characters. Most books that have so many characters often make me lose track of each of them as they start to blend together. In this novel, I did not feel like any of the characters were blending together at all. It handles the vast amount of characters so well. Each character has their own personality and their own goals and feelings in mind, none of them feel like they are blending together as is so often the case in books with so many characters. Not only were they all characterized so well, but that also made them have interesting and compelling relationships with each other.
Continue Reading...
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Well I have already cried by page 20 so you can just expect me to be a mess the entire time
anyway this was a hard read that took me SO long to finish but I learned a lot
Bookish Brews | Twitter | Pinterest | Tumblr | Facebook
anyway this was a hard read that took me SO long to finish but I learned a lot
Bookish Brews | Twitter | Pinterest | Tumblr | Facebook
I made the mistake of reading some of this at night time, alone in my home, and I thought I was going to die for a minute there.
This book reminds me of When No One is Watching (which I loved) but a YA version. Aaaaahh. It was engrossing and nerve-wracking.
Bookish Brews | Twitter | Pinterest | Tumblr | Facebook
This book reminds me of When No One is Watching (which I loved) but a YA version. Aaaaahh. It was engrossing and nerve-wracking.
Bookish Brews | Twitter | Pinterest | Tumblr | Facebook
Tragic, difficult, stunning, emotional, pretty, dark, engrossing
As always I’m very eager to support a Vietnamese author, so when Daniel reached out to me, I was more than excited to read this novella. Set in Vietnam, this novella tells a huge story in such a short amount of time. Told in brief moments of shared history, I found myself feeling my ever-present longing for Vietnam in the longing of these characters. There were moments where I had to set this book down, not because of the heavy themes, but because there was so much emotion packed into a short amount of space. Daniel wrote a stunning novella that is rich with emotion and full of love.
Quick Summary: Violet can see sounds and once believed she was born to be a painter, but her life circumstances have beat her down enough to make her question her dream. Deciding to leave everything, Violet finds herself looking for salvation in Turner, a gang debt collector who had been tasked to collect from Violet’s mother. Together, this unlikely pairing must walk the line between following their dreams or giving up and falling into the life that seems to be forced upon them.
The Color of Your Voice is by no means a light read. This book dives into the depths and difficulties of some of the lowest places of human existence. However dark the world has gotten for Violet and Turner, I love how they learned how to be the light in the darkness for each other. Where they are in the beginning, it seems almost impossible for either of these two to find happiness. Daniel artfully makes the light in the darkness grow from a small spark of care to a flame they can rely on. I was impressed with how the relationship grew, despite their circumstances and especially considering the novella length.
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As always I’m very eager to support a Vietnamese author, so when Daniel reached out to me, I was more than excited to read this novella. Set in Vietnam, this novella tells a huge story in such a short amount of time. Told in brief moments of shared history, I found myself feeling my ever-present longing for Vietnam in the longing of these characters. There were moments where I had to set this book down, not because of the heavy themes, but because there was so much emotion packed into a short amount of space. Daniel wrote a stunning novella that is rich with emotion and full of love.
Quick Summary: Violet can see sounds and once believed she was born to be a painter, but her life circumstances have beat her down enough to make her question her dream. Deciding to leave everything, Violet finds herself looking for salvation in Turner, a gang debt collector who had been tasked to collect from Violet’s mother. Together, this unlikely pairing must walk the line between following their dreams or giving up and falling into the life that seems to be forced upon them.
The Color of Your Voice is by no means a light read. This book dives into the depths and difficulties of some of the lowest places of human existence. However dark the world has gotten for Violet and Turner, I love how they learned how to be the light in the darkness for each other. Where they are in the beginning, it seems almost impossible for either of these two to find happiness. Daniel artfully makes the light in the darkness grow from a small spark of care to a flame they can rely on. I was impressed with how the relationship grew, despite their circumstances and especially considering the novella length.
Continue reading...
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This book is brilliant, check out my full review over at Bookish Brews!
Here's a preview:
Creepy, unsettling, atmospheric, brilliant, mundane, impressive, thought-provoking
I feel like I spontaneously picked up Leave the World Behind because I was really itching for another short audiobook. This book hit the spot. It’s simple, creepy, and incredibly written. The best part is that it’s a quick read, so it’s the perfect binge read. Being able to finish an entire book in one sitting (or in one day) is my favorite and this one you could do just that.
Quick Summary: Leave the World Behind is the story of Amanda and Clay as they take a family vacation to a remote but luxurious house in Long Island. Pretty quickly into their vacation, they get a knock on their door in the middle of the night. It’s an older Black couple who have arrived in a panicked state, saying that this is their house, and speaking about a big blackout in the city even though the power in the house works. Can Amanda and Clay trust this couple? Should they let them stay? How do they know what to believe?
The absolute brilliance of this book is the writing. The way that the author can describe completely mundane tasks that still make a statement on white supremacy is simply stunning. Simply describing a shopping list manages to be compelling. It highlights the mundane pieces of white supremacy, a side of it that we don’t often ever see in literature. I was blown away the entire time by the social comments that managed to slip their way into descriptions of inanimate objects in a way that I have never seen before. Keep reading...
cw / tw: the mention of death, disease and unrest, vomit, medical stuff, cursing, racism, blood
Diversity representation: Author of Color, Black supporting characters
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Here's a preview:
Creepy, unsettling, atmospheric, brilliant, mundane, impressive, thought-provoking
I feel like I spontaneously picked up Leave the World Behind because I was really itching for another short audiobook. This book hit the spot. It’s simple, creepy, and incredibly written. The best part is that it’s a quick read, so it’s the perfect binge read. Being able to finish an entire book in one sitting (or in one day) is my favorite and this one you could do just that.
Quick Summary: Leave the World Behind is the story of Amanda and Clay as they take a family vacation to a remote but luxurious house in Long Island. Pretty quickly into their vacation, they get a knock on their door in the middle of the night. It’s an older Black couple who have arrived in a panicked state, saying that this is their house, and speaking about a big blackout in the city even though the power in the house works. Can Amanda and Clay trust this couple? Should they let them stay? How do they know what to believe?
The absolute brilliance of this book is the writing. The way that the author can describe completely mundane tasks that still make a statement on white supremacy is simply stunning. Simply describing a shopping list manages to be compelling. It highlights the mundane pieces of white supremacy, a side of it that we don’t often ever see in literature. I was blown away the entire time by the social comments that managed to slip their way into descriptions of inanimate objects in a way that I have never seen before. Keep reading...
cw / tw: the mention of death, disease and unrest, vomit, medical stuff, cursing, racism, blood
Diversity representation: Author of Color, Black supporting characters
Bookish Brews | Twitter | Pinterest | Tumblr | Facebook