There are Discworld novels I love more than I loved this one, for sure, but I still found it a charming read.

I needed something light-hearted to get me out of a reading slump, and this book was perfect. The humour always lands with me because I love Pratchett already, and the way this version was narrated was also solid. 

Engaging and lyrical, just not in my usual genre of reading. I really liked the writing style though, and the subject matter is something I don't often engage with (due to my personal experiences with it), so the book definitely struck a chord emotionally. 

It was a good book, but it didn't stand out to me. I found the main character less engaging (in terms of her narrative voice) than I would have liked, but I still rooted for her; overall it's an interesting, if a little underdeveloped, take on a vampire story. 

I enjoyed this one less than the first (Paladin's Grace), but it got me out of a post-thesis reading slump and I'm grateful for that. God, what a solid addition to this already brilliant, chaotic series. 

This time, The Paladins (except for Stephen who's in love I guess) are on the trail of the killers from the previous book, the Smooth Men (in addition to other fantasy errands). However, complicated social rules get broken along the way, and they end up harbouring a nun with a mission of her own - saving her kidnapped sisters. What follows is an angst-filled and nonetheless hilarious romp through very requited (but unaddressed, because these fools can't communicate) feelings, gladiatorial combat, wilderness trekking, and pining.

Kingfisher humanizes her fantastical and heroic characters into entirely relatable people, with their own insecurities, hopes, and fears. And their day-to-day lives are relatably "human" as well - Istvan makes muscle rub in his spare time, as established in the first book of the series. Clara sometimes uses her ability to

change into a bear

to look for truffles, which her religious order sells. Fantasy protagonists tend to be very idealised, so to see these heroes go about their lives like us normies is refreshing after reading more epic fantasy for a while. Maybe I'm biased - the stories read like DnD campaigns, almost, which I personally am a part of, and tend to love. What can I say, I'm the target audience.

The Church of the White Rat are brilliant as always. MVPs, all of them. I need to read Swordheart at some point though, because my favourite nonbinary lawyer didn't appear in this book and I miss them. 

I'm also extremely looking forward to the next book in the series, Paladin's Hope, because the glimpses I got of Galen in this one make me excited to experience a whole narrative centered around him. Fruity weasel beserker man? Sign me up. 

Required reading for a queer child of divorce, ha ha. I found myself relating to Bechdel, understanding her. 

I can't rate it, really - it's a memoir. Those are notoriously difficult to rate. How can one, after all, rate someone's truth? Don't take my rating as objective. It's a good book. 

I enjoyed the first book a lot more - what can I say, I'm not a fan of "rebel/underdog group trapped in underground base/community" narratives (the only other example of this being Suzanne Collins' Mockingjay, the third book in the Hunger Games trilogy, but, "weird that it happened twice" and all that). It dragged in some parts, and got confusing in others; I suppose the issue with building such a beautiful and complex world is acquainting your readers with it in a way that doesn't leave their heads spinning. 

Still, I love Essun, I love Alabaster (or, rather, I love to hate Alabaster?) and I adore the audiobook narrator, who also narrated the first one. I'm excited to see where the story goes next!

The prose is beautiful, but the substance of the book? I don't know, I was confused for most of it. I felt like I was missing context the whole time, and plot development was jumpy and, at times, incomprehensible. 

It felt like coming into the living room when your roommates are halfway through a show, and sitting down to watch it with them. I spent most of the audiobook confused, but engaged all the same.

I love Neil Gaiman's work already, so it's no surprise I liked this book. It's speculative in a way that most Gaiman books are: you're not supposed to think too deeply about it, you're just supposed to have the story told to you, and hopefully enjoy it.

Having not read American Gods yet, I thought I'd be lost or miss things, since some would call it a sequel, but the story still felt solid when read as a standalone work. Definitely picking up American Gods when I'm able!

Well-written, but I found it hard to root for any of the vast ensemble cast. Everyone was presented fairly quickly, and then it felt like I was expected to care about them all, while still grappling with the worldbuilding and overarching plot (which, while intricate and exceptionally crafted, really confused me). 

Because of how quickly they were introduced, and how many of them there were, the characters felt one-dimensional to me. Except for their relative positions in society and in their story, little differentiated them from one another. It didn't help that the main ensemble cast seemed to be the only "middle of the road" characters - the supporting cast was universally extremist in their opinions/actions, whether that be racial/religious prejudice, constant behind-the-scenes plotting, or something else. I kept asking, "are these four really the only rational people in the whole realm?" and that really took me out of it. 

I also found the pacing dissatisfying - the whole climax felt way too rushed, especially.

I wish I got to know the characters better before the final act kicked off. I just couldn't bring myself to care.