bella613's Reviews (551)

A Court of Wings and Ruin

Sarah J. Maas

DID NOT FINISH: 75%

I'm kind of getting sick of this so I'm gonna DNF for now. It's really just boring me and I've tried to listen to it but never want to so I'm giving it up. At least I got through the first few of the series. I gave it a chance 🫠
reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated
emotional funny medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Loveable characters: Yes

Ok preface to the review: this is a re-read from years ago. Lore Olympus was my first webtoon, and the comic that I attribute to getting me into all things webcomic, as well as my first real Greek mythology retelling (so I knew little to nothing about the lore, pun intended lol)

This is a great webtoon, but I think I can say that it's not really my favorite art style now, and more slow moving than I prefer my webcomics these days. It's also just ~not that deep~ and while it handles some tough subjects
(rape, trauma, confinement and even being eaten by a parent)
in a respectful way, it also doesn't do much with those subjects. If I remember correctly, season two goes further into that especially kore's rage, but for me this didn't hit nearly as hard with the re-read and I don't feel super satisfied with it. I do like it and would recommend it with TW. I'm rating it 4☆ but when I first found it (circa 2018 idk) I def would have done a full 5. 

I will say, knowing a (little) bit more about Greek mythology now I really do love how Rachel Smythe does the modernization, and I think she takes enough liberty to make it a story entirely hers while also including important "canon" details (can you call it that in this case?) I LOVE her Eros and Hecate. Sometimes Persephone is too much of a cinnamon roll to take seriously and the one thing I don't love about it is the leaning into her little girl innocence and making it a daddy trope. We obviously can't ignore the nearly 2000 year age difference, or the problematic parenting of Demeter, but do we need to exaggerate her schoolgirly-ness? 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Loveable characters: Yes

Liked it, good myth retelling. Definitely for you if you like spicy books. This one does paint Persephone in an immature/naive light well. That's normal for her character but I feel like this one doesn't idolize her and shows it maybe a little more realistically. 

Hecate is my favorite goddess as usual (I really need to find a book with her as the main character) 
challenging emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Loveable characters: Yes

Highly recommend this book! 
I cried so hard. This one is a lot to handle but it's so worth it. I feel like I learned more from it as well- even though it's fictional, events that happen are based on real things. 
I picked up this book because I saw somewhere that Zoulfa Katouh is ARMY and that sparked my interest. The audiobook doesn't include her acknowledgments, and honestly I want to buy this book in print eventually because I want it in my personal library. 
This is a beautiful, heartfelt, raw work of art. I'm glad I read it.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Loveable characters: Complicated
emotional hopeful slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Loveable characters: Yes

This one's a heartwarming, hopeful story and very poetic. The main reason it doesn't get a full five stars is that it was a little slow at times and pretty obvious what was going on, so it was a little frustrating that the characters didn't figure it out sooner. But the message and undertones are so wonderful that I really enjoyed every minute of it. 
adventurous dark sad tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

This was intense and gruesome and I loved it. Very easy to hate some characters and love others, even if all of them have their reasons for their (mostly bad) decisions. The art is great and the ending is superbly disturbing. Loved the song in the last two episodes as well! 
I do tend to rate webcomics slightly differently than books-- If this was a novel without illustration it wouldn't be that high. But I enjoy webtoons a lot and have a ton of respect for the creators of webcomics in general knowing how much work it is. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
inspiring reflective medium-paced

I'd recommend the audiobook! Love "Read by the author" memoirs and Rob Lowe does a great job. Because of my age, my first exposure to Lowe was Parks and Rec and I still haven't seen West Wing or The Outsiders, so it may have been more impactful if I had prior knowledge of his early career.
dark mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This was pretty good! A lot of reviews say it's the same as verity, but it has a very different feel to it despite being a similar premise off the bat. Having just read verity, I'd say that Hoover does a better job at the horror-style creepiness factor, and McFadden does a better job at the actual writing (lol). I think this was more predictable, and definitely less bold since the FL is seen in a positive light as opposed to in Hoover's Verity. I don't want to only compare these two since I'm sure there are plenty of very similar stories written before either of the two, and I know that they aren't connected, but it's hard not to associate them.