bennysbooks's Reviews (668)

One unfortunate joke about a burqa being like a wedding veil (sometimes the jokes in McFarlane's earlier works are cringey), but otherwise a really sweet and relatable story. 

Would really like to finish this one day, but it's not holding my interest atm. 

Loved the dual POV and Anna's profession and interests. I thought the romance was quite good, a believable enemies-to-lovers transition. I also liked that it was clear the physical changes Anna experienced did not automatically make her feel better or more confident in herself, that is an entirely separate emotional journey. I wish James had spent a bit more time in growth phase though, it felt a little quick. AND, a lot of the discussion of fatphobia and weight loss doesn't hold up to today's standards. Which is fine, I genuinely think McFarlane would have done better today, but hindered my enjoyment. The side characters (Laurence and Aggy especially) felt super cliché, which was unfortunate. Not a bust, but far from my favourite. 

Edit: the more I look back on it the more I love it. Still not my favourite but it's inching up there. 

Not for me. I gave it a chance because Jemisin is one of my favourite authors, but: 
A) I'm not a huge fan of urban fantasy typically and;
B) I really don't care about New York. Like, even a bit. In fact, I often avoid books about, or set in, New York. 
For those reasons I went into this book a skeptic, and while I can totally see how people who meet criteria A and B could enjoy it, I did not feel the magic. Jemisin took a big swing with this premise though, and I admire that! 

Not going to rate a book when I specifically went in thinking I wouldn't like it though 😅 That seems pointless. I'm not the intended audience in any way. 

Another Hugo nominee. I couldn't get into this one. The prose was bizarrely difficult to follow, the paragraph breaks and perspective shifts dizzying. And while the premise sounds interesting, it's not the sort of thing I'm drawn to as a reader. I can totally see why some people love this, but I wasn't enjoying myself at all. 

The backstory volume I guess. Quite a bit of repetition. Obvious things I think were supposed to surprise me? Just didn't find it interesting or feel like I have a better understanding of the characters than I did before.