brittmariasbooks's Reviews (1.45k)

I enjoyed the story but I really needed to read the book while listening to an audiobook in order to finish the book. I could have known since I usually prefer to read classics in Dutch, my native language. Still, I am glad I finished Emma. Ever since my high school English teacher recommended it to me, I have been curious about the story. (I think I like Pride & Prejudice better, though.)

As for this edition with illustrations by Marjolein Bastin. The illustrations of nature, flowers and birds are beautiful. However, they do not particularly add anything to the story. So if you are just looking for a beautiful edition of Emma, you might want to look at these editions.

Rereading The Blood of Olympus made me like the book more. When I first read it after its release a had very high hopes that were not met. Now I can appreciate it for what it is and I really enjoyed it! I still think it would have been cool if the final battle(s) were a bit longer but I enjoyed it nevertheless.

Spoiler

I love that we get Nico's and Reyna's points of view as they take the Athena statue across the world. Together with Coach Hedge, they are quite an odd but effective team! I still would have loved to have had points of views of Frank, Hazel, Percy and Annabeth but it comes nicely full circle with the original trio of this series: Jason, Piper and Leo.

And even though I knew what was going to happen, I still teared up at the end.

I'm really glad I reread this series and now I am reading to finish The Trials of Apollo!

Blackface by Ayanna Thompson is a short book about - you guessed it - blackface. I am very thankful for getting to read this ARC. My country, the Netherlands, has its own blackface tradition in the shape of Zwarte Piet/Black Pete that is still very much present in the twenty-first century.

Thompson explains blackface's origin in old Shakespearean plays in England and how that evolved into minstrel shows. Then with older and more modern examples, she explains how Black bodies have been and are portrayed in movies and on television. She also explains how white innocence is used as an excuse when it turns out that celebrities and/or political figures have done blackface. "I did not know better." or "I did it because I love/feel inspired by him/her/them." etc. See this following quote:

"Up until this current moment, white people have believed that performing blackness was a white property that could -- if done with the proper intent -- demonstrate, physically, one's love of black identity and culture. Of course, this assumption rests on the white supremacist belief that white innocence trumps all, including a violently racist history."

Thompson was clear in her chapters and wrote in an easily understandable language. I would love for her work to be translated into Dutch so there will be more understanding about why our tradition of Black Pete has to stop. I truly recommend Blackface to my fellow Dutchies and others who are still ignorant about it.

Champion is the conclusion of the Legend trilogy. Marie Lu is great at writing romance as well as action scenes. She knows how to play with my heartstrings and my feelings which, in my opinion, makes for a great book.

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This series was so interesting to read during the pandemic especially in this third book, virus mutations also play a role. Overall, how the viruses behaved in the Legend seems to be very realistic (although this pandemic is not created by the government).

I love the romance between Day and June. The night they shared was bittersweet especially when the pain and love they share.

I loved the action scene on the rooftop with June and Commander Jameson. Marie Lu is overall great at writing action scenes. She really had me believe that Day would die at the end. And with the epilogue I am low-key interested in picking up Rebel but I am not sure yet.

It's been a while since I have cried this much over a book. My heart hurts over Jason's death. I have listened to the audiobook before but almost remembered nothing except the possibility that Jason might die and he did. The book is rightfully dedicated to the Muse of Tragedy because I have cried multiple times while reading this one. This third book fits well with the other third books in the Camp Half-Blood Chronicles: The Titan's Curse and The Mark of Athena.

It was great to be reunited with Grover, Piper and Jason. I love them as characters and it was great to see them interact with each other and with Apollo and Meg. I love that part of the Labyrinth was back as the setting of the book. And the Sibyl was such an interesting Oracle! I love how she basically has to use puzzles as her prophecies.

But mostly, I have been gutted by the fight on the 50 yachts. How Jason sacrificed himself. The second time he got stabbed made me gasp. And at the end, when Leo meets them just when Apollo and Meg are saying goodbye to Piper as they are to leave to Camp Jupiter to meet Reyna, but also to give Jason a proper burial. I don't know what was worse, Leo finding out or the sacrifice scene of Jason.

Amazing writing by Riordan. He has never shied away from death (except maybe in The Blood of Olympus) but this has me afraid of what is to come in book 4 & 5. It is coming to be so sad when our friends at Camp Jupiter learn Jason's fate. However, Apollo really learnt and grew so much because of these experiences. I really hope Jason's death is not in vain. Demigods live a dangerous life most don't get old but you always hope that the heroes you follow in the books will make it out alive.

Really recommend if you want to be gutted and feel something.

I loved The Black Flamingo. It is a book told in verse and tells the story of Michael, a gay, black boy from England. We follow his story from childhood to university, where he discovers drag.

The verses by Dean Atta and the illustrations by Anshika Khullar work very well together. The story is beautiful, I flew through it. It is another book I read in one day. I really recommend you pick it up.

The Witch King by H.E. Edgmon is the YA urban fantasy you want to read next! Thank you Inkyard Press for providing me with an ARC and inviting me for the blog tour.

The Witch King follows trans witch Wyatt Croft. He fled from the fae kingdom of Asalin to the human world after he lost control of his magic one devastating night. The story picks up when his fiancé, Prince Emyr North finds him and takes him back to Asalin. Despite Wyatt’s newfound identity and troubling past, Emyr has no intention of dissolving their engagement. In fact, he claims they must marry now or he will risk losing the throne. Jaded, Wyatt strikes a deal with the enemy, hoping to escape Asalin forever. But as he gets to know Emyr, Wyatt realizes the boy he once loved may still exist. And as the witches face worsening conditions, he must decide once and for all what’s more important—his people or his freedom. Content warning for deadnaming, misgendering, (some) gore, transphobia and fantasy racism.

I enjoyed this book so much more than I thought I would. Usually, I read plot-driven fantasy books and The Witch King is a more character-driven story. But H.E. Edgmon’s writing is so good. In general, their writing spoke to me as a young millennial, which might be best demonstrated by the following quote: “Which, like, fair.” And this vibe is throughout the book and I loved it because I have not seen writing like this that much, especially in fantasy novels.

The characters are very much grey as every single one of them has their own motives, beliefs and goals, which I love to see. The relationships between the characters are complicated and carefully explored. Edgmon takes their time and it pays off phenomenally at the end of the book. Again, I love to see it. I have fallen in love with the cast of characters: Wyatt, Emyr, Briar, Tessa, Jin and many more of them. They all stand on their own. The main character Wyatt is not a perfect person, no one is, and I want to see his character develop more in the next book. He makes mistakes but also tries to fix them. I cannot wait until the sequel comes out! Lastly, I want to say that as a cis woman, this is not an own voices review.

I really recommend The Witch King if you are looking for an urban fantasy, especially one with a lot of LGBTQIA+ representation. Wyatt’s story is waiting for you.

This graphic novel is a beautiful adaptation of Jason Reynolds' Long Way Down. The watercolour drawings are very well done so if books in verse are not your thing, I think you will love this graphic novel.

CW:

Spoiler

validisme, black- en brownface

Het lezen van dit boek was een beetje als een achtbaan. In het begin was ik heel erg geïntrigeerd naar het mysterie. In het midden wilde ik het boek bijna DNF'en omdat ik dacht dat het meer spooky zou zijn, maar ik miste een constante ondertoon van onheil. Toch zette ik door en de laatste 30% heb ik in een dag gelezen. Drie sterren lijkt me daarom de juiste uitkomst voor mijn leeservaring met Rebecca.