Take a photo of a barcode or cover
btwnprintedpgs's Reviews (1.3k)
I can usually binge a Kasie West contemporary in one sitting. There's something about her books that often feel like a palette cleanse for me - if I've read too much of a heavier genre, like fantasy for example, then a light easy YA contemporary is the perfect thing to get me out of my slump. However, it didn't work with Maybe This Time.
The premise is promising - the story is told across nine events during which the character spends time with her best friend, Micah, and newest pain in the butt, Andrew. Sophie works at the flower shop and works the major events alongside her best friend's family's catering company. Sophie aspires to be a New York fashion designer though, not a flower arranger in a small town. She wants more. And I think that is perfectly fine. Everyone around her though? Not so much.
Her best friend Micah is judgemental, rude, and keeps pushing Sophie to do things that she doesn't want to do??? Idk. It was a weird best friend dynamic imo. Andrew belittles her at every turn, her mom keeps trying to tell her dreams are unrealistic, and no one but Sophie seems to stand up for Sophie, and yet everyone judges her for it?? Like this guy yells at her for being stupid cause she did something small and annoying to offend him (BY ACCIDENT might I add) and she's ready to have at him, but everyone is like CHILL SOPHIE. When Andrew's dad treats him like trash, Sophie stands up for him, but then Andrew gets mad at her?? I don't know, this is not a message I was really comfortable with, and the reasoning for everything later on really did not work for me. This was an ARC though, so they may change the story a bit to make it fit the end better, but the end just didn't fit the build up from the rest of the story. There was just a bit of dissonance between event six to event nine.
Sidebar comment - I LOVE the section transitions - they're beautiful, entertaining, and are a great addition to the book and Sophie's character.
All in all, this book left me feeling super meh and blah. Definitely my least favourite of West's contemporaries.
Plot: 1/5
Characters: 1/5
World Building: 2/5
Pacing: 2/5
Writing: 3/5
Overall: 1/5
ARC received through Indigo Books and Music in exchange for an honest review.
The premise is promising - the story is told across nine events during which the character spends time with her best friend, Micah, and newest pain in the butt, Andrew. Sophie works at the flower shop and works the major events alongside her best friend's family's catering company. Sophie aspires to be a New York fashion designer though, not a flower arranger in a small town. She wants more. And I think that is perfectly fine. Everyone around her though? Not so much.
Her best friend Micah is judgemental, rude, and keeps pushing Sophie to do things that she doesn't want to do??? Idk. It was a weird best friend dynamic imo. Andrew belittles her at every turn, her mom keeps trying to tell her dreams are unrealistic, and no one but Sophie seems to stand up for Sophie, and yet everyone judges her for it?? Like this guy yells at her for being stupid cause she did something small and annoying to offend him (BY ACCIDENT might I add) and she's ready to have at him, but everyone is like CHILL SOPHIE. When Andrew's dad treats him like trash, Sophie stands up for him, but then Andrew gets mad at her?? I don't know, this is not a message I was really comfortable with, and the reasoning for everything later on really did not work for me. This was an ARC though, so they may change the story a bit to make it fit the end better, but the end just didn't fit the build up from the rest of the story. There was just a bit of dissonance between event six to event nine.
Sidebar comment - I LOVE the section transitions - they're beautiful, entertaining, and are a great addition to the book and Sophie's character.
All in all, this book left me feeling super meh and blah. Definitely my least favourite of West's contemporaries.
Plot: 1/5
Characters: 1/5
World Building: 2/5
Pacing: 2/5
Writing: 3/5
Overall: 1/5
ARC received through Indigo Books and Music in exchange for an honest review.
challenging
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
What an absolutely stunning book. I read this back in 2019 as an eARC, but I didn't have the words at the time to properly express how amazing I found this book, even more so today than I did back then.
At its heart, Descendant of the Crane is a book about morality. We all want to do the right thing, we all want to believe in the systems that have been put in place, and we all want to hope that the people around us are true, faithful, and honest. This book breaks down the concept of morality and truth and makes Hesina, our MC, question what is real and what is a veneer over a broken system.
What I love most about this book is that it showed the truth of humanity - no matter your position, your intentions, or your heart, humans are fallible and we make mistakes. Hesina makes choices that she believes are right and will lead her to the truth, but the brokenness of the system results in consequence after consequence, loss after loss. And she owns up to them, which is so rare to see, but you can see her taking accountability and bearing the weight of the losses on her shoulder.
The twist at the end still haunts me and I wish that we could've gotten a sequel for this one. Alas, not in the cards, but where it ends, there's hope for everyone left and I loved the potential we're left with.
Descendant of the Crane remains a favourite for me, and I definitely recommend picking this one up. I think it'll surprise you.
TW: death, grief, torture, violence, blood, injury detail, genocide, slavery, racism (of a magical group of people); mentions suicide, war, vomit
Plot: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
World Building: 4.5/5
Writing: 5/5
Pacing: 5/5
Overall: 5/5
eARC gifted by Joan He's previous problematic publisher, so I won't be thanking them, but acknowledging the gifted copy.
At its heart, Descendant of the Crane is a book about morality. We all want to do the right thing, we all want to believe in the systems that have been put in place, and we all want to hope that the people around us are true, faithful, and honest. This book breaks down the concept of morality and truth and makes Hesina, our MC, question what is real and what is a veneer over a broken system.
What I love most about this book is that it showed the truth of humanity - no matter your position, your intentions, or your heart, humans are fallible and we make mistakes. Hesina makes choices that she believes are right and will lead her to the truth, but the brokenness of the system results in consequence after consequence, loss after loss. And she owns up to them, which is so rare to see, but you can see her taking accountability and bearing the weight of the losses on her shoulder.
The twist at the end still haunts me and I wish that we could've gotten a sequel for this one. Alas, not in the cards, but where it ends, there's hope for everyone left and I loved the potential we're left with.
Descendant of the Crane remains a favourite for me, and I definitely recommend picking this one up. I think it'll surprise you.
TW: death, grief, torture, violence, blood, injury detail, genocide, slavery, racism (of a magical group of people); mentions suicide, war, vomit
Plot: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
World Building: 4.5/5
Writing: 5/5
Pacing: 5/5
Overall: 5/5
eARC gifted by Joan He's previous problematic publisher, so I won't be thanking them, but acknowledging the gifted copy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Genocide, Torture, Blood, Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Racism, Slavery, Suicide, Vomit, War
