bumblemee's Reviews (258)

Ein unterhaltsames Abenteuer. Die Truppe, die gemeinsam bei der Fuchsjagd antritt, ist eine angenehme Zusammenstellung von Charaktere, die auf ihre Weise liebenswert sind. Auch der Turnieraspekt macht echt Spaß (vor allem wie Leute für mich, die solche Aspekte eh mögen). 
Ich mochte vor allem Albert sehr gern, mit seiner Leidenschaft für das Zaubern und seiner Art, irgendwie einfach in die Dinge hineinzugehen. 

Mich hat nichts großartig überrascht, was passiert ist und da das Buch recht schnelllebig ist, sind (vor allem die Neben-)Charaktere nicht besonders deep, aber das hat mich nicht gestört, weil ich einfach sehr gut unterhalten wurde. Ich glaube auch, für mich war das Hörbuch die richtige Wahl, so hat es mir wahrscheinlich besser gefallen als wenn ich es physisch gelesen hätte.

A lot of things I liked, some things I have mixed feelings about.
I really liked how diverse the cast was. It managed to spread a little awareness for different struggles of different identities, even if it was just a few sentences. That was included easily, which was cool. Everything theatre and stage production was great, too! As well as the setting itself, where queer kids can just be themselves in a safer space accompanied by queer adults. It's just great. I would've loved this when I was a teenager. Oh, and I also liked the sex positivity. 

Randy was a likeable protagonist, he's funny and very dramatic (a lot of exploding stars inside of him and the world applauding him while having sex or something? .. a man of big words). Sometimes I wanted to shake him, though. I know that him changing and hiding things about himself is the premise of this book, but it was still frustatring sometimes. His stoic determination to continue with this ludicrous plan of his, my god. Especially because he barely knows Hudson at all - yeah, he's an allosexual/alloromantic teenager, so maybe that's just normal, but it seemed so weird to me, because it's very different from what I experience. I don't really get why Randy is so set on Hudson, even though Hudson says and does things that should ring some alarm bells for Randy. Randy explains his reasoning, we get to see scenes from the past that shaped Randys perception of Hudson, but I don't know if I understand how that weighs out the experiences he has when actually getting to know Hudson. (Again, maybe just normal teenager behavior that contradicts how I would've acted as a teenager.)
I don't know how much I want to go into Hudsons character here. He has problematic views of course, which lead him to behave according to them, but since that is the center point of his character arc, I don't think there's much to say other than: prepare for internalized homophobia and some blatant toxic masculinity and infuriating statements as a result. Personally, I had empathy for him and I liked seeing him grow, but I understand everyone who can't look past that, since a lot of queer people have their own trauma from people who behaved like Hudson. (Hudson's trauma doesn't excuse shitty behavior and so on.)

I have mixed feelings on this one. First up, there are lot of things I loved. Steph for example - she's nerdy and funny and I already loved her when I played LiS: True Colors. (I didn't play Before The Storm, but that wasn't a problem for me.) I liked the writing style, it fit Steph well, I think. There are a lot of pop cultural references, there's no purple prose, but at the same time there are well said sentences that made me feel something (though I can't say if this is because of the intonation the sentence had in my head or if others would think so, too.) Steph's friends were great and I loved how diverse the cast was in general. 
It was great to see Izzie and Steph get to know eachother. In the beginning they were really sweet together. 

However, I wasn't that happy with how everything developed. The book takes place over the course of two years, but in my opinion it doesn't dive deep enough into the characters and relationships dynamics to feel that way. Instead, it feels like there should've been more scenes between the two where they talk about their needs/wishes and also a few more scenes that show why they weren't just initially attracted to each other, but stayed together this long. Because of how short this book is, you don't have time to grow with them and they never seem to leave a state of "being attracted to each other, but not knowing much about the other". It seems like the time span is way shorter than it actually is.
I get that miscommunication is a big part of the problems they have and I get how that came to be, but I would've liked for them to have the chance to turn it around by giving them a conversation that goes deeper that the ones included. It would've given their relationship more depth and would've made their struggle more impactful.

I do think this is worth a read if you're interested in LiS and specifically Steph. It just wasn't as good as I hoped it'd be.

All in all, I really liked Stephs character arc though. The way she's shown in the beginning, this nerdy life with D&D, Critical Role and the café, how all of this disappears over the course of the story, because she starts doing what she thinks Izzie will like. How she kind of "adapts" to Izzie in a way, because she's so fascinated by her and doesn't want to lose her. That was very well done in my opinion, as well as Steph finding out that she lost herself in the process.

[I hope this review is readable, I'm writing it way past my bedtime, but had to write it down before I can go to sleep.]

This book will stay with me forever, I think. And with it the names and stories of many men it tells you about, as well as Ruth herself. 

I don't even know how to find the right words for this book. I'll start by saying that Ruth is a very impressive person. She just keeps going and going and going, she just does not stop, no matter the obstacles she's presented with. She's really good at reading people and finding out how to approach them - no matter if it's someone whose help she needs or people she wants to inform about safer sex practices when she knows they won't to listen if she doesn't do it right. Her resourcefulness had me stunned more than once.

As someone who wasn't alive during the events of this book, it feels like it's very good at transporting the reader to that time period. - I watched an interview with Ruth on YouTube and she said she thinks people are thankful that she's sort of a vessel for the stories of people that would've been forgotton without her. This is very true for me. I am thankful she let Kevin Carr O'Leary into her life/memories and write them down, because this was an important read for me and I think it is for others, too.

There's a lot of pain within these pages, it hurt a lot to read this book. The way Ruth and especially her guys (as she calls them) were treated was brutal. I know this was the reality then and it therefore didn't shock me, but that didn't take away any of the anger and rage it made me feel. Or any of the sadness. This book made me cry within the first 15 pages and a few times after that. - Because of the contens, of course, but also because the words that transported said contents.
The writing style feels just so appropriate, the voice is so clear. It has beautiful words, but it doesn't sugarcoat anything. Sometimes tragic things are delivered within a short sentence, somewhere among all the other sentences, which makes so much sense, because this new tragic thing was normality for Ruth, it happened all of the time. But this kind of writing does not take away any of the impact, instead adding to it in my opinion.
It isn't all sad though. There's also wholesome moments, drag shows and people with a lot of love for one another. Also, Ruth has a lot of wit and her voice can be very entertaining.

I liked how you get to know different individuals better and how all of them were treated with a lot of love. You get to know them through Ruth's eyes and can tell how special each of them was, which is why I said in the beginning of this review that some of the names will stay with me. 

All in all I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn something about these years of the epidemic in the USA and how it impacted the queer community. In my opinion this book is written with a lot of care. I must say though that it isn't an easy read, at least to me it really wasn't. I would recommend to read this when you're in a good headspace.

Oh, one last thing: This book centers on Ruth and her work and while it does deal with political issues, it doesn't go beyond Ruth's life and perspective. So if you want there to be a broader context and reflection on "the bigger picture", this isn't really the book for you as it stays very personal. 

Oh well, these self-deprecating little losers got a place in my heart now <3

I'm always a sucker for the found family trope, which immediately made me like this book. The characters are such a well thought out friend group, who love each other so much that it'll warm your heart in no time. Their relationships with each other felt very real, which helped making the characters themselves feel real. All of them just .. made sense in a way. I also thought most of them had their time to shine and become a complex person in the eye of the reader, which I think was nice, because I worry sometimes that side characters don't get enough depth, since they're not the couple the story focuses on. But in this case I got a clear sense for all of them, which makes sense since while this is a romance book, it takes its time to explore friendship as well.

I really loved Harriet - probably bc I related to her a lot. Maybe you find her annoying if you can't see aspects of yourself in her and would just like to shake her sometimes and tell her that she's way too much in her head without finding someone to do a reality check with. She struggles a lot with listening to her own needs and the negative consequences this can have, even if her goal is to do the opposite: make everyone happy.
I thought it was very interesting how Harriet and Wyn were written - both with low self-esteem for different reasons and in a way that makes it hard for them to communicate effectively when they'd need it most. It's sometimes hard to read this kind of story, where there's a lack of communication, which you as the reader can see clearly. But in this case it felt very natural, you could understand why they can't get their shit together sooner. (Not gonna lie though, I was a little frustrated at times, but it was okay.)

The tone of this book was a little bittersweet in my opinion, especially because we spend a lot of time exploring the relationships between characters before the events of the book (the good and he bad), but also get to see the complicated situation they're in at the moment. A lot of people on here say that this book is "lighthearted" and I see why, but to me it wasn't. Maybe that's a matter of the state you're in when reading this and how the topics resonate with you. It my case, this book didn't drag me down or anything, but it made me (a little) sad more often than not to be honest, so I can't say I thought of it as lighthearted.

I don't read many short stories, but a booktuber I like recommended this one and I really liked it! It drew me in very fast and it certainly makes you think.
This story infuriated me (in a good way) and I will read it again somewhen, but for now it has been haunting enough. 
Oh, and don't shy away from reading this because you saw that this is a "horror" short story - it really isn't scary, at least not in much of a horror way. It is a little creepy though and you'll hate the patriarchy even more after reading it.

One has to love Team Avatar. 
Ich finde es total interessant, durch diese Comics zu erleben, was nach dem Ende des Kriegs geschieht und vor welche Herausforderungen Aang und die anderen gestellt sind in einer Welt, die sich grundlegend verändert hat/weiterhin verändern muss. (So eben zum Beispiel durch die Menschen der Feuernation, die derzeit im Erdkönigreich angesiedelt sind aufgrund der Kolonien.)
Ich fand diese Geschichte auch wieder gut erzählt, eine komplexe Problematik wurde in eine Erzählung gepackt, die schnell und gut verständlich ist. Allerdings muss ich sagen, dass ich einfach nicht ganz sicher bin, wie gut ich die Lösung des Konflikts am Ende fand.. Ich hatte das Gefühl, da wurde es sich dann doch ein bisschen einfach gemacht. Das grundsätzliche Ende war in Ordnung, aber irgendwie fehlte mir ein bisschen die Balance.

In diesem Buch kommen sehr viele neue Informationen dazu, die einem helfen, die Welt und die Zusammenhänge besser zu verstehen und zusammenzubasteln. Dabei ist es natürlich wie immer gespickt mit schönen Details und Ideen (z.B. Emotionenpfandleihe) und witzigen Szenen. Ich habe beim Lesen mehrfach laut losgelacht, manchmal auch nur, weil ein Satz besonders witzig formuliert war.
Matilda und Quinn sind weiterhin super, ich liebe die Dynamik der beiden und sie jeweils individuell. Außerdem hoffe ich, wir sehen im nächsten Band noch mehr von Eric, den habe ich nämlich schnell sehr liebgewonnen.

Generell fand ich den Geheimbund super cool, ich liebe solche Sachen. Studierendenverbindungen, die im Geheimen irgendwelche Experimente durchführen, kriegen mich einfach immer.

Wenn ich genauer darüber nachdenke, muss ich sagen, dass sich dieses Buch irgendwie nicht ganz kohärent angefühlt hat. Es passieren immer mal wieder mysteriöse Dinge und es kommen sehr viele Informationen aus verschiedensten Ecken hinzu, die man in das Puzzle, das diese Buchreihe bildet, einsetzen kann. Einen übergeordneten Plot, der dieses Buch zu einem "eigenständigen Buch" (mir ist bewusst, dass das bei einer Buchreihe nur begrenzt das Ziel ist) macht, gibt es aber nur so semi. Dadurch hatte ich manchmal das Gefühl, ich schwimme einfach weiter durch neue Infos und komme dann hoffentlich im dritten Band irgendwo an - gleichzeitig habe ich das Gefühl, der dritte muss echt viel unter einen Hut bekommen (kann auch sein, dass ich vergessen habe, dass diese Reihe länger werden soll?). Das hat mich beim Lesen nicht so sehr gestört, ist für manche aber vielleicht eine wichtige Info, um sich auf dieses Buch einzustellen.

Insgesamt bin ich total zufrieden, es gab Action, Mystery und Witz, also eigentlich alles dabei. 

Jetzt noch kurz ein bisschen (teils heavy) Spoilertalk, der sich auf die Verbindungen zwischen gewissen Büchern bezieht:

Ich bin mir nicht sicher, wie ich es finde, dass Kerstin Gier hier ihre Welten ineinander baut. Klar ist das irgendwie cool, aber ich habe etwas Angst, dass es andere Bücher für mich im Nachhinein kaputt macht - z.B. frage ich mich jetzt schon, wie es sein kann, dass in der ganzen Zeit, die die in Silber auf diesen Korridoren rumgerannt sind, nie Dämonen oder Nachtalben auf den Gängen getroffen haben. Und stelle Theorien an, wie das jetzt mit Annabelles Dämon war und ob es sein kann, dass die in der Trilogie gefundene Erklärung maybe doch nicht so stimmt, wie die Charaktere dachten... Bisher bin ich ganz zufrieden, aber insgesamt weiß ich einfach nicht, ob ich das cool finde, das wird sich whs im nächsten Band zeigen. Ich verstehe allerdings, dass genau dieser Punkt für andere vielleicht ein großes Plus ist.

Ein weiterer wilder Ritt, vor allem durch das hohe Tempo. Die Sprecherin macht das echt gut, sie hat viele verschiedene Stimmen für die gefühlten 500 Katzen auf Lager.

I just did not like the narrator - the voice was nice, but the way they presented it was not my thing. Maybe I'll try the German audio book or I'll read it instead, since I'm really interested in the story.