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carolinewithane's Reviews (647)
DNF @ 50%
you probably know someone like this: that person who wants to hug everything they're remotely interested in. they're into painting and writing and running and volunteering and embroidering and dancing and have a youtube channel about music and a newsletter about personal development and an instagram about cooking. in the end, this person tries to do too much and what they actually accomplish is this: nothing.
this is what this book felt like to me.
it tries to do many valiant things at once. it tries to be a cool urban fantasy where everything is the same but mythological creators are real and go to school with you. it tries to be a metaphor for the struggles of Black women and how they often feel voiceless. it tries to be a contemporary coming-of-age about finding your roots.
each one of these plot lines would be so, so awesome on their own. but what you have is a bad patchwork of a book that never really takes off. it truly felt like the author had two books: one about BLM and another about urban fantasy, and just tried to smash them together. so many scenes are beautifully written and pose amazing commentary on our world, yet they are disconnected. the pacing doesn't help. i listened to 50% of the audiobook and feel like only three things happened.
i wanted to love this so much, but i just don't care enough to finish.
own voices reviews: #1 #2 #3
you probably know someone like this: that person who wants to hug everything they're remotely interested in. they're into painting and writing and running and volunteering and embroidering and dancing and have a youtube channel about music and a newsletter about personal development and an instagram about cooking. in the end, this person tries to do too much and what they actually accomplish is this: nothing.
this is what this book felt like to me.
it tries to do many valiant things at once. it tries to be a cool urban fantasy where everything is the same but mythological creators are real and go to school with you. it tries to be a metaphor for the struggles of Black women and how they often feel voiceless. it tries to be a contemporary coming-of-age about finding your roots.
each one of these plot lines would be so, so awesome on their own. but what you have is a bad patchwork of a book that never really takes off. it truly felt like the author had two books: one about BLM and another about urban fantasy, and just tried to smash them together. so many scenes are beautifully written and pose amazing commentary on our world, yet they are disconnected. the pacing doesn't help. i listened to 50% of the audiobook and feel like only three things happened.
i wanted to love this so much, but i just don't care enough to finish.
own voices reviews: #1 #2 #3
Acevedo’s books are always so complex, beautifully written and a joy to read. this is no exception, and the audiobook is, as all of her audiobooks, masterfully narrated and truly adds to the reading experience in my opinion.
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this was incredibly heartfelt and loving. i finished it 3am last night feeling so warm.
i do wish the catfishing scenario had been dealt with differently. felix doesn’t really face any real consequences for what he does, yet a situation like this can be utterly traumatising. i am absolutely terrified of him finding any public account i have, to the point i only give my real name or number to someone i met online after knowing them for years, and even so there’s always that lingering doubt of “what if it’s him? what if he’s managed to fool me again?”. and my situation wasn’t even romantic, which adds another layer of broken trust to it.
also, i could do without the love triangle. i knew what to expect going into the book, but it was too messy for my tastes.
i do wish the catfishing scenario had been dealt with differently. felix doesn’t really face any real consequences for what he does, yet a situation like this can be utterly traumatising. i am absolutely terrified of him finding any public account i have, to the point i only give my real name or number to someone i met online after knowing them for years, and even so there’s always that lingering doubt of “what if it’s him? what if he’s managed to fool me again?”. and my situation wasn’t even romantic, which adds another layer of broken trust to it.
also, i could do without the love triangle. i knew what to expect going into the book, but it was too messy for my tastes.
charming, atmospheric, and utterly captivating.
i've discovered my favourite genre. fairytale for grownups. you know, the books that read like polished folklore, a story you’d expect to hear whispered in the wind, wrapped in a package of pretty, atmospheric writing and otherworldly characters.
this is such a book. i felt completely immersed in the story and invested in the characters. i only wish i'd chosen another method for reading—i don't recommend the audiobook at all. the narrator is very soft-spoken and doesn't change her tone to indicate different narrators. in a first POV book with various narrators, it can be rather confusing.
i'm already planning to reread, only on ebook/printed.
i've discovered my favourite genre. fairytale for grownups. you know, the books that read like polished folklore, a story you’d expect to hear whispered in the wind, wrapped in a package of pretty, atmospheric writing and otherworldly characters.
this is such a book. i felt completely immersed in the story and invested in the characters. i only wish i'd chosen another method for reading—i don't recommend the audiobook at all. the narrator is very soft-spoken and doesn't change her tone to indicate different narrators. in a first POV book with various narrators, it can be rather confusing.
i'm already planning to reread, only on ebook/printed.
a criatividade da literatura brasileira não tem limites.
aqui, temos uma cidade onde a morte não existe. a tataravó do Vicente, nosso protagonista mirim, foi quem matou a morte. mas o Vicente, naqueles anos em que questionamos tudo, quer saber como é possível que a morte esteja morta.
esse conto era exatamente o que eu queria ler nesse momento — instigante, com uma reviravolta perfeita no final, e como uma escrita deliciosa que representa muito bem a língua falada.
adorei!
aqui, temos uma cidade onde a morte não existe. a tataravó do Vicente, nosso protagonista mirim, foi quem matou a morte. mas o Vicente, naqueles anos em que questionamos tudo, quer saber como é possível que a morte esteja morta.
esse conto era exatamente o que eu queria ler nesse momento — instigante, com uma reviravolta perfeita no final, e como uma escrita deliciosa que representa muito bem a língua falada.
adorei!
so. i didn’t like it.
it stretched my ability to suspend beliefs to the point the elastic band broke and all i had left was a sharp pain in my fingers from the rebound.
i’m actually struggling to find good things to say about this book. i did not like the writing. i did not like the worldbuilding. i did not like the characters. i did not like the plot. i predicted all the plot twists.
for a book about murdering people, it was utterly, completely boring.
it did pick up some steam around the 300 page mark, but it soon slowed to a crawl again. and i guess the idea is cool, if somewhat flawed. again, let’s refer back to suspension of beliefs and how mine reached its limit. i just can’t see this concept working any way that would be believable.
instead of gleaning folks, why don’t you just… limit the number of times people can be revived? and it goes beyond that—there are so many plot holes. the worldbuilding is full of contractions. the scythedom is supposedly humble, yet they arrive at the conclave like oscar nominees. allowing the scythes to choose the method of killing just leaves room for the psychopaths to run rampant. the one decision that ignites the plot seems to have been done only for the lolz.
i went into the this book ready to be amazed. i was so, so ready to love it, as everyone else does, including many, many, MANY people whose opinion i trust.
it just wasn’t for me. in fact, this was the worst book i’ve read this year. but clearly i’m a minority here, so i’ll just see myself out.
edit: forgot to mention before, but i was NOT impressed with the fatphobia inherent to the descriptions of two characters every single time they appeared on page. and apparently there are no queer people on the future (maybe in future instalments? i’ll never know, because i won’t continue the series).
it stretched my ability to suspend beliefs to the point the elastic band broke and all i had left was a sharp pain in my fingers from the rebound.
i’m actually struggling to find good things to say about this book. i did not like the writing. i did not like the worldbuilding. i did not like the characters. i did not like the plot. i predicted all the plot twists.
for a book about murdering people, it was utterly, completely boring.
it did pick up some steam around the 300 page mark, but it soon slowed to a crawl again. and i guess the idea is cool, if somewhat flawed. again, let’s refer back to suspension of beliefs and how mine reached its limit. i just can’t see this concept working any way that would be believable.
instead of gleaning folks, why don’t you just… limit the number of times people can be revived? and it goes beyond that—there are so many plot holes. the worldbuilding is full of contractions. the scythedom is supposedly humble, yet they arrive at the conclave like oscar nominees. allowing the scythes to choose the method of killing just leaves room for the psychopaths to run rampant. the one decision that ignites the plot seems to have been done only for the lolz.
i went into the this book ready to be amazed. i was so, so ready to love it, as everyone else does, including many, many, MANY people whose opinion i trust.
it just wasn’t for me. in fact, this was the worst book i’ve read this year. but clearly i’m a minority here, so i’ll just see myself out.
edit: forgot to mention before, but i was NOT impressed with the fatphobia inherent to the descriptions of two characters every single time they appeared on page. and apparently there are no queer people on the future (maybe in future instalments? i’ll never know, because i won’t continue the series).
read this a few weeks ago and forgot to add. it was okay, but i guess i was expecting something... more.
(this seems to be my MO lately. i need to stop having so high standards)
anyway. review might come eventually, but tbh i don't really remember much anymore...
(this seems to be my MO lately. i need to stop having so high standards)
anyway. review might come eventually, but tbh i don't really remember much anymore...
the writing usually makes or breaks a book for me, and in A Curse So Dark and Lonely it was a tad too simplistic for me. but the characters are solid, the pacing is superb, and the plot was extremely addictive. i never got into the ship, but that's modus operandi for me.
