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chantaal's Reviews (2.32k)
This was fine. I wish it had done more to go all out in every aspect, but it was a perfectly serviceable story for a YA novel and what it was trying to do.
As far as being a kpop novel goes...nah, this is barely kpop. It's kpop lite. The diet Sprite of kpop.
As far as being a kpop novel goes...nah, this is barely kpop. It's kpop lite. The diet Sprite of kpop.
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
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
I know the main praise everyone sings about this book is that it's fun, but that's BECAUSE IT IS. Long Live Evil is a fun send up of fantasy and romantasy, an isekai that explores fantasy romance tropes and wreaks havoc on the world it takes place in with them.
Rae is a fun character to follow, especially as she approaches being sucked into the world of this book series as a fun escapade, a quest that her very life depends on completing. Her character growth as she starts to feel like the world around her is more and more real and not just fictional is great to follow, as is how her being in the story affects the story itself.
One isekai comparison I'll make here because it's also a favorite of mine is [book:My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!, Vol. 1|42373006]. Both main characters in these stories end up as a villainess who has to ensure she doesn't meet a horrible end, and ends up changing things drastically - and in some ways they don't even realize, though we as the audience do. It's one of the things that makes isekai so fun for me, and Brennan plays with so many fantasy and romance tropes on top of it.
I will say that there were times that the over the top campy fun of some scenes were pushing waaaayyyy to campy for my non-theatre-kid brain, but overall this was such a damn fun time that I have a hard time rating it anything other than 5 stars.
I enjoyed my time with this book SO MUCH, and that ending had me gooped, gagged, stunned, shook, etc. I swear I didn't see it coming, and I attribute that to not reading much romantasy.
Fuck me, when is book 2 out? I HAVE TO WAIT NOW??
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UM???? HELLO?????? THE LAST 80 PAGES???
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I'm still reading this but I feel compelled to give a very clear content warning because the synopsis says only that the main character is dying, but not how: if you have any sensitivity to cancer, take great care going into the start of this.
Rae is a fun character to follow, especially as she approaches being sucked into the world of this book series as a fun escapade, a quest that her very life depends on completing. Her character growth as she starts to feel like the world around her is more and more real and not just fictional is great to follow, as is how her being in the story affects the story itself.
One isekai comparison I'll make here because it's also a favorite of mine is [book:My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!, Vol. 1|42373006]. Both main characters in these stories end up as a villainess who has to ensure she doesn't meet a horrible end, and ends up changing things drastically - and in some ways they don't even realize, though we as the audience do. It's one of the things that makes isekai so fun for me, and Brennan plays with so many fantasy and romance tropes on top of it.
I will say that there were times that the over the top campy fun of some scenes were pushing waaaayyyy to campy for my non-theatre-kid brain, but overall this was such a damn fun time that I have a hard time rating it anything other than 5 stars.
I enjoyed my time with this book SO MUCH, and that ending had me gooped, gagged, stunned, shook, etc. I swear I didn't see it coming, and I attribute that to not reading much romantasy.
Fuck me, when is book 2 out? I HAVE TO WAIT NOW??
=======
UM???? HELLO?????? THE LAST 80 PAGES???
=======
I'm still reading this but I feel compelled to give a very clear content warning because the synopsis says only that the main character is dying, but not how: if you have any sensitivity to cancer, take great care going into the start of this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Blood
Moderate: Gore
The main character is dying of cancer, and there is a lot of on page discussion of it and reflection of it in her narrative.
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I wish I loved this more, but it was a lackluster start to a series that I think has a lot of promise and may build up to bigger and better things as we get more books.
The main issue I had with The Mercy of Gods is the pacing in the middle of the book - it slowed down incredibly, and I was very bored as a result. The thought experiment happening here is interesting, but not even alien overlords forcing humans to prove that they're worth staying alive can't overcome the sheer boredom of watching them do research and think about research and think about how they're doing their research.
The writing is great, which is what I expected from them, and the sheer alien-ness of the aliens and their world was great as well. Like I said, the bones of a very interesting story is here, this felt very much like a prologue. I'm still going to continue on because I'm intrigued to see where it goes.
The main issue I had with The Mercy of Gods is the pacing in the middle of the book - it slowed down incredibly, and I was very bored as a result. The thought experiment happening here is interesting, but not even alien overlords forcing humans to prove that they're worth staying alive can't overcome the sheer boredom of watching them do research and think about research and think about how they're doing their research.
The writing is great, which is what I expected from them, and the sheer alien-ness of the aliens and their world was great as well. Like I said, the bones of a very interesting story is here, this felt very much like a prologue. I'm still going to continue on because I'm intrigued to see where it goes.
Sinophagia is a well curated celebration of Chinese Horror. While not every story landed for me, the project as a whole is intriguing, and Xueting Christine Ni put some absolutely fantastic work into the editing of this collection.
Ni's editor introduction really sets the tone for how she approached collecting submissions for this, and talks a little bit about the state of Horror as a genre in Chinese literary circles at this moment. It was interesting backstory that I loved learning about - which is part of the reason we pick up anthologies like this, right? To expose ourselves to other cultures and trends we normally don't read. Ni also does her best to include a list of content warnings for each story, AND she has a brief write up reflecting on each story after you've read it. The editorial care in this collection is just fantastic.
What about the stories themselves? Well, like with any short story anthology or collection out there, some stories are going to work for you, and some are not. Sinophagia is no exception there. Some of the stories were duds, some were great, and many were simply okay. I wish I had liked more stories more enthusiastically, but I have to remember that I'm reading these through two filters: these are all translated, and I'm not personally familiar with the cultural factors that inform this type of horror (despite Ni's great introduction).
Sinophagia is still a great short story collection to get your hands on if you want to expand and explore in your horror reading.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Rebellion for the eARC to review. Sinophagia will be released on September 24th - just in time for spooky season!
Ni's editor introduction really sets the tone for how she approached collecting submissions for this, and talks a little bit about the state of Horror as a genre in Chinese literary circles at this moment. It was interesting backstory that I loved learning about - which is part of the reason we pick up anthologies like this, right? To expose ourselves to other cultures and trends we normally don't read. Ni also does her best to include a list of content warnings for each story, AND she has a brief write up reflecting on each story after you've read it. The editorial care in this collection is just fantastic.
What about the stories themselves? Well, like with any short story anthology or collection out there, some stories are going to work for you, and some are not. Sinophagia is no exception there. Some of the stories were duds, some were great, and many were simply okay. I wish I had liked more stories more enthusiastically, but I have to remember that I'm reading these through two filters: these are all translated, and I'm not personally familiar with the cultural factors that inform this type of horror (despite Ni's great introduction).
Sinophagia is still a great short story collection to get your hands on if you want to expand and explore in your horror reading.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Rebellion for the eARC to review. Sinophagia will be released on September 24th - just in time for spooky season!
Was this a good book? Yes. This was my first Ava Reid and I'm happy to find out that she is an astoundingly good writer.
Will I ever read another Ava Reid book? ....probably not. Because she was too fucking talented at getting me to live inside Effy's world and mind and as amazing as that is, I look at the synopses for her other books and I do not want live inside those character's heads. My heart can only ache so much.
Will I ever read another Ava Reid book? ....probably not. Because she was too fucking talented at getting me to live inside Effy's world and mind and as amazing as that is, I look at the synopses for her other books and I do not want live inside those character's heads. My heart can only ache so much.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment
Moderate: Death of parent