chloefrizzle's Reviews (993)

Me and this book got off on the wrong foot. It takes place in Alaska/Yukon area. I'm from Alaska. Frankly, it gets things fundamentally wrong about the area that bothered me from the beginning to the end.
During May, with patches of snow still here and there? That means that every moderately flat area is going to be flooded and muddy from all of the melting snow. Is there a mention of mud in this book? Nope, despite any Alaskan being able to tell you that it would be absolutely everywhere and a constant consideration when walking (and tracking?!) in the woods.
And don't even get me started on everything else (sunlight amounts, bugs, etc).

This book is a spin-off of the Rockton series. It's a murder mystery in the isolated wilderness.

I don't think that people not in love with the Rockton series will find much to enjoy in this book. We're given the situation, but not a reason to care about the situation or the characters in it.

A video review including this book will be on my youtube channel in the coming weeks, at https://www.youtube.com/chloefrizzle

Thanks to Netgalley and Minotaur Books for a copy of this book to review. All opinions are my own.

This book caps of the trilogy with a grand epic fantasy war. However, I feel like it got too grand for its own good, and lost some readability and relatability along the way.

Here's a link to my video review: https://youtu.be/bqJ33eMl384?t=8

This book starts 8 years after book 2, Shorefall. Sancia, Berenice and the team are in the middle of a war they have been fighting for years, one that they are dangerously close to losing.

This 8 year time skip is used extraordinarily well. It breathes new life into the story, and provides a mystery of what happened in those skipped years. The world has changed in the meantime, and it's left to us to adjust to it.

In this book, the antagonist is a hivemind force. The protagonists are building their own kind of hivemind society, through the twinning magic. This provides an interesting thematic contrast in the story, as we see both the good and horrific features of a hivemind setup. I only wish that this had been used more, as it seemed to have so much potential. The characters seem tangentially aware of the fact that they are a reflection of the antagonist, but I wish that this had in some way played a larger part in the ending, where it seems all of the horrors of a hivemind situation are forgotten.

One of the fun parts of a magic system is the feeling of figuring out how it works. However, the magic in this book is so complicated that there are diagrams explaining the connections. After I read the passage three times, I still didn't understand what the diagrams were even trying to convey. At this point, the magic is so complicated that it has lost its fun.

The covers of these book are absolutely gorgeous. I can't stop talking about how perfect they are.

Thanks to Random House Publishing Group (Ballantine) and Netgalley for a copy of this book to review. All opinions are my own.

These books are so clever

Fun. Worldbuilding heavy. Indeed delivers on the promise of being like the princess bride, and Hoid-heavy. It feels YA/middle grade in that great simple storytelling way

Wow. Like, this book is genius. Not necessarily for me, but achingly beautiful and utterly successful at what it sets out to do.
This is a slow, melancholic character study. It's about Hava, who was severely neglected as a child, coming to terms with her trauma and finding ways to make friends. In the background, there's also a shipwreck and a cute telepathic fox.

Honestly, this book is well paced and plotted. The main character is charismatic. The worldbuilding is interesting.

But I gave up on this book at 40%. I just couldn't stand how it was treating its female character. All she did was cry, flirt, and wear a shirt that both was way too big on her and "strained against her assets."

I keep expecting these books to have more Plot, because they have the set up for a space war adventure. But it's more about lots of little plots in small improvements to living conditions and cultural differences

In the beginning of this novel, I was in love with it. It had me fangirling and crying. It was slotting itself as a new favorite. That feeling was snuffed out by the ending, where many of the plotlines were left unfinished and new information was throw at us, prepping for the sequel.

This is the story of Iris, a newbie reporter. She misses her older brother, who has left to fight in a gods' war. She tries to send him letters, but they get magically rerouted to Roman Kitt, her coworker and rival. Through letters, they start falling in love and inspiring each other to be brave and face the war.

The strength in this novel lies in the emotion. The author knows how to tug at your heartstrings, and does it with the delicacy of plucking a harp. The resulting music is astounding. Through poetic letters and shared sandwiches, it is a delight to watch this couple. The dance that is played around the anonymous letters is perfectly paced and squeal-worthy.

I loved all of the characters in this book. I was especially rooting for Iris, who is always strong -- even when she's breaking apart. Her journey in this book of finding strength and conviction is beautiful. Roman, likewise, is done nearly perfectly. He gets his own journey of finding independence and joy.

The weakness of this novel lies in the unbalance between the two narrators. In the beginning of the novel, their two perspectives trade off frequently. Both of their plotlines are rich and important, and it's the dual perspective that really makes the relationship shine. However, in the middle those chapters with Roman dry up, becoming less frequent and relevant. Roman is still present and active in the story, but we never get that obvious angst and activity from his words. It's such wasted potential that it makes me want to cry.

Then we have the ending, which I feel mixed on. We got just enough conclusion for it to be an End, but the novel is much too preoccupied with its sequel that it neglects our protagonists making decisions to cap off (and celebrate in) their own quests and arcs.

A video review including this book will be on my Youtube channel in the coming weeks, at https://www.youtube.com/chloefrizzle

Thanks to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for a copy of this book to review. All opinions are my own.

Cozy, compelling. But it's also one of those series where everything is building up to a climactic, show-stopping, universe-shaking ... board meeting.