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This was (unsurprisingly) an absolute delight. It was exactly what I was expecting and hoping for after reading the blurb, and I really feel like it delivered. It was funny, and heart warming, and inspired a bit of the wanderlust that Jules had, which is always a side effect of reading portal books for me. I think I say this every single time I review a book that involves a multiverse, but my god I really hope one day I find another world. There is literally nothing I want more than to be Jules lol.
My one gripe with this book was Ava, I found her to be pretty unlikeable. Maybe it's just because I would kill to be in her shoes, but I found her lack of excitement and curiousity to be frustrating, and her attitude towards the whole thing annoying. I wish the POV had been from Jules' perspective instead so that the general vibe of the book was more positive.
Regardless, I absolutely loved this, and the writing style was fantastic so I'll definitely be checking out more of this author very soon!
Merged review:
This was (unsurprisingly) an absolute delight. It was exactly what I was expecting and hoping for after reading the blurb, and I really feel like it delivered. It was funny, and heart warming, and inspired a bit of the wanderlust that Jules had, which is always a side effect of reading portal books for me. I think I say this every single time I review a book that involves a multiverse, but my god I really hope one day I find another world. There is literally nothing I want more than to be Jules lol.
My one gripe with this book was Ava, I found her to be pretty unlikeable. Maybe it's just because I would kill to be in her shoes, but I found her lack of excitement and curiousity to be frustrating, and her attitude towards the whole thing annoying. I wish the POV had been from Jules' perspective instead so that the general vibe of the book was more positive.
Regardless, I absolutely loved this, and the writing style was fantastic so I'll definitely be checking out more of this author very soon!
My one gripe with this book was Ava, I found her to be pretty unlikeable. Maybe it's just because I would kill to be in her shoes, but I found her lack of excitement and curiousity to be frustrating, and her attitude towards the whole thing annoying. I wish the POV had been from Jules' perspective instead so that the general vibe of the book was more positive.
Regardless, I absolutely loved this, and the writing style was fantastic so I'll definitely be checking out more of this author very soon!
Merged review:
This was (unsurprisingly) an absolute delight. It was exactly what I was expecting and hoping for after reading the blurb, and I really feel like it delivered. It was funny, and heart warming, and inspired a bit of the wanderlust that Jules had, which is always a side effect of reading portal books for me. I think I say this every single time I review a book that involves a multiverse, but my god I really hope one day I find another world. There is literally nothing I want more than to be Jules lol.
My one gripe with this book was Ava, I found her to be pretty unlikeable. Maybe it's just because I would kill to be in her shoes, but I found her lack of excitement and curiousity to be frustrating, and her attitude towards the whole thing annoying. I wish the POV had been from Jules' perspective instead so that the general vibe of the book was more positive.
Regardless, I absolutely loved this, and the writing style was fantastic so I'll definitely be checking out more of this author very soon!
Do yourself a favour and don’t read any reviews describing what this book is actually about before you read it. Go into blind, and just enjoy the ride
This was easily one of the weirdest books I’ve ever read, and I loved every single word of it. I don’t want to go into any detail about it, but just know that I’m shook to my core. The creativity behind this book is outstanding. Nino Cipri somehow made this both really fucking creepy and ominous while also being hilarious. There is so much commentary and messages jammed into the spaces between and within all the ridiculousness, and somehow it all works so well?
I have so many thoughts and feelings about Defekt that I don’t think I can really articulate right now, so just trust me and pick this up ok? Just do it, if you like weird shit then you’ll like this!
Merged review:
Do yourself a favour and don’t read any reviews describing what this book is actually about before you read it. Go into blind, and just enjoy the ride
This was easily one of the weirdest books I’ve ever read, and I loved every single word of it. I don’t want to go into any detail about it, but just know that I’m shook to my core. The creativity behind this book is outstanding. Nino Cipri somehow made this both really fucking creepy and ominous while also being hilarious. There is so much commentary and messages jammed into the spaces between and within all the ridiculousness, and somehow it all works so well?
I have so many thoughts and feelings about Defekt that I don’t think I can really articulate right now, so just trust me and pick this up ok? Just do it, if you like weird shit then you’ll like this!
This was easily one of the weirdest books I’ve ever read, and I loved every single word of it. I don’t want to go into any detail about it, but just know that I’m shook to my core. The creativity behind this book is outstanding. Nino Cipri somehow made this both really fucking creepy and ominous while also being hilarious. There is so much commentary and messages jammed into the spaces between and within all the ridiculousness, and somehow it all works so well?
I have so many thoughts and feelings about Defekt that I don’t think I can really articulate right now, so just trust me and pick this up ok? Just do it, if you like weird shit then you’ll like this!
Merged review:
Do yourself a favour and don’t read any reviews describing what this book is actually about before you read it. Go into blind, and just enjoy the ride
This was easily one of the weirdest books I’ve ever read, and I loved every single word of it. I don’t want to go into any detail about it, but just know that I’m shook to my core. The creativity behind this book is outstanding. Nino Cipri somehow made this both really fucking creepy and ominous while also being hilarious. There is so much commentary and messages jammed into the spaces between and within all the ridiculousness, and somehow it all works so well?
I have so many thoughts and feelings about Defekt that I don’t think I can really articulate right now, so just trust me and pick this up ok? Just do it, if you like weird shit then you’ll like this!
This is literally everything that I’ve ever wanted in a book and I’m so happy this exists! I really really hope we get a sequel!!
3.5⭐️
Read for O.W.L.s Magical Readathon - Muggle Studies: read a book from the perspective of a muggle (see my O.W.L.s TBR video here)
This was good. Not great, kind of boring to be honest, but I think it’s a good set up for better things to come
Read for O.W.L.s Magical Readathon - Muggle Studies: read a book from the perspective of a muggle (see my O.W.L.s TBR video here)
This was good. Not great, kind of boring to be honest, but I think it’s a good set up for better things to come
2.5⭐️
This was fine, but not something I’ll think about after finishing. The atmosphere with the creepy house was good, and there were moments I genuinely creeped out and shuddering with disgust. The history of the house and the family was mildly interesting, and I liked the nuanced feelings the main character had about her family and heritage. But overall this was pretty underwhelming
This was fine, but not something I’ll think about after finishing. The atmosphere with the creepy house was good, and there were moments I genuinely creeped out and shuddering with disgust. The history of the house and the family was mildly interesting, and I liked the nuanced feelings the main character had about her family and heritage. But overall this was pretty underwhelming
Actual rating is 3.5 stars
Let me start this off by saying HUGE trigger warning for trypophobia and body horror!! I wasn’t expecting for holes to be such a prevalent theme in this book, but ohhhhh boy it was. The characters’ bodies are literally sewn together with metal, so they’re covered in holes in their skin as a result. And one of the main characters, Key, deals with memory loss which she describes as holes in her consciousness, which made for some disgusting imagery. The word “holes” is mentioned SO many times in this book and it was revolting to me and honestly made it extremely difficult to get through this book, hence the rating being lowered to 3.5 instead of 4. I just couldn’t enjoy it as much as I otherwise would have because of the imagery in it
ANYWAYS, review time!
I’m not a huge sci-fi fan as is, but I absolutely loved The Abyss Surrounds Us so I wanted to give this one a try. I didn’t dislike it, I found it to be pretty interesting and well written, and I liked the characters and the world. But I also feel like it wasn’t quite as well developed as it could have been? Like we got a lot of world building and it was very well done, but I also feel like their should have been more. And with the characters, I loved the main four and we learned a lot about the deepest parts of themselves (their fears, their motivations, their purpose in life, etc.), but we didn’t get a lot of the more superficial stuff, which made it difficult to really grasp their individual personalities
As for the LGBTQ+ representation, I see what Skrutskie was going for but it didn’t quuuuite work for me. I’m all for casual queerness, normalized LGBTQ+ characters in novels is what I live for. But with this novel, it was literally only mentioned once and the never again. I know Skrutskie was not in the slightest intending to do this, but it felt to me like she was pulling a J.K. Rowling and only adding in diversity for the sake of looking good (again, I know that is NOT what Skrutskie was doing in the slightest, that’s just how it read to me). It kind of felt the same for all the diversity in this book; these characters were SO diverse and it was great, but other than Aisha’s religion it just wasn’t talked about at all. I don’t even remember what Praava and Wooj’s backgrounds are, like it literally wasn’t mentioned ever again after their initial introduction. Again, i completely understand where Skrutskie was going with this, it just didn’t quite work for me
Geez it sounds like I really don’t like this book by the way my review is going LOL. I swear I did like it quite a bit and would definitely recommend it if you’re into YA sci-fi. It’s a quick read, pretty entertaining. And it’s highly character driven rather than plot driven, which I personally really enjoyed
Let me start this off by saying HUGE trigger warning for trypophobia and body horror!! I wasn’t expecting for holes to be such a prevalent theme in this book, but ohhhhh boy it was. The characters’ bodies are literally sewn together with metal, so they’re covered in holes in their skin as a result. And one of the main characters, Key, deals with memory loss which she describes as holes in her consciousness, which made for some disgusting imagery. The word “holes” is mentioned SO many times in this book and it was revolting to me and honestly made it extremely difficult to get through this book, hence the rating being lowered to 3.5 instead of 4. I just couldn’t enjoy it as much as I otherwise would have because of the imagery in it
ANYWAYS, review time!
I’m not a huge sci-fi fan as is, but I absolutely loved The Abyss Surrounds Us so I wanted to give this one a try. I didn’t dislike it, I found it to be pretty interesting and well written, and I liked the characters and the world. But I also feel like it wasn’t quite as well developed as it could have been? Like we got a lot of world building and it was very well done, but I also feel like their should have been more. And with the characters, I loved the main four and we learned a lot about the deepest parts of themselves (their fears, their motivations, their purpose in life, etc.), but we didn’t get a lot of the more superficial stuff, which made it difficult to really grasp their individual personalities
As for the LGBTQ+ representation, I see what Skrutskie was going for but it didn’t quuuuite work for me. I’m all for casual queerness, normalized LGBTQ+ characters in novels is what I live for. But with this novel, it was literally only mentioned once and the never again. I know Skrutskie was not in the slightest intending to do this, but it felt to me like she was pulling a J.K. Rowling and only adding in diversity for the sake of looking good (again, I know that is NOT what Skrutskie was doing in the slightest, that’s just how it read to me). It kind of felt the same for all the diversity in this book; these characters were SO diverse and it was great, but other than Aisha’s religion it just wasn’t talked about at all. I don’t even remember what Praava and Wooj’s backgrounds are, like it literally wasn’t mentioned ever again after their initial introduction. Again, i completely understand where Skrutskie was going with this, it just didn’t quite work for me
Geez it sounds like I really don’t like this book by the way my review is going LOL. I swear I did like it quite a bit and would definitely recommend it if you’re into YA sci-fi. It’s a quick read, pretty entertaining. And it’s highly character driven rather than plot driven, which I personally really enjoyed
HELL
FUCKING
YES
THIS WAS SO GOOD! In all honesty I liked it SLIGHTLY less than Gentleman’s Guide (but let’s be real, no one could ever top Monty and Percy, they’re just phenomenal characters) but it was still ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE!
What I love most about this book is that there is ZERO ROMANCE! N O N E! It’s purely based on friendship and maybe a slight crush but otherwise ?? JUST THREE WOMEN LEARNING HOW TO BE BAD ASS BITCHES TOGETHER AND TAKING THEIR LIVES INTO THEIR OWN HANDS
They are SUPPORTIVE
They are LOVING
They are INTELLIGENT
They are SENSITIVE
But also STRONG. AS. HELL!!!!
I also love how much Felicity’s character got developed!! We got a little bit of her in the first book, but obviously since it wasn’t her story she wasn’t the main focus. But by the end of Lady’s Guide I feel like Felicity is fully flushed out and she’s f a n t a s t i c. I really like that Lee didn’t just make her headstrong and sure of herself; she also made her vulnerable, and emotional, and she doubted herself SO OFTEN and I just really felt like her character was SO realistic. She’s a character that every woman can relate to, regardless of time period.
I ALSO really love Johanna and the complexity of her character! The dialogue of being a woman who can enjoy both science and silks is FANTASTIC, and honestly not something I’ve personally seen too often in feminist novels. I love love love her and Felicity’s relationship and their falling out; how they both saw each other as less of a woman in the past because of how the other behaved, but then worked it out and learned from each other throughout the course of the book. I love that Felicity, who from the very beginning of Gentleman’s Guide is seen as this super progressive feminist, which she is, but her relationship with Johanna proved that no matter how progressive you see yourself as, we all have room to grow and I think that’s a really important thing to talk about. It’s ok to be wrong in your views, as long as you’re willing to learn and listen when someone calls you out.
One last thing: G. A. Y.
I love all things queer and this was AMAZING in my opinion! I so rarely see Aro Ace representation, ESPECIALLY as the main character. And not only that, but the other character who I won’t name because of spoilers, turning out to be probably LGBTQ+ as well, which was completely unexpected and I’m so here for this. Give me all the LGBTQ+ women! I LOVE NORMALIZED QUEERNESS IN POPULAR MEDIA IM SO HAPPY!
READ THIS BOOK!!!!
FUCKING
YES
THIS WAS SO GOOD! In all honesty I liked it SLIGHTLY less than Gentleman’s Guide (but let’s be real, no one could ever top Monty and Percy, they’re just phenomenal characters) but it was still ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE!
What I love most about this book is that there is ZERO ROMANCE! N O N E! It’s purely based on friendship and maybe a slight crush but otherwise ?? JUST THREE WOMEN LEARNING HOW TO BE BAD ASS BITCHES TOGETHER AND TAKING THEIR LIVES INTO THEIR OWN HANDS
They are SUPPORTIVE
They are LOVING
They are INTELLIGENT
They are SENSITIVE
But also STRONG. AS. HELL!!!!
I also love how much Felicity’s character got developed!! We got a little bit of her in the first book, but obviously since it wasn’t her story she wasn’t the main focus. But by the end of Lady’s Guide I feel like Felicity is fully flushed out and she’s f a n t a s t i c. I really like that Lee didn’t just make her headstrong and sure of herself; she also made her vulnerable, and emotional, and she doubted herself SO OFTEN and I just really felt like her character was SO realistic. She’s a character that every woman can relate to, regardless of time period.
I ALSO really love Johanna and the complexity of her character! The dialogue of being a woman who can enjoy both science and silks is FANTASTIC, and honestly not something I’ve personally seen too often in feminist novels. I love love love her and Felicity’s relationship and their falling out; how they both saw each other as less of a woman in the past because of how the other behaved, but then worked it out and learned from each other throughout the course of the book. I love that Felicity, who from the very beginning of Gentleman’s Guide is seen as this super progressive feminist, which she is, but her relationship with Johanna proved that no matter how progressive you see yourself as, we all have room to grow and I think that’s a really important thing to talk about. It’s ok to be wrong in your views, as long as you’re willing to learn and listen when someone calls you out.
One last thing: G. A. Y.
I love all things queer and this was AMAZING in my opinion! I so rarely see Aro Ace representation, ESPECIALLY as the main character. And not only that, but the other character who I won’t name because of spoilers, turning out to be probably LGBTQ+ as well, which was completely unexpected and I’m so here for this. Give me all the LGBTQ+ women! I LOVE NORMALIZED QUEERNESS IN POPULAR MEDIA IM SO HAPPY!
READ THIS BOOK!!!!
Woooooow wowowowowowow WOW. Amazing. Truly spectacular. I literally don’t even have words for how stunning this book is. McLemore easily just became one of my top 5 favourite authors just for their writing style alone. I really don’t have words to write a proper review on this, but just trust me and read it