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adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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:
Yes
4.5 stars.
This series continues to be cute and fun. I love Klune's writing and how he manages to be flippant and sarcastic, but at the same time deliver lines that enforce the need for equality and treating people with the respect they deserve.
The plot moves pretty smoothly and there is a lot of action in the book, just like the first. There is some awkwardness and weirdness, but that's just the way Nick is. And I love him for it. He is an unabashedly outspoken person with a different way of looking at things and, while he occasionally gives me anxiety, I think he's adorable. Or adorkable. Either way.
I love the dialogue and the friend group. It's just so warm and inviting while still remaining fun. The characters are where Klune really shines. He just makes such vibrant and lovable characters, they are all wonderful and tangible.
I originally thought this was meant to be a duology, but OBVIOUSLY I was wrong. That ending...what????? I did NOT see that coming and I have some issues with it. There are questions that need to be answered. Now I'm on the edge of my seat waiting for the next installment.
* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. *
This series continues to be cute and fun. I love Klune's writing and how he manages to be flippant and sarcastic, but at the same time deliver lines that enforce the need for equality and treating people with the respect they deserve.
The plot moves pretty smoothly and there is a lot of action in the book, just like the first. There is some awkwardness and weirdness, but that's just the way Nick is. And I love him for it. He is an unabashedly outspoken person with a different way of looking at things and, while he occasionally gives me anxiety, I think he's adorable. Or adorkable. Either way.
I love the dialogue and the friend group. It's just so warm and inviting while still remaining fun. The characters are where Klune really shines. He just makes such vibrant and lovable characters, they are all wonderful and tangible.
I originally thought this was meant to be a duology, but OBVIOUSLY I was wrong. That ending...what????? I did NOT see that coming and I have some issues with it. There are questions that need to be answered. Now I'm on the edge of my seat waiting for the next installment.
* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. *
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book is way out of my comfort zone, but I read it as part of a reading challenge. For someone who regularly enjoys the cozy mystery genre, this one will undoubtedly rate higher. The writing is comfortable and decent, with a story that's easy to follow.
The plot is nice and fast-paced, with a low to moderate intrigue level. The characters are colorful, but not necessarily believable. There is a LOT that occurs with regard to the protagonist and her 15-year-old sidekick that felt fairly stretched and worth of an eye roll or two. However, it is a light and quick read that fits well in the cozy mystery genre and is admittedly a good palate cleanser.
I won't be continuing with the series simply because this isn't a genre I gravitate towards, but it would be a decent series for those who are looking for a cozy read.
The plot is nice and fast-paced, with a low to moderate intrigue level. The characters are colorful, but not necessarily believable. There is a LOT that occurs with regard to the protagonist and her 15-year-old sidekick that felt fairly stretched and worth of an eye roll or two. However, it is a light and quick read that fits well in the cozy mystery genre and is admittedly a good palate cleanser.
I won't be continuing with the series simply because this isn't a genre I gravitate towards, but it would be a decent series for those who are looking for a cozy read.
emotional
informative
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3.5 stars.
There were some wonderful things about this read, but admittedly it was lacking in some regards. The writing showed talent in a number of ways and the research completed to write the novel appears to have been well done. There were portions of the novel that were incredibly well done, but the same care does not appear to have been taken with the entire narrative. Some portions feel as though they are written by an entirely different author.
The book starts off slow and moves at a bit of a languid pace for at least the first half. This is not all a bad thing, as it does do a great job of setting up the atmosphere and providing background about the protagonists and the library itself. The plot for The Paris Library is told in a dual timeline and multiple perspective format. While I often love this approach and feel like it gives a much fuller and well-rounded nature to the story, in this case I think the narrative may have been better served by staying with Odile's WWII perspective. The writing in these sections is superior and the plot seems to move more seamlessly and with greater purpose. The sections written by other characters lack the same finesse and the chapters written in the modern time take on a bit more of a juvenile feel that detracted from the power of the narrative for me. Still, the plot was good and there was a lot to take in.
Odile was a well-written character, as I felt were all of the characters from the WWII timeline. The modern day timeline didn't feel quite as fleshed out and the characters weren't as realistic for me. Instead, these sections seemed to feel a bit more generic. Still, these characters did play a decent role in both paralleling some of the earlier timeline and expanding the understanding of Odile's character. They did serve a purpose, they just weren't as strong.
The topic was interesting and there were a lot of emotional moments. There was some great historical information and exploration of the nature of humans. Even though they weren't all Nazis, some of the individuals in the book did certainly have questionable morals and there were plenty of instances of a lack of human compassion and the tendency for people to become hateful beings in the face of adversity. There was more than once that the instances in the narrative caused me to simply be disgusted by humanity. The writing does a good job at drawing out this kind of emotional response.
Though not as hard-hitting as some of the WWII historical fiction I have enjoyed, The Paris Library's perspective and presentation is just unique enough to remove the book from falling into the "just another WWII historical fiction" category and makes it one worth taking note of.
* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *
There were some wonderful things about this read, but admittedly it was lacking in some regards. The writing showed talent in a number of ways and the research completed to write the novel appears to have been well done. There were portions of the novel that were incredibly well done, but the same care does not appear to have been taken with the entire narrative. Some portions feel as though they are written by an entirely different author.
The book starts off slow and moves at a bit of a languid pace for at least the first half. This is not all a bad thing, as it does do a great job of setting up the atmosphere and providing background about the protagonists and the library itself. The plot for The Paris Library is told in a dual timeline and multiple perspective format. While I often love this approach and feel like it gives a much fuller and well-rounded nature to the story, in this case I think the narrative may have been better served by staying with Odile's WWII perspective. The writing in these sections is superior and the plot seems to move more seamlessly and with greater purpose. The sections written by other characters lack the same finesse and the chapters written in the modern time take on a bit more of a juvenile feel that detracted from the power of the narrative for me. Still, the plot was good and there was a lot to take in.
Odile was a well-written character, as I felt were all of the characters from the WWII timeline. The modern day timeline didn't feel quite as fleshed out and the characters weren't as realistic for me. Instead, these sections seemed to feel a bit more generic. Still, these characters did play a decent role in both paralleling some of the earlier timeline and expanding the understanding of Odile's character. They did serve a purpose, they just weren't as strong.
The topic was interesting and there were a lot of emotional moments. There was some great historical information and exploration of the nature of humans. Even though they weren't all Nazis, some of the individuals in the book did certainly have questionable morals and there were plenty of instances of a lack of human compassion and the tendency for people to become hateful beings in the face of adversity. There was more than once that the instances in the narrative caused me to simply be disgusted by humanity. The writing does a good job at drawing out this kind of emotional response.
Though not as hard-hitting as some of the WWII historical fiction I have enjoyed, The Paris Library's perspective and presentation is just unique enough to remove the book from falling into the "just another WWII historical fiction" category and makes it one worth taking note of.
* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
4.5 stars.
The Forest of Vanishing Stars was super close to a 5-star read for me. WWII historical fiction, but from a somewhat fresh angle. The start was a little slow and felt a little more fantastical than the rest of the novel, but overall it worked out alright. The writing was good and backed up with a lot of atmospheric description. There was a lot of detail to each movement that made the narrative feel incredibly tangible and realistic.
The characters were really well done and I liked the fact that there was not the tendency to move toward the 100% happy ending with every situation. There were high stakes and things didn't always work out. It was admittedly probably still a bit more optimistic than the realistic historical situation, but it felt good and balanced for me.
The entire story is adventurous and dangerous with a high level of tension, but also did a wonderful job of celebrating the human spirit and the sense of community that we can find in one another. It was a good mix of recognizing the evil that humans are capable of as well as the good that they will often do.
The author's historical note at the end of the story was particularly interesting to read and added a lot of credibility to her story. I was glad to learn about the research she undertook and hear her explanations of what she changed from fully historically accurate and why. I think she took great care with this work and that should be appreciated. Harmel did a wonderful job with this book and I would not hesitate to recommend it to other readers with high praise.
* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *
The Forest of Vanishing Stars was super close to a 5-star read for me. WWII historical fiction, but from a somewhat fresh angle. The start was a little slow and felt a little more fantastical than the rest of the novel, but overall it worked out alright. The writing was good and backed up with a lot of atmospheric description. There was a lot of detail to each movement that made the narrative feel incredibly tangible and realistic.
The characters were really well done and I liked the fact that there was not the tendency to move toward the 100% happy ending with every situation. There were high stakes and things didn't always work out. It was admittedly probably still a bit more optimistic than the realistic historical situation, but it felt good and balanced for me.
The entire story is adventurous and dangerous with a high level of tension, but also did a wonderful job of celebrating the human spirit and the sense of community that we can find in one another. It was a good mix of recognizing the evil that humans are capable of as well as the good that they will often do.
The author's historical note at the end of the story was particularly interesting to read and added a lot of credibility to her story. I was glad to learn about the research she undertook and hear her explanations of what she changed from fully historically accurate and why. I think she took great care with this work and that should be appreciated. Harmel did a wonderful job with this book and I would not hesitate to recommend it to other readers with high praise.
* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This barely squeaked into a 4-star rating for me, but I have faith that this series holds promise. I loved Noelle Stevenson's Nimona, so I just feel like there's got to be more in store than I was given in this first installment. Still...it was a good art style with fun characters, it just had a bit of a weird narrative that felt like it jumped around a lot. The whole ride felt a little bit like I was horribly hyped up on sugar and unable to sit still. It was a blur of weirdly connected vignettes. *Shrug* We'll see what happens in Volume 2.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
4.5 stars.
This installment felt super short and I'm not sure a whole lot happened, but what did happen seemed to be a lot of major events that are causing big shifts in the narrative. It's a bit of a different feel than the prior issues, but there's a lot of core storywork in these pages and I think they really help to make the characters feel more real. It's a slow burn of a series, but it's a good one.
This installment felt super short and I'm not sure a whole lot happened, but what did happen seemed to be a lot of major events that are causing big shifts in the narrative. It's a bit of a different feel than the prior issues, but there's a lot of core storywork in these pages and I think they really help to make the characters feel more real. It's a slow burn of a series, but it's a good one.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I continue to have mixed feelings about this series. Oh, the internal conflict. I enjoy the story and the art style and I am admittedly intrigued. I do still have reservations about the whole space war/alien thing, but I guess it's growing on me? And apparently I'm a total prude, because I get super embarrassed every time I come to a page with more adult content. I don't know...maybe it's the mix of cartoon with nudity that weirds me out? Whatever...it's a conundrum. Still, I am liking my read and I won't abandon the series. I'm in. I'll be riding this train to the end.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
All the things I love wrapped up in a novella. Time travel, lyrical writing, weirdness, confusion, and a heavy emotional undercurrent. Ahh. I loved this read.
The time travel setup is a bit confusing if you start to think about it too much. That rabbit hole just leads to a big headache, so leave it alone and just enjoy the ride. The worlds are weird and at war and history is getting messed with all over the place. There are so many things that could have been done with this premise. But what was actually done with it was...magic.
The epistolary setup with a vague dual POV was admittedly risky. There are a lot of readers who are going to be turned off just because of that, but for me it was just... *chef's kiss*. It was something different and so well done and to have two different authors writing, each with one character...ah...it made for such brilliantly fleshed out characters. (Both of whom I loved, by the way.)
I loved the twisty, shadowy nature of the narrative, and how things just slowly emerged with each letter. I loved the creativeness of the world and the composition. It was just something that kept surprising me and making me love the book even more.
I'll tell you right now that from a pure emotional stand, this is a five-star read. But...with a bit more of a critical eye, I had to admit that it isn't the easiest of books to read. It can be convoluted and strange. It is a bit random and absolutely suspends logic in several places. (Shh...don't tell anybody, but this is a lot of why I loved it.) Because of these potential "accessibility" issues, I did have to take things down a smidge.
I absolutely need to reread this book. I just finished it and I already miss it. Such a beautiful love story. Argh. My heart.
The time travel setup is a bit confusing if you start to think about it too much. That rabbit hole just leads to a big headache, so leave it alone and just enjoy the ride. The worlds are weird and at war and history is getting messed with all over the place. There are so many things that could have been done with this premise. But what was actually done with it was...magic.
The epistolary setup with a vague dual POV was admittedly risky. There are a lot of readers who are going to be turned off just because of that, but for me it was just... *chef's kiss*. It was something different and so well done and to have two different authors writing, each with one character...ah...it made for such brilliantly fleshed out characters. (Both of whom I loved, by the way.)
I loved the twisty, shadowy nature of the narrative, and how things just slowly emerged with each letter. I loved the creativeness of the world and the composition. It was just something that kept surprising me and making me love the book even more.
I'll tell you right now that from a pure emotional stand, this is a five-star read. But...with a bit more of a critical eye, I had to admit that it isn't the easiest of books to read. It can be convoluted and strange. It is a bit random and absolutely suspends logic in several places. (Shh...don't tell anybody, but this is a lot of why I loved it.) Because of these potential "accessibility" issues, I did have to take things down a smidge.
I absolutely need to reread this book. I just finished it and I already miss it. Such a beautiful love story. Argh. My heart.
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I really wanted to like this one. It started off so promising. Great atmosphere and wonderful descriptions along with a story that I was interested in. Things progressed well for the first 2/3 of the book, presenting small snippets of family history that sort of wove together in a way and I thought it was all going to make sense in the end, like some kind of epiphany. It didn't. Instead, the novel wound up feeling like a series of short vignettes with no real purpose. There wasn't a thoughtful ending that made sense to me or impacted me in any way. Instead, things just sort of dropped off.
The writing was good and lyrical and I can understand why this novel has praise in that sense. But the construction of the narrative was just less than I expected.
* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *
The writing was good and lyrical and I can understand why this novel has praise in that sense. But the construction of the narrative was just less than I expected.
* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Sorrowland is a weird book. Now...I usually like weird books...a lot. And I did like this one to an extent. But whoa. This one really took things and ran with them. The underlying references and lessons presented in this novel make sense and they are good points, but the delivery of this narrative was just a strange fever dream.
This was my first read from Rivers Solomon and their prose reminds me a lot of Toni Morrison. It's very gauzy and lyrical, like the whole story takes place in a bit of a dreamlike state. That works really well for a good portion of the book, but there were times (particularly in the beginning of the novel) where it felt like maybe the writing was trying just a little too hard and it lost its genuine quality.
The read was a slow build that was a bit of a dystopian/horror mix and moved with pretty good logic for about half the book. Then all of a sudden it was like a switch flipped and things took a hard left turn. The tone of the narrative shifted and felt off and the pacing suddenly started to drag. The things that took place in the last third of the book moved with a bit of unnaturalness and it felt like the ending of the book had been written in a rushed manner. It didn't have the careful construction and magical movement of the first half of the book. Instead it was somewhat choppy, hard to follow, and over the top.
Prior to the mild train wreck of the last section, I was on track to have a 4-star reading experience. That last chunk though...whew...it took me on a ride in a bad way. Like a bad acid trip. That bit of funky mess was probably a 2-star experience at best. So I averaged it out and we land with a middle of the road 3-star read.
* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *
This was my first read from Rivers Solomon and their prose reminds me a lot of Toni Morrison. It's very gauzy and lyrical, like the whole story takes place in a bit of a dreamlike state. That works really well for a good portion of the book, but there were times (particularly in the beginning of the novel) where it felt like maybe the writing was trying just a little too hard and it lost its genuine quality.
The read was a slow build that was a bit of a dystopian/horror mix and moved with pretty good logic for about half the book. Then all of a sudden it was like a switch flipped and things took a hard left turn. The tone of the narrative shifted and felt off and the pacing suddenly started to drag. The things that took place in the last third of the book moved with a bit of unnaturalness and it felt like the ending of the book had been written in a rushed manner. It didn't have the careful construction and magical movement of the first half of the book. Instead it was somewhat choppy, hard to follow, and over the top.
Prior to the mild train wreck of the last section, I was on track to have a 4-star reading experience. That last chunk though...whew...it took me on a ride in a bad way. Like a bad acid trip. That bit of funky mess was probably a 2-star experience at best. So I averaged it out and we land with a middle of the road 3-star read.
* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *