elzbethmrgn's Reviews (667)

Absolutely not in the mood for fae child-of-the-wilderness who is clearly the Chosen One

I was surprised to find this is an excellent exploration of loss and grief, wrapped in an otherwise pedestrian intrigue/heist/long-con by unknown (and unknowing) greater forces at play sort of fantasy. I won't pick up the sequels. 

I absolutely loved this one. It's a reflection on reading practice within the framework of Aristotelian virtue ethics (Young is a philosopher). Taking examples of writers and philosophers on their reading habits, mixed with Young's own reading memoir, this has definitely influenced the way I approach reading, and hopefully will influence my future reading too.

I can see why fans of the How To Do Life genre are losing their minds over this one, but it was basically 250 pages of reinforcing conclusions I'd already made about How To Do (My) Life. So, nothing new or revelatory, but also it's nice to see those thoughts articulated cogently and by someone who is not me. 

Atmospheric AF and beautiful to read but I couldn't find the plot.

I think constraining the story to historical figures did this story a disservice - or maybe this is not the story for this particular setting. Having to include Actual Events felt like shoe-horning in plot points that didn't need to be there (or play out that way), and the timescale gives the story breadth at the cost of depth. The lack of depth (and the age of the characters when the story begins) gives the novel a solid YA vibe. Readable but really nothing to sink your teeth into.