heartbrekker's Reviews (797)

Ever since Rebel I've had a weird disconnect with Marie Lu's books. I've been reading her work since Legend released, so she's been an insta-buy author for quite a long time. But something happened between Kingdom of Back all the way to Steelstriker when it comes to my enjoyment of her books. The characters felt flatter and less alive. The books were much more serious than most of her previous work too, but I did not love them anywhere near as much as The Young Elites, Legend, or Warcross.

But Stars and Smoke brought me back to that previous feeling. I'm not the biggest thriller/ spy fan, but I'll try anything by Marie Lu. S&S reminded me of my reading experience with Warcross and Wildcard because the world is extremely similar to our own with just a couple key differences. I was laughing and shaking my head smiling during multiple scenes, and don't even get me started on the flirty scenes between our two leads. These moments were what I've been missing from Marie!

Now the genre itself was my biggest issue because I don't hardly ever read books like S&S. I'm not a huge celebrity/ pop star fan either, so I was not the target audience. I think fans of BTS, Taylor Swift, or other big singers would love this book because it leans a lot into fan culture and the expectations that come with it for the celebrity. But I typically don't read books like this, and the only reason I did this time is because Marie wrote it. Moreover, the book felt extremely fast-paced and short. The spy elements were extremely fascinating, but it felt as if we never got to see Sydney fully in her element. We bypassed a ton of possibly badass scenes, and I wanted more details. One of the scenes that made me feel adrenaline and the high stakes was when Sydney follows Eli after his daughter's party/birthday celebration. The motorcycle imagery and Sydney spying on the tension between the villains were just TOP TIER. I wanted more like that. Obviously, Winter is going to be a novice at spying, so I wasn't thrown off by his lack of action, but I was craving more.

Marie Lu is a representation queen. She's always been one of the best authors at writing characters for everyone. Talin was deaf. Day/ June are both mixed race (something not common in books via early 2010s), and LGBTQ+ identities are all around. S&S was no different, but specifically for this book I loved that Sydney had a lung health condition. When more intense health issues arise, I find no representation whatsoever in books. The fact that Sydney has breathing problems but continues to work in an active, dangerous work environment was great. Sydney shows the nuances of health issues in that she doesn't have to give up her career, but she does alter her life a bit with breathing exercises or "work smarter, not harder" mentality. It was refreshing because I don't think many people would connect spy work to someone with a health condition, but Marie proves again that you, the individual, decide your destiny/ career, not someone else.

Overall, S&S was a step in the right direction for me. I will definitely read the sequel to see what other spy shenanigans the duo encounter, and I'm hopeful for the future of Marie's books.

Thank you NetGalley and Fierce Reads for the chance to review this title early. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

“Divinity is never destroyed… Only echoed.”

I marathoned the last 150 pages last night, and boy, oh boy was it a rollercoaster and a half. Whitten certainly stepped up the stakes with this third book, and I was glued to the pages.

My favorite element to the story was actually the world building, and I’m hoping the sequel delves into it more because I have TONS of questions. In my opinion, there’s substantial improvement in the world building of this book compared to For the Wolf. For the Throne and The Foxglove King are pretty much tied. I was let down with how little information we got in regards to the gods and places beyond the city, but also, that’s just a fact that comes with most first books in a series. Essentially what we know for now is that the corpse of a goddess leaks death magic, Mortem, underground the city of Dellaire. When Mortem comes into contact with people, the magic can either give a sort of high/ hallucination, or in high quantities, kill the individual. Not to mention, this goddess was struck down by the Sun god, who happens to be the one everyone worships. Lore, the protagonist, has a natural affinity for Mortem, which is incredibly rare. It was interesting reading about her complicated relationship to magic that is criminalized by the Crown, and of course, theories are raging when we find out natural born necromancers are basically nonexistent.

This book is definitely hard New Adult, so I see a mix of elements between YA and Adult fantasy. I wouldn’t quite call this a romantasy book yet since the romance is pretty tame besides angst and buildup, but one of the main tropes is a love triangle. I’m not a huge fan of love triangles, but I’m pretty neutral on this one. There’s just a lot of petty arguing and passive aggression between the boys, partly due to their history before Lore, and I’m never a huge fan of that. Since the romance was a side plot, I’m expecting it to pick up in the sequel, especially since the love triangle is still in full swing.

The Foxglove King is very much a setup book for the trilogy. Not much honestly happens besides Lore getting captured and the final big scene. This book is heavily political, but not fully in a good way since Lore is dealing with a rambunctious prince, pampered youth her age, and unstable leaders. I'm usually one for politics, but I thought the pacing should've moved faster. I get that the main plot of this book is figuring out the allegiances of characters as well as the mysterious town massacres, but I do wish scenes like the illegal boxing match, Sun Prince parties, and library visits were shortened or taken out entirely. It just lagged and muddled the progression of the mystery, in my opinion. The stakes were just not high until the end, but when they did, it was A LOT.

At times the writing did make me cringe because Lore was just trying too hard to be this unbothered, street kid, essentially. It's my own personal issue with her character because sassy, bull-headed characters can go either way with me. She was fine most of the time, but occasionally, I just would shake my head at something stupid she said in the worst possible situation. I couldn't help but think: You're gonna get yourself killed!! Idiot!! Lore is a very brash character too, so she's constantly making mistakes and getting into trouble. She's been wronged countless of times too, particularly by her loved ones, so I can see the context of her bad decision making in that regard. This first installment is truly about finding herself, her identity when her life is thrown to the wolves. The sequel will definitely clear the air a bit now that Lore has more context to her destiny/ family.

Anyway, I’m definitely going to pick up the sequel. The world alone hooked its claws in me, and I want some answers. I’m a big fan of Whitten’s sequel books rather than the first, so I’m very excited for what’s to come in this trilogy.

Thank you to Orbit Books for the finished copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

DNF @ 50%

Umm. Gaslight. Gatekeep. Girlboss.

"You say you want to be with me and protect me... Then you will stay in the palace when my husband comes back from the war. You will hide as I welcome him and his soldiers. Then you will help me murder the man responsible for my daughter's death."

I've had a ton of trouble with Greek retellings over the last year and a half, so I was nervous going into this debut by Costanza Casati. But I shouldn't have been because this was the sort of Greek retellings I yearn for—the ones where you're clenching your firsts into the sides of your book and having to put it down every fifteen pages or so because it is just TOO MUCH. It reminded me a lot of my reactions to Madeline Miller's books because my emotions just ache and fight to be released. I even cried at a pivotal moment because mother and daughter scenes just do me in.

"You don't seek vengeance because you have become a coward... But know this. I will have my justice. I swear it here and now. I swear it by the Furies and every other goddess who has known vengeance. I will stalk the Atreidi and crush everything they hold dear, until only ashes remain."

If you don't know the story of Clytemnestra, you probably know her bitch-ass husband Agamemnon. Literally the most(!) hated Greek husband, in my personal opinion. He's the leader of the Greeks during the Trojan War. Many people probably remember him as the one who steals Briseis from Achilles, which leads to Achilles bowing out from war for a bit. I remember Agamemnon as the man who sacrifices his own daughter Iphigenia to the gods... for a f***ing breeze. Yes, you heard me right. He killed her because the wind wasn't picking up their boats' sails. Couldn't have waited another day or so, immediate immolation for his daughter. And to make matters worse, what I didn't know before reading Clytemnestra is that some accounts say Agamemnon actually murdered Clytemnestra's previous husband (King of Maeonia) and newborn child and subsequently forcing her to marry him next. Like... excuse me? The hatred is boiling hotter than lava at this point. He's the LITERAL worst, so when Clytemnestra patiently seethes all these decades later and eventually murders her husband in a bathtub... MY Queen.

"Are we in Sparta or Athens? Do we not take pride in our strong, free-willed women, or do we lock them into the house so they grow fragile and useless?"

Clytemnestra is a complicated figure to write, and I don't think just anyone can attempt to do so. She's been hated for so long in Ancient Greek texts because of her title as "husband slayer" and also the fact that she sleeps with her husband's cousin/ enemy Aegisthus while Agamemnon's away at war. She's a badass Queen for sleeping with Aegisthus, and I'll never feel an ounce of guilt for Agamemnon since he's killing and harming thousands of girls across the Mediterranean. Anyway, Costanza handled Clytemnestra with the care that she deserves. We go from Clytemnestra's pure rage at Agamemnon to her softened and sweet around her children in the blink of an eye. Even, Clytemnestra's relationship to her siblings was wonderful to watch unfurl because we get to see them grow up alongside her. Helen and Clytemnestra specifically were impeccable. Most retellings never give Helen much of a personality, but we see her pain mirrored in Clytemnestra countless times from Theseus's rape of Helen all the way to her regret in leaving with Paris. Helen felt human, infallibly real and part of that is because Clytemnestra and her's relationship was a true sister bond. Castor, Timandra, and Polydeuces got that same treatment too, so this whole sibling dynamic felt extremely close and genuine. The fact that Clytemnestra kept her loved ones close reminds me of the power of women. She's bitter, but she doesn't take that out on them. Yes, she makes mistakes countless times when her boundaries are messed with or old wounds stabbed at, but again, that made her more human in my eyes. Clytemnestra's trauma will always be the center of her story in history because it led to her committing adultery and murdering her husband, but in this book, she just felt like a woman of history. She has suffered, but she goes on for her children, for her loved ones, herself most importantly. She does not allow her pains to overwhelm her in the end, and while her purpose for so long is vengeance, she is more than that by the end. It's about her husband Tantalus, her unnamed son, Iphigenia, Helen, her future and those for her remaining loved ones. The world tries to tear down women who refuse to let themself be ruled, and Clytemnestra will always be the epitome of that.

"Sooner or later you will die. And I will not mourn you. I will look at the flames consuming your body, and I will rejoice."

I love her so much my heart hurts.

"Death comes for us all, sooner or later. The moment we forget it, we become fools."

On a completely separate note, Costanza does a fantastic job bringing us into the atmosphere of Ancient Greece. You can really tell when a writer actually understands and researches the time period compared to other writers. Getting to see unapologetic Sparta in its prime was pure perfection. From the mixed gender wrestling spouts to the differing treatment of women throughout the city states of Greece, I couldn't get enough. The details for food and gifts for Helen was another great detail. People like to think the city states of Greece were all the same, but in moments like Helen's betrothal, we get to see just how different they are from one another, Sparta most importantly.

"Life at this moment is like being at sea, open waters all around her and no coastline in sight, the world brimming with possibilities."

Lastly, one of the most refreshing elements to this story is the lack of Greek gods and goddesses. Yes, they're mentioned and sacrifices are made, but this is the first Greek retelling where the faith in the gods are fuzzy to near-nonexistent. Clytemnestra exemplifies this particularly in the quote: "Gods do not care about us. They have other concerns. That is why you should never live in the shadow of their anger. It is men you must fear. It is men who will be angry with you if you rise too high, if you are too much loved. The stronger you are, the more they will try to take you down." She actually questions the gods existence multiple times. As a child, her and her brother Castor tried to see Artemis one morning, and even with all of Clytemnestra's begging, she never appeared. And this continues into her adulthood where she reaches out to the gods and receives no response. By the time Agamemnon makes her life living hell by taking her first husband and child, she basically doesn't believe in them, and that really struck me hard as a reminder that humanity hasn't really changed in these thousands of years a part. Many times we lose faith when the world is cruel to us, and it's then that we choose to make our own destiny.

"We will see each other soon. Our lives are being torn apart now, but we will find a way back to each other, just as water always finds its way around rocks."

Clytemnestra actually ends before her story is concluded, and while I think some people may find this in bad taste, I found it to be both a balm on her own pains and mine too. It hurts to read her story and know where it is headed, and maybe Costanza will write a sequel about Elektra, who knows, but I felt at peace with this end just like Clytemnestra.

"It is always difficult to decide if one life is worth more than another. It is also pointless. The dead are dead."