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hfjarmer's Reviews (394)
I don't even really know where to begin with this book, there is so much that could be said. In short, I loved it. Yellowface was like a train wreck that I just could not look away from.
Yellowface is the story of a white author who capitalizes on the death of an Asian-American author (and "friend") by publishing the late author's unfinished work about Chinese laborers in WWI. What is brilliant about R.F. Kuang's storytelling here, is that she really forces the reader to come to their own conclusions regarding the morality of the situation. On one hand, you have June who is clearly capitalizing off the work of an AAPI author, both socially and monetarily. On the other hand, Kuang paints Athena to be just as bad of a person in many ways. I absolutely LOVE an unreliable narrator, and having the story narrated through June, the plagiarizer, was genius. Allowing June the space to console herself for her own crimes made Yellowface all the juicier. June prides herself on never technically lying to anyone about what has occurred, but the world we live in is full of nuances that ultimately led
I am typically pretty anti-contemporary fiction. There is something about reading a novel that takes place in present day that really takes me out of a story, and it often reads as cringy pandering. I did not feel that way about Yellowface. Kuang's employment of social media as a means to drive the story was riveting and so well done that it was like watching an online controversy in real life.
Reading as a white woman, it was so intriguing to me to see the ways June, despite efforts to appear culturally sensitive/inclusive, always reverted back to her whiteness in times of discomfort. Her brand is supposed to be this sociopolitically in-tune author who takes on larger issues and gives a voice to the marginalized, but we see her discomfort in that space any time she comes under threat. One such example is when June complains that she had to write about Chinese people because her work is not diverse enough, and the publishing industry only wants "their" stories, to the point where she now feels she is suffering the same marginalization as POC authors. She's delulu. She becomes the victim. June is a great example of whiteness even outside of the publishing world. June claims she wants to do as much as she can for the AAPI community, but only when she herself is doing well (again, socially/monetarily). This is exemplary of a larger issue, of white people with any social, political, financial, or cultural power saying they want to lift up marginalized voices and advocate for equality, but only as long as they themselves are still at the top of the food chain, so to speak.
My one qualm with the novel which relegated it to 4-stars instead of 5-stars, was the ending. For me, the Candice debacle was not carried enough throughout the entire book for the ending to feel authentic. June thinking she was being haunted by Athena's ghost just simply felt too gimmicky for me and I feel like there could have been an ending that was better suited for the novel.
Many reviewers are faulting Kuang for using "too much of her own voice" in this novel and I can't help but disagree here. Kuang does an excellent job of utilizing (what may be) her real life experiences, but through the lens of someone like June. This novel following The Poppy War series and Babel, just highlight's Kuang's incredible range. I am excited to see what she comes out with next!
Yellowface is the story of a white author who capitalizes on the death of an Asian-American author (and "friend") by publishing the late author's unfinished work about Chinese laborers in WWI. What is brilliant about R.F. Kuang's storytelling here, is that she really forces the reader to come to their own conclusions regarding the morality of the situation. On one hand, you have June who is clearly capitalizing off the work of an AAPI author, both socially and monetarily. On the other hand, Kuang paints Athena to be just as bad of a person in many ways. I absolutely LOVE an unreliable narrator, and having the story narrated through June, the plagiarizer, was genius. Allowing June the space to console herself for her own crimes made Yellowface all the juicier. June prides herself on never technically lying to anyone about what has occurred, but the world we live in is full of nuances that ultimately led
Spoiler
to June's downfallI am typically pretty anti-contemporary fiction. There is something about reading a novel that takes place in present day that really takes me out of a story, and it often reads as cringy pandering. I did not feel that way about Yellowface. Kuang's employment of social media as a means to drive the story was riveting and so well done that it was like watching an online controversy in real life.
Reading as a white woman, it was so intriguing to me to see the ways June, despite efforts to appear culturally sensitive/inclusive, always reverted back to her whiteness in times of discomfort. Her brand is supposed to be this sociopolitically in-tune author who takes on larger issues and gives a voice to the marginalized, but we see her discomfort in that space any time she comes under threat. One such example is when June complains that she had to write about Chinese people because her work is not diverse enough, and the publishing industry only wants "their" stories, to the point where she now feels she is suffering the same marginalization as POC authors. She's delulu. She becomes the victim. June is a great example of whiteness even outside of the publishing world. June claims she wants to do as much as she can for the AAPI community, but only when she herself is doing well (again, socially/monetarily). This is exemplary of a larger issue, of white people with any social, political, financial, or cultural power saying they want to lift up marginalized voices and advocate for equality, but only as long as they themselves are still at the top of the food chain, so to speak.
My one qualm with the novel which relegated it to 4-stars instead of 5-stars, was the ending. For me, the Candice debacle was not carried enough throughout the entire book for the ending to feel authentic. June thinking she was being haunted by Athena's ghost just simply felt too gimmicky for me and I feel like there could have been an ending that was better suited for the novel.
Many reviewers are faulting Kuang for using "too much of her own voice" in this novel and I can't help but disagree here. Kuang does an excellent job of utilizing (what may be) her real life experiences, but through the lens of someone like June. This novel following The Poppy War series and Babel, just highlight's Kuang's incredible range. I am excited to see what she comes out with next!
It's been almost a year since I read Parable of the Sower (Earthseed, #1) and that is by design. These books are heavy.
We once again follow Lauren Oya Olamina in her quest to have it all - family, home, community, religion and glory. Something I appreciate about Butler's writing is that it is descriptive without being repulsive. Yes there are a lot of unsavory events (to put it lightly) in this novel, but despite this I never felt as though it was too gory or so explicitly detailed that I had to put the book down. This is not something I can say for many of the other books in the dystopian genre.
The prophetic nature of Parable of the Talents is certainly the root of its eeriness, in my opinion. The presence of an alt-right, religious president with the slogan "help make America great again" gave me goosebumps to read in this 1998 novel. I loved diving into the stark contrast between Christian America and Earthseed. Butler does an excellent job of discussing how each religion is just a blasphemed version of someone else's beliefs, and yet each one believes theirs to be "the one true faith".
In reading Parable of the Talents, you want Olamina to have it all. To, but it becomes clear that Earthseed is her one true identity, she has found her purpose.
I gave this novel 4 stars because I was unhappy with the ending.
We once again follow Lauren Oya Olamina in her quest to have it all - family, home, community, religion and glory. Something I appreciate about Butler's writing is that it is descriptive without being repulsive. Yes there are a lot of unsavory events (to put it lightly) in this novel, but despite this I never felt as though it was too gory or so explicitly detailed that I had to put the book down. This is not something I can say for many of the other books in the dystopian genre.
The prophetic nature of Parable of the Talents is certainly the root of its eeriness, in my opinion. The presence of an alt-right, religious president with the slogan "help make America great again" gave me goosebumps to read in this 1998 novel. I loved diving into the stark contrast between Christian America and Earthseed. Butler does an excellent job of discussing how each religion is just a blasphemed version of someone else's beliefs, and yet each one believes theirs to be "the one true faith".
In reading Parable of the Talents, you want Olamina to have it all. To
Spoiler
find her child, to have Earthseed take offI gave this novel 4 stars because I was unhappy with the ending.
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I think it is true to character that Olamina lets Earthseed take over her life. Perhaps finding her daughter does fall to the wayside or perhaps she genuinely never stopped looking for her, but the fact is that even if Larkin were found, Olamina would have ultimately "picked" Earthseed over motherhood. What I didn't find believable (or what I don't want to believe in my idealistic little mind) is that Asha (Larkin) clung to Marcus despite his lies to her. I think this speaks to the fact that even Asha could tell what Earthseed meant to her mother, and that she was willing to take any family she could get. But if that was the case, I would have thought she could find room in her heart to accept her mother's "eccentricities".
I have not read David Copperfield, and I'll be honest after reading so many reviews comparing this book to David Copperfield, I am glad I had the opportunity to experience it on it's own.
The thing I found most compelling about Demon Copperhead was the narrator's "voice" throughout the novel. By the end of the book, I felt as though I could tell you exactly how Demon would respond to any given situation. Kingsolver's character work was superb, and I truly felt like the characters were fully realized individuals. Demon's character was beautifully illustrated. All he wanted in the whole world was to love and be loved (and to see the ocean), but with his rocky family life (to put it lightly) the only love he ever knew was all-consuming and fatal. You want to root for Demon even when he is making terrible decisions. When he
In terms of content, this book is heavy. Covering the introduction and impact of the opioid epidemic on rural Appalachia (and everywhere, for that matter) in the 90s, Demon Copperhead paints a vivid picture of the catastrophic effects of opioids on the physical, mental, and cultural levels. Some say the somewhat
I had two qualms with this novel. First, it was too long. While I loved following Demon's journey, I think Kingsolver could have cut about 100 pages in the middle, as that is where the book lost some momentum for me. Second, while I appreciate the representation of rural Appalachia, I do think Kingsolver played a little too heavily into the stereotypes put onto rural Appalachia. I understand the purpose of the setting, but at times it felt like Kingsolver was just perpetuating the "dumb redneck, abusive step dad, addict parents" stereotype in a way that felt like punching-down. Not that these aren't real issues, but they are problems beyond the scope of this setting.
I could say a lot more about Demon Copperhead, but I'll leave it at that. A great book!
The thing I found most compelling about Demon Copperhead was the narrator's "voice" throughout the novel. By the end of the book, I felt as though I could tell you exactly how Demon would respond to any given situation. Kingsolver's character work was superb, and I truly felt like the characters were fully realized individuals. Demon's character was beautifully illustrated. All he wanted in the whole world was to love and be loved (and to see the ocean), but with his rocky family life (to put it lightly) the only love he ever knew was all-consuming and fatal. You want to root for Demon even when he is making terrible decisions. When he
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became addicted to opioids like his mother before him and so many others in his community, I thought "wake up you idiot!!" but I never lost faith in him, and I never lost my desire to see him pull through. I also really empathized with his desire to return home to Lee County, but knowing that to do so would ultimately destroy him and his battle to define "home" even amongst his cycle of fosters.In terms of content, this book is heavy. Covering the introduction and impact of the opioid epidemic on rural Appalachia (and everywhere, for that matter) in the 90s, Demon Copperhead paints a vivid picture of the catastrophic effects of opioids on the physical, mental, and cultural levels. Some say the somewhat
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cheery ending felt inauthentic, but I disagree. I think for as tumultuous as this tale was, the reader needed something to hold on to at the end and I liked thinking that Demon was the one that "made it out", so to speak.I had two qualms with this novel. First, it was too long. While I loved following Demon's journey, I think Kingsolver could have cut about 100 pages in the middle, as that is where the book lost some momentum for me. Second, while I appreciate the representation of rural Appalachia, I do think Kingsolver played a little too heavily into the stereotypes put onto rural Appalachia. I understand the purpose of the setting, but at times it felt like Kingsolver was just perpetuating the "dumb redneck, abusive step dad, addict parents" stereotype in a way that felt like punching-down.
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One great example of this was Demon calling Angus his "sister" and then them ending up in a confusing entanglement at the very end of the novel. I'm not saying they couldn't have feelings for each other, but I do think it was too suggestive of incest given the setting.I could say a lot more about Demon Copperhead, but I'll leave it at that. A great book!
I feel like I'm kind of on a streak of disagreeing with Goodreads ratings lately - add this one to the list.
Remarkably Bright Creatures was a cute, ostensibly feel-good novel that just lacked a bit of pizzazz for me. Fans of books like Man Called Ove and Eleanor Oliphant will enjoy Remarkably Bright Creatures.
I found the plot to be slow moving, and I wish she had gotten to the point a bit faster as the plot lost a lot of momentum in the middle. I feel like I knew what was going to happen from fairly early on, and it took the characters ages to catch up.I understand Cameron's whiney whoa-is-me attitude given his background, but I didn't find it charming and I didn't feel badly for him, instead I was just irritated by his immaturity and self-sabotaging behavior. I LOVED Tova, and think she was the true star of this book.
I loved Marcellus, and wish we had heard more from him, honestly.
Remarkably Bright Creatures was a cute, ostensibly feel-good novel that just lacked a bit of pizzazz for me. Fans of books like Man Called Ove and Eleanor Oliphant will enjoy Remarkably Bright Creatures.
I found the plot to be slow moving, and I wish she had gotten to the point a bit faster as the plot lost a lot of momentum in the middle. I feel like I knew what was going to happen from fairly early on, and it took the characters ages to catch up.I understand Cameron's whiney whoa-is-me attitude given his background, but I didn't find it charming and I didn't feel badly for him, instead I was just irritated by his immaturity and self-sabotaging behavior. I LOVED Tova, and think she was the true star of this book.
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I am hoping in the after-world of this novel that Tova teaches Cameron to toughen up and get it together, he certainly needs a strong female role model in his life.I loved Marcellus, and wish we had heard more from him, honestly.
I'm praying you all are right and the rest of this series is amazing, because this prequel .... was not. I know the reading order for this series is controversial, and there is a chance I will feel differently after having read further, but even so, this is just not a good book.
The novella format was an interesting choice. I think it resulted in the story feeling far too disjoined, and the story line and depth of the characters suffered greatly as a result of Maas trying to incorporate too much. In that vein, I understand that Sam and Celaena's relationship is supposed to be this magical love story, but because of how much was going on, I didn't feel invested or overly moved by them or their chemistry.
And is Celaena like...actually an assassin? This bitch was captured/drugged/compromised three times throughout this book. I get people make mistakes, but for someone who is supposed to be second in command, "Adarlan's Assassin", she was sloppy and whiny and was constantly letting her emotions get the best of her. It was not giving "best of the best", to me.
I am genuinely shocked by how high of a rating Assassin's Blade has because even if you love the characters from reading the rest of the series, I just feel like this is objectively bad book for SJM. I am going to push through all this and read the first book, but I'll be honest, I am a little skeptical.
The novella format was an interesting choice. I think it resulted in the story feeling far too disjoined, and the story line and depth of the characters suffered greatly as a result of Maas trying to incorporate too much. In that vein, I understand that Sam and Celaena's relationship is supposed to be this magical love story, but because of how much was going on, I didn't feel invested or overly moved by them or their chemistry.
And is Celaena like...actually an assassin? This bitch was captured/drugged/compromised three times throughout this book. I get people make mistakes, but for someone who is supposed to be second in command, "Adarlan's Assassin", she was sloppy and whiny and was constantly letting her emotions get the best of her. It was not giving "best of the best", to me.
I am genuinely shocked by how high of a rating Assassin's Blade has because even if you love the characters from reading the rest of the series, I just feel like this is objectively bad book for SJM. I am going to push through all this and read the first book, but I'll be honest, I am a little skeptical.
Coming off reading Jane Austen's Mansfield Park (and not loving it), I was really looking forward to reading another novel in that same literary vein to scratch that Austenian itch. Age of Innocence was almost that book.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. I loved the portrait of 1870s New York we got, especially as a fan of the "proper English society" genre this was a refreshing setting. I was certainly dissapointed by the ending, and felt as though Wharton essentially gave up on her own story 2/3 of the way through. There were so many avenues she could have taken to tie this novel together, and ultimately it fell flat.
I really enjoyed the characters and, though the plot was lacking, the characters were all so well portrayed that I felt I could predict their responses to nearly anything. Newland definitely strikes me as a modern day version of a mansplainer who thinks he's a feminist and I enjoyed watching him sniff after the first woman who is in any way different from the society he was molded by. Men are so simple.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. I loved the portrait of 1870s New York we got, especially as a fan of the "proper English society" genre this was a refreshing setting. I was certainly dissapointed by the ending, and felt as though Wharton essentially gave up on her own story 2/3 of the way through. There were so many avenues she could have taken to tie this novel together, and ultimately it fell flat.
I really enjoyed the characters and, though the plot was lacking, the characters were all so well portrayed that I felt I could predict their responses to nearly anything. Newland definitely strikes me as a modern day version of a mansplainer who thinks he's a feminist and I enjoyed watching him sniff after the first woman who is in any way different from the society he was molded by. Men are so simple.
I am not typically one to read reviews and book analyses before deciding on a rating, but this book was an exception. The primary reason for this was that while reading (actually, listening since I enjoyed this in an audiobook format) I could loosely connect the characters and their respective power dynamics to a larger social-political-economic picture, but without much knowledge of the time period during which One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest takes place, I didn't feel I could accurately judge the book until I had some further context.
I was immediately drawn into the "world" Kesey created upon introduction to our narrator - Chief Bromden. Utilizing a character who is presumed to be deaf and dumb by the other patients and hospital staff alike is one of the most intriguing narrative perspectives I've ever read. Bromden was essentially a 6 foot 7 inch fly on the wall for all of the hospital's goings on, and I absolutely loved his perspective.
And obviously you cannot discuss this book without talking about ol' McMurphy, our resident peace disturber who shakes things up on this psych ward. I think my favorite aspect of McMurphy's character is how he "lifts the fog" (as Bromden describes it) of the monotony of daily life for the patients. He is a living symbol to them of all the injustices they face on the ward and out in the real world and I think this metaphor is the most powerful of the whole book.
In reading more about this book, I saw another review that says Cuckoo's Nest, "focuses on the modern paradox of trying to be human in the well-oiled machine of a capitalist democracy, where you must be either a savior or a slave." McMurphy represents chaos and freedom from the system that is designed to keep people down, he challenges the idea of sticking to the status quo and remaining afraid to break the mold in favor of "lifting the fog" and designing a life of your own.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest will stick with me for years to come. I loved the characters and their respective stories as well as what the book discusses socially. I already find myself eager to read more perspectives and interpretations of Kesey's work, and I have a feeling that I've only begun to scratch the surface of what I can learn from this novel.
I was immediately drawn into the "world" Kesey created upon introduction to our narrator - Chief Bromden. Utilizing a character who is presumed to be deaf and dumb by the other patients and hospital staff alike is one of the most intriguing narrative perspectives I've ever read. Bromden was essentially a 6 foot 7 inch fly on the wall for all of the hospital's goings on, and I absolutely loved his perspective.
And obviously you cannot discuss this book without talking about ol' McMurphy, our resident peace disturber who shakes things up on this psych ward. I think my favorite aspect of McMurphy's character is how he "lifts the fog" (as Bromden describes it) of the monotony of daily life for the patients. He is a living symbol to them of all the injustices they face on the ward and out in the real world and I think this metaphor is the most powerful of the whole book.
In reading more about this book, I saw another review that says Cuckoo's Nest, "focuses on the modern paradox of trying to be human in the well-oiled machine of a capitalist democracy, where you must be either a savior or a slave." McMurphy represents chaos and freedom from the system that is designed to keep people down, he challenges the idea of sticking to the status quo and remaining afraid to break the mold in favor of "lifting the fog" and designing a life of your own.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest will stick with me for years to come. I loved the characters and their respective stories as well as what the book discusses socially. I already find myself eager to read more perspectives and interpretations of Kesey's work, and I have a feeling that I've only begun to scratch the surface of what I can learn from this novel.
Hunger Games meets A Court of Thorns and Roses.
I completely understand why this book is popular among ACOTAR fans, but even so was a little surprised to see it has an overall rating of 4.5. I really enjoyed this book, it was a perfect, mindless romance. The main character - Oraya - had all the strength, willpower, and wit of some of my favorite fantasy FMCs and her entanglement with Raihn was inevitable and a classic of the enemies to allies to lovers trope. Broadbent's writing is descriptive, easy and engrossing in a similar vein to the SJM writing I've come to love.
My main complaint about this book is just that I wanted more detail. For all its 532 pages, I felt a lot of background and depth were missing within the world she has built here. The characters were relatively surface level and the world itself, while interesting, lacked detail. While the twists were certainly shocking, I think they would have packed a harder punch if the reader was provided the background needed for a full impact. I wanted more depth on Oraya, why was she so hellbent on finding her human family and what she wanted to actually do if she won the Kjari. How did we go from "I'm just a human" for the entire book to? That was really lacking for me. Same situation with Raihn.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and if I need another simple, quick, and juicy romance, I might be persuaded to pick up the second, but as of now, I'm not dying to read it.
I completely understand why this book is popular among ACOTAR fans, but even so was a little surprised to see it has an overall rating of 4.5. I really enjoyed this book, it was a perfect, mindless romance. The main character - Oraya - had all the strength, willpower, and wit of some of my favorite fantasy FMCs and her entanglement with Raihn was inevitable and a classic of the enemies to allies to lovers trope. Broadbent's writing is descriptive, easy and engrossing in a similar vein to the SJM writing I've come to love.
My main complaint about this book is just that I wanted more detail. For all its 532 pages, I felt a lot of background and depth were missing within the world she has built here. The characters were relatively surface level and the world itself, while interesting, lacked detail. While the twists were certainly shocking, I think they would have packed a harder punch if the reader was provided the background needed for a full impact. I wanted more depth on Oraya, why was she so hellbent on finding her human family and what she wanted to actually do if she won the Kjari. How did we go from "I'm just a human" for the entire book to
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I'm maybe half vampire and the heir to the Hiaj vampiresOverall, I really enjoyed this book, and if I need another simple, quick, and juicy romance, I might be persuaded to pick up the second, but as of now, I'm not dying to read it.
Crying in H Mart is a lovely memoir about the author's transition from troubled young adult to caregiver and her journey of healing and self-discovery.
Michelle Zauner's writing is simple and descriptive. She wasn't trying to make something out of nothing in her attempt to psychoanalyze her relationship with her mother and herself. I think oftentimes memoirs try to do too much in one book and really push the limits by trying to ascribe some kind of deep emotional meaning to something far less complex than they are making it out to be for the sake of gripping an audience, leading to the whole thing feeling disingenuous. I did not have that problem with this book.
I recognize that as someone who does not have a mixed-race identity (nor immigrant parents), it is difficult to fully understand the identity struggle Zauner presents, however I do wish she had explored her themes of identity a bit more throughout this book. She mentions the struggle to seem "more white" in her early years in contrast to her struggle to seem "Korean enough" in adulthood, and I think if she had explored this a little further, it would have tied the book together more neatly. Additionally, I would have liked a bit more of the "middle" of her story. I felt as though we went from a troubled relationship in her early years to a transient mention of a reconciliation between her and her mother to full time caregiver. While I know life is often not quite so neat, and relationships are complex, I think it would've helped the flow of her story. That being said, I thought she excellently highlighted how you can have both an intimate and dissonant relationship with a parent (especially in a mother-daughter context) all at once.
Lastly, I enjoyed the theme of using food as a connection and a call to home throughout this memoir, as it really set the tone and kept the reader engaged in her "world", so to speak.
Michelle Zauner's writing is simple and descriptive. She wasn't trying to make something out of nothing in her attempt to psychoanalyze her relationship with her mother and herself. I think oftentimes memoirs try to do too much in one book and really push the limits by trying to ascribe some kind of deep emotional meaning to something far less complex than they are making it out to be for the sake of gripping an audience, leading to the whole thing feeling disingenuous. I did not have that problem with this book.
I recognize that as someone who does not have a mixed-race identity (nor immigrant parents), it is difficult to fully understand the identity struggle Zauner presents, however I do wish she had explored her themes of identity a bit more throughout this book. She mentions the struggle to seem "more white" in her early years in contrast to her struggle to seem "Korean enough" in adulthood, and I think if she had explored this a little further, it would have tied the book together more neatly. Additionally, I would have liked a bit more of the "middle" of her story. I felt as though we went from a troubled relationship in her early years to a transient mention of a reconciliation between her and her mother to full time caregiver. While I know life is often not quite so neat, and relationships are complex, I think it would've helped the flow of her story. That being said, I thought she excellently highlighted how you can have both an intimate and dissonant relationship with a parent (especially in a mother-daughter context) all at once.
Lastly, I enjoyed the theme of using food as a connection and a call to home throughout this memoir, as it really set the tone and kept the reader engaged in her "world", so to speak.
Okay...I feel like being a little disappointed has been a theme for the last few books I've read and unfortunately this one is in that category as well.
This book received a LOT of hype, and it isn't that it was a bad book or a boring story, it's just that I expected more. It isn't primarily a romance novel, but the amount of discussion around the great queer love stories in this book led me to believe otherwise. In all, there were probably six total chapters of ~romance~ of any kind, throughout the entire 800 page book. I love the representation, but I wanted more more more.
Speaking of the length, I get world building is important in fantasy novels, and I was happy to be reading fantasy that was not faerie or vampire-based, but for the entire plot to be wrapped up in the last 20 pages of an 800 page novel is criminal behavior. I also had a really difficult time visually connecting with this book. Typically when I read, it's like a movie in my head, but for some reason I was just getting snippets as I read Priory, which made me feel a bit disconnected from the plot.
Things I did like: The number of strong female characters in this book, the magic system and lore, the picture of a world divided.
Overall, this is a good book, but it did not come even close to living up to the hype, in my opinion.
This book received a LOT of hype, and it isn't that it was a bad book or a boring story, it's just that I expected more. It isn't primarily a romance novel, but the amount of discussion around the great queer love stories in this book led me to believe otherwise. In all, there were probably six total chapters of ~romance~ of any kind, throughout the entire 800 page book. I love the representation, but I wanted more more more.
Speaking of the length, I get world building is important in fantasy novels, and I was happy to be reading fantasy that was not faerie or vampire-based, but for the entire plot to be wrapped up in the last 20 pages of an 800 page novel is criminal behavior. I also had a really difficult time visually connecting with this book. Typically when I read, it's like a movie in my head, but for some reason I was just getting snippets as I read Priory, which made me feel a bit disconnected from the plot.
Things I did like: The number of strong female characters in this book, the magic system and lore, the picture of a world divided.
Overall, this is a good book, but it did not come even close to living up to the hype, in my opinion.