howlinglibraries's Reviews (1.85k)

“Sure, sometimes you gotta let things go, but other times you can't till you set things right.”

Going into my first western story ever, I had no clue what to expect. Truthfully, I'm not a tremendous fan of western films, but they tend to follow such specific atmospheric guidelines that I couldn't have imagined a book executing those same feelings. I was wrong, though; Vengeance Road literally feels like you've been transported into a western, from the setting all the way to the manner of speaking the narrator takes on (both in spoken word and her inner monologues).

Essentially, Vengeance Road is a story of vengeance; when Kate comes home and finds her beloved father hanged and her home burned to the ground, she chooses to dress up like a young man and ride off after the gang of rough riders responsible for this crime.

→ what I liked ←

“The frontier ain't for the faint of heart, and it certainly ain't kind to women. Sometimes I think the whole world's 'gainst us.”

Kate is a fantastically likable narrator. She's stubborn, heartbroken, and downright pissed off, and nothing's getting in the way of that. Even when she starts to develop feelings for Jesse, one of the brothers she reluctantly travels with, she refuses to let those emotions hinder her even for a moment.

Jesse and Will, the two brothers Kate travels with, are also a really enjoyable duo; they bicker like siblings, but there's no doubting their love for one another, even when one of them inevitably falls into a rant about the other one's idiocy or quirks. On top of that, when they choose to ride with Kate, not knowing she's a young woman, it's made evident that their offer is based on a feeling of moral requirement - not just taking care of her because she's a girl. Even once the truth is revealed, I never felt like Jesse or Will looked at Kate any differently for her sex - a surprisingly feminist view for a couple of late 1800s teen boys to hold.

The action scenes are remarkably well-paced and easy to follow. I find that fight scenes are hit and miss for me in books, but Erin Bowman does a pretty fine job of playing them out for you.

→ what I disliked ←

“Gold makes monsters of men.”

Despite this being a really fun story, I don't feel like I ever fully connected with the characters! It was hard for me to feel much emotion for any of them, even when terrible, dramatic things happened. (I really hoped the second book would give me the chance to attach further to them, but the second book is a companion with different characters.)

In the beginning of the book, it's established that everyone (including the narrator) is incredibly prejudiced against the Apache people of the area; in several instances, Kate mentions how terrified of them she is, and essentially plays into the "savages" trope. While she does end up progressing really solidly in this aspect, I almost felt like it was played up a little too much, and it admittedly made me a bit uncomfortable a time or two.

→ final thoughts ←

While Vengeance Road certainly wasn't perfect, it was a really fun read in a genre I'd never reached before, and I will be continuing the series for sure. I've got an eARC of the companion novel and will be sharing a review for that one as well!

Content warnings: fat-shaming (unchallenged), racism (sometimes challenged, sometimes not), violence.

#1 Twilight ★★★☆☆
#2 New Moon - pending reread
#3 Eclipse - pending reread
#4 Breaking Dawn - pending reread

#1 Twilight ★★★☆☆
#2 New Moon - pending reread
#3 Eclipse - pending reread
#4 Breaking Dawn - pending reread

#1 Twilight ★★★☆☆
#2 New Moon - pending reread
#3 Eclipse - pending reread
#4 Breaking Dawn - pending reread

07.07.17 update:
Goodreads says that I read this in 2014 and gave it 5 stars but I have literally NO MEMORY of this book whatsoever. Is it worth getting a copy for rereading purposes or was I just really easily impressed by lesbian rep a few years ago?

#1 Six of Crows ★★★★★
#2 Crooked Kingdom ★★★★★

My god, this book. I mean… I already know that I can’t even do it a little bit of justice with this review, but I have to try. I cannot believe that this beautiful, incredible, wondrous book sat on my shelf unread for fourteen months before I picked it up—all because I hadn’t finished the Grisha trilogy yet. Let me tell you, as long as you’ve read Shadow and Bone, if you’re putting this off until you finish that trilogy, either hurry up and polish those off, or let ‘em go and move on, because this book is one hundred percent worth picking up right now.

“No mourners, no funerals. Among them, it passed for ‘good luck’.”

First of all, if you like books with #squadgoals, this is one of the best I’ve ever read (in fact, I’d say that the Dregs are perfectly tied with my other favorite bookish squad, which is the Night Court’s inner circle). These characters are so gorgeously three-dimensional, so complex and lovable and moody and clever and flawed and relatable, that I found myself immediately falling in love with each and every one of them within mere pages of meeting them.

“When everyone knows you’re a monster, you needn’t waste time doing every monstrous thing.”

→ Kaz Brekker ←
The star of the show (for me, at least) is “Dirtyhands” Kaz: the disabled orphan boy, grown up to be a vicious, thieving gang leader. He comes across as so unpredictable and unfeeling that his own closest confidantes can rarely read him or guess his next move, but when we see things through his perspective, he’s so immensely convoluted and carries so much weight from the world around him that I think it’s just about impossible not to empathize with him and want to protect him—even if all he needs protection from, most of the time, is himself.

“Many boys will bring you flowers, But someday you’ll meet a boy who will learn your favorite flower, your favorite song, your favorite sweet. And even if he is too poor to give you any of them, it won’t matter because he will have taken the time to know you as no one else does.”

→ Inej Ghafa ←
Kaz’s right hand, Inej, is an incredibly close second for my favorite character—or tied with Kaz for the position, depending upon which chapter you catch me in. Nicknamed “The Wraith”, she’s a brilliant assassin; if you love the stereotypical stoic rogue characters, Inej is your gal. She’s a lovely enough character for her actions within the book’s events, but what really gave her the special place in my heart was her backstory. While Leigh Bardugo tiptoes and uses implications for the most part, Inej was forced to work in a brothel for some time, and when she reminisces on her fearful memories (and the loving family that came before them), it breaks my heart a little more every time.

She’d laughed, and if he could have bottled the sound and gotten drunk on it every night, he would have.

→ Nina Zenik ←
Before I describe my feelings for Nina, I have to tell you that so many of my SOC-loving friends had told me I reminded them of her character (or vice-versa), I was legitimately nervous to meet her, but once I did, I related so hard to her mannerisms and ways of viewing the world that it surprised me. She’s flirty and a little wild, unafraid to indulge when she can, but protective and worrisome over her friends nearly to a fault. She’s also some of the most unapologetically healthy and sexy plus size rep I’ve ever seen in a book, which is a fact that was enough to win me over all on its own, because, yes please, can I get more where this came from?

“The water hears and understands. The ice does not forgive.”

→ Matthias Helvar ←
Matthias is literally the only character that I ever felt ambivalent towards: he’s a Fjerdan hunter of Grisha people, and his prejudices and brainwashing run very deep, so there are moments here and there where I wanted to roll my eyes and shake him. That said, he’s a quintessential teddy bear character at his core, and by the end of the book, he was just as much a part of the gang to me as any of the other five.

“Fine. But if Pekka Rollins kills us all, I’m going to get Wylan’s ghost to teach my ghost how to play the flute just so that I can annoy the hell out of your ghost.”

→ Jesper Fahey ←
In the start of the book, I feel like Jesper is one of the characters we are given the least chances to love, but by the end, he was so precious and hilarious that I just wanted to squeeze him. He’s the comic relief of the group, but he’s also an incredible sharpshooter who can always be counted on to save someone else’s hide, so long as he isn’t too busy nursing his gambling addiction. He’s also the black bi icon of the group, which further shows off Leigh’s commitment to wonderfully diverse casts of characters. ♥

“Always hit where the mark isn’t looking.”
“Who’s Mark?”

→ Wylan Van Eck ←
Last but not least is the youngest and most innocent of the group: Wylan, a sweet kid who knows a little too much about bombs and found himself roped into the Dregs through some unusual (and rather unfortunate) circumstances. He’s like the little kid of the group, even though he’s nearly the same age as the other teens, and he’s so quiet and timid at times that it made me melt. Just because he’s not my #1 fave, doesn’t mean I won’t set fire to anyone who hurts him.

It became a declaration. There was no part of him that was not broken, that had not healed wrong, and there was no part of him that was not stronger for having been broken.

All of these characters are just so damn lovable, and I so incredibly cherished the fact that Leigh Bardugo was so committed to presenting a cast of characters that was what I like to call “real world” diverse. A lot of complaints I’ve heard about this series say that it’s too diverse, and I think that’s ridiculous—if you look at the world around you, unless you live in a heavily socially segregated area, chances are you’re surrounded by people from all cultures, sexualities, identities, and walks of life. Out of the six Dregs, there’s only one who isn’t marginalized in some way, and I positively love that fact. ♥

He needed to tell her… what? That she was lovely and brave and better than anything he deserved. That he was twisted, crooked, wrong, but not so broken that he couldn’t pull himself together into some semblance of a man for her.

On top of the diversity aspect and how lovable everyone is, the romance in this book could make you swoon for weeks. (No, more like years… forever? Yeah, we’ll go with that.) The six Dregs branch into three couples, and normally, that would annoy me in the sense of not wanting to see everyone pair off with one another, but in this book, it just works. Everything is so gorgeously slow-burning and intense and magical, and I feel like every single couple deserves to be in my Top OTPs of All Time™ list.

Kaz leaned back. “What's the easiest way to steal a man's wallet?”
“Knife to the throat?” asked Inej.
“Gun to the back?” said Jesper.
“Poison in his cup?” suggested Nina.
“You're all horrible,” said Matthias.

I could honestly go on for days, but trust me when I say that Leigh Bardugo is, in my eyes, a goddess and a literary queen. She sculpts some of the most beautiful worlds I’ve ever seen, and I could happily spend series upon series in Kerch, or Ravka, or Fjerda, or anywhere in between. This was the fifth book of Leigh’s that I’ve read, and easily my favorite so far, but I have high hopes that the second book in the duology will take my love for her even further. If you enjoy fantasy novels with heists, scheming, and one of the best character casts you’ve ever seen, don’t hesitate to pick this one up.

Buddy read with Julie! ❤

You can find this review and more on my blog, or you can follow me on twitter, bookstagram, or facebook!

#1 And I Darken ★★★★★
#2 Now I Rise ★★★★★
#3 Bright We Burn ★★★☆☆

Update 12.28.17 → Don't mind me, just rewrote my entire review because rereading and dwelling on this book has changed my original opinion so drastically that it deserved better. 😍

"A dragon did not crawl on its belly in front of its enemies, begging for their help. A dragon did not vow to rid the world of infidels, and then invite them into its home. A dragon did not flee its land in the middle of the night like a criminal.

A dragon burned everything around herself until it was purified in ash."

Lada has the literal best character introduction you could hope for, in her wet nurse's prayer for her at her birth:

"Let her be strong.
Let her be sly.
And let her be ugly."

The nurse's prayers do not fall on deaf ears; Lada grows into an unruly, angry, and unattractive child who gets what she wants by force. On the contrary, her younger brother, Radu, gets what he wants with his beautiful cherubic face and sweet words. The siblings couldn't be any more different if they tried, so the alternating third-person perspectives make for an incredibly fascinating read.

The writing is beautiful, though there is a lot of slow development following the characters through their childhoods, and nothing of any real note occurs until they enter their teen years. We mostly just see a lot of Lada becoming set in her violent ways, while Radu continues to be the belle of the ball, rinse and repeat.

Once I hit the halfway mark, though, the action picked up immediately. There is so much political build-up and intrigue to keep you guessing, and the twists are wonderful. There is a love triangle, but I promise that it's unlike most love triangles you've read (maybe all of them), and absolutely blows the stereotype out of the water.

On one final note, there's something I want to touch on that I've seen in some other reviews: I've seen a handful of people say that they were disappointed in Lada, because they felt as though she lost her edge in the later chapters. I have to disagree with this, as her self-awareness and shame were more than enough to notate that she wasn't losing her values and priorities, so much as simply developing as a character and a young woman. As someone who loved her tyrannical behavior, I found her development to be... flawless, honestly. I adored Lada as a character; she is rude, demanding, and yet a fantastic leader. Kiersten White made no attempts to write a "likable" heroine, but that's precisely what made me love her so damn much.

I'm always so happy to return to the Lumberjanes universe. These girls are so sweet and feisty and fun, and I love the way their diversity is celebrated throughout the storyline, too. There's always some sort of new development in the way of diverse casting and content, or feminist tones, both of which were prominent in this story. There's some important discussion about how unkind language (such as improper pronouns) can ruin a friendship - because it's downright hurtful to keep using terms that you know make your friend uncomfortable - but there's also some talk about how valuable second chances and paying attention to your loved ones' needs is.

“Don't ignore half of me so you can fit me into a box. Don't do that.”

Let me go ahead and say that I had no idea what to expect from this book. When it first released, I remember seeing it everywhere, and I honestly didn’t take any interest in it until I was told about how diverse it was. It’s full of incredible representation: you’ve got bi rep, gay rep, lesbian rep, a Cuban woman, a biracial woman—so when I heard about all of that, I finally decided to give it a try, and I’m so glad that I did, because whatever I thought Evelyn Hugo was about, didn’t hold a candle to the experience of reading it for myself.

“People think that intimacy is about sex. But intimacy is about truth. When you realize you can tell someone your truth, when you can show yourself to them, when you stand in front of them bare and their response is 'you're safe with me'- that's intimacy.”

Throughout the entire book, Evelyn is more or less laying her soul bare to Monique, this reporter who she’s asked to write her life story. As this famous actress, Evelyn’s memories are juicy and full of drama, hidden pains and secret triumphs, and most notably, her seven marriages—not one of them having been to the hidden love of her life. Despite the descriptions she gives for judgments she received and the snippets of gossip articles laid out intermittently through the book, Evelyn isn’t ashamed of herself in any way, and it creates this incredibly feminist, sex-positive atmosphere that I could’ve soaked in forever.

“I made it fifty-fifty. Which is about the cruelest thing you can do to someone you love, give them just enough good to make them stick through a hell of a lot of bad.”

Despite Evelyn’s status as this film goddess by this point, she feels so relatable and she manages to work even the celebrity aspects of her life into this narrative that anyone could understand, as she admits to the sins she committed and the lies she told, and even to the baser things like the fact that she realized early on, no amount of fame or fortune would ever truly satisfy a successful actress like herself. She constantly owns up to selfish motives and awful behaviors, yet she’s tremendously likable, and I think that’s a fact that points to how terrific Taylor Jenkins Reid’s storytelling is: because we are hearing everything through Evelyn’s memories, from the mouth of an elderly woman who has settled down and found peace, it makes it difficult to ever blame her for a single crime she committed.

“It’s always been fascinating to me how things can be simultaneously true and false, how people can be good and bad all in one, how someone can love you in a way that is beautifully selfless while serving themselves ruthlessly.”

Of course, Evelyn’s not all bad—she overcame circumstances that many people would’ve simply given up under, and yet, she managed to love beautifully and to put her family first at every turn, even if the moves she made to protect them didn’t always make sense on the surface. Whether it’s her hidden love, or her endless commitment to her best friend, or her breathtaking adoration of her daughter, when you reach the end of the story and look back, it’s easy to see that nothing mattered more to Evelyn than the people she held dear, and it makes her feel spectacularly human.

“It’s a hard business, reconciling what the truth used to be with what the truth is now.”

Of course, Evelyn isn’t the only character who’s enjoyable in this book; underneath her memories is the story of Monique, the reporter who’s just trying to find her place in a world that doesn’t like to make room for strong women, much less women of color striking out on their own. She grows so much in a short span of time, and while the circumstances of the writing process aren’t always kind to her, and while she’s never really the star of the show, you can’t help but root for her, too—and everyone else in this complex, layered, masterpiece of a book.

“You have to find a job that makes your heart feel big instead of one that makes it feel small.”

I feel like there is so much more that I want to say, but at the end of the day, it all boils down to one thing: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is one of the most brilliant pieces of writing I have ever had the pleasure of reading. It sets itself so solidly apart from anything I’ve ever read that even remotely resembled it, and is probably one of the most powerful, emotional, and incredible things I have ever read. I am forever grateful for each and every one of who you encouraged me to pick it up, and for Taylor Jenkins Reid, the genius behind the pages. I cannot recommend this highly enough.

Buddy read with Meisha, Angie, and Delanna! ♥