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literatureaesthetic's Reviews (540)
Herculine Barbin: Being the Recently Discovered Memoirs of a Nineteenth-Century French Hermaphrodite
read for university — decided to not rate this book
this is a collection of diary entries written by Herculine Barbin, who was an intersex individual in the 19th century. It's a raw, dark and disturbing insight into her life, following from when she was a young school girl, to her sudden reclassifiication as a man, and her eventual suicide at the age of 30.
We watch her slow descent into depression, her struggles with identity and sexuality, the abuse and isolation she faced due to archaic views on her body. It was actually very difficult to read at times, due to how exposed these diary entries are, and how we're witnessing the darkest and most brutal parts of this person's life. It felt extremely intrusive to read this? Especially considering that these were her diary entries, and not an autobiography.
It asks interesting questions on what it means to be masculine or feminine, as well as nicely covers how gender is a social construct and that it's harmful to regulate the way that people live their lives, based on outdated and restrictive societal ideals.
It was insightful and eye-opening, but also difficult af to read because of the sensitive content.
this is a collection of diary entries written by Herculine Barbin, who was an intersex individual in the 19th century. It's a raw, dark and disturbing insight into her life, following from when she was a young school girl, to her sudden reclassifiication as a man, and her eventual suicide at the age of 30.
We watch her slow descent into depression, her struggles with identity and sexuality, the abuse and isolation she faced due to archaic views on her body. It was actually very difficult to read at times, due to how exposed these diary entries are, and how we're witnessing the darkest and most brutal parts of this person's life. It felt extremely intrusive to read this? Especially considering that these were her diary entries, and not an autobiography.
It asks interesting questions on what it means to be masculine or feminine, as well as nicely covers how gender is a social construct and that it's harmful to regulate the way that people live their lives, based on outdated and restrictive societal ideals.
It was insightful and eye-opening, but also difficult af to read because of the sensitive content.
I really thought this was going to be a new favourite book. And although this wasn't a new favourite, it came really close. I definitely think this series has the potential to be a new favourite.
I ended up giving this 4.25 stars. I thought it was such a good introduction to the world and the characters. I loved everything we learned about the world in this book, and the fact that we're given hints that there's so much more to learn about this universe, makes me soo so excited. I can't wait to see how this world grows and expands in the next 14(13?) books.
The Lord of the Rings influences were everything. The Lord of the Rings is definitely my favourite fantasy world and series, and so anything that even remotely resembles Tolkien's work will always be an instant YES from me. I did reach a point where I was questioning whether it was maybe too similar to LOTR? I wanted it to be slightly more original, and thankfully midway through the book, 'The Eye of the World' definitely began to stand on its own two feet, which is why I enjoyed the second half slightly more than the first.
It took me a while to begin caring for the characters, I only really started caring for Rand towards the end. I hate Mat, adored Perrin (the whole plotline with the wolves-- CHEFS KISS. Honestly, wolves in fantasy books hit different). I loved Nynaeve, disliked her towards the beginning but she definitely grew on me. I'd say she's my fav female character in this book? & OF COURSE LAN
It's rare that you read a book, and immediately fall in love. My fav aspects:
• Renée Ahdieh's poetic and lyrical writing style
• Original characters, especially Shahrzad. Shahrzad is now my favourite female character. I find YA female protagonists very repetitive. I thought her character was amazingly well-written, and she'll stay with me for a long time.
• The Middle Eastern themes. The Wrath and the Dawn is a retelling of a Thousand and One Nights, and I was captivated by the rich middle eastern culture. As an Asian, it's difficult to find stories that represent me, I finally found a book that I could see parts of myself and my childhood in. The little things like the food and the clothes made reading this book a wonderful and precious experience.
highlyy recommend <3
• Renée Ahdieh's poetic and lyrical writing style
• Original characters, especially Shahrzad. Shahrzad is now my favourite female character. I find YA female protagonists very repetitive. I thought her character was amazingly well-written, and she'll stay with me for a long time.
• The Middle Eastern themes. The Wrath and the Dawn is a retelling of a Thousand and One Nights, and I was captivated by the rich middle eastern culture. As an Asian, it's difficult to find stories that represent me, I finally found a book that I could see parts of myself and my childhood in. The little things like the food and the clothes made reading this book a wonderful and precious experience.
highlyy recommend <3
a small step up from the first book (fortuna sworn), but still a lot of room for improvement. my main issue with the first book was that everything was rushed. in restless slumber, the author takes the time to develop the character dynamics and the world a little bit more, which this series definitely needed, i think.
at times i felt like this book was just a series of random events, and none of the events had any correlation?? to me, it seemed like the author had certain scenes in her mind, and didn't know how to connect them. and we're left with a clunky story with no flow or natural progression. i wouldn't say the entire book is like this, but it definitely got messier during the middle chunk/the bulk of the story.
i have a love/hate relationship with fortuna. she was insufferable at certain parts of this book, but her character took a very interesting shift in the last quarter. i'm so intruiged to see where she goes from here. i'm still reeling over the ending, it got very dark and graphic very quickly, and i don't know how i feel about any of it
at times i felt like this book was just a series of random events, and none of the events had any correlation?? to me, it seemed like the author had certain scenes in her mind, and didn't know how to connect them. and we're left with a clunky story with no flow or natural progression. i wouldn't say the entire book is like this, but it definitely got messier during the middle chunk/the bulk of the story.
i have a love/hate relationship with fortuna. she was insufferable at certain parts of this book, but her character took a very interesting shift in the last quarter. i'm so intruiged to see where she goes from here. i'm still reeling over the ending, it got very dark and graphic very quickly, and i don't know how i feel about any of it
Rating: 3.75
I'm so conflicted with this.
I LOVED the romance. I think Desmond and Callie were adorable. I loved them together, and I loved seeing their relationship slowly grow and morph into something larger. They were everything.
I also really liked the whole 'fantasy' element. I've never read a book about a siren before, and I thought it was so cool.
It did take me a while to get into, I think I was halfway through the book before I really started getting invested. And there were a few things that did irritate me, which is why I couldn't give it a full 5 stars. I feel like they were more "personal preference" things, but I'll mention them anyways.
One issue I had was the way the conflict was resolved. It was way too quick and random for me.
I also really didn't like how Callie's self-worth relied SO MUCH on Desmond's opinion of her. To some degree, I understand. Sometimes you need someone to believe in you, before you start believing in yourself. But in this book, literally everytime she had a bad thought about herself: that she was "broken" or "tainted", Desmond would say she isn't and immediately she would believe she isn't those things. Idk, I just think if the author is going to have a plot about a woman overcoming all of her trauma and struggles, then it should be because she learns and grows to love herself. Not because a man tells her to??? Idk if that makes sense.
Ooh I just don't like it. Think about how much cooler and impactful it would've been if she started experimenting with her new body (flying etc.) and she slowly falls in love with her body again, because rediscovers the beauty and strength in it. Like..... I just hate this trope in books when the woman relies on the man's opinion of her, to begin loving herself.
Overall, it was super fun and entertaining, which is the only thing that matters. Like I said, I *adored* Demond and Callie's relationship, and I can't wait to see more of them
I'm so conflicted with this.
I LOVED the romance. I think Desmond and Callie were adorable. I loved them together, and I loved seeing their relationship slowly grow and morph into something larger. They were everything.
I also really liked the whole 'fantasy' element. I've never read a book about a siren before, and I thought it was so cool.
It did take me a while to get into, I think I was halfway through the book before I really started getting invested. And there were a few things that did irritate me, which is why I couldn't give it a full 5 stars. I feel like they were more "personal preference" things, but I'll mention them anyways.
One issue I had was the way the conflict was resolved. It was way too quick and random for me.
I also really didn't like how Callie's self-worth relied SO MUCH on Desmond's opinion of her. To some degree, I understand. Sometimes you need someone to believe in you, before you start believing in yourself. But in this book, literally everytime she had a bad thought about herself: that she was "broken" or "tainted", Desmond would say she isn't and immediately she would believe she isn't those things. Idk, I just think if the author is going to have a plot about a woman overcoming all of her trauma and struggles, then it should be because she learns and grows to love herself. Not because a man tells her to??? Idk if that makes sense.
Spoiler
Even her new body at the end. She says that she feels like a monster, she doesn't feel like herself etc. And then,every time he looks at my wings, my claws, my scales with adoration, I tolerate them a little more.
Ooh I just don't like it. Think about how much cooler and impactful it would've been if she started experimenting with her new body (flying etc.) and she slowly falls in love with her body again, because rediscovers the beauty and strength in it. Like..... I just hate this trope in books when the woman relies on the man's opinion of her, to begin loving herself.
Overall, it was super fun and entertaining, which is the only thing that matters. Like I said, I *adored* Demond and Callie's relationship, and I can't wait to see more of them
Rating: 2.5 Stars
I'm very conflicted with this book. There were elements that I really enjoyed, like the magic system and the world. The book includes elemental magic, which is my favourite kind of magic in fantasy, and I loved the way the magic was incorporated into this world. But the characters really let this book down for me.
None of the characters really worked for me. Vhalla, our protagonist, was boring and immature and made the stupidest decisions. Prince Aldrik's character development was all over the place. When we first meet Prince Aldrik, he's unjustly mean and cruel towards Vhalla. And then the third time we meet him, he has a completely different personality, and is kind and sweet. The complete change in behaviour was so random, and we aren't even given a reason as to why he was so awful to Vhalla? It was just so bizarre.
For a fantasy romance, the romance was surprisingly bad. It seemed like every male character in this novel had a thing for Vhalla, and for what reason lmao? Not only that, she liked them all back and it made no sense. There was no chemistry between her and any of the men that could've been a potential love interest. It felt like Elise Kova was shoving the endgame relationship down my throat. For it to be a convincing romance, there has to be chemistry, there has to be a spark between the characters, and I didn't really see that between Vhalla and Aldrik. Because while Vhalla was "falling" for Aldrik, she was flirting with his brother and going on dates with her friend??? I'm so confused. If this was a polyamorous romance, I would've been fine with the multiple love interests and Vhalla's constantly changing interest in men. But it wasn't a polyamorous romance, which just makes the romance badly written and unconvincing in my opinion. Sorry.
The plot in itself, also wasn't great? At around 320 pages, Air Awakens is very short for a fantasy novel. Because the novel is so short, everything just felt rushed and undeveloped. The character development, like I touched on earlier with Aldrik, the romance, the "threat".... all of it was just not developed enough for me to actually care. This book really could've done with just more detail. More information on the characters. Rather than Aldrik randomly having a personality transplant, I want to actually see him realising his mistakes and being apologetic. Rather than Vhalla falling for or being attracted to mutliple men, I want to know why she's attracted to them. Delving deeper into the characters would've made me care for them so much more. I think there was just a lot of telling and not showing, and that really affected my overall enjoyment.
The threat at the end appeared out of nowhere. We aren't told anything about the threat and the conflict throughout the story, and at the end we're dumped into this random fight, and I had no idea what was happening or where the enemies had come from.
I'm not sure if I'll continue with the series, if I'm honest. I might give it a go, if the reviews for the next book are good and convincing enough. I just don't think this series is for me. I am open to trying more of Elise Kova's works, though.
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I'm very conflicted with this book. There were elements that I really enjoyed, like the magic system and the world. The book includes elemental magic, which is my favourite kind of magic in fantasy, and I loved the way the magic was incorporated into this world. But the characters really let this book down for me.
None of the characters really worked for me. Vhalla, our protagonist, was boring and immature and made the stupidest decisions. Prince Aldrik's character development was all over the place. When we first meet Prince Aldrik, he's unjustly mean and cruel towards Vhalla. And then the third time we meet him, he has a completely different personality, and is kind and sweet. The complete change in behaviour was so random, and we aren't even given a reason as to why he was so awful to Vhalla? It was just so bizarre.
For a fantasy romance, the romance was surprisingly bad. It seemed like every male character in this novel had a thing for Vhalla, and for what reason lmao? Not only that, she liked them all back and it made no sense. There was no chemistry between her and any of the men that could've been a potential love interest. It felt like Elise Kova was shoving the endgame relationship down my throat. For it to be a convincing romance, there has to be chemistry, there has to be a spark between the characters, and I didn't really see that between Vhalla and Aldrik. Because while Vhalla was "falling" for Aldrik, she was flirting with his brother and going on dates with her friend??? I'm so confused. If this was a polyamorous romance, I would've been fine with the multiple love interests and Vhalla's constantly changing interest in men. But it wasn't a polyamorous romance, which just makes the romance badly written and unconvincing in my opinion. Sorry.
The plot in itself, also wasn't great? At around 320 pages, Air Awakens is very short for a fantasy novel. Because the novel is so short, everything just felt rushed and undeveloped. The character development, like I touched on earlier with Aldrik, the romance, the "threat".... all of it was just not developed enough for me to actually care. This book really could've done with just more detail. More information on the characters. Rather than Aldrik randomly having a personality transplant, I want to actually see him realising his mistakes and being apologetic. Rather than Vhalla falling for or being attracted to mutliple men, I want to know why she's attracted to them. Delving deeper into the characters would've made me care for them so much more. I think there was just a lot of telling and not showing, and that really affected my overall enjoyment.
The threat at the end appeared out of nowhere. We aren't told anything about the threat and the conflict throughout the story, and at the end we're dumped into this random fight, and I had no idea what was happening or where the enemies had come from.
I'm not sure if I'll continue with the series, if I'm honest. I might give it a go, if the reviews for the next book are good and convincing enough. I just don't think this series is for me. I am open to trying more of Elise Kova's works, though.
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a fun time, kinda forgettable and not something im ever gonna remember. but definitely good in a trashy fantasy romance kinda way. i think i will continue w the next book, even if it probably will be a straight 3 star series for me
maybe a 2.5☆ ??
this book isn't completely awful, it's just boring. absolutely nothing happens in here, there's no reason for it to be 700 pages
it's actually a little infuriating because wheel of time contains so many fantasy elements & tropes that should be incredible: alternate dimesions?? the aes sedai, an exclusive community of magic-wielding women?? gorgeous. but i think robert jordan's verbose, lengthy writing style sucks the appeal out of all of it. and i'm slightly bitter because i can see the potential, but the dull moments really overpowered this one
honestly, i'm just here for lan and nynaeve, if we were rating chapter 23 alone, this would be 5 stars. that chapter truly was the only time i felt something while reading this book. loial is also a fav character for me <3
i will continue because i LOVED book one (gave it 4☆). i'm hoping 'the great hunt' is a one-off and that book 3 will be more eventful
this book isn't completely awful, it's just boring. absolutely nothing happens in here, there's no reason for it to be 700 pages
it's actually a little infuriating because wheel of time contains so many fantasy elements & tropes that should be incredible: alternate dimesions?? the aes sedai, an exclusive community of magic-wielding women?? gorgeous. but i think robert jordan's verbose, lengthy writing style sucks the appeal out of all of it. and i'm slightly bitter because i can see the potential, but the dull moments really overpowered this one
honestly, i'm just here for lan and nynaeve, if we were rating chapter 23 alone, this would be 5 stars. that chapter truly was the only time i felt something while reading this book. loial is also a fav character for me <3
i will continue because i LOVED book one (gave it 4☆). i'm hoping 'the great hunt' is a one-off and that book 3 will be more eventful
dnf at 37% - might give it another go at some point
2022 goals:
✓ read 50 books ( 76 / 50 )
✓ read more mindfully
✓ read 2 non-fiction books ( 3/2 )
✓ finish at least 3 series ( 3/3 )
favourite book each month:
j a n u a r y | The Dragon Republic by R F Kuang
➻ 6 books read ▪ 1 dnf
f e b r u a r y | The Burning God by R F Kuang
➻ 6 books read
m a r c h | The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
➻ 6 books read
a p r i l | Breasts and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami
➻ 4 books read
m a y | Betty by Tiffany McDaniel
➻ 5 books read
j u n e | Summer Frost by Blake Crouch
➻ 8 books read
j u l y | A Clash of Kings by George R R Martin
➻ 6 books read
a u g u s t | Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds
➻ 7 books read ▪ 1 dnf
s e p t e m b e r | Babel by R F Kuang
➻ 3 books read ▪ 2 dnf
o c t o b e r | Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
➻ 8 books read ▪ 1 dnf
n o v e m b e r | Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice
➻ 11 books read ▪︎ 2 dnf
d e c e m b e r | Deadhouse Gates by Steven Erikson
➻ 7 books read ▪ 1 dnf
series completed
the poppy war trilogy // r f kuang
twisted // ana huang
mistborn era two // brandon sanderson
2022 priorities
• The Lies of Locke Lamora - Scott Lynch
• The Shadow of What Was Lost - James Islington
• Dark Matter - Blake Crouch
• The Sword of Kaigen - M L Wang
✓ Jade City - Fonda Lee
• Jade War - Fonda Lee
• Jade Legacy - Fonda Lee
✓ The Dragon Republic - R F Kuang
✓ The Burning God - R F Kuang
✓ Babel - R F Kuang
✓ Red Sister - Mark Lawrenxe
• Grey Sister - Mark Lawrence
• Holy Sister - Mark Lawrence
✓ Hyperion - Dan Simmons
✓ The Fall of Hyperion - Dan Simmons
✓ A Clash of Kings - grrm
• A Storm of Swords prt 1 - grrm
• Muse - Diane Portman-Ray
✓ Ecstasy - k v rose
• Ominous - k v rose
• Monstress Vol 1 - 6
✓ The Wolf of Oren Yaro - S K Vilosso
• The Shadow of the Gods - John Gwynne
• By Sin I Rise Part 1 - Cora Reilly
• By Sin I Rise Part 2 - Cora Reilly
• Empire of Silence - Christopher Ruocchio
• Recursion - Blake Crouch
✓ The Great Hunt - Robert Jordan
• The Dragon Reborn - Robert Jordan
✓ Gardens of the Moon - Steven Erikson
✓ Deadhouse Gates - Steven Erikson
• Memories of Ice - Steven Erikson
✓ Jegudiel - Tillie Cole
✓ Shadows of Self - Brando Sando
✓ The Bands of Mourning - Brando Sando
• Caliban's War - James S A Corey
• Abaddon's Gate - James S A Corey
✓ Solaris - Stanisław Lem
• The Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula K le Guin
✗ The Grace of Kings - Ken Liu
• A Psalm for the Wild Built - Becky Chambers
✓ American Psycho - Bret Easton Ellis
• The Ninth Rain - Jen Williams
✓ Betty - Tiffany McDaniel
• The City of Brass - S A Chakraborty
DNF (✗) – 1
Completed (including DNF's) – 20 / 45
2022 anticipated releases
• To Paradise - Hanya Yanagihara
✓ Babel - R F Kuang
✓ Upgrade - Blake Crouch
• Book of Night - Holly Black
• Fall Boys - Penelope Douglas
• Siren Queen - Nghi Vo
✓ Reminders of Him - Colleen Hoover
• All My Rage - Sabaa Tahir
✓ The Lost Metal - Brando Sando
• How High We Go in the Dark - Sequoia Nagamatsu
Completed – 4 / 10
newfound all-time favourites
• the dragon republic - r f kuang
• the virgin suicides - jeffrey eugenides
✓ read 50 books ( 76 / 50 )
✓ read more mindfully
✓ read 2 non-fiction books ( 3/2 )
✓ finish at least 3 series ( 3/3 )
favourite book each month:
j a n u a r y | The Dragon Republic by R F Kuang
➻ 6 books read ▪ 1 dnf
f e b r u a r y | The Burning God by R F Kuang
➻ 6 books read
m a r c h | The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
➻ 6 books read
a p r i l | Breasts and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami
➻ 4 books read
m a y | Betty by Tiffany McDaniel
➻ 5 books read
j u n e | Summer Frost by Blake Crouch
➻ 8 books read
j u l y | A Clash of Kings by George R R Martin
➻ 6 books read
a u g u s t | Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds
➻ 7 books read ▪ 1 dnf
s e p t e m b e r | Babel by R F Kuang
➻ 3 books read ▪ 2 dnf
o c t o b e r | Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
➻ 8 books read ▪ 1 dnf
n o v e m b e r | Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice
➻ 11 books read ▪︎ 2 dnf
d e c e m b e r | Deadhouse Gates by Steven Erikson
➻ 7 books read ▪ 1 dnf
series completed
the poppy war trilogy // r f kuang
twisted // ana huang
mistborn era two // brandon sanderson
2022 priorities
• The Lies of Locke Lamora - Scott Lynch
• The Shadow of What Was Lost - James Islington
• Dark Matter - Blake Crouch
• The Sword of Kaigen - M L Wang
✓ Jade City - Fonda Lee
• Jade War - Fonda Lee
• Jade Legacy - Fonda Lee
✓ The Dragon Republic - R F Kuang
✓ The Burning God - R F Kuang
✓ Babel - R F Kuang
✓ Red Sister - Mark Lawrenxe
• Grey Sister - Mark Lawrence
• Holy Sister - Mark Lawrence
✓ Hyperion - Dan Simmons
✓ The Fall of Hyperion - Dan Simmons
✓ A Clash of Kings - grrm
• A Storm of Swords prt 1 - grrm
• Muse - Diane Portman-Ray
✓ Ecstasy - k v rose
• Ominous - k v rose
• Monstress Vol 1 - 6
✓ The Wolf of Oren Yaro - S K Vilosso
• The Shadow of the Gods - John Gwynne
• By Sin I Rise Part 1 - Cora Reilly
• By Sin I Rise Part 2 - Cora Reilly
• Empire of Silence - Christopher Ruocchio
• Recursion - Blake Crouch
✓ The Great Hunt - Robert Jordan
• The Dragon Reborn - Robert Jordan
✓ Gardens of the Moon - Steven Erikson
✓ Deadhouse Gates - Steven Erikson
• Memories of Ice - Steven Erikson
✓ Jegudiel - Tillie Cole
✓ Shadows of Self - Brando Sando
✓ The Bands of Mourning - Brando Sando
• Caliban's War - James S A Corey
• Abaddon's Gate - James S A Corey
✓ Solaris - Stanisław Lem
• The Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula K le Guin
✗ The Grace of Kings - Ken Liu
• A Psalm for the Wild Built - Becky Chambers
✓ American Psycho - Bret Easton Ellis
• The Ninth Rain - Jen Williams
✓ Betty - Tiffany McDaniel
• The City of Brass - S A Chakraborty
DNF (✗) – 1
Completed (including DNF's) – 20 / 45
2022 anticipated releases
• To Paradise - Hanya Yanagihara
✓ Babel - R F Kuang
✓ Upgrade - Blake Crouch
• Book of Night - Holly Black
• Fall Boys - Penelope Douglas
• Siren Queen - Nghi Vo
✓ Reminders of Him - Colleen Hoover
• All My Rage - Sabaa Tahir
✓ The Lost Metal - Brando Sando
• How High We Go in the Dark - Sequoia Nagamatsu
Completed – 4 / 10
newfound all-time favourites
• the dragon republic - r f kuang
• the virgin suicides - jeffrey eugenides