magicalghoul's Reviews (115)

First time actually engaging with Twilight (I know, sorry) and I wasn't really expecting it to be so... I don't know, mundane, I guess? I struggled in the middle of it because it's so uneventful and boring, and when the conflict came at the end it didn't really interest me either.

I do wish I had been Bella's mother, though. Her character could've been very interesting and considering that (with the exception of a few stand outs) there really aren't any good characters here, the hate she gets seems kinda excessive to me. She actually has a temper which was nice to see and not something I ever saw discussed about her character. 

There's very clear parallels to the argentinian dictatorship here and the exodus of nazis to argentina— the story is about a government-blacked dehumanization of people, which entails the body of disenfranchised people being used in every sense: Even down to scientists doing experiments on humans and the multiple cases of kidnapped women giving birth in captivity and those babies being given to people in power to raise as their own.

Very chilling in how possible this scenario would be. Human rights violations are happening everyday, genocides are happening before us, what will stop governments from encouraging cannibalism if they have something to gain from it?

The use of cold, straight language is very effective. It's chilling in it's almost clinical and straight approach, and works for a character that knowingly toes moral lines to his convenience.

So first of all, it's very amusing to me that I could sniff out almost immediately the danganronpa and ace attorney influence in this book. 

This was such a fun trip, I think the court intrigue worked really well with the whodunnit and we got to see and know the characters pretty well. The romance at its center is its best feature though: The yearning, the crazied devotion! I did have to stop and take a couple moments while reading because I felt crazy (positive). 

I did not care much for the magic system and it wasn't really fleshed out either— it felt more like a means to an end. Now, I was expecting something more on the vein of anti-stablishment/monarchy themes specially considering the narrator was from a marginalized people and the cast featured victims of imperialism but alas, the ending was very very underwhelming in that regard and did diminish my enjoyment of the rest of the book. 

Would recommend it for the characters and the romance, but if you're looking for intricate magic systems and revolutionary themes you could skip this one. 

Despite having different experience re:gender than the author some of the anxieties and issues depicted here were So relatable! 

I liked this entry more than the previous, and honestly I wouldn't mind to read a third entry into the series if that were ever to happen. 

Very nostalgic and heartwarming.
I liked the little interviews the author has with his friends and family, looking back. Also nice to see he had their support. 

I'm so sorry Miss Austen, this just wasn't for me. 

Pike's narration was really good though and one of the main reasons why I finished the book when I felt it was dragging on and on. Outside of Pike's voice and a coupleof episodes I did not enjoy it. 

Got an e-arc from netgalley and bindery books in exchange for a honest review. 

The story of Vita's revenge starts slowly, but stick with it—the plot eventually falls into place, and the payoff is worth the wait. 

While the tension is low until the final arc, this slow-burn approach works perfectly for Vita's compelling character development. The protagonist, a passive narrator for much of the story, patiently bides her time, making her eventual growth feel both organic and well-earned.  I'm not that used to reading about this type of passive protagonists, so this was a nice change of pace. 

The central f/f romance is sweet, though it did feel a bit underdeveloped. Vita's allies suffer this same fate but you'll find yourself genuinely rooting for them and hurting with them nonetheless.

In contrast, the antagonist fares better: His cruelty is disturbingly realistic and nuanced, avoiding cartoonish villainy and capturing the multi-faceted nature of abusers. 

This solid antagonist along with the well-crafted worldbuilding is what I think ultimately made the narrative work, it provided a strong foundation for the complex political intrigue and warring factions that drive the latter halves of the plot, making it all feel very grounded. 

Este libro de ficción histórica toma el incendio de la Iglesia de la Compañía de Jesús de 1863 en Chile, evento que personalmente desconocía por completo. 

Al principio, la escritura me pareció algo rígida y aburrida de leer. Pero los personajes (tanto héroes/heroínas y antagonistas) están TAN bien logrados, tri-dimensionales y distintivos, que mediante ellos la lectura se hace amena. 

Me ocurrió algo similar con la sub-trama de los gringos: La sufrí al principio sin entender por qué se incluían tales detalles que sólo parecían diagonales a la trama principal, pero que luego cobraron sentido al ver cómo el destino de estos diplomáticos se cruzó con el de las mujeres víctimas en el incendio de la compañía, personificado en la ficción en las historias de Fatima y Max.

Una vez la trama llega al fatídico día se mantiene un excelente sentido de tensión e intriga a lo largo de la narrativa a tal punto que ese día debí seguir leyendo hasta el final para no quedarme en vela sin saber el destino de los personajes que tanto me habían encariñado.

La puntuación que le doy es en gran parte a la gran labor de investigación, periodismo y divulgación realizado por la autora en su intento por humanizar esta parte olvidada de la historia de Chile. Creo que hay detalles de la narrativa (como el estilo algo tieso, cambios de POV irregulares e inclusión poco orgánica de detalles históricos) que pueden perdonarse cuando el resultado es un libro con una misión tan noble y que se disfruta muchísimo.

La primera parte me gustó mucho y aunque tuve mis dudas sobre las segunda, una vez

Alma se encuentra con la vampira

, me volvió a enganchar por completo. 

El contraste de la fuerza del duelo en una de las voces narrativas en contraste con un personaje que no se inmuta con la muerte que causa y la muerte a su alrededor fue bastante interesante.