mariebrunelm's Reviews (478)

Queer, French Dark Academia? Sign me up! This book was one of my most anticipated releases of 2022. I don't usually buy new releases, but meeting the author at a literary festival in May (the one which shall not be named) was the push I needed apparently.

Cathédrale is quite a subtle book. It's very much focused on the characters, which of course I loved. Their interactions really hold the book together while making the reader feel like there's something amiss. We alternate between two perspectives, that of Frédéric, the working class student who was lucky to get a scholarship because he would never have been able to attend Cathédrale, the capital's prestigious university. And we get Lionel, heir to a ruling family, who walks the minute line between unlikeable and nice. Think sass, a touch of arrogance and rule-defiance. All in the context of a university which seems to have a mind of its own.

While I really enjoyed the character writing, I wasn't completely satisfied with the "dark academia" part, because I wish there had been more of it! That's really just my academia-longing speaking here, but I was surprised to wish for more world-building (which I never do) and more diving into the intricacies of magic and knowledge. We do get a good helping of that towards the end, but it felt a little rushed to my taste. Probably because I didn't really want the book to end, to be honest.

So, all in all, a solid addition to the Dark Academia realm of literature, with the bonus of queer rep and neurodivergent rep.

Rep: aro/ace autistic MC, bi secondary character. 

After a series of meh books I was doubting my ability to fall in love with a book. Thankfulky Maya MacGregor had my back! 

If you're looking for something to read after watching Heartstopper and you've already read all of Alice Oseman's books, look no further! This book has STELLAR representation. It is darker than Oseman's books because of the heavier emphasis on trauma, but in the background it's a story about queer joy, and healthy boundaries, and respect.

We meet Sam Sylvester, who's just moved in with their dad in a new city, ready for a new beginning. We know from early on that something terrible happened to Sam, triggering the move. But they're determined to leave it as much behind as possible, and focus on their passions. Or obsessions. One of these is the recording of "half-lives" - fragments of life from teenagers who died before reaching their 19th birthdays... A date which is coming soon for Sam. What they hadn't expected was that one of the teens had lived in Sam's new house... and died there.

This book was a-mazing. Such a gift. I didn't want it to end but I couldn't stop reading either. It was just full of love and even though some dark things happen, it made my heart full. If I had to say one specific thing that particularly brought me joy... Junius. Sam's Black, aro-ace, single dad is too precious for this world and will soothe your heartaches page after page. 

Rep: non-binary autistic MC on the ace spectrum. The author, as they say in the acknowledgments, is queer, non-binary and autistic. 

I've wanted to read this short story collection since 2016 when I fell in love with the movie "Arrival", by Denis Villeneuve. It's inspired by "Story of your Life", which features here. I really loved it. In regards to the narrator's daughter, it's less dramatic than the movie version, which I really enjoyed. In the movie, I've always felt that part was a bit too much (even though it did make me cry). However, I think the movie format was maybe better suited to the whirlwind of emotions that builds up as you understand what's happening for the narrator, linguist Louise Banks. In that perspective, the short story was a little more factual.

As for the rest of the stories, I don't have anything negative to say. They're all built on a strong idea, and efficiently executed. I have to admit that a couple of them went way beyond my ability to understand what was going on because of the blend of science & philosophy. And the ending of the first story "Tower of Babylon", was a slight disappointment because I'd read a similar thing elsewhere. But on the whole it's book I'd really recommend. 

The third volume in the Rain Wilds Chronicles starts really slow. The first few chapters serve as a reminder for what happened before, which is good if you don't read them back-to-back but a little annoying if you do. However, after that the rhythm picks up! We get a few new perspectives in this volume, which expands the scope of the story. It does mean that things don't evolve a lot for the protagonists we've been following so far, but the change of scenery is welcome. Sorry for being so vague but I refuse to spoil anything! 
Rep: queer characters. 

 I was quietly enjoying myself, still sighing because this YA trilogy is going way too fast for my liking, but appreciating the banter, when out of the blue the characters started being massively fatphobic. Why? People's weight is not a joke. In addition to the casual sexism and the insta-love, this trip down memory lane is getting a bit sour. I'm not so sure I want to read the author's next series. I will read a one-shot because it sounds quite different and really lovely, though. 

 George Washington Black's life was destined to be framed by the borders of the cane plantation in Barbados where he is enslaved. But a death and an unlikely friendship offer him an escape, and here is "Wash" carried away into the world. But can freedom be as simple as that for a Black man in the 1830s? His quest takes Washington further and further, guided by his passion for science and a talent for illustrating its marvels.

This really is a gorgeous book. It delivers some of those quiet sentences that silently break your heart, under the guise of a larger-than-life adventure. The relationship between Washington and his fellow traveler is complex and thoughtful, miles away from the white savior trope that is still too common in stories about Black people. I'd say this novel is as delicate and deep as its stunning cover.

Rep: Black MC with a disfigurement. 

Après 2 lectures longues et en demi-teinte, il me fallait quelque chose de court, et surtout quelque chose de *fun*. J'ai donc jeté mon dévolu sur le 2e tome de la Quête d'Ewilan qui compense en dialogues enlevés ce qu'il n'offre pas en originalité. Les clichés s'empilent, et les aventures se précipitent sans temps mort. Beaucoup trop vite à mon goût, ce qui m'empêche de m'attacher vraiment, mais au moins c'est le choix idéal pour ne pas se prendre la tête. 
Rep : personnages racisés. 

What a bleak, bleak book. Contrary to La Belle Sauvage, this one takes place 8 years after the events in His Dark Materials. We are reunited with Lyra, now a young woman at university. Unfortunately, after what she and her dæmon went through, their relationship has never been the same. And it's truly heartbreaking. Yes, there is a whole story that is part spy thriller, part fantastical mystery, but what I felt most of all was Lyra and Pan's deep, deep sadness. 
If you enjoyed La Belle Sauvage, you'll probably enjoy this one as well! Sadly for me, the elements I hadn't enjoyed in LBS were back here. I kept reading because I wanted to know where the author was taking his world, given that he promised us more about Dust, but I felt rather frustrated at the end. Yes, His Dark Materials isn't a happy story, but there are many lights in the darkness, and I still love this series (even though no matter how many times I read it, I never understand the last volume). Here I thought it was mostly gloomy and hopeless, which didn't particularly cheer me up, go figure.

I almost DNFd one of my most anticipated books of the year. After reading The Martian and Artemis last year, I was so ready for another fun Science-fiction adventure by Andy Weir. Except this one was way more science than fiction, and given that I know absolutely nothing about physics or biology or any scientific stuff, I didn't enjoy this book much. I'm really frustrated because this title keeps cropping up in people's favourite books of the year. I just wish it had been like that for me. The hero felt like a pale copy of The Martian's Mark Watney, like the rest of the book. A lot of the plot twists felt similar, which is regrettable when your opening scene has a (white) man alone in space, except that Ryland Grace, in PHM, has the fate of the world in his hands, not just his own fate. I could see there was a great story unfolding, which I won't spoil you, but it didn't excite me or move me. Aaaargh. I'm frustrated.
Rep: it's never said, but the main character could very well be aro/ace. 

This is one of the books that cemented my love for fantasy as a child. Despite reading the series a couple of times I only had a blurry memory of it, so I decided to give it another try as an adult. 
This is the story of Camille, a bright teenager who prefers not to be noticed, especially by her adoptive parents. One day, as she crossed a street, she misses death closely and instead of being hit by a truck she ends up in a clearing where a knight in shining armour is fighting a horrible, lizard-like creature. Camille may not be as unremarkable as she wishes, as it turns out. 
I remember the thick volumes I read as a child, but as an adult this was a very quick read. I'm sad to admit the magic didn't really operate, except that I was delighted to find so many black & brown characters in an otherwise very classic fantasy story. You've got your knights, your mentor, your cute animal and your apparently unbeatable, monstrous enemies, all wrapped up in a neat quest to save a kingdom and reunite the chosen-one-type heroine with her long-lost parents.