mj_reads's Reviews (415)

I can’t put my finger on what I disliked about the book bc I feel like I loved it but also I just did not like it??? At all??

There were three timelines woven together and I think my issue was that even though I enjoyed them separately I didn’t really like them together.

I liked it but it felt a little underwhelming?

Lots of great aspects, a great vibe, but the story just goes a little off the rails near the end.

Strange the Dreamer has managed to be the most magical and also the most pure book I’ve read so far this year. I think I need to adopt Laini Taylor as one of my queens, because her writing just cuts through me in a way that leaves me feeling so good even though I’m in pieces. So where should I start?

The writing – It’s no secret that I’m into slow burn books, which is nice because this is one hell of a slow burn book. If you can make it through the first part of the book, with Lazlo’s introduction and back story then you will be more than fine with the rest of the book. Once we get to part two, and start to get introduced to the Godspawn, we just get so much world building and history that the story moves faster, until we’re at part 3 and it’s moving too fast and I can’t breathe because I’m an emotional mess trying to savor literally every word in this book. The writing is incredibly vivid, it makes it so easy to picture this entire book like a movie playing out in my head. It’s poetic and emotional, even though it is fantasy it is realistic enough to make me believe that this could happen, and most importantly the writing makes you think not only about the story but about the message between the lines.

The characters – To keep it simple and spoiler free: Lots to love, lots to hate, but the most amazing/incredible thing about these characters is there is no black and white/good and evil about them. Even those who appear to be mainly good or mainly evil are so clearly more dimensional than that. Motives are clear, even when I can’t relate I can understand them, so it is easy to sympathize even with those I want to dislike. The character growth in this story was amazing, I genuinely felt like a proud mom watching them grow and figure themselves out.

The plot – Honestly? Incredibly unique for a YA fantasy. Now I’m sure that there are other stories out there that are similar to this one, lets be real there are only so many different ways to tell YA fantasy stories. But this was just so refreshing compared to most of the other hyped up books right now? Despite the predictability in some of the plot twists, the story was told (thanks to the writing) in a way that had me not 100% sure I had it figured out.

So now that I’ve behaved myself here are some spoilerish thoughts that we need to talk about because WOW (these completely leave my review format and we step into my shouting feelings/questions/hopes for the next book)

Spoiler

FIRST OF ALL HOW DARE LAINI TAYLOR MAKE IT SO CLEAR FROM THE PROLOGUE HOW THIS SHIT WAS GONNA GO DOWN. I had my suspicions obviously, but I was like nah she can’t put that on the first page if it’s going to be about the current characters, this must be a blast from the past that will get explained at some other point. BUT LIKE NOPE RIP TO MY HEART.

Secondly – fuck Minya. Yeah yeah you’ve given everything to the other Godspawn and you’re stuck as a child because of it but like fuck you and your controlling attitude YOU SHOULD HAVE FALLEN NOT MY BABY SARAI.

Can we just talk about how Lazlo is literally just a beacon of hope?? Not only did he free weep from being in the shade of the Mesonfojotrh (the one thing that won’t stay with me past this story is the name of this place) but also they couldn’t cry and then he broke their curse?? They all cried at the end??? WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR THEIR FUTURE?

Also lets talk about all the missing Godspawn? Who else is like Lazlo? Who else will we find like him? Fingers crossed for my girl Calixte being a chosen one!! I want more of her in book 2!!! (actually, my only complaint is the lack of “page time” for the secondary characters who came to Weep…I get that their purpose was pretty much voided out by Lazlo being Lazlo, but I’m hoping they have a bit more relevance in the rest of the series. I’d hate to see them just disappear!!)

Sarai and Minya were fun but I wanted more from Sparrow, Ruby, and the dude whose name I can’t remember? Farrow? Ferral? Too lazy to check my book. I low key hope they man up and push Minya off the citadel in book 2.

ERIL – FANE I hope he has a beautiful redemption arc!!!!! His regret and pain over his actions, even though he genuinely believes he had no choice is just so raw and beautiful. I want to see him get some closure

Well okay I think that’s it for now. I’m sure I’ll come up with more over my next six rereads before book 2, because I’m already ready for more of this world.

There were several times while reading Caraval that I found myself screaming I KNEW IT, and then a page or two later found myself screaming WHAT as everything I thought I knew was proven to be not true. This story was absolutely enchanting, I found the writing to be both descriptive and mysterious.

This was a magical ride. The story starts a bit slow, but the writing is so incredibly lovely – the author paints really beautiful pictures with her words – so honestly, the slow start was fine. This is a story about two sisters who care very much about one another. Ultimately, they each want to protect each other from their abusive father, the only issue is that they both have very different opinions on what is the best way to do that. Scarlett believes that the best form of protection is obedience, and Tella believes the best way to protect them is to get the hell out of their current situation and away from their dad. A large majority of Scarlett’s character arc is her dealing with her fear of her father, even when Tella succeeds in taking them away from her father and to Caraval, Scarlett is very preoccupied with what will happen when her father finds out what they’ve done (by that I mean running away).
In terms of the sisters I think that the most important thing to remember about them is their different opinions on what is best for each other, an understanding of that will help make this story more enjoyable, at least it did for me! (I only mention that because I’ve read several reviews that complain about the characters, specifically Scar & Tella, but this helped me appreciate them!)
Most of this story takes place inside of a magical place/game called Caraval. And the entire premise of this game is to follow clues in order to win a prize, but you have to be extremely careful because everyone and everything in the game is trying to deceive you. And this is where my already vague review is about the become even more vague because I honestly don’t think I can mention a single thing about this without ruining some part of the story. Because literally at this point in the plot I thought I was so clever and that I was figuring out so many twists and turns with this plot only to continuously be surprised!!! It really kept me on the edge of my seat, I couldn’t read it fast enough.

So yeah basically this book was great. I loved the setting, I loved the plot, I loved the characters even when I didn’t love them and wanted to scream because they were being dumb I still LOVED them , and I loved the romance which I really cannot even begin to express my feelings about without ruining major plot points so *screams internally*.

OK here's one kinda (not really) spoiler

Spoiler

WHERE CAN I GET A DRESS LIKE SCARLETT'S THAT CHANGES WITH MY EMOTIONS, PLS SIGN ME UP FOR THE GAME IF I CAN GET ME ONE OF THOSE OKAY THANKS

It really should have been a five star read, but unfortunately most of the things I loved so much were also slightly problematic.
The fast paced plot and the constant plot twists and turns did make it a little difficult to connect with and to appreciate the character arcs as they were happening. When all is said and done it left me speechless and in shock by how much I could appreciate them, but it was just a bit lost while the events were actually happening. I think the character growth and development of relationships is all done in a really subtle way so that it doesn't distract from the magic of Caraval, which I can appreciate; It just left me feeling like there was something missing from the story that I otherwise adored. Still incredibly enjoyable, and I still am super excited to see what will happen next! I imagine a reread would let me bump it up to the 5th star, because things would make more sense and I’d be able to appreciate certain aspects more without the constant curiosity nagging at me, but for now I'm sticking to 4 and anxiously awaiting news for the continuation of this series.

THIS WAS SO CUTE

The Summer I Turned Pretty managed to be the exact cute, light-hearted, quick read I needed. It was pretty straight forward and predictable but was entertaining enough that I didn't really mind. There isn't anything super special about the plot of the characters, it just has a nice feel to it overall that makes this a pleasant read. Definitely worth reading if you're into YA contemporary!

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? is a book that has sat on my TBR list for a very, very long time. Most celebrity memoirs are written in the same format and this book is no exception. Readers are given some of Mindy's childhood memories, we learn about the struggles she faced starting and then throughout her career, she shares some of her relationships (romantic and platonic), and then we just get to read her opinion on some matters that she feels are worth sharing with the readers.

Basically, if you read a lot of celebrity memoirs (like me) you get exactly what you expect from this book. So what it really comes down to in terms of enjoyment, is whether or not you like the author. The number one reason that this book sat on my TBR list for so long, despite the large amount of positive feedback I had heard, was because I've never watched The Office. (I have seen episodes of the Office but never really watched it like from beginning to end) I felt like a phony for wanting to read a book by Mindy Kaling without ever watching the show that essentially started her career. But this book just kept popping up all over lists of books for 20-somethings to read, and if there is one thing that I find more addicting than celebrity memoirs, its lists of books for ~insert category I fit into here~ to read.

So I finally read it. I enjoyed it. Mindy is very easy to relate to on a number of things. She discusses her career in a way that is general enough that someone who is unfamiliar with her work can enjoy it. I didn't have some sort of life changing moment while reading it like those lists suggested I might, but I did find it entertaining enough. Even her essays/stories on topics I was less interested in, were easy enough to read because of her writing style. Mindy is very opinionated on some pretty interesting things, and some of her essays were not for me, but overall I enjoyed the book. I will most likely be reading her other book, just not necessarily in a rush to go buy it tonight.

Would I recommend? Nope, but I wouldn't tell someone to NOT read it either.
Would I read again? Probably not. I might reference a few of her essays here and there, but I wouldn't read the book from start to finish again.