Take a photo of a barcode or cover
2.01k reviews by:
ninetalevixen
A bit of a slow start, but I definitely enjoyed this one! I've always loved stories of pirates and sirens and treasure, especially when there are badass young women at the heart of the story, and while this setup wasn't the most original it was definitely executed well.
Some of the plot twists were more surprising than others, but the pacing was well done and the overall progression made perfect sense. The prose was pretty straightforward, but the characters really came to life. (I would've liked to see a little more conspicuous diversity in the cast, but that's a relatively minor complaint.)
While I enjoyed the back-and-forth between Alosa and Riden, among others, I did feel that the romance between them is — at least initially — primarily carried by the usual heteronormative standards; the partnership that eventually develops is great, though, and I really appreciated the gender role-swap of threatening to hurt him to get to her (though I hated seeing him hurt).
Some of the plot twists were more surprising than others, but the pacing was well done and the overall progression made perfect sense. The prose was pretty straightforward, but the characters really came to life. (I would've liked to see a little more conspicuous diversity in the cast, but that's a relatively minor complaint.)
While I enjoyed the back-and-forth between Alosa and Riden, among others, I did feel that the romance between them is — at least initially — primarily carried by the usual heteronormative standards; the partnership that eventually develops is great, though, and I really appreciated the gender role-swap of threatening to hurt him to get to her (though I hated seeing him hurt).
Oh heck yes — sirens and pirates and adventures on the high seas! I will say that the writing was less sophisticated than I would have absolutely preferred (okay yes fine, I’m a bit of an elitist) but it works with Alosa’s character and the YA genre in general. Lots of exciting conflict, both internal (admittedly some, but certainly not all, of it seemed more excessive angst than necessary to the plot) and external between various parties, and a delightfully realistically developed romance.
I was looking forward to getting to better know the crew and was mildly disappointed; it felt like we only really hear about the men and a handful of girls (including delightful six-year-old badass-in-training Roslyn and her devoted dad Wallov) beyond a few instances of their name. That said, it’s not as though I expected the backstory for each member of Alosa’s 30+ strong crew, and all things considered, leaving these details out streamlined the narrative so we could focus on the action and on Alosa, so I guess in the end it worked out for the better.
I was looking forward to getting to better know the crew and was mildly disappointed; it felt like we only really hear about the men and a handful of girls (including delightful six-year-old badass-in-training Roslyn and her devoted dad Wallov) beyond a few instances of their name. That said, it’s not as though I expected the backstory for each member of Alosa’s 30+ strong crew, and all things considered, leaving these details out streamlined the narrative so we could focus on the action and on Alosa, so I guess in the end it worked out for the better.
cw (from the opening pages): "child abuse, gun violence, intimate partner abuse, sexual assault, eating disorder, self-harm, suicide, alcohol, trauma, death, violence, fire, & possibly more. remember to practice self-care before, during, & after reading."
I received an ARC of this book through Netgalley. This does not affect my rating or opinions.
3.5 stars.
There are still striking images and important messages of recovery and self-care, as with the previous two books in this series, but as a collection it felt scattered. Part of it might just be the different voices (part IV features several other poets), and various literary references are made throughout, and while the effect is far from unpleasant I was a tiny bit disappointed.
[b:The Princess Saves Herself in This One|30075802|The Princess Saves Herself in This One (Women Are Some Kind of Magic, #1)|Amanda Lovelace|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1462211636s/30075802.jpg|50494177] remains my personal favorite of the series, but I have simultaneously enjoyed following Amanda Lovelace's journey through each installment; based on the afterword she seems to be in a good place now — and to have told her story in a way that rings true and brings peace to her — and so for that alone I love this book just for existing.
---
um this book is available to Read Now on Netgalley??? who needs sleep? (jk I do. I need sleep.)
I received an ARC of this book through Netgalley. This does not affect my rating or opinions.
3.5 stars.
There are still striking images and important messages of recovery and self-care, as with the previous two books in this series, but as a collection it felt scattered. Part of it might just be the different voices (part IV features several other poets), and various literary references are made throughout, and while the effect is far from unpleasant I was a tiny bit disappointed.
[b:The Princess Saves Herself in This One|30075802|The Princess Saves Herself in This One (Women Are Some Kind of Magic, #1)|Amanda Lovelace|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1462211636s/30075802.jpg|50494177] remains my personal favorite of the series, but I have simultaneously enjoyed following Amanda Lovelace's journey through each installment; based on the afterword she seems to be in a good place now — and to have told her story in a way that rings true and brings peace to her — and so for that alone I love this book just for existing.
---
um this book is available to Read Now on Netgalley??? who needs sleep? (jk I do. I need sleep.)
1. [b:The Cruel Prince|26032825|The Cruel Prince (The Folk of the Air #1)|Holly Black|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1493047153s/26032825.jpg|45959123] | 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
I adore alternate-POV retellings and fairy tales and morally complex characters, so of course I adored this. It sheds new light on certain scenes from The Cruel Prince, confirming some inferences and answering questions I hadn’t realized I had; and most of all, it reminds me that Taryn’s story is almost as interesting as Jude's, and comparably deserving of some sympathy — yes, she's done awful things, but they all have. She's human.
I adore alternate-POV retellings and fairy tales and morally complex characters, so of course I adored this. It sheds new light on certain scenes from The Cruel Prince, confirming some inferences and answering questions I hadn’t realized I had; and most of all, it reminds me that Taryn’s story is almost as interesting as Jude's, and comparably deserving of some sympathy — yes, she's done awful things, but they all have. She's human.
"What are you thinking about?"
"Whether they'll write my life story as a tragedy or an epic fantasy."
As a fan of Stiefvater's other books reading this in the year 2020, I think my feelings about Lament can be best summed up thus:
This pretty much exemplifies 2000s YA Fantasy novels, and I very much enjoyed it for that reason.
Admittedly I was a little disappointed that this is missing a lot of elements that I've come to associate with Stiefvater's other books (unique and/or niche lore, a certain atmospheric-ness, the prose style, etc). But it's not fair to compare Lament to its successors when, in and of itself, it's a perfectly fine and enjoyable read.
That said, it does have flaws that wouldn't fly if it were published today — unexamined ableist and fatphobic remarks (nothing more egregious than what you might hear in a high school hallway, but of a kind that I don't read much of anymore); Luke feels like plenty of other YA mystery-bad-boy protagonists with the kind of behavior that should really send up more red flags than it does. But again, putting it into the context of when it was written/published, this book really isn't all that bad.
content warnings:
-----------
CONVERSION: 11.1 / 15 = 4 stars
Prose: 6 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 8 / 10
Emotional Impact: 8 / 10
Development / Flow: 7 / 10
Setting: 8 / 10
Diversity & Social Themes: N/A
Intellectual Engagement: N/A
Originality / Trope Execution: 4 / 5
Rereadability: 3 / 5
Memorability: 4 / 5
"Whether they'll write my life story as a tragedy or an epic fantasy."
As a fan of Stiefvater's other books reading this in the year 2020, I think my feelings about Lament can be best summed up thus:
This pretty much exemplifies 2000s YA Fantasy novels, and I very much enjoyed it for that reason.
Admittedly I was a little disappointed that this is missing a lot of elements that I've come to associate with Stiefvater's other books (unique and/or niche lore, a certain atmospheric-ness, the prose style, etc). But it's not fair to compare Lament to its successors when, in and of itself, it's a perfectly fine and enjoyable read.
That said, it does have flaws that wouldn't fly if it were published today — unexamined ableist and fatphobic remarks (nothing more egregious than what you might hear in a high school hallway, but of a kind that I don't read much of anymore); Luke feels like plenty of other YA mystery-bad-boy protagonists with the kind of behavior that should really send up more red flags than it does. But again, putting it into the context of when it was written/published, this book really isn't all that bad.
content warnings:
Spoiler
harm to animals, ableist language, fatphobic language, past self-harm, past attempted suicide, mentioned miscarriage, off-page car crash, torture, branding-----------
CONVERSION: 11.1 / 15 = 4 stars
Prose: 6 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 8 / 10
Emotional Impact: 8 / 10
Development / Flow: 7 / 10
Setting: 8 / 10
Diversity & Social Themes: N/A
Intellectual Engagement: N/A
Originality / Trope Execution: 4 / 5
Rereadability: 3 / 5
Memorability: 4 / 5
Honestly, I've never been a huge fan of the huge dramatic end-of-world battle. Not sure if this installment was more poorly written than the others or if it just bothered me more in this book, but that was a factor too. The ending was really sappy — I get the importance of hope after so much death and destruction, though I'm honestly pretty annoyed that . Since Mor's sexuality was only mentioned briefly and didn't actually play into the plot, it feels like an attempt at diversity brownie points rather than actual diversity, and that bothers me too.