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obscurepages's Reviews (410)
This is hands down one of most beautiful books I've read this year. It was thought-provoking, honest, heart-wrenching, and I am so in love with the prose and the writing style of the author. (Also, I'm not gonna lie, I definitely could not hold back the tears anymore as I read the final pages of the book.)
Highly recommended! Full review will be posted soon on my blog!
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Highly recommended! Full review will be posted soon on my blog!
Find me elsewhere: Instagram | Twitter | Blog
I received an e-arc of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you so much Tor Teen!
I have such high expectations for this book. The cover is beautiful, the synopsis sounds promising, and having read Klune’s The House in the Cerulean Sea, I have nothing but excitement and faith for it. And after reading it, damn, I am so glad those expectations are met and more.
tl;dr: This funny, wholesome, and unapologetically queer book will make you laugh, break your heart, and lure you into the start of what seems to be a great trilogy. Superheroes and villains! Fan fictions! Best friends to lovers trope! You will love this!
~
This book is just perfect. It’s hella funny, it’s poignant, it’s relatable, it’s heartbreaking, it’s shocking, it’s angsty (two boys pining, come on), it’s heartwarming, the plot twists are amazing, it’s wonderfully-written, it’s EVERYTHING.
But let’s start with the writing style. Klune knows how to tell a story. Yes, he does. The book opens up with a fanfic (a freaking FANFIC, formatted just like in AO3) and I knew this is going to be one hell of a ride. It was funny all throughout, but there were heartbreaking and heartstopping moments as well.
Being neurodiverse himself, I feel like Klune managed to encapsulate Nick’s ADHD onto the pages perfectly. There were times when I just wanted to give Nick a hug, and tell him it’s going to be okay. (This is obviously a clear sign that I got invested with the characters AGAIN) Speaking of characters, I loved that everyone in this book had a part. The minor characters weren’t just there for the sake of it. Instead, they added their own flair and stories, they helped Nick, they helped the plot, they made the story alive, and I loved that.
As for the romance, oh boy. Get ready for a lot of pining and cluelessness and angst. But also, get ready for the fluff and the wholesomeness. Best friends to lovers is one of my favorite romance tropes, and the author wrote that well.
When it comes to the plot of The Extraordinaries, it was definitely entertaining. Nick decides he wants to become an Extraordinary and starts all these crazy methods, and then some…other things happen (which I will not spoil, of course!). I liked that the author knows how to build up a plot twist or revelation. He does that really well all throughout the book using flashbacks, a number of foreshadowing, and more. And though, I already had a hunch early on about a specific big plot twist, it was still so exciting and thrilling to read the book.
The world-building, I feel like it can use a little more polishing. However, this is just the first book, and I have faith that we’ll get to know more about the origin of these Extraordinaries in the next installments.
Overall, The Extraordinaries is such an amazing journey of self-discovery, self-love, the beauty of friendship and family, and challenging the very trope that is “superhero versus villain”.
Now, how do I rate this a million stars?
(This review was first published on Enthralled Bookworm.)
I have such high expectations for this book. The cover is beautiful, the synopsis sounds promising, and having read Klune’s The House in the Cerulean Sea, I have nothing but excitement and faith for it. And after reading it, damn, I am so glad those expectations are met and more.
tl;dr: This funny, wholesome, and unapologetically queer book will make you laugh, break your heart, and lure you into the start of what seems to be a great trilogy. Superheroes and villains! Fan fictions! Best friends to lovers trope! You will love this!
~
This book is just perfect. It’s hella funny, it’s poignant, it’s relatable, it’s heartbreaking, it’s shocking, it’s angsty (two boys pining, come on), it’s heartwarming, the plot twists are amazing, it’s wonderfully-written, it’s EVERYTHING.
But let’s start with the writing style. Klune knows how to tell a story. Yes, he does. The book opens up with a fanfic (a freaking FANFIC, formatted just like in AO3) and I knew this is going to be one hell of a ride. It was funny all throughout, but there were heartbreaking and heartstopping moments as well.
Being neurodiverse himself, I feel like Klune managed to encapsulate Nick’s ADHD onto the pages perfectly. There were times when I just wanted to give Nick a hug, and tell him it’s going to be okay. (This is obviously a clear sign that I got invested with the characters AGAIN) Speaking of characters, I loved that everyone in this book had a part. The minor characters weren’t just there for the sake of it. Instead, they added their own flair and stories, they helped Nick, they helped the plot, they made the story alive, and I loved that.
As for the romance, oh boy. Get ready for a lot of pining and cluelessness and angst. But also, get ready for the fluff and the wholesomeness. Best friends to lovers is one of my favorite romance tropes, and the author wrote that well.
When it comes to the plot of The Extraordinaries, it was definitely entertaining. Nick decides he wants to become an Extraordinary and starts all these crazy methods, and then some…other things happen (which I will not spoil, of course!). I liked that the author knows how to build up a plot twist or revelation. He does that really well all throughout the book using flashbacks, a number of foreshadowing, and more. And though, I already had a hunch early on about a specific big plot twist, it was still so exciting and thrilling to read the book.
The world-building, I feel like it can use a little more polishing. However, this is just the first book, and I have faith that we’ll get to know more about the origin of these Extraordinaries in the next installments.
Overall, The Extraordinaries is such an amazing journey of self-discovery, self-love, the beauty of friendship and family, and challenging the very trope that is “superhero versus villain”.
(This review was first published on Enthralled Bookworm.)
(I received an e-arc of White Fox from Fierce Reads as part of The Faring Society! Thank you Fierce Reads!)
I didn't entirely connect with the characters (and I have strong feelings about them), however, the plot was something else. It was strange and puzzling. Plus the way the story was told—with parts of a movie script, newspaper articles, and interviews interwoven into the book—made it both unnerving and atmospheric in the right moments.
Full review soon!
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I didn't entirely connect with the characters (and I have strong feelings about them), however, the plot was something else. It was strange and puzzling. Plus the way the story was told—with parts of a movie script, newspaper articles, and interviews interwoven into the book—made it both unnerving and atmospheric in the right moments.
Full review soon!
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08.28.2020: WOOOHHHH. This was so good! Just like the the first book in the series, this was such a character driven story. We see the characters just talking to each other, trying to process their emotions, trauma, and other shit. More than ever, we see the main character slowly turning into the villain that he is. There's no high-stakes or super adventurous plot, instead we see a lonely, troubled kid looking for love and acceptance yet fails to see what these things truly mean. Also, I loved that this featured a diverse plot; a Black character, Asian characters, sapphic characters/relationship, gay and questioning characters.
In conclusion, yes, I loved this! Full review soon!
04.21.2020: My NetGalley request was just approved and I AM SO READY. I loved The Infinite Noise and I am just so excited for another Bright Sessions novel!
Also, can we take a moment to appreciate that wonderful cover?!
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In conclusion, yes, I loved this! Full review soon!
04.21.2020: My NetGalley request was just approved and I AM SO READY. I loved The Infinite Noise and I am just so excited for another Bright Sessions novel!
Also, can we take a moment to appreciate that wonderful cover?!
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This was an amazing read! It was chaotic, but ultimately such a beautiful story. It was a story of friendship, of taking up space, and owning your identity. Loved the diversity in this book! There were Latinx rep, fat rep, a pansexual rep, and a trans rep. It was glorious! Plus there were fantasy/scifi elements I did not expect (but loved)! (Exact rating 4.5 stars)
Full review will be posted soon as part of #MissMeteorOnTour Blog Tour hosted by Karina @ Afire Pages.
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Full review will be posted soon as part of #MissMeteorOnTour Blog Tour hosted by Karina @ Afire Pages.
Find me elsewhere: Instagram | Twitter | Blog
This was so good! Such a beautiful and heartwarming story, and the whole journey made me root for Camila and her dreams. We see the MC try to balance career, love, and family, and we see how unfair it can be for women whether it be in sports or on life. The writing was good, but I feel like it lacked something. I feel like I also wanted more action-packed sports scenes. Still, this was a great read! Full review soon!
Thank you Algonquin Young Readers for sending the e-arc my way!
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Thank you Algonquin Young Readers for sending the e-arc my way!
Find me elsewhere: Instagram | Twitter | Blog
This was so beautiful!
The prose is gorgeous and the writing style of the author truly captivates the reader, not only with the imagery but also the character's very essence. We see two adult women who have seen horrors in their lives—horrors caused by others and horrors they caused themselves onto others. I found Rosa and Hou Yi so interesting because they're flawed characters. One might even call them villains or antagonists. These are two women who have done horrible mistakes, and throughout the story (their journey and their backstories shared between them), we get to see how it affected them and the lives of the people around them.
I also love how there are multiple fairy tale retellings here. I feel like the author really gave these fairy tales new, dark twists and was able to incorporate morality and human sins in each one of them at the same time.
I do wish there's more to the world-building. From what I've garnered here, it's so magical and fascinating. I needed more of it. (It's quite understandable though, since this is only a novella.)
There's not much a high stakes plot here, but instead we see an exquisite story about family, regret, and redemption.
OH, AND THIS IS SAPPHIC! There are two sapphic couples here and I loved it. And of course, we have Asian and Latinx rep. I've heard that this is inspired by Chinese mythology and that's always nice to see!
(I received an e-arc of this via NetGalley! Thank you so much Tor.com!)
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The prose is gorgeous and the writing style of the author truly captivates the reader, not only with the imagery but also the character's very essence. We see two adult women who have seen horrors in their lives—horrors caused by others and horrors they caused themselves onto others. I found Rosa and Hou Yi so interesting because they're flawed characters. One might even call them villains or antagonists. These are two women who have done horrible mistakes, and throughout the story (their journey and their backstories shared between them), we get to see how it affected them and the lives of the people around them.
I also love how there are multiple fairy tale retellings here. I feel like the author really gave these fairy tales new, dark twists and was able to incorporate morality and human sins in each one of them at the same time.
I do wish there's more to the world-building. From what I've garnered here, it's so magical and fascinating. I needed more of it. (It's quite understandable though, since this is only a novella.)
There's not much a high stakes plot here, but instead we see an exquisite story about family, regret, and redemption.
OH, AND THIS IS SAPPHIC! There are two sapphic couples here and I loved it. And of course, we have Asian and Latinx rep. I've heard that this is inspired by Chinese mythology and that's always nice to see!
(I received an e-arc of this via NetGalley! Thank you so much Tor.com!)
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I was initially excited about this because of the Filipino rep and the rivals-to-lovers trope. And although it was entertaining, I didn't love it as much as I thought I would.
Full review will be posted soon on The Nerd Daily.
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Full review will be posted soon on The Nerd Daily.
Find me elsewhere: Instagram | Twitter | Blog