proseamongstthorns's Reviews (946)

This was a really great read. At the start you’re kind of just thrown straight into the story. It takes a little while to get used to the narrative style, figure out where you are and when you are!

But, I really loved this. It’s a complex crime, it was brilliantly woven and carefully revealed. You do get given a fair few of the pieces to put this together - I even figured out a few of the final twists!

Miss Hortense really does feel like a classic detective - Sherlock Holmes meets any Agatha Christie main character. I saw some comments saying she wasn’t likeable, but I loved her.

I wasn’t enjoying it for the first like 15%, but once it got going I loved it. I’m so intrigued as to where this series will go next.  

I so, so wanted to love this one. On paper, it sounds absolutely fantastic - but for me it just fell short on delivering what it promised. 

This takes low stakes a little too far. Worse than no stakes, it builds up a few issues that you think will provide the little bit of tension the book needs to push it forward.... and then just does nothing with it. They just talk it out or decide they don't care or just don't talk about it anymore. But not in a way that feels like closure.

For me, too little happened. There was no tension, the writing was very two-dimensional. I didn't care about any of the characters or what happened to them, you never seem to get close enough to them to care.

I really enjoyed the vibes and the premise of this one and am intruiged to see where the rest of the series goes. I'd like a little more depth and maybe just a smidgen of actual tension/drama/stakes. 

I wanted more from this. But I’ll still read the series. 

‘The Pomegranate Gate’ was one of my top reads last year, so I was so looking forward to returning to that world in ‘The Republic of Salt’.

In book 2 things get serious. The laugh out loud banter is still there, but there’s a heaviness to the book that wasn’t there in the first one. I really enjoyed the more political side of this book and how action-packed it was.

The characters make this series. They’re just brilliant. I said it before, and I stand by it, I’d happily read these characters do pretty much anything. Again, this book did a great job of developing the relationships that were introduced in the first one. I particularly love Naftaly and Basilay’s journey.

This is just such a great, original fantasy. The use of Jewish culture is so interesting. The world we explore is so rich and I truly love discovering more about it. 

This book kind of defies comparison… but I’d say if you’re looking for queer ACOTAR vibes (without any Tamlin) then this is definitely worth giving a go. I personally adore this series. The ending of this one literally had me shouting at my kindle - I cannot wait to get book 3 in my hands.

Space meets Masterchef in this sophomore sci-fi novel.

Saras Kaveri steps of a long-haul star fraught from Earth with one bag of clothes, her little flying robot Kili and an invitation to compete in the galaxy’s most watched, most prestigious cooking show. A chance meeting in the back of a flying cab has Saras and Serenity Ko working together on a technology that could change the future of food - and their lives - forever. 

I loved reading this one. It had a whole lot of universe-building, but does so carefully throughout the novel. The way we learn about different species, planets and experiences feels very natural right from the start. 

We also have a wonderful cast of characters. It’s not as simple as black and white, good and bad here - there are some truly horrible characters, some flawed but lovable characters and everything in between. Serenity Ko is ambitious to a fault, Saras cares too much about others opinions, Kili is absolutely brilliant and extremely perceptive. There’s also bucketloads of brilliant queer rep!

I loved the ending of this one. Despite it being a duology, and knowing something awful is definitely coming, you can trick yourself here that there’s a happy ending. It perfectly suited the book without falling into the much-overused cliffhanger.

The things I didn’t really like: the pacing felt a little inconsistent, moments I’d have like to spend more time exploring passed far too quickly. Sometimes the characters decisions didn’t make a whole lot of sense. And I felt some of the character development felt rushed and insincere.

This one is perfect for sci-fi fans and foodies. If you’re looking to ease into sci-fi, this is definitely a good place to start - it’s basically like a cozy sci-fi with political intrigue that takes a back seat to a love from cooking. This is a love letter to food and all it can stand for. It’s a beautiful book and I can’t wait to get my hands on book two.

I didn’t think I’d like this one - the blurb didn’t really grab me. I picked it up half price and thank god I did! It’s hilarious. Osman is the king of cozy crime with characters you’d happily spend forever with. 

I thought this was really interesting. Personal stories and experiences mixed in with facts, figures and history. 

This was cute. I liked the added details which really fleshed out the movie a little. It was nice hearing about their motivations. 

I kind of wanted more though. It would have been nice to see something that wasn’t in the movie potentially. 

I wanted more from this one. It was atmospheric and tense, super promising... and then just fizzled out.

Do you care about any of the characters? No. Do the characters grow in any real way? Also no. Is there any lesson here? Again, also no.

If you're into philosophy, character-driven stories and long rambling prose - this one is for you. Typically, I'm not a fan of character-driven stories and this didn't change that for me. I excpected a dark, culty, dark academia style plot and instead found deep character studies.