raenyreads's Reviews (345)

I've been a vegan for a while but I picked this up as I'd heard it was really informative and I wanted to know some facts and numbers.

I am super impressed by this book and it made me realise how little I truly knew about the benefits of being vegan. I think the animal welfare/cruelty chapter was the hardest thing I've ever read but I dont think anyone should be put off reading this because of it, it's difficult but necessary. There's so much more to this book than those 50 or so pages too, the chapter on possible future pandemics I had very little prior knowledge on and so it was very eye opening.

I highly recommend everyone reads this book, no matter your current diet. Everyone should know this information!

Spoiler-free review. Wow, first off, I just have to say this book is incredible, and I can't believe I put off reading it for so long. I have not become this immersed in a book in a while. 

The worldbuilding is extremely detailed, and honestly after about 1/3rd in, I stopped checking the glossary at the back and just went with it. Though the glossary still came in handy at times!

The characters are the biggest triumph of this book. They are so detailed and have so much depth to them that I immediately became so attached to the two main POVs. Which makes every emotional gut punch so much more effective as the plot develops. There's many characters to love, but there's also many characters to hate (in a good way). I always think it is a sign of great writing if an author can make me feel so strongly for characters, good or bad.

This is a standalone prequel to the authors (I believe discontinued) series, and you can tell the world is already so well developed. The end has a bit of an unfinished feel as hints are given to the future plot of the series, but it in no way reduced my enjoyment. The focal characters still get fully realised and completed development within this book; it just leaves it open for the next generations story. I love political fantasy, and while the range of different countries all with their own histories was a bit overwhelming, I found the plot line to be very interesting and immersive alongside the characters' development.

Overall, this is an amazing book. If you enjoy deeply emotional high fantasy, you need to read this. For me, it deserves nothing less than a 5 🌟 rating!

This is a really great short story manga collection. Each story is interesting and I don't think any of them were disappointing. The art style is also great, some of the panels are amazing and the colour pieces in my edition were gorgeous. I really liked all the different depictions of love and I think how they are presented is a really interesting concept. I think Inhuman Flower may be my favourite as it was a bit different to the rest but the bird people stories are the most fleshed out and so I was more invested in those.
Also note: I knew this going in but just to confirm there's no spice here despite was the title hints at!

For some context, while I was at university, I used to work at an aquarium. Part of that job for a while included being involved in the octopus' enrichment. I don't really think octopus should be kept in aquariums, so the octopus character in this book, Marcellus, really tugged on some heart strings. 

The premise of this book, upon first glance, can seem a bit out of left field, but the way the author includes you in the everyday life of these characters and gets you invested in their lives and the  developments of the plot really kept me engaged throughout. It's one of those mysteries where you can pretty much figure out what's going on in the first third of the book, which did get a bit frustrating as I waited for the characters to figure out what I already knew, but the depth of the characters had me sticking around to see how they would get there in the end.

Obviously, my favourite character was Marcellus, the octopus. This octopus is given so much character even though his chapters are only a couple of pages at a time. One of his lines near the end is I think the best line in the whole book.

Overall, I'm really glad I read this book. It may not be perfect, but I reckon it's one I'll be thinking about for a while.

This was such a good follow up to Legends and Lattes. Bookshops and Bonedust gave me all the same cozy feelings with an emotional gut punch to top it off. It did get a bit slow around the 2/3rds mark but I still enjoyed all my time reading this book. I can't wait to see what Travis Baldree writes next!

This is really an amazing project. Not all the stories were 5 stars for me but many of them were! I thoroughly enjoyed reading one of these every day and may repeat them next year!

I was afraid I wasn't going to like this classic but I actually really enjoyed it. It never slows down in pace which kept it interesting throughout and I loved Bilbo as a main character.
Now do I finally tackle the Lord of the Rings!?

I really wanted to love this book but I just found I was making myself read it rather than enjoying it after about a third of the way through. I think the main relationship needed more time to develop and less instalove as I just wasn't invested enough.
The world building was great though, I loved the market and the different magical aspects. I think the ending was cleverly done and there was parts I wasn't expecting.
Great work for a debut! I'll still watch out for this authors future books.

I've had this book for a while as I was a little intimidated to read it for some reason but I'm really glad I did! Ruth Ozeki's writing style is definitely for me but I can't describe why, I just lost myself in this book. In a good way. It's such an emotional read and some parts will stick with me forever.
I loved all the characters and how each POV was intertwined. I highly recommend this book.

Another great entry in the series, enjoyed this one overall more than the previous. I found both stories (wizards and Susan) to be fun and interesting. I always wish Death himself was in these more though.