raenyreads's Reviews (345)

Another great book by Akwaeke Emezi. Only Emezi could bring so much trauma and grief into a summer romance read and make it work. I love the character work in this book and the exploration of deeper topics. I knew the love interest going in and was surprised by how the well written relationship development made me root for them. Emezi can do no wrong for me so far. Only not rated a five star as I think the second half of the book felt a bit slower and there wasn't a moment that made me go 'wow' which I want from a 5 star read.

This is a really great read. I wanted to read a Greek mythology book by a Greek author and was recommend this one by a friend. It was darker than I was expecting as I didn't look into it much before reading and I loved it. I loved how it focused on the diverse aspects of Demeter rather than just the 'overbearing mother' she is often portrayed to be. 
My only criticisms of this book are it felt like it was dragging a bit at times, I think in part because the chapters are quite long and so some scenes feel extended.
Overall I'd really recommend this book!

This was a really good story collection. As with all story collections, for me some were stronger than others, I didn't think any were terrible they were just outshined by some of the stronger stories. I read one story a day and I think that really helped separate the stories and have them shine on their own. I look forward to looking up some of the authors other works!

I read this book in one day, it was just so readable and I was hooked on where the story was going. Park Seolyeon manages to squeeze so much world building, character development, and plot progression into this 160 page story. I love the strong messages on topics such as justice for women and climate change told through idea of magical girls in the real world. The plot twists really surprised me at points which kept it interesting and the characters were highly relatable, especially as a 28 year old woman. I think everyone should pick this up, but especially if you grew up on Sailor Moon or other magical girl series.

Akwaeke Emezi just does not miss for me. This is the fourth book I've read by this author and they have all been 4.5/5 star reads. I read 80% of this book in one sitting because I was just so hooked and needed to know where the story was going to go next. The way the trauma in this book, told to us immediately in the title, is so well unpacked and explored to give us the hugely impactful ending is a true credit to Emezi's skill as a writer. Each character felt so real, giving truth to the journey we are taken on. An amazing book I highly recommend to everyone,

I really enjoyed this book. The prose is so captivating and the characters had me hooked from the start. I loved seeing Ganga's character development as the events of the plot progress. I did get overwhelmed by all the character names, particularly in part 2. However, as the relationships get explained more as the book goes on, I found I could get my head around it all (my copy didn't have the family tree I know some editions have). Overall another great book by this author (Kaikeyi was my favourite book I read last year) and I can't wait to read whatever they write next.

A really interesting read but I wasn't as blown away by this book as I was by Pandora's Jar (I think about Medusa all the time). I enjoyed learning about each of the goddesses, I am not very knowledgeable on Greek/Roman mythology so I definitely learned a lot. I greatly appreciate the focus on the women in mythology and I think Haynes does a great job of examining why these goddesses often get a bad reputation, or are largely forgotten, in historical and modern day media when they don't always deserve it.
Rating a 3.5 as I just never found myself engrossed like I have in previous books by Natalie Haynes but I did enjoy the content.

A very fun and quirky book, what you would expect from Douglas Adams. It was a fun journey but I wasn't very invested in the characters and I had to google the end to understand it properly. Overall a good time though and I might try the other books in the series at some point.

I really enjoyed this story. I found the POV being from the brother a bit strange, but I can see why it was used and enjoyed it nonetheless. The characters as a whole I felt were really well written and the plot had me hooked the whole way through. The ending paid off well and I enjoyed seeing how it all wrapped up. I'd love to read more from these characters! Highly recommend!

I'm one of those people who struggle to get invested with short story collections and so this is a large part of why I didn't rate this book higher. Definitely more of a reflection of my experience rather than the quality of the book. However, I did find each of the stories interesting and found the authors writing style and how they structured the stories easy to follow. I'm glad I read this book as it provides a valuable perspective on such an important situation.