sarai0410's Reviews (404)

I have literally no idea what I just read but I can see why it's considered a modern classic. Seriously though - no clue what happened or what the 'point' was lmao

This book was so weird but in the best way. No real thoughts, purely enjoyed this based on vibes. 

I just love this series - I think I actually enjoyed this one more than the first too! Is it pretty predictable? Sure, but it's a fun time and the characters are entertaining. 

Stunning, spectacular, vibrant - all the stars ✨ Mythology-based fantasy is my bread and butter, but that doesn't meant they are always done well; this however, was exactly what I look for in a fantasy. The writing was beautiful and Rath painted the picture of her world so beautifully that I was sucked into not only the land of the living, but also Tuonela and didn't want to leave. Our two main characters, Siira and Aina, and their perspectives told a story of friendship, love, and devotion that had me hoping beyond hope throughout the story that we would see them together again.
 
The way love was depicted here was so well done and really highlighted the different types of love one person can have in their heart for others, from platonic and familial, to within the heart and very soul of yourself. Not only was this shown via our FMCs, but throughout the various relationships they forged with those around them -

I was especially fond of the parental-relationship Siira found with Väinämöinen💔 and Aina's friendship with Loviatar.

I have very back and forth feelings for this book - on one hand, I enjoyed the writing and the way the plot was setup as well as the look into the FMCs unique (and frequently annoying) stance on feminism, racism, and language; however, on the other hand the FMC, Anisa, is unbearably unlikeable, and the pacing/timeline is wacky to the point that I have no idea if the story occurred over the course of two months or 10 years. A large part of my annoyance with Anisa, and in part the writing, was that she was supposedly around her mid-thirties, but she acted like a nineteen or twenty year old throughout the story - and so did Shiba to be honest.

I saw in several reviews that this had been compared to Vita Nostra (which I have read and it was mind-blowing in the oddest way) and Babel (which I have not read, but have heard many things about) and beyond the obvious plot elements - focus on language (Babel) and a secret organization (Vita Nostra), I don't really see the comparison.

Ultimately, the book was enjoyable and a very quick, bingeable read, but I do feel like it could have been more. 

While there was more of a focus on World War I battles than I was expecting, this was incredibly interesting. The writing and the way in which the author told Gillies' story was fantastic. I do wish there was more of a focus on the surgeon and his surgical innovations - especially his work on gender-confirming surgery later in life - but this was a great introduction into how plastic surgery evolved due to the horrific trauma soldiers faced during/after war. 

I've been eyeing Fitzharris' other book, The Butchering Art, for quite sometime - I think it's time to pick that up. 

If I read the words demure or blood and steel (as a curse) one more time, I was legitimately going to stab myself with one of Shan's claws.

I wanted to like this so badly, and it genuinely had an interesting concept, but the execution was terrible. Non-existent world-building, lackluster characters, the worst case of 'telling, not showing' in writing that I have seen in a long time, and dialogue that made me want to gouge my eyes out. Nothing about this book was believable.

After the first 40ish pages, it felt like the author dropped us into book two or three in the series and just expected us to just get it. 

As a huge Critical Role fan that has only casually enjoyed Campaign 1, I really enjoyed this look into the Twin's backstory. Going into this I knew to not expect a ton of magic as Vex and Vax aren't magic users at this age, so this really wasn't something that was missing for me. The only thing I wanted more of was the flashbacks to their years in Syngorn as this was where they had so much of their character development that shaped their Campaign 1 characters.

For the full experience, I highly recommend the audiobook (I mean it obviously has to be good considering Liam and Laura both voice their characters) as Robbie gives a phenomenal performance as the narrator. 

Well that was certainty a book. A good book? Nah - definitely not. Despite disliking almost everything about this story, the thing that killed it for me was how every chapter ended in a faux-cliffhanger; really killed the vibe after following the exact same format for every chapter. 

I picked this up at a library book sale (very appropriate for obvious reasons) and enjoyed the writing style and story. Honestly, I just wish it were a full length novel because this odd futuristic world that Gailey created had so much going on that I was interested in learning more about and I wanted to stay with the characters longer.