Take a photo of a barcode or cover
The beautiful woman on the book cover was what initially grabbed my attention. Unfortunately, I did not love Blue Bird as much as I hoped to. I actually have a lot of mixed feelings about the collection, which is largely due to the inconsistency in writing and quality. There were a number of poems that really spoke to me and that allowed me to contemplate existing issues, but there were also a handful of pieces that came off as odd or sloppy writing.
What I appreciated the most about Blue Bird was that it is a loud, no-holds-barred celebration of diversity, especially for black women. It is blunt, raw, and unapologetic. Magda Ayuk writes about not only feeling comfortable in her own skin, but also, and perhaps more importantly, being proud of her heritage. She also writes about self-image, self-love, and numerous introspective topics with defiance, fierceness, and sincerity. In addition to this, this book touched on sensitive yet extremely important topics, such as racism and systemic oppression, although it is more greatly inspired by lighter themes, such as positivity, freedom, and acceptance.
My problems with Blue Bird mainly involved writing technicalities (e.g. style, structure, use of language), lacking poetic devices, and a couple of inconsistencies. Despite this, I believe that a number of people would be able to really identify with Magda Ayuk’s pieces, and on a larger note, her journey as a black woman. Her voice as a poet is refreshingly quirky, unapologetically blunt, and noticeably modern. She exhibits a ton of potential as a poet, and I can only hope that her succeeding poetry books will be more enjoyable.
Disclosure: I received a digital copy of Blue Bird from the author (via NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to Magda Ayuk!
What I appreciated the most about Blue Bird was that it is a loud, no-holds-barred celebration of diversity, especially for black women. It is blunt, raw, and unapologetic. Magda Ayuk writes about not only feeling comfortable in her own skin, but also, and perhaps more importantly, being proud of her heritage. She also writes about self-image, self-love, and numerous introspective topics with defiance, fierceness, and sincerity. In addition to this, this book touched on sensitive yet extremely important topics, such as racism and systemic oppression, although it is more greatly inspired by lighter themes, such as positivity, freedom, and acceptance.
My problems with Blue Bird mainly involved writing technicalities (e.g. style, structure, use of language), lacking poetic devices, and a couple of inconsistencies. Despite this, I believe that a number of people would be able to really identify with Magda Ayuk’s pieces, and on a larger note, her journey as a black woman. Her voice as a poet is refreshingly quirky, unapologetically blunt, and noticeably modern. She exhibits a ton of potential as a poet, and I can only hope that her succeeding poetry books will be more enjoyable.
Disclosure: I received a digital copy of Blue Bird from the author (via NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to Magda Ayuk!
Baa baa baa goes this black sheep because, just as always, I seem to have the less popular opinion. To put things bluntly, I did not love this story as much as most people have, and I certainly did not enjoy myself as much as I would have wanted to.
Although Clara was not my favorite character, most of her interactions with her dad really tugged at my heartstrings. I also appreciated the close-knit relationship Hamlet had with his grandparents! Coming from a family-centered, collectivist Asian culture, reading stories that feature healthy family ties and strong father-daughter relationships means so much to me on a personal level. I was also a huge fan of the unlikely friendship that eventually developed between Clara and Rose.
If it isn’t obvious enough, my main contention with this book is with its main character, Clara Shin. First of all, although the synopsis hints at Clara being somewhat of a class clown and a prankster, she was never remotely funny. The pranks she pulled were neither humorous nor amusing. At all. Secondly, Clara’s character seemed to be inherently, genuinely vindictive, frustratingly self-absorbed, and outright petty to childish extremes. It angered me to see her treat everything and everyone around her as a means to her own end. It was also frustrating on my part to watch all the supporting characters easily forgive her. Finally, although it was clear to me that the author intended to shape Clara into an unlikeable female at the beginning of the story, even Clara’s character development was significantly lacking and ultimately unsatisfactory.
Still, my personal beef with Clara aside, I did appreciate the overall story. The Way You Make Me Feel certainly explored numerous fascinating themes and highlighted the importance of celebrating diverse cultures. Overall, my absolute favorite thing about The Way You Make Me Feel was the heavy themes on food and cuisine from different cultures! I have never heard of Korean-Brazilian fusion cuisine before, but after reading this book, I’d definitely want to give everything a try!
Disclosure: I received a digital copy of The Way You Make Me Feel as part of my participation in a blog tour. This neither affects my opinion nor the content of my review. Thank you very much to the blog tour organizers (Tin @ The Book Maiden) and the publisher for the opportunity!
Although Clara was not my favorite character, most of her interactions with her dad really tugged at my heartstrings. I also appreciated the close-knit relationship Hamlet had with his grandparents! Coming from a family-centered, collectivist Asian culture, reading stories that feature healthy family ties and strong father-daughter relationships means so much to me on a personal level. I was also a huge fan of the unlikely friendship that eventually developed between Clara and Rose.
If it isn’t obvious enough, my main contention with this book is with its main character, Clara Shin. First of all, although the synopsis hints at Clara being somewhat of a class clown and a prankster, she was never remotely funny. The pranks she pulled were neither humorous nor amusing. At all. Secondly, Clara’s character seemed to be inherently, genuinely vindictive, frustratingly self-absorbed, and outright petty to childish extremes. It angered me to see her treat everything and everyone around her as a means to her own end. It was also frustrating on my part to watch all the supporting characters easily forgive her. Finally, although it was clear to me that the author intended to shape Clara into an unlikeable female at the beginning of the story, even Clara’s character development was significantly lacking and ultimately unsatisfactory.
Still, my personal beef with Clara aside, I did appreciate the overall story. The Way You Make Me Feel certainly explored numerous fascinating themes and highlighted the importance of celebrating diverse cultures. Overall, my absolute favorite thing about The Way You Make Me Feel was the heavy themes on food and cuisine from different cultures! I have never heard of Korean-Brazilian fusion cuisine before, but after reading this book, I’d definitely want to give everything a try!
Disclosure: I received a digital copy of The Way You Make Me Feel as part of my participation in a blog tour. This neither affects my opinion nor the content of my review. Thank you very much to the blog tour organizers (Tin @ The Book Maiden) and the publisher for the opportunity!
Oh my god, I don’t know what to say. Ever since I fell in love with Elise Kova’s The Alchemists of Loom (review to follow!), I was highly anticipating the release of Society of Wishes. It almost literally hurts my heart to say that Society of Wishes is, without a doubt, my biggest reading disappointment of 2018. I am devastated, people. DEVASTATED. In all caps.
From ridiculously underdeveloped characters and their superficial relationships to the most awfully executed romantic development I’ve ever encountered, there was nothing in this book that I could emotionally invest in. Regarding the latter, the heroine developed feelings for a pale-as-fuck, inhumanely nonchalant love interest with whom she had, at most, four very brief interactions throughout the entire book. But whatever.
The plot progressed so slowly I had to take multiple breaks in between reading. I was also guilty of largely skimming the passages, if I’m being totally honest. To make matters worse, the story itself wasn’t even rewarding at all! The dialogue made me cringe a lot. There were too many information gaps to fully appreciate what was going on. The magic system, in particular, was frustratingly vague. As I read, I accumulated more questions than answers – some of them being: What is the point of all this? What’s the actual story? What are the stakes? Why should I care about any of these characters? Why is Society of Wishes so shockingly, unexpectedly terrible?
I am scrambling to come up with something remotely positive to say, but my mind keeps drawing a huge blank. On one hand, this is not the worst fantasy novel I’ve ever come across. On the other hand, I already have a digital copy of its sequel, but I am not entirely certain that I’ll ever muster the strength to try reading it because I’m worried I might hate the second book even more. Honestly, skip Society of Wishes altogether and pick up The Alchemists of Loom instead. That’s my two cents.
Disclosure: I received a digital copy of Society of Wishes from the authors in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, Elise Kova and Lynn Larsh! I apologize that it didn’t work out this time.
From ridiculously underdeveloped characters and their superficial relationships to the most awfully executed romantic development I’ve ever encountered, there was nothing in this book that I could emotionally invest in. Regarding the latter, the heroine developed feelings for a pale-as-fuck, inhumanely nonchalant love interest with whom she had, at most, four very brief interactions throughout the entire book. But whatever.
The plot progressed so slowly I had to take multiple breaks in between reading. I was also guilty of largely skimming the passages, if I’m being totally honest. To make matters worse, the story itself wasn’t even rewarding at all! The dialogue made me cringe a lot. There were too many information gaps to fully appreciate what was going on. The magic system, in particular, was frustratingly vague. As I read, I accumulated more questions than answers – some of them being: What is the point of all this? What’s the actual story? What are the stakes? Why should I care about any of these characters? Why is Society of Wishes so shockingly, unexpectedly terrible?
I am scrambling to come up with something remotely positive to say, but my mind keeps drawing a huge blank. On one hand, this is not the worst fantasy novel I’ve ever come across. On the other hand, I already have a digital copy of its sequel, but I am not entirely certain that I’ll ever muster the strength to try reading it because I’m worried I might hate the second book even more. Honestly, skip Society of Wishes altogether and pick up The Alchemists of Loom instead. That’s my two cents.
Disclosure: I received a digital copy of Society of Wishes from the authors in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, Elise Kova and Lynn Larsh! I apologize that it didn’t work out this time.
At about page 30,
I started skimming through
the rest of this collection.
By the end of it,
I could not find any
s u b s t a n t i a l
p o e t r y .
The so-called hymms
were really just
one-sentenced man-splaining
expressed in
a e s t h e t i c s .
Pseudo-intellectual
pseudo-inspirational
pseudo-feminist
content so generic (and
more than occasionally
problematic) that
I am genuinely astounded
this author has not been
sued by every pharmaceutical
drug store out there.
J e s u s
C h r i s t .
Reading this felt like
going through a series of
poorly written and
equally poorly edited
self-help books
full of quotes that leave readers
e m p t y - h a n d e d .
In all honesty,
I found more entertainment
in the 1-star reviews
of this book
than the book itself.
If I were tasked to rename this heap
of drivel, I'd call it:
She He Felt Like
W r i t i n g
N o t h i n g .
P.S.
R.H. Sin is a cis man
and the idea of a cis man
writing women's experiences
from the perspective of a "woman" is
so icky and so gross;
a woman's voice is not theirs to take
and is not theirs to profit from.
I'm angry and I
won't apologize for it.
Instead of reading this book,
please support
poetry written by real
w o m e n .
----------------
Note (04/11/18):
I've been told that my review doesn't sufficiently explain my thoughts on this collection. In which case, here's a condensed list of what my poem was trying to say:
1. The pieces in She Felt Like Feeling Nothing are repeatedly repackaged content or reiterations of the same messages/points.
2. This collection tries to be uplifting, insightful and empowering to women. However, as I've mentioned in the poem, it's pseudo-inspirational, pseudo-intellectual, and pseudo-feminist. Why? Because women are described as special manic pixie dream girls. Because this book lures readers into a false security of allyship when, in fact, the author is just man-splaining on how women should act and should value themselves.
3. There didn't seem to be much thought in the form and structure of the poems outside of fulfilling the need for aesthetics. (You can refer to my poem to have an idea of how the poems are structured.)
4. The author tries to write in a woman's perspective and spectacularly fails in doing so. The content of this collection is shallow, agonizingly repetitive, full of cliches, and severely lacks nuance.
5. All in all, I cannot support nor respect a person who exploits the struggles of a marginalized community and profits from assuming their voices and writing about experiences that aren't his to talk about. As I've said: A woman's voice isn't for a cis man to take and is not his to profit from.
Quick disclosure: I received a digital copy of She Felt Like Feeling Nothing (via NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review.
Actual rating: 0 stars
I started skimming through
the rest of this collection.
By the end of it,
I could not find any
s u b s t a n t i a l
p o e t r y .
The so-called hymms
were really just
one-sentenced man-splaining
expressed in
a e s t h e t i c s .
Pseudo-intellectual
pseudo-inspirational
pseudo-feminist
content so generic (and
more than occasionally
problematic) that
I am genuinely astounded
this author has not been
sued by every pharmaceutical
drug store out there.
J e s u s
C h r i s t .
Reading this felt like
going through a series of
poorly written and
equally poorly edited
self-help books
full of quotes that leave readers
e m p t y - h a n d e d .
In all honesty,
I found more entertainment
in the 1-star reviews
of this book
than the book itself.
If I were tasked to rename this heap
of drivel, I'd call it:
W r i t i n g
N o t h i n g .
P.S.
R.H. Sin is a cis man
and the idea of a cis man
writing women's experiences
from the perspective of a "woman" is
so icky and so gross;
a woman's voice is not theirs to take
and is not theirs to profit from.
I'm angry and I
won't apologize for it.
Instead of reading this book,
please support
poetry written by real
w o m e n .
----------------
Note (04/11/18):
I've been told that my review doesn't sufficiently explain my thoughts on this collection. In which case, here's a condensed list of what my poem was trying to say:
1. The pieces in She Felt Like Feeling Nothing are repeatedly repackaged content or reiterations of the same messages/points.
2. This collection tries to be uplifting, insightful and empowering to women. However, as I've mentioned in the poem, it's pseudo-inspirational, pseudo-intellectual, and pseudo-feminist. Why? Because women are described as special manic pixie dream girls. Because this book lures readers into a false security of allyship when, in fact, the author is just man-splaining on how women should act and should value themselves.
3. There didn't seem to be much thought in the form and structure of the poems outside of fulfilling the need for aesthetics. (You can refer to my poem to have an idea of how the poems are structured.)
4. The author tries to write in a woman's perspective and spectacularly fails in doing so. The content of this collection is shallow, agonizingly repetitive, full of cliches, and severely lacks nuance.
5. All in all, I cannot support nor respect a person who exploits the struggles of a marginalized community and profits from assuming their voices and writing about experiences that aren't his to talk about. As I've said: A woman's voice isn't for a cis man to take and is not his to profit from.
Quick disclosure: I received a digital copy of She Felt Like Feeling Nothing (via NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review.
Actual rating: 0 stars
Definitely, one of the strongest points of The Impostor Queen was its fascinatingly complex magic system and mysterious prophecy. At first glance, it would seem that the story had an airtight, intricately woven world-building. However, while there were plenty of efforts to establish a detailed magic system, I felt that too much pertinent information was withheld, especially with regards to social and political hierarchies, culture, and societal history. There were a number of gaps to work with, which often led to confusion and vagueness.
Most of the characters were not as dimensional as I would have liked. I found it difficult to invest in any of them. In the case of the main heroine, Elli had a very childlike quality to her character that seemed to be unfit for the story. Between the Elli in the childhood flashbacks and the 16-year-old Elli, her voice in the narrative showed minimal changes. Despite this, I still thought of Elli as a remarkably admirable heroine in the sense that she was compassionate, honorable, and driven.
The pacing of The Impostor Queenn was uneven and inconsistent, that is, frustratingly sluggish in the beginning, totally plateau-like in the middle, and relatively quick only towards the end. The slow progression and the predictability of the events made it challenging to maintain my interest throughout my reading experience. On a more positive note, however, I was fascinated by the balancing of fire and ice magic and I greatly appreciated how power struggles and political intrigue were incorporated into the story.
With that said, The Impostor Queen had all the elements of an addictive, complex fantasy novel, but unfortunately, the execution itself was significantly underwhelming and left a lot to be desired. Still, I am curious enough to maybe read what happens next.
Most of the characters were not as dimensional as I would have liked. I found it difficult to invest in any of them. In the case of the main heroine, Elli had a very childlike quality to her character that seemed to be unfit for the story. Between the Elli in the childhood flashbacks and the 16-year-old Elli, her voice in the narrative showed minimal changes. Despite this, I still thought of Elli as a remarkably admirable heroine in the sense that she was compassionate, honorable, and driven.
The pacing of The Impostor Queenn was uneven and inconsistent, that is, frustratingly sluggish in the beginning, totally plateau-like in the middle, and relatively quick only towards the end. The slow progression and the predictability of the events made it challenging to maintain my interest throughout my reading experience. On a more positive note, however, I was fascinated by the balancing of fire and ice magic and I greatly appreciated how power struggles and political intrigue were incorporated into the story.
With that said, The Impostor Queen had all the elements of an addictive, complex fantasy novel, but unfortunately, the execution itself was significantly underwhelming and left a lot to be desired. Still, I am curious enough to maybe read what happens next.
After salivating over its gorgeous book cover and reading its very promising premise (seriously, what girl would deliberately miss out on a whimsical world with faerie lore and art?), I badly wanted to love An Enchantment of Ravens. For the most part, the story explored a ton of ideas that I found incredibly intriguing: that the ability to create and to make things is exclusive to humans; that the fair folk are overly dependent on their glamour; and that the price of immortality is the absolute detachment from their sense of humanity, that is, human emotion. I was also fascinated by the political elements in the culture and societal structure of the fair folk. Plus, okay, I will admit: some scenes and dialogues in the book either made me smile widely or chuckle silently.
Unfortunately, for me, the good was greatly outweighed by the bad, especially because it seemed to me that the greatest assets of the story were not fully fleshed out. Although it was refreshing to have a heroine who refused to give up her passion in exchange for the opportunity to spend eternity with the man she loved, Isobel was not someone I could root for simply because she really lacked dimension, and likewise, all the characters were sorely underdeveloped. In line with this, the romance between Isobel and Rook was poorly, if not very oddly, executed and came across as strained and unbelievable.
What frustrated me the most was the story’s plot itself. For one thing, An Enchantment of Ravens was heavily centered on the relationship between Isobel and Rook. Since the two characters lacked any semblance of chemistry and things between them escalated in a ridiculous pace, their romance made little to no sense. However, what made less sense was all the pointless journeying that Isobel and Rook did, which constituted the bulk of the story. I had difficulty in deciphering the motivations for their journey and what the actual endgame was. In other words, the plot was a blazing hot, haphazardly constructed mess.
Overall, An Enchantment of Ravens was brimming with heaps of potential, which was unfortunately set aside in favor of a terribly executed romance and meaningless wandering in what could have been a thrillingly magical world. Although Margaret Rogerson’s writing style was excellent, vividly descriptive, and refreshingly humorous, it was not enough to salvage the book for me, especially considering that the story’s ending was far too convenient and significantly anticlimactic.
Unfortunately, for me, the good was greatly outweighed by the bad, especially because it seemed to me that the greatest assets of the story were not fully fleshed out. Although it was refreshing to have a heroine who refused to give up her passion in exchange for the opportunity to spend eternity with the man she loved, Isobel was not someone I could root for simply because she really lacked dimension, and likewise, all the characters were sorely underdeveloped. In line with this, the romance between Isobel and Rook was poorly, if not very oddly, executed and came across as strained and unbelievable.
What frustrated me the most was the story’s plot itself. For one thing, An Enchantment of Ravens was heavily centered on the relationship between Isobel and Rook. Since the two characters lacked any semblance of chemistry and things between them escalated in a ridiculous pace, their romance made little to no sense. However, what made less sense was all the pointless journeying that Isobel and Rook did, which constituted the bulk of the story. I had difficulty in deciphering the motivations for their journey and what the actual endgame was. In other words, the plot was a blazing hot, haphazardly constructed mess.
Overall, An Enchantment of Ravens was brimming with heaps of potential, which was unfortunately set aside in favor of a terribly executed romance and meaningless wandering in what could have been a thrillingly magical world. Although Margaret Rogerson’s writing style was excellent, vividly descriptive, and refreshingly humorous, it was not enough to salvage the book for me, especially considering that the story’s ending was far too convenient and significantly anticlimactic.
Because of the problematic setup that eventually led to Apolline and Prince Allard falling in love with each other (elaborated in my full review), I could not enjoy the romance aspect of the story at all. In my eyes, their relationship was toxic and potentially harmful, especially given the kind of message it sends to readers. It was such a letdown on my part that I was unable to support the love story in Princess of Tyrone, considering how fundamentally significant romance is in fairytales.
However, despite the frustratingly awful love story and heaps of sexism in Princess of Tyrone, I somehow miraculously liked a lot of the other elements. My favorite aspect of this book was its incredible, imaginative world-building: a universe where technology is magically enhanced, where space pirates exist and roam the cosmos, where fairy magic is strengthened by human emotions like love, hope and faith, and where science mixes with fantasy in the most fascinating of ways. The world in Princess of Tyrone was utterly amazing and held so much promise! It was the perfect setting for thrilling adventures, and for the most part, I did really like the plot sans romance. The twists in the original fairytale of Sleeping Beauty as well as the minor references to other fairytales (e.g. Cinderella, Snow White, Hansel and Gretel) that were sprinkled throughout the story were particularly brilliant and inventive.
Somewhat surprisingly, I really adored the supporting characters, including the antagonist of the story. The back stories of Queen Cyntheria and Ashlan were the ones I found to be most interesting, but generally, the smooth manner in which the backgrounds and narratives of the supporting roles complemented each other, forming a mishmash of creative fairytale retellings, was remarkable. I did feel a tinge of awe once I finished reading. I just wish the romance in Princess of Tyrone could be completely removed from the narrative because the story would have been a better read without it.
Disclosure: I received a digital copy of Princess of Tyrone (via NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to the publishers!
However, despite the frustratingly awful love story and heaps of sexism in Princess of Tyrone, I somehow miraculously liked a lot of the other elements. My favorite aspect of this book was its incredible, imaginative world-building: a universe where technology is magically enhanced, where space pirates exist and roam the cosmos, where fairy magic is strengthened by human emotions like love, hope and faith, and where science mixes with fantasy in the most fascinating of ways. The world in Princess of Tyrone was utterly amazing and held so much promise! It was the perfect setting for thrilling adventures, and for the most part, I did really like the plot sans romance. The twists in the original fairytale of Sleeping Beauty as well as the minor references to other fairytales (e.g. Cinderella, Snow White, Hansel and Gretel) that were sprinkled throughout the story were particularly brilliant and inventive.
Somewhat surprisingly, I really adored the supporting characters, including the antagonist of the story. The back stories of Queen Cyntheria and Ashlan were the ones I found to be most interesting, but generally, the smooth manner in which the backgrounds and narratives of the supporting roles complemented each other, forming a mishmash of creative fairytale retellings, was remarkable. I did feel a tinge of awe once I finished reading. I just wish the romance in Princess of Tyrone could be completely removed from the narrative because the story would have been a better read without it.
Disclosure: I received a digital copy of Princess of Tyrone (via NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to the publishers!