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Sun of Blood and Ruin is a Historical Fantasy, focused in Latin American and South American history and is marketed as a gender swapped Zorro mix, which is definitely is. However, I think I can sum up my experience with the book in two words: mixed feelings.
I loved that there was a map and 'a note on History, Terminology, and pronunciation' at the beginning. More of often than not, notes like these are kept to the end of the book so to have it at the beginning to lay out the background and provide a reference tool was amazing, it provided a foundation before the story even began. Chapter One kicked right of with action with Leonara jumping across buildings. That's where the mixed feelings come. I think because we start with the action and a fast pace of movement and story the lulls felt longer because the pace I started the book with didn't carry through. Whereas if it were slow -> conflict and climax -> slow I may not have felt the way I did but actually looking back on it I liked it because it wasn't slow, we didn't spend chapters building up to Leonara doing something and overall maintained a fast-pace.
This is a adult historical fantasy but at times Leonara felt a bit impulsive and childish, especially mixed with the first person present tense which I wasn't expecting however, to expect all characters in an adult novel to act rationally is a bit of an ask so it did add a sense of realism to Leonara.
Overall, I'd say if you liked Fourth Wing you'd like this and you should check it out!
Thank you to Netgalley, HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction, HarperVoyager for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.
I loved that there was a map and 'a note on History, Terminology, and pronunciation' at the beginning. More of often than not, notes like these are kept to the end of the book so to have it at the beginning to lay out the background and provide a reference tool was amazing, it provided a foundation before the story even began. Chapter One kicked right of with action with Leonara jumping across buildings. That's where the mixed feelings come. I think because we start with the action and a fast pace of movement and story the lulls felt longer because the pace I started the book with didn't carry through. Whereas if it were slow -> conflict and climax -> slow I may not have felt the way I did but actually looking back on it I liked it because it wasn't slow, we didn't spend chapters building up to Leonara doing something and overall maintained a fast-pace.
This is a adult historical fantasy but at times Leonara felt a bit impulsive and childish, especially mixed with the first person present tense which I wasn't expecting however, to expect all characters in an adult novel to act rationally is a bit of an ask so it did add a sense of realism to Leonara.
Overall, I'd say if you liked Fourth Wing you'd like this and you should check it out!
Thank you to Netgalley, HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction, HarperVoyager for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.
Wednesday's Child is a collection of short stories spanning fifteen years of writing, and opens with the title story: Wednesday's Child.
There are eleven short stories, so I'm not going to break them down and review them individually. I really enjoyed Li's writing style, and each story have a focus on a unique individual. Li's personal history made 'Wednesday's Child' and 'When We Were Happy...' more like character studies and a look into Li's thoughts and feelings.
The collection has an overtone of sadness and melancholia (and not the Taylor Swift kind) with a focus on loss, including that of a child but does have stories with happy-ish undertones.
As a lover of spreadsheets 'When We Were Happy...' made me look at them very differently.
Side note: the cover! The cover is stunning it's just as visually attractive as the cover for 'The Book of Goose'.
Thank you to Netgalley, 4th Estate and William Collins, for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
There are eleven short stories, so I'm not going to break them down and review them individually. I really enjoyed Li's writing style, and each story have a focus on a unique individual. Li's personal history made 'Wednesday's Child' and 'When We Were Happy...' more like character studies and a look into Li's thoughts and feelings.
The collection has an overtone of sadness and melancholia (and not the Taylor Swift kind) with a focus on loss, including that of a child but does have stories with happy-ish undertones.
As a lover of spreadsheets 'When We Were Happy...' made me look at them very differently.
Side note: the cover! The cover is stunning it's just as visually attractive as the cover for 'The Book of Goose'.
Thank you to Netgalley, 4th Estate and William Collins, for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
