titalindaslibrary's Reviews (687)

Maria Ressa is incredible, and her unrelenting hope and determination is the grounding force I’ve been needing in this turbulent time.

Okay, but for a 500+ page book this actually flew by for me! 

This book definitely hits familiar fantasy beats, so there are predictable twists, but it’s done in such an enjoyable way I can’t complain that much. I love the dream world, the characters, and Slade manages to pull off four different POVs effortlessly.

I’m a sucker for an angsty, badass FMCs and Wren more than delivers on that. I liked that she’s actually skilled too, not just all talk and no competency (I’m sorry but some fantasy books have this annoying habit, so I’m glad to see that’s not the case here)! 

Caine is an interesting perspective to explore a privileged, well-meaning-but-actually-enabling character. And I love that Ila calls him out on that shit right off the bat. While it takes some time for his passivity to morph into action, I’m very intrigued to see where his character arc takes him. 

Oh, and Alaric being called “baker boy” made me giggle. I adore the nightmares in this hehehe! Those little details and bits of banter were a treat to encounter along the way. I’m eager to see how our band of characters grow into a found family (I can smell it on the horizon, all the pieces are here) now that their storylines have finally synced up! 

Overall, this was a dark, emo baby, nightmare fantasy book that thoroughly swept me away! I can’t wait for Veilweaver!!

A solid time-traveling fantasy! Very well paced, albeit I kind of wished the romance had been developed a bit more, but it was a sweet subplot. Highly recommend on audio, Moira Quirk is a gem!

Soft DNF - just not in the mood right now 

I probably would feel more attached to this prequel novella if I read Evocation first…whoops! But this does make me intrigued to finally read that one now, so it did its job 

Sadly, a majority of these short stories just didn't work for me. Most of those reasons are just personal preferences, but I think it's such a shame that what ended up being my favorite stories were tucked so far into the back. The shift in quality and skill with how those stories were told really made it stark how lackluster the previous ones were.

I'm a sucker for Andrew's particular blend of romance and horror. I believe her books falls under the "bubblegum horror" genre label, and this nails it to a T! Perhaps a bit predictable, but you know what? I enjoyed my time getting to the end. Plus, the Colton and Lane cameo made my day! 

Overall a very sweet and wholesome collection of comics by multiple Indigenous contributors and I love the concept of this book!

As is often the case with short story collections, I found this to be filled with favorites and not-so-favorites, and some art styles I preferred over others. 

I ended up really enjoying this nuanced, slow-paced story about an undocumented mom and her son. They feel like real, complex people, not caricatures.  

Although by the end I kind of wished we had gotten a POV from Maxima in all this. A B-roll Filipino movie star, (almost) eskrima master who now scams white men on cam calls?? Please, I NEED her book!

Elaine Castillo’s writing is so intelligent with a vibrating core of biting humor throughout, I cannot help but feel in awe. 

While some essays are quite dense with media, literature, and pop culture I’m not familiar with, what I do know is this book has definitely inspired me to be a better reader. Not only that but to meet our world with a more curious, decolonized lens that goes beyond “positive representation” and all the other neoliberal nonsense corporations like Marvel try to spoonfeed to us as progressive movements.

I will be thinking about this book and Castillo’s voice for a long time, and if it ever begins to fade, I know I’ll be eager to revisit it.