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typedtruths's Reviews (1.8k)
Hunted is hands down one of the best retellings I have read in a long, long time. It was just such a refreshing read! I know that the character-driven plotline might not call to all readers but I found myself absolutely mesmerised by the exploration of identity and relationship dynamics in this story. It dismissed the use of all the tropes I dislike the most - hallelujah - delivered a story that was completely unique and enthralling. Yeva’s story wormed its way into my heart and stole it. I could not - for the life of me - put this book down last night and I am so glad I decided to give it a read this month.
Yeva was such an amazing protagonist. I very, very rarely adore the protagonists of stories - even of books I love - so I wish I stress how complex and multi-layered and amazing she was but it is going to be so difficult to do that without spoilers… so bear with me. One of the best things Spooner did with Yeva’s character was that she avoided the whole badass hunter, I’m the next Katniss Everdeen trope. Yeva was just a girl who was more interested in hunting than societal gossip. She had no more or less ability than any other hunter who had trained their whole life and I loved this fact more than I probably should have. Too often protagonists are the chosen ones or the prophesied ones - they are better at whatever they do than anyone else has ever been or they have more power etc. Although there were elements of that in this story, Yeva was - at her heart - just an ordinary girl caught up in this adventure. She had a strong personality but this didn’t just make her better to the other town girls - like badass female fantasy female are often written - just interested in different things. In fact, Yeva’s strong personality and stubbornness often resulted in consequences or hindered her. Best of all? She actually learnt from this! How often do we read about female characters that are praised for being more “masculine” than the female secondary characters? All the time in fantasy so it was a relief to see a realistic balance between these personality traits. Yeva was also fiercely intelligent and loyal and also a little bit selfish but at the core of it, flawed. Like I said, Yeva was a complex and gritty character who had so many layers to her personality. I loved that she didn’t fit into any typical moulds and stood out from other female protagonists because she was so realistic. I honestly admired her so much.
Another thing that this book does incredibly well is the retelling aspects. We all know that as soon as anyone hears the words “Beauty and the Beast retelling,” they groan. This fairytale has been retold sooo many times now that there is very little you can do with the story now that makes it unique… and somehow Spooner did that. Maybe the trick was combining the BatB elements with a Russian folk tale? Whatever the answer may be, the author managed to explore all of the complicated aspects of the original story - namely the Stockholm Syndrome complaints - with ease, all while making her story stand out from all the other books in the genre. The new lore - or at least, new to me - was fascinating. I also loved how Yeva’s relationship with the Beast was developed and explored. There was only a hint of romance in this story. It is very much about the Yeva learning to see past the Beast’s exterior but not in a way that I found cliched, preachy or problematic. Their relationship was just so well-paced out and realistic. They went through many stages of emotions as the story progressed and the nature of their relationship shaped to fit their situation. Beast was similarly a complex and three-dimensional character and seeing how he came to understand their relationship dynamics was fascinating as well. I think the thing that really sold me on it the most was how little romance there really was - I swear to god, it was more about their actual relationship than anything - and the fact that the characters openly talked about abusive relationships. The fact that the Beast had held Yeva captive was a massive issue and they didn’t let it slide. I just… I’m in awe of how complex and well-written their relationship was written.
The one thing that I wished for was that we had gotten to see more of Lena and Asheka. However, Yeva’s relationship with her sisters was such a prominent aspect of the story and they had such good, healthy relationship that I really should not complain. I particularly loved how Yeva and Asheka’s relationship evolved as they processed some really difficult and trying situations together. Spooner managed to really capture the subtleties of sisterly relationships and I’m so glad it remained crucial to the story.
Overall?
I am more than merely impressed by this story, I am in awe of how much I enjoyed it. It took such a different direction to the other retellings in the genre and it did an amazing job of creating a rich, realistic set of characters. Yeva was an incredible protagonist - one of my favourites of all time, I have a feeling - and her relationships with her family and the Beast were similarly incredible. I would recommend this book to all fans of character-driven stories that like to get to the heart of a story and avoid all unnecessary tropes and drama. Spooner has done an amazing job of creating an incredibly rich retelling that you’ll be sorry to have missed out.
Review copy provided by the publisher for an honest review.
Yeva was such an amazing protagonist. I very, very rarely adore the protagonists of stories - even of books I love - so I wish I stress how complex and multi-layered and amazing she was but it is going to be so difficult to do that without spoilers… so bear with me. One of the best things Spooner did with Yeva’s character was that she avoided the whole badass hunter, I’m the next Katniss Everdeen trope. Yeva was just a girl who was more interested in hunting than societal gossip. She had no more or less ability than any other hunter who had trained their whole life and I loved this fact more than I probably should have. Too often protagonists are the chosen ones or the prophesied ones - they are better at whatever they do than anyone else has ever been or they have more power etc. Although there were elements of that in this story, Yeva was - at her heart - just an ordinary girl caught up in this adventure. She had a strong personality but this didn’t just make her better to the other town girls - like badass female fantasy female are often written - just interested in different things. In fact, Yeva’s strong personality and stubbornness often resulted in consequences or hindered her. Best of all? She actually learnt from this! How often do we read about female characters that are praised for being more “masculine” than the female secondary characters? All the time in fantasy so it was a relief to see a realistic balance between these personality traits. Yeva was also fiercely intelligent and loyal and also a little bit selfish but at the core of it, flawed. Like I said, Yeva was a complex and gritty character who had so many layers to her personality. I loved that she didn’t fit into any typical moulds and stood out from other female protagonists because she was so realistic. I honestly admired her so much.
Another thing that this book does incredibly well is the retelling aspects. We all know that as soon as anyone hears the words “Beauty and the Beast retelling,” they groan. This fairytale has been retold sooo many times now that there is very little you can do with the story now that makes it unique… and somehow Spooner did that. Maybe the trick was combining the BatB elements with a Russian folk tale? Whatever the answer may be, the author managed to explore all of the complicated aspects of the original story - namely the Stockholm Syndrome complaints - with ease, all while making her story stand out from all the other books in the genre. The new lore - or at least, new to me - was fascinating. I also loved how Yeva’s relationship with the Beast was developed and explored. There was only a hint of romance in this story. It is very much about the Yeva learning to see past the Beast’s exterior but not in a way that I found cliched, preachy or problematic. Their relationship was just so well-paced out and realistic. They went through many stages of emotions as the story progressed and the nature of their relationship shaped to fit their situation. Beast was similarly a complex and three-dimensional character and seeing how he came to understand their relationship dynamics was fascinating as well. I think the thing that really sold me on it the most was how little romance there really was - I swear to god, it was more about their actual relationship than anything - and the fact that the characters openly talked about abusive relationships. The fact that the Beast had held Yeva captive was a massive issue and they didn’t let it slide. I just… I’m in awe of how complex and well-written their relationship was written.
The one thing that I wished for was that we had gotten to see more of Lena and Asheka. However, Yeva’s relationship with her sisters was such a prominent aspect of the story and they had such good, healthy relationship that I really should not complain. I particularly loved how Yeva and Asheka’s relationship evolved as they processed some really difficult and trying situations together. Spooner managed to really capture the subtleties of sisterly relationships and I’m so glad it remained crucial to the story.
Overall?
I am more than merely impressed by this story, I am in awe of how much I enjoyed it. It took such a different direction to the other retellings in the genre and it did an amazing job of creating a rich, realistic set of characters. Yeva was an incredible protagonist - one of my favourites of all time, I have a feeling - and her relationships with her family and the Beast were similarly incredible. I would recommend this book to all fans of character-driven stories that like to get to the heart of a story and avoid all unnecessary tropes and drama. Spooner has done an amazing job of creating an incredibly rich retelling that you’ll be sorry to have missed out.
Review copy provided by the publisher for an honest review.
It’s been forty minutes now of writing and rewriting this review. It’s kind of ridiculous that I’m so tongue-tied when it comes to this book! All you really need to know is how I loved it, right? Right.
Okay, so here it is: I picked up this story because of Nick (@ Nick and Nereyda’s Infinite Booklist)’s fabulous review, and the mere mention of ballet and Antarctica in one novel seemed too good to pass up.
And it was almost too good to be true. This story spoke to me on a personal level. It’s one of those quiet but powerful stories that are completely character-driven but somehow manage to be enthralling and unputdownable. The setting was just…*flails*. Antarctica! Penguins! The cold! I couldn’t have asked for me. It was everything the story needed, and worked wonders. The writing manage to completely capture the atmosphere, and spin it so it worked well with the story. I could go on and on about the setting and writing forever, if you wanted me to… which I assume you don’t, so moving on. Harper was a hell of a protagonist. I love strong female protagonist that don’t need to kick ass or slay dragons to show it. Harper was well-developed and realistic, flawed but working on it. Couldn’t have asked for a better MC. The romance had a minor role in the story (like really minor) which was great. It focused on Harper, and Harper’s journey more than anything. Oh, and the female relationships in this book were spot on too! The San Francisco flashbacks could be a little confusing and were a little duller IMO than the Antarctic sections, which was probably my biggest complaint about the story. But the ballet scenes completely overrode all of that. We need to take a second to thank the lords and gods and deities that a YA book finally got ballet culture written down correctly. Shocking, right? I know. But Jennifer Longo did and it made me weep with joy. Seriously.
All-together this book was just beautiful. It tugged at my heartstrings, and I loved that it was realistic and easy to read too. I’d definitely recommend this if you enjoyed [b:Rules for 50/50 Chances|23296348|Rules for 50/50 Chances|Kate McGovern|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1427121116s/23296348.jpg|42852817] or [b:Things We Know by Heart|17571215|Things We Know by Heart|Jessi Kirby|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1413391278s/17571215.jpg|24510841].
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4.5 stars
This is one of those books that I enjoyed too much to be able to sum up my feelings in a review. I have no idea what else to say other than I loved this book. The characters, the plot, the writing style, it was also so well done. I had no real expectations for this series but it has already blow Nielsen’s newer series, Mark of the Thief, out of the water. I loved our protagonist, Sage. He was witty and brilliant. I loved that the narration was vague enough that the readers had to piece together things for themselves. I loved not knowing what was going to come next and how easily the plotline sucked me in. I didn’t want to put the book down for a single second. I was so consumed, so engaged. I definitely loved this book and would recommend it to all Ranger’s Apprentice fans.
This is one of those books that I enjoyed too much to be able to sum up my feelings in a review. I have no idea what else to say other than I loved this book. The characters, the plot, the writing style, it was also so well done. I had no real expectations for this series but it has already blow Nielsen’s newer series, Mark of the Thief, out of the water. I loved our protagonist, Sage. He was witty and brilliant. I loved that the narration was vague enough that the readers had to piece together things for themselves. I loved not knowing what was going to come next and how easily the plotline sucked me in. I didn’t want to put the book down for a single second. I was so consumed, so engaged. I definitely loved this book and would recommend it to all Ranger’s Apprentice fans.
I'm so proud to be a part of UQP & AusYABlogger's Australian review tour for the Aussie release of We Are Okay. For all the info and tour stops, be sure to check out the schedule. My blog post with an aesthetic moodbaord can be found here
2019 has been a strange year for me in terms of reading. And March? It’s probably been the strangest reading month I’ve ever had. I’ve barely read, despite being sick and having more time on my hands than normal. I’m in a slump, major time, so you can imagine that when We Are Okay arrived in the mail, my excitement was tainted with some slight nerves.… but I didn’t need to worry.
What I Loved:
Miran. God, I love her. I desperately wanted to reach into the story to make her a cup of tea and give her a bear hug. It was difficult being in her head at times, damn difficult, but the experience was so cathartic. The unrelenting rawness of LaCour’s writing pulled me back into 2017 Rachel’s mind and it was such an emotional journey. Those sort of guttural connections with a character are so personal they can be difficult to convey but Miran story just spoke to me in so many small ways. I know she will be a character who sticks in my heart for a long time.
Miran & Mabel’s relationship. Mabel was such a special character. Stories exploring relationships between two girls, whether they be romances or friendships or a mix of the two, are some of my favourites and LaCour gave her everything to develop this complicated, messy relationship.
Gramps. I want all the grandparent relationships in stories, please and thank you.
The unapologetic queerness without a romance or coming out themes. I didn’t even realise how much I needed more stories like this until now,,, but wow. There is absolutely no denying this is a queer story; it’s soft but there, laced into the very fabric of the story. Mabel & Miran’s relationship plays an important part in Miran’s story as a whole. LaCour didn’t shy away from that; their history was never cast aside or dismissed, but it also never become more of a focus than any other elements. Just like Miran’s queerness was a part of her, it was a part of her story. One facet. The story didn’t play favourites, never putting her trauma and queerness at war, and I love it for that.
…. which ties into No Love Cures All. I know that by 2019 this should be a bare minimum. I know that, you know that, but in reality, we all know we’re not quite there yet. Every time I read a book that centres on a character coping with a tragedy like Miran’s loss, I get a little nervous, but Nina LaCour? She didn’t just avoid the Love Cures All trope. She actively had Miran face it as part of the story. Despite some external pressure from Mabel, Miran says maybe someday she’ll want to be in a romantic relationship but for now, she’s just working on finding a way to be okay. It seems like such a little thing but maintaining that balance, having Miran’s queerness as an intrinsic part of the novel as her healing without a romance was so important to me.
The writing. This is not my first book by Nina LaCour. I read Everything Leads to You a few years ago and one of the most standout things about both of these books is her writing. It’s simple and quiet but the atmosphere she creates so easily is breathtaking. Her characters. The plot and pacing. It’s all so effortless and fluid and wonderful. I want to read all of her backlist immediately.
Overall?
From the first page, I knew We Are Okay was something special. It made me bawl. It made me smile. It reminded me so much of some of my own experiences. It was an emotional gut punch that left me hopeful. It deserves the awards. It deserves to be shouted about from the rooftops. It might be a sad story but at its heart, We Are Okay is a nod to the enormity of surviving tragedy and the difficulty of allowing yourself to be loved. Pick it up. You’ll thank me.
✨ A review copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
🌻Trigger warnings for grief depiction, depression, suicide, drowning, death of a grandfather and mother, and alcohol consumption.
🍂 Representation: Miran (mc) is queer; Mabel (sc) is queer & latinx; f/f romance.
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2019 has been a strange year for me in terms of reading. And March? It’s probably been the strangest reading month I’ve ever had. I’ve barely read, despite being sick and having more time on my hands than normal. I’m in a slump, major time, so you can imagine that when We Are Okay arrived in the mail, my excitement was tainted with some slight nerves.… but I didn’t need to worry.
What I Loved:
Miran. God, I love her. I desperately wanted to reach into the story to make her a cup of tea and give her a bear hug. It was difficult being in her head at times, damn difficult, but the experience was so cathartic. The unrelenting rawness of LaCour’s writing pulled me back into 2017 Rachel’s mind and it was such an emotional journey. Those sort of guttural connections with a character are so personal they can be difficult to convey but Miran story just spoke to me in so many small ways. I know she will be a character who sticks in my heart for a long time.
“But sometimes two people have a deep connection. It makes romance seem trivial. It isn’t about anything carnal. It’s about souls. About the deepest part of who you are as a person.”
Miran & Mabel’s relationship. Mabel was such a special character. Stories exploring relationships between two girls, whether they be romances or friendships or a mix of the two, are some of my favourites and LaCour gave her everything to develop this complicated, messy relationship.
Gramps. I want all the grandparent relationships in stories, please and thank you.
“I used to cry over a story and then close the book, and it all would be over. Now everything resonates, sticks like a splinter, festers.”
The unapologetic queerness without a romance or coming out themes. I didn’t even realise how much I needed more stories like this until now,,, but wow. There is absolutely no denying this is a queer story; it’s soft but there, laced into the very fabric of the story. Mabel & Miran’s relationship plays an important part in Miran’s story as a whole. LaCour didn’t shy away from that; their history was never cast aside or dismissed, but it also never become more of a focus than any other elements. Just like Miran’s queerness was a part of her, it was a part of her story. One facet. The story didn’t play favourites, never putting her trauma and queerness at war, and I love it for that.
…. which ties into No Love Cures All. I know that by 2019 this should be a bare minimum. I know that, you know that, but in reality, we all know we’re not quite there yet. Every time I read a book that centres on a character coping with a tragedy like Miran’s loss, I get a little nervous, but Nina LaCour? She didn’t just avoid the Love Cures All trope. She actively had Miran face it as part of the story. Despite some external pressure from Mabel, Miran says maybe someday she’ll want to be in a romantic relationship but for now, she’s just working on finding a way to be okay. It seems like such a little thing but maintaining that balance, having Miran’s queerness as an intrinsic part of the novel as her healing without a romance was so important to me.
The writing. This is not my first book by Nina LaCour. I read Everything Leads to You a few years ago and one of the most standout things about both of these books is her writing. It’s simple and quiet but the atmosphere she creates so easily is breathtaking. Her characters. The plot and pacing. It’s all so effortless and fluid and wonderful. I want to read all of her backlist immediately.
Overall?
From the first page, I knew We Are Okay was something special. It made me bawl. It made me smile. It reminded me so much of some of my own experiences. It was an emotional gut punch that left me hopeful. It deserves the awards. It deserves to be shouted about from the rooftops. It might be a sad story but at its heart, We Are Okay is a nod to the enormity of surviving tragedy and the difficulty of allowing yourself to be loved. Pick it up. You’ll thank me.
✨ A review copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
🌻Trigger warnings for grief depiction, depression, suicide, drowning, death of a grandfather and mother, and alcohol consumption.
🍂 Representation: Miran (mc) is queer; Mabel (sc) is queer & latinx; f/f romance.
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4.5 stars
I wish I could bottle up my feelings about this book so I could convince you to give it a shot. Unfortunately, these meagre words are going to have to do. This book perfectly achieved its purpose: it creeped me out. This is honestly the first book to ever do that to me. Ever. I am trying to seem more macho than I am, but it honestly takes a lot to actually scare me in books. Even if a book is well-written and engaging, there is always a distance between me and the story that stops me from getting creeped out. It is not real - so it doesn’t scare me. Plum managed to completely erase that barrier though. I do not know how she did it but she managed to capture that surreal feeling of dreaming, of having a nightmare, and make it come alive on the page. The whole book felt like one of those dreams where you know you are dreaming and that the events of the dream are unrealistic nonsense… but there’s nothing you can do about it. You have no control. It’s terrifying. It’s got that awful nauseous quality to it and Plum got that feeling on the page perfectly. I was engaged the whole time. The plot had me salivating for the next page. I wanted more. I need more; more answers, more of the characters. I wanted to know what was happening and why. It was absolutely brilliant in that sense. I could not put it down.
I also adored the characters. All of them. They were all rich and complex. I loved that they were realistically flawed. Some of them were rude or had a quick temper but it was done it a way that did not make them unlikable, just more human. Their interactions were fascinated and I liked that none of them developed a romance. It would have been so unrealistic. The diversity was so rich and incredibly written. All of the main characters suffered from some sort of neurodiverse condition/s like (PTSD, OCD, depression, narcolepsy) which caused chronic insomnia. I have never read a book with about a character with a sleep disorder before, let alone an entire cast, and I thought that added another layer to the story so effortlessly. There was also a lot of racial diversity so yay for that. My favourite part of all of this was definitely how George called out the other characters when they said judgemental comments. I highlighted so much of her dialogue! I also have to say that the multiple perspectives were incredibly well written. I had no problems distinguishing the different voices and enjoyed all of them equally.
Overall?
I adored this book and would happily recommend it with all my heart. It was so, so engaging and thrilling. I was sucked into this world and could not stop flipping the pages to see what would happen next. It was so addictive! The cast was also amazing. There was not a single POV I did not enjoy and I felt that all of the characters were fleshed out and realistically flawed, complex characters. The cliffhanger has left me dying for the sequel, which I was eagerly be anticipating for the rest of the year. *sobs*
Review copy provided by the publisher for an honest review.
I wish I could bottle up my feelings about this book so I could convince you to give it a shot. Unfortunately, these meagre words are going to have to do. This book perfectly achieved its purpose: it creeped me out. This is honestly the first book to ever do that to me. Ever. I am trying to seem more macho than I am, but it honestly takes a lot to actually scare me in books. Even if a book is well-written and engaging, there is always a distance between me and the story that stops me from getting creeped out. It is not real - so it doesn’t scare me. Plum managed to completely erase that barrier though. I do not know how she did it but she managed to capture that surreal feeling of dreaming, of having a nightmare, and make it come alive on the page. The whole book felt like one of those dreams where you know you are dreaming and that the events of the dream are unrealistic nonsense… but there’s nothing you can do about it. You have no control. It’s terrifying. It’s got that awful nauseous quality to it and Plum got that feeling on the page perfectly. I was engaged the whole time. The plot had me salivating for the next page. I wanted more. I need more; more answers, more of the characters. I wanted to know what was happening and why. It was absolutely brilliant in that sense. I could not put it down.
I also adored the characters. All of them. They were all rich and complex. I loved that they were realistically flawed. Some of them were rude or had a quick temper but it was done it a way that did not make them unlikable, just more human. Their interactions were fascinated and I liked that none of them developed a romance. It would have been so unrealistic. The diversity was so rich and incredibly written. All of the main characters suffered from some sort of neurodiverse condition/s like (PTSD, OCD, depression, narcolepsy) which caused chronic insomnia. I have never read a book with about a character with a sleep disorder before, let alone an entire cast, and I thought that added another layer to the story so effortlessly. There was also a lot of racial diversity so yay for that. My favourite part of all of this was definitely how George called out the other characters when they said judgemental comments. I highlighted so much of her dialogue! I also have to say that the multiple perspectives were incredibly well written. I had no problems distinguishing the different voices and enjoyed all of them equally.
Overall?
I adored this book and would happily recommend it with all my heart. It was so, so engaging and thrilling. I was sucked into this world and could not stop flipping the pages to see what would happen next. It was so addictive! The cast was also amazing. There was not a single POV I did not enjoy and I felt that all of the characters were fleshed out and realistically flawed, complex characters. The cliffhanger has left me dying for the sequel, which I was eagerly be anticipating for the rest of the year. *sobs*
Review copy provided by the publisher for an honest review.
4.5 stars
Holy shivers, I adored it! If the lore had been a bit more fleshed out, it would have been perfect.
Holy shivers, I adored it! If the lore had been a bit more fleshed out, it would have been perfect.
